IDW’s Metal Gear Solid board game was cancelled back in 2021 after a number of delays, and at the time it seemed like that was that. But no! This week it has been announced that the game is back, only now it’s going to be published by rivals CMON instead.
It’s pretty much the same game with the same designer—Emerson Matsuuchi—about the only thing that seems to have changed is the company name on the box, the box art itself and the fact that it’s actually coming out now.
Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game is pitched exactly as you’d expect: it’s a turn-based tactical stealth game, where players work together to sneak around levels, taking down bad guys, hiding bodies and, yes, moving around inside a cardboard box.
In Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game, players take on the role of iconic characters from the video game, like Solid Snake, Meryl Silverburgh, Gray Fox, and Hal “Otacon” Emmerich, and work together to complete Missions and defeat the Bosses.
Each character has unique gameplay traits and adds something different to the team:
Snake is focused on stealth takedowns, Meryl can disguise herself and pass by Patrols unnoticed, Gray Fox starts the game with his signature weapons like his High-Frequency Blade, and Otacon has a unique Hack deck available only to him.
With unique skills, passive abilities, and a variety of familiar actions, such as knocking on walls to draw the attention of enemies or stealth takedowns, each player will have a distinctive and immersive experience playing with the different characters.
There are six standalone missions players can work through, or if you’ve got the time there’s also a 14-mission narrative campaign to play. Lovers of plastic minis should know that, alongside miniatures for smaller, human characters there’s also an enormous Metal Gear Rex as well.
The game can be ordered directly from CMON for $100, with an expected ship date of May 2024. Later copies of the game won’t include the Metal Gear Rex, or a “fully illustrated 109-page graphic novel illustrated by Kenneth Loh, bringing each Mission of the campaign to life”.