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An Insight for Bay Area Gamers
Gamers Nightmare ends the 2025 season of fear by looking back at “Mission 43: Shining Lights, Even in Death” from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
As the season of fear comes to an end, let us take a break from horror games and instead focus on a horror moment in a non-horror game. While primarily a tactical stealth action game, you would not expect to see horror in the Metal Gear series. However, you’d be wrong as the series has had its fair share of horror moments. One such example is from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, specifically “Mission 43: Shining Lights, Even in Death”.
Not every iconic horror moment comes from a horror game and “Mission 43: Shining Lights, Even in Death” from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a great example of this. It has all the elements of a work of horror, but it’s not a horror game. Gamers Nightmare will end the 2025 season of fear by looking back at when Snake had to infiltrate a medical platform overrun by a deadly parasite.
Mission 43: Shining Lights, Even in Death marks the return of the vocal cord parasites. A new strain has emerged and it has already infected the staff on the quarantine platform. Yet this outbreak is proving to be far deadlier than the previous one. Little is known about its origin or transmission, and the situation escalates after contact is lost with the rescue team. Fearing a global pandemic and determined to limit casualties, Venom Snake is deployed alone to investigate the source of the infection and locate any surviving members of the rescue team.
Upon arriving at the quarantine platform, Snake receives a cryptic message from within the facility. With little information to go on, he begins exploring, only to encounter a scene of chaos and carnage, with staff members either dying or hiding in terror. While assessing the situation, he is guided remotely by Code Talker, Revolver Ocelot, and Kaz Miller. Tracing the message to a dying medic, Code Talker deduces that the new strain shares characteristics with Leucochloridium: it controls the host’s mind and spreads when consumed by birds. The only way to identify those infected is by examining their throats with night-vision goggles.
When several infected try to escape the platform, Diamond Dogs outside are forced to eliminate them with incendiary bombs. Snake moves through the quarantine platform, taking out anyone infected. Some surrender to their fate, while others fight back, either by their own will or under the parasite’s control. After it is over, Snake is left furious and emotionally broken, haunted by the unthinkable acts he was forced to commit.
On the surface, “Mission 43: Shining Lights, Even in Death” has all the hallmarks of a horror survival setting. An outbreak has been contained, yet hope is nearly nonexistent. The facility has become a scene of massacre, and those who remain have either lost their humanity or are slowly approaching that point. It’s an environment gamers have seen one too many times in classics like Resident Evil 2, Extermination, or Cold Fear. Yet, it stands out because players are experiencing this scenario in a Metal Gear game, as such a moment is not what you would associate with the series.
How it plays out isn’t like any other zombie game. Snake isn’t killing random infected; these are the men and women who once served under his command. Rescued or captured on the battlefield, they stayed because of him. Now, he must end their lives with his own hands, breaking him completely and forging him into the Punished Snake.
Underneath it all, this is a turning point for everyone. For Snake, he truly begins to embody the concept of being a Diamond Dog, which is completely different from the vision he had when creating Militaires Sans Frontières (MSF). This is the new Mother Base, a new army born from the ashes of hardship and loss. At the same time, when it is revealed that Hal Emmerich engineered the outbreak, all trust in him collapses. As punishment, he is exiled from the group, beginning a journey that ultimately ends in his demise years later.
Horror doesn’t need to be confined to traditional horror games, and “Mission 43: Shining Lights, Even in Death” from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a perfect example. The mission begins like any other but quickly descends into a full-blown outbreak experience. While not a horror game, it carries all the hallmarks of one. It stands out for the lasting impact on the story, showing Snake fully embracing his new role and the emotional weight of the events he must endure.
Did you ever play Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and what are your thoughts on it? Let us know in the comment section.
8Bit/Digi is an independent media outlet that provides an insight into the video game community and industry of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Stan Rezaee is the founder and Editor of 8Bit/Digi. He is a journalist and gamer from the Bay Area who has been writing about the medium for over five years.
