David Hayter — who for many years gave Snake his signature gruff voice — has finally “forgiven” series creator Hideo Kojima for not casting him in 2015’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain after playing the “amazing” game.
At the time he was jettisoned for Hollywood movie star Kiefer Sutherland, Hayter admitted that playing the game at the time would’ve felt like “60 hours of humiliation,” adding: “I’ve got no particular love for Kojima. I don’t feel any need to go back and work with him again.”
Now, with more distance, Hayer told PC Gamer, “Well, there was reluctance. I didn’t want to play the game because I figured it would hurt my feelings. Then, you know, 10 years went by and I was like, ‘Ah, to hell with my feelings. What do I care?’ […] I’m a screenwriter, so I get fired for a living, like I literally, eventually, get fired from every single gig that I’ve got, and I’m not a child.
“I was like, ‘Stop being a baby and play the game.’ So I played it. It’s amazing.”
Hayter has also “forgiven” Sutherland, too. After bumping into him at a bar in Dallas, Hayer and Sutherland “had a bunch of drinks.” “He’s a great guy, you know? No, no ill will. All is forgiven,” Hayter said.
As for why Hayter rates Phantom Pain as highly as he does?
“The fact that you can go into the same scenario each time, and the [enemy’s] gonna be doing the same thing, but you can take on different routes or different strategies of attack, makes it feel like time travel… So, yes, that was badass. So far as I’m concerned, all is forgiven.”
We thought it was a Masterpiece, too, writing in IGN’s 10/10 Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain review: “The Phantom Pain is the kind of game I thought would never exist – one where every minute gameplay detail has true purpose. Its lack of story focus is sure to be divisive for the Metal Gear faithful, but the resulting emphasis on my story, my tales of Espionage Action, easily make it my favorite in the series.”
Are Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid games too reliant on cinematics? To find out, we worked out just how much of Hideo Kojima’s games are cutscenes. From his time at Konami to Kojima Productions, we try to answer once and for all whether or not there are too many cutscenes in a Kojima game.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
