A quiet place

Taking a sombre stroll to find MGS V’s sniper FORMAT PS4 / PUB KONAMI / DEV KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS / RELEASED 2015 / SCORE 10/10

The best piece of storytelling in Metal Gear Solid V is brought to the screen without a single word being spoken. Right at the end of the stealth epic’s 45th mission, Naked Snake is given an optional breadcrumb trail to follow up into some nearby dunes, in an appropriately disquieting scene that involves one of the saga’s most moving pieces of music.

The genius of A Quiet Exit is that its eloquent, understated finale is entirely missable. After a brutal (and overly long) pitched battle against a small armada of tanks, Snake and his sniper chum flee for the cover of a sandstorm, only for our stealthy hero to be bitten by a – you guessed it – ruddy serpent. Cue a lovely scene where Quiet utters her first words of the 40-hour classic as she calls in a chopper to rescue Snake, followed by the most haunting stroll on PS4.

When the espionage agent finally awakes Quiet is nowhere to be seen. Depending on how inquisitive you are, you can then either a) merrily jump in the nearby chopper, immediately ending the mission, or b) investigate a trail of footsteps in the sand. Choose the latter, and a solemn, pensive walk follows; Snake gingerly retracing Quiet’s steps as the sniper’s trademark hum is turned into a sombre melody that dances sadly on the wind.

The combination of this score, and a foreboding sense that you’re following the footsteps of a corpse, is both harrowing and utterly mesmerising. It recalls the agonising beachside walk of Ico’s climax, and ends on an ambiguous note; Snake discovering an audio tape where Quiet vows to “go back to silence”. Sometimes, the absence of words can say it all.