Metal Gear Solid 4 on PS5 is an almost perfect port of my favorite PS3 exclusive

September 2, 2026 - 08:05

For years, Metal Gear Solid 4 has been the game you had to dig out an old PlayStation 3 for. It was a console exclusive trapped by its own architecture, tied to the Cell processor and a disc that refused to play nice with anything modern. Now it is on PS5, and honestly, it feels like a small miracle. This is not just a remaster with a fresh coat of paint; it is a port that finally lets the game breathe.

The loading times are gone. The infamous install screens that used to break the pacing every few minutes are nearly nonexistent. You can drop into a mission and just play. The frame rate holds steady, and the resolution looks cleaner than I ever remember it looking on original hardware. It is not a full remake, and some textures still show their age, but the core experience is intact. The sneaking, the absurd story, the epic boss fights, all of it runs exactly as it should.

What makes this special is that it is my favorite PS3 exclusive. The game always had a theatrical, almost exhausting energy. It was a finale that tried to tie up every loose thread in a series that never cared about tidy endings. On PS5, that ambition finally gets the technical support it always needed. The controls feel responsive, the camera works, and the whole thing plays like a modern title with a classic soul. If you missed it back then, this is the version to play. If you played it before, it is worth revisiting just to see how well it holds up when the hardware is not fighting against it. It is not a perfect port, but it is close enough that I do not care about the small flaws.