The brain’s map of the body remembers a limb, even if the person has long lost it, according to a recent peer-reviewed study from the University of Pittsburgh. That might help explain why the vast majority of amputees still experience a phenomenon called phantom limb pain. In video games, famous auteur Hideo Kojima took things one step further by creating a compelling experience that comes just short of feeling complete, leaving players longing for more, a decade later.
I’m referring, of course, to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, one of the most divisive masterpieces in gaming history. When it launched on September 1, 2015, the game was expected to be another hit, but ultimately left part of its ending on the cutting floor. The bad blood between its creator Kojima and his former company Konami led to a public falling out during the game’s development. But despite its incomplete form, MGSV still ended up inspiring tons of games that followed, and ultimately influencing the future of open-world games.
