Metal Gear Solid fans have a lot to be excited about (again), as the long-anticipated Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game will be making a return under a new publisher. Two years after being abruptly canceled by IDW in 2020, after several complications and delays, CMON has announced that pre-orders for Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game are very much open and available for anyone interested.
Board game enthusiasts will quickly recognize the popular board game publisher CMON from their critically acclaimed Zombicide franchise. The publisher seems to have taken the project to heart, judging by their series of announcement posts on their Twitter page.
CMON has further confirmed that this will essentially be the same game that was developed by Emerson Matsuuchi (which IDW ultimately canceled) via multiple posts throughout social media. The studio has further announced there will be no major gameplay tweaks. Instead, the game will have new artwork and a whole new line of miniatures. Matsuuchi has expressed his hopes and the game will one day see the light of day.
Stealth Is Optional for This Mission
Being another video-game-to-tabletop transition, Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game takes heavy inspiration from the original source, and will give players a chance to either go all sneaky-like or take on enemies directly. Players will also get the chance to play as some of their favorite characters – Solid Snake, Meryl Silverburgh, Gray Fox, and Hal “Otacon” Emmerich. Each character will have unique abilities and will impact gameplay in a different way. The game will challenge players with a thorough campaign of 14 connected missions that play exactly like the original Metal Gear Solid. But it doesn’t stop there – players can have a go at six additional standalone “VR missions”. Diehard fans will certainly recognize them from the Special Missions expansion on PlayStation.
Throughout the campaign, players will face a myriad of recognizable bosses, represented by the FOXHOUND members – Ocelot, the iconic Psycho Mantis, Sniper Wolf, Vulcan Raven, Liquid Snake, and Cyborg Ninja. Like the playable characters, each boss will have unique mechanics and will have dedicated special cards, which will perfectly showcase their strengths and weaknesses. Psycho Mantis, for example, is one of the most recognizable bosses not only in Metal Gear Solid, but in gaming in general – I can’t wait to see how he’s represented in the board game!
Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game will not have a crowdfunding campaign, but will instead go straight to retail, which is scheduled for May 2024. Those who pre-order the exclusive Integral Edition will also receive a high-quality graphic novel and an exclusive highly detailed 13 cm Metal Gear REX miniature.