You’re riding across the Afghan desert on D-Horse. The sun is setting, casting long, orange shadows over the jagged rocks, and suddenly, the faint, tinny sound of synthesizer pop starts drifting from a Soviet outpost. It’s Kim Wilde’s "Kids in America." In any other game, this would feel like a total immersion breaker, but in the Metal Gear Solid 5 Phantom Pain soundtrack, it’s the heartbeat of the entire experience.
It's weird. It’s haunting. It's perfect.
Most people think of Hideo Kojima’s final Metal Gear project as an unfinished masterpiece or a tactical sandbox, but the music is what actually bridges the gap between the gritty 1984 setting and the surrealism of the series. We aren't just talking about a collection of songs here. We’re talking about a curated psychological profile of the 1980s.
The tapes that defined Big Boss
The genius of the Metal Gear Solid 5 Phantom Pain soundtrack lies in its delivery. You don't just have a menu with songs; you have to find them. You’re literally infiltrating high-security bases to steal cassette tapes. I remember spending twenty minutes sneaking through a guard post just because I heard the muffled intro of "Take On Me" coming from a radio in a barracks.
That’s a level of diegetic sound design most developers won't touch.
The licensed tracks aren't just "Greatest Hits" filler. Every song feels selected to mirror the isolation of Venom Snake. Take "The Man Who Sold the World." Midge Ure’s cover, not the Bowie original, is what opens the game. This isn't an accident. The song is about a loss of identity and a meeting with a double—themes that basically spoil the entire ending of the game within the first ten minutes if you’re paying attention to the lyrics. Kojima used the soundtrack as a narrative foreshadowing tool, which is a massive flex for a video game director.
Ludvig Forssell and the industrial weight of Diamond Dogs
While the 80s pop gets all the glory, the original score by Ludvig Forssell is the heavy lifting behind the curtain. Forssell had a massive task: follow up on the legendary work of Harry Gregson-Williams from previous titles. He chose a path that was much colder and more electronic.
The main theme, "V Has Come To," is oppressive. It feels like waking up in a hospital bed with a piece of shrapnel in your skull, which, well, is exactly what happens. Forssell used a lot of distorted synths and low-frequency hums that make you feel the weight of the "Phantom Pain." It isn’t heroic. Metal Gear Solid 2 had that soaring, cinematic anthem; MGS5 has a metallic, grinding sound that feels like industry and revenge.
Honestly, "Sins of the Father" is the only moment the game allows itself to be "classic" Metal Gear. Donna Burke’s vocals are incredible, but even that song is built around a "whoa-hooo" hook that feels more like a mourning cry than a battle song. It’s a far cry from "Snake Eater." It’s darker.
Collectible nostalgia and the hunt for hits
If you're trying to track down the full list of tapes, you've probably realized some are way harder to find than others. The Metal Gear Solid 5 Phantom Pain soundtrack rewards exploration in a way that feels organic.
- "Gloria" by Laura Branigan: Found in the Nova Braga Airport.
- "The Final Countdown" by Europe: Tucked away in a small guard post in Saryu.
- "Only Time Will Tell" by Asia: Located near the Eastern Communications Post.
- "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol: Hidden at the Mountain Relay Base.
The coolest part? You can set these as your helicopter music. There is nothing quite like calling in Pequod for an extraction while "Final Countdown" blares from the speakers, drowning out the sound of gunfire as you sprint toward the landing zone. It turns a stressful tactical retreat into a high-octane action movie.
📖 Related: That King of the Hill Xbox Controller: Why Fans Are Still Hunting for This Weird Piece of TV History
Some players even use the "Love Deterrence" tape—a leftover from Peace Walker—to distract guards. It’s a meta-commentary on the series itself. The music isn't just for the player; it exists in the world. The guards hear it. They react to it. It’s a physical object in the game world.
Why the soundtrack feels "unfinished" (and why that works)
There’s a lot of talk about how Chapter 2 of the game was rushed or cut, and some fans argue the music reflects that. There are tracks in the official 2-CD release that barely appear in the game, or feel like they were meant for cutscenes that don't exist.
But honestly? That fits the theme.
The game is called The Phantom Pain. It’s about the sensation of something being there when it’s actually gone. Having a soundtrack that feels like it’s reaching for a grand finale it never quite reaches is almost too poetic. You have tracks like "Quiet's Theme," which is beautiful and melancholy, lingering in the background of Mother Base even after the character leaves your roster. The music becomes the ghost of your progress.
The technical side of the 80s sound
Kojima and his team didn't just pick 80s songs; they picked the right 1984. It was a transition year for music. You had the tail end of New Wave and the rise of Hair Metal. The Metal Gear Solid 5 Phantom Pain soundtrack captures that specific "analog-to-digital" transition perfectly.
The audio team used period-accurate processing to make sure the tapes sounded like they were actually being played on a Walkman. When you’re far away from a radio, the high-end frequencies drop out. As you get closer, the bass kicks in, but it’s still slightly distorted by the cheap speakers of a Soviet-era boombox.
This attention to detail is why the game still holds up a decade later. It’s not just a list of mp3s triggered by a location. It’s an acoustic environment.
How to optimize your MGS5 listening experience
If you’re playing on PC, you probably know you can drop your own music into the "Custom Soundtrack" folder. But if you want the authentic experience, stick to the tapes provided. There's a specific rhythm to the game when you're limited to what Venom Snake would actually have in his pocket in 1984.
To get the most out of the audio, you should:
- Prioritize the Int-Scope upgrade: This lets you listen to distant radios and identify songs from a distance.
- Upgrade your Helicopter Speakers: It sounds like a joke, but the psychological effect of hearing "Maneater" while a gunship clears a landing zone is peak gaming.
- Listen to the briefing tapes: Not the music, but the "Truth Records." They use the same audio engine and fill in the massive gaps in the story that the cutscenes missed.
The Metal Gear Solid 5 Phantom Pain soundtrack remains a masterclass in how to use licensed music without being lazy. It doesn't use these songs for nostalgia bait. It uses them to ground a story about clones, psychic children, and giant bipedal tanks in a reality we recognize.
It’s the sound of a world that’s falling apart, one synth-pop beat at a time. If you haven't played it in a while, go back and just listen to the way the wind whistles through the ruins of Lamar Khaate Palace while a distant tape deck plays "True" by Spandau Ballet. It’s a vibe that no other game has ever managed to replicate.
Next Steps for the Ultimate MGS5 Audio Experience
To truly appreciate the depth of the score, track down the Metal Gear Solid V Original Soundtrack Lost Tapes edition. This collection includes several tracks that were meant for the game but didn't make the final cut due to the troubled production. Listening to these "lost" tracks provides a glimpse into the tonal direction Kojima originally envisioned for the final act. Additionally, ensure you've found the "Quiet’s Theme" tape in-game after Mission 45, as it unlocks a unique audio layer for the Mother Base ambient track that significantly changes the emotional weight of your return trips. For those interested in the technical side, look for interviews with Ludvig Forssell regarding his use of the "Sennheiser Ambeo" technology for 3D audio positioning, which explains why the directional sound in the game feels so much more precise than its contemporaries.