The Best Video Game Stories That Mess With Your Head
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
While later entries in Hideo Kojima’s legendary series tended to lean more toward the convoluted than truly mind bending, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty offered some truly jaw dropping twists and turns.
Near the end of the game, players have come to understand and care for the game’s new protagonist Raiden. While not the legendary Solid Snake, he still managed to see himself through super soldiers and prove himself a legendary soldier in his own right.
After being captured by Solidus Snake and Russian agent Olga, though, and managing to escape shortly after, his world, and the narrative players have been fed, starts to unravel.
His commanding officer, the Colonel, starts to send him nonsensical messages via his codec communicators, bouncing between gibberish and fourth wall breaking orders.
This is because the Colonel was actually a program run by the GW Super Computer, which Raiden uploaded a virus to shortly after his capture.
Once he reaches Solid Snake, he learns this deception was part of a much larger deception. The entire mission was orchestrated as a recreation of Shadow Moses, meant to create a soldier on par with Solid Snake.
Both Raiden’s and players’ jaws were planted firmly on the floor, no longer sure what to believe in or view as real throughout the remainder of the game.
