13. Realising Who You Are - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Spoilers for the close of MGS V, and one of the most controversial plot twists in recent memory, as the entirety of Phantom Pain sets up the notion that something just isn't right with how you're seeing the world. You're told the piece of shrapnel embedded in your skull distorts reality itself, you fight flaming fireball-throwing bosses and watch giant whales eat helicopters - basically, you're ready for anything, or so you think. Suddenly a new mission opens up, simply called 'Truth'. You hop in and the game reloads the opening cutscene, except this time when you look at a picture of Big Boss, there's another behind it, with YOUR name on it. This is why the game asked you to enter your real name and create an avatar right at the beginning. It wasn't for Metal Gear Online, it turns out you were the medic that survived the crash from the end of Ground Zeroes, and by taking Big Boss's place at the head of Diamond Dogs, it allowed the real Snake to disappear off around the world. You've been had... or you've literally - as a player and through agency in the world - helped forge the legacy of Big Boss in the canon of Metal Gear Solid. It's either the dumbest thing ever or the best tribute to the fans Hideo Kojima could ever have pulled off. I'm with the latter, but please leave your own reactions in the comments below.
