Rahx, it's not that I even disagree with everything you're saying, but-
The game doesn’t even feel like an open world game.
What?
Because it doesn't.
You tell me open world game, I think of Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead, Skyrim, or even something like Gravity Rush. I think of games that create this big "world". The good ones create a world you want to explore, have a feeling that you can go everywhere(not all the time though), and are an actual place. I put in GTA3 yesterday and still remember the streets and landmarks. I don't love Skyrim, but I felt like I was traversing an actual country and world. It was amazing to see the scale and craft that goes into these virtual cityscapes, nations, worlds. The promise of open worlds to me was games creating virtual places with things I want to see. Places that make me feel like I'm traveling through a place.
To be fair I don't like most open world games, because especially modern ones just seem like they just fill them with copy and paste mission design. They create the world and then go "oh whatever throw some enemies in it". My problem with modern games in general is they craft these big places to explore and then don't craft anything else beyond that.
I've liked games like Red Dead 2 and Mafia 2 because the world itself is just atmosphere if anything. But I realize espically in games like Mafia 2, this may not be a popular opinion.
But Metal Gear Solid V doesn't do anything like that. The open world feels dull and I don't want to be in it. Let me ask you, when choosing where to land you chose to land closet to the objective? Probably, because you just want to get to where the mission is. The in between is whatever, it's tedious. While fast travel is nice in games, I rarley use it. I don't think it was in Red Dead 2, but I did'nt mind traveling because the world itself wasn't boring and was immersive anyway. I would want to stay immersed in it. My favorite mission in Oblivion is when you and two other characters go on an epic horse ride. I want my open worlds to feel like places.
And you know MGSV could have done that. MGS3 is not open world. It's linear big zones connected, but it sure feels like a place. I sure feel like I'm progressing through an environment. People may dodge on Horizon's open world, but I loved it because it took it's time having you journey through the world. It wasn't just here's a big place, do whatever. It was more deliberate in how it handed out the world.
The idea of open world MGS to me should have been anything but PW influenced. Snake is thrown into an open world and it should have played out like Red Dead 2. Though obviously yknow with MGSV's gameplay. Where he has to progress and survive in this environment, like he does MGS3's jungle. Gain new weapons and skills, maybe have some Metriod like puzzles. It should have felt like the older MGS games, but on a bigger level. You're not just sneaking through a military base, a environmental plant, or a jungle. You're sneaking through a country.
Instead it's this weird menu mission based game that I ask why is it even open world. I select my mission and want to get as close to the mission area as possible. The open world to me is irrelevant. As bland as Koei Tecmo's attempts at open world environments. I mean yeah the game does kind of do what I wanted from Far Cry games. You know survey bases and figure out how I want to get to them. I don't like Ubisoft check list open world games, but you know when I was playing Blood Dragon which is basicly attack several basses the game, I also questioned what was the point of it being open world.
Either way the open world is'nt even my only problems with the game. I hate the story. How empty it is and how lame the plot twist is. I hate Peace Walker and it's influences. The lack of boss battles. Pretty much all of act 2 is just terrible. I just think the game is bad. But it plays well.