10 Worst Opening Levels That Almost Ruined Great Video Games

8. The Hospital - Metal Gear Solid V

With the promise of a stunning open-world Afghanistan to explore, some of the most adaptable and robust game mechanics we've ever seen, and the ability to ride a horse that's actually capable of defecating, the last thing anyone wanted was to spend 45 minutes literally crawling around a hospital while all kinds of scripted hell (complete with fire demon) breaks loose around you.

Obviously, it's to be expected that a Metal Gear Solid game these days will be a pretty even split between gameplay and seamless cut-scene, but the gameplay needs to be compelling if we're to stay interested. Or maybe it doesn't because this is Metal Gear Solid and we know it's eventually going to get awesome. Like with many great games with bad opening levels, this hospital crawl fails to show off any of the content that we're really looking to get our hands on, opting for flashy visuals without much mechanical depth.

Once you stumble out of the hospital, the sequence concludes with a bombastic horse chase as you seek to escape the Man of Fire, attempting to shoot him while Ocelot rides you to safety. Yes, it's spectacular, but it's also teetering on the absurd, to the extent that you wonder whether Hideo Kojima has, after all these years, finally tipped over from genius to outright madness.

It'll be over an hour by the time you're out in the arid Afghan mountains, and you'll be so stressed and exhausted from the intro that you'll just want to soak up the sun-rays, before getting on with the game you were prevented from playing throughout the entire intro.