It’s been over a decade since Raiden sliced a multi-story walking tank in half while a choir screamed about rules of nature, and honestly, the world hasn't been the same since. Metal Gear Rising Revengeance shouldn't have worked. It was a spinoff developed by PlatinumGames after Hideo Kojima’s team at Kojima Productions hit a creative wall with the "Solid" formula. It swapped stealth for high-octane violence. It traded philosophical monologues for memes about nano-machines and senator-on-cyborg violence.
Yet, here we are.
If you look at the landscape of action games today, very few titles possess the sheer, unadulterated "moxie" found in Raiden’s solo outing. It’s a game that feels more prescient today than it did in 2013. We are living in an era of private military corporations, meme-driven political discourse, and a blurred line between man and machine. PlatinumGames didn't just make a hack-and-slash; they made a prophecy wrapped in high-frequency vibratory blades.
The Chaos That Created a Masterpiece
The development of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance was, frankly, a disaster early on. Originally titled Metal Gear Solid: Rising, the project was meant to bridge the gap between MGS2 and MGS4. The internal team at Kojima Productions wanted "Zandatsu"—the ability to cut anything, anywhere. But they couldn't make it fun. The project was effectively dead until Atsushi Inaba and the team at PlatinumGames took the reins.
They kept the cutting. They ditched the "Solid."
What we got was a game that runs at a blistering 60 frames per second and demands your absolute attention. You play as Raiden, now a full-blown cyborg ninja working for Maverick Security Consulting. You aren't hiding in lockers anymore. You’re parrying chainsaws with your feet.
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The genius of the combat lies in the parry system. In most games, you hold a block button to stay safe. In Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, you have to flick the analog stick toward the enemy and press the light attack button at the exact moment of impact. It’s aggressive. It’s risky. It forces you to get in the face of bosses like Blade Wolf or Mistral. If you’re playing defensively, you’re playing wrong.
Why the Blade Mode Still Feels Like Magic
Blade Mode is the mechanic that defines the experience. By consuming fuel-cell energy, Raiden enters a slowed-down state where you control the angle of his sword strokes with the right thumbstick. You can literally dice a cyborg into 50 individual pieces.
This isn't just gore for the sake of it. It’s the game’s primary resource loop.
When you see a red square appear on an enemy's body, that’s their electrolyte core. Cut through that specific point, press the prompt, and Raiden rips the glowing spine out of the enemy, crushing it to instantly refill his health and energy. "Zandatsu" means "cut and take." It’s a rhythmic, brutal dance that ensures the pace never slows down. You don't hide to heal; you kill to heal.
The Soundtrack is a Living Organism
You can't talk about this game without mentioning Jamie Christopherson’s score. It’s legendary. Most games use dynamic music, but Revengeance uses "vocal triggers."
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Take the fight against Jetstream Sam. The music starts as an instrumental, building tension as you trade blows. But the moment the boss’s health drops below a certain threshold or the fight reaches its climax, the lyrics kick in. Hearing "The Only Thing I Know For Real" blast its vocals right as you land a perfect parry creates a psychological "high" that very few games have ever replicated. It makes the player feel like they are the one driving the music, not the other way around.
Senator Armstrong and the Meme Prophecy
Is it weird that a game from 2013 predicted the vibe of the 2020s? Maybe.
Senator Steven Armstrong, the final boss, has become a permanent fixture of internet culture. He’s a terrifyingly buff politician who wants to use war as a business to end war as a business. He shouts about "making America great again" years before that phrase became a global political lightning rod. He’s the personification of the "might makes right" philosophy taken to its most absurd, nanotech-fueled extreme.
The memes—"Nanomachines, son!"—started as jokes because the dialogue was so over-the-top. But as time has gone on, the critique of the military-industrial complex and the manipulation of information has aged incredibly well. Metal Gear Rising Revengeance uses Raiden to ask a difficult question: Can a weapon of war ever truly serve justice? Raiden tries to convince himself he’s a "sword of justice," but his enemies, specifically the Winds of Destruction, constantly remind him that he’s just a killer who enjoys the rush.
Technical Nuances for Modern Players
If you’re picking this up on PC today, there are things you need to know. The game is locked at 1080p by default on many setups, which feels dated. However, the community has kept this game alive.
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- Resolution Mods: Use the "MGRR Resolution Fix" found on GitHub or PCGamingWiki to run the game at 4K or ultrawide. It looks shockingly good because the art style is so sharp.
- The Parry Window: On Revengeance difficulty (the highest setting), the parry window is incredibly tight. You have to be frame-perfect.
- The Camera: This is the game’s biggest flaw. In tight spaces, the camera can get stuck behind Raiden’s cape or a wall. You have to learn to manage the camera manually; don't rely on the lock-on in every situation.
The DLC chapters—where you play as Jetstream Sam and Blade Wolf—are also essential. Sam’s gameplay is slightly different; he has a double jump and a "quick draw" mechanic that makes him feel more like a traditional samurai compared to Raiden’s breakdancing-with-swords style.
Misconceptions About the Metal Gear Timeline
A lot of people think you need to play Metal Gear Solid 1 through 4 to understand this. Honestly? You don't.
Sure, knowing Raiden’s history as a child soldier in Liberia (Jack the Ripper) adds flavor. Knowing how he was turned into a cyborg in MGS4 helps. But the game does a great job of explaining the stakes. It stands on its own as a character study of a man trying to outrun his own nature. It’s a story about trauma, legacy, and whether we can ever truly change who we were built to be.
Moving Forward: How to Experience Revengeance Today
To get the most out of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance right now, you should approach it as a rhythm game first and an action game second.
- Master the Parry Early: Go to the VR Missions immediately. If you don't master the parry, you will hit a brick wall at the first boss. Stop trying to dodge. Start trying to hit the incoming blade.
- Upgrade Your Fuel Cells: Prioritize energy capacity over raw damage. More energy means more time in Blade Mode, which means more opportunities to heal.
- Listen to the Codec: Seriously. There are hours of recorded dialogue in the Codec menu. It’s where the "Metal Gear" soul lives. You’ll find hilarious conversations about Raiden’s favorite food (or lack thereof) and deep dives into the political philosophy of the villains.
- Play on Hard: Normal is a bit too forgiving. Hard mode forces you to actually learn the mechanics, which makes the eventual mastery feel so much better.
The game is a short experience—roughly 6 to 8 hours—but it’s designed to be played five or six times. It’s about the S-rank. It’s about the perfect run. In an era of bloated 100-hour open-world games, Revengeance is a lean, mean, neon-soaked reminder that sometimes, all you need is a sharp sword and a killer soundtrack.
Stop waiting for a sequel that might never come. Go back and play the original. The memes were right; this game is a masterpiece.