You only have a few days left to play Xbox Game Pass’ best sci-fi stealth game

Xbox Game Pass continues to offer one of the best deals in gaming as a "Netflix for games" type service that nets players hundreds of free games across Xbox One and PC, and this July, it's losing one of the best sci-fi stealth games that's come out of this current gaming generation.

High-quality games come and go from the service every month, and the lost of this one stealth game really stings.

If you haven't had a chance to try Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain yet, and you're an Xbox Game Pass member, you need to start playing it immediately before it leaves.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain from Konami will leave Xbox Game Pass on July 15, 2020. While other big games like SoulCalibur 6 and Fallout 76 made their way onto the subscription service recently, the removal of MGS 5 particularly stings because it was Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima's final outing at Konami.

Metal Gear Solid 5 is also perhaps the single best stealth game of this generation despite complaints leveled at its hyper-complex story.

Set between the events of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and the original Metal Gear, MGS 5 wraps up the series' narrative by revealing what Big Boss was doing during that period while also detailing his ultimate fall from grace as he went from an American hero to a paramilitary terrorist.

While the narrative still feels a bit unpolished and unfinished — development was cut short due to Kojima being ousted from Komani — MGS 5 still features an interesting glimpse of Big Boss' psyche and has a surprising game-changing twist that everyone should experience. Even if you aren't familiar with the story of the Metal Gear series, MGS 5 still has plenty to enjoy from a gameplay standpoint.

MGS 5 unleashes players into large open worlds of Afghanistan and Africa. Each is littered with different objectives. Players have to assassinate targets, find intel, and more. For the most part, the game's completely open-ended in terms of how players can approach any given objective. While the ability to "approach a mission anyway you choose" is typically just a marketing buzzword in gaming, that statement actually applies to MGS 5.

If you want to go into an enemy base guns-a-blazing, you may have a tough time, but it's possible. The stealthy approach is much more fun though thanks to all the tools players have their disposal. The game really makes you feel like a super-soldier sneaking around deep in enemy territory and the game's various systems can all work together to create ridiculously awesome moments of assassinating key targets without getting caught or extremely funny moments like confusing enemies with inflatable Big Bosses.

On top of all that, there is a base management aspect to the game as players rebuild Mother Base. This connects to the stealth gameplay as you'll cleverly using the Fulton recovery system to transport valuable items, and even skilled soldiers, back to your base. While it's got a meaty 50-hour single-player campaign for you to sink your teeth into, it also features an enjoyable, if simple, multiplayer mode.

The malleable gameplay of MGS 5 has still gone largely unmatched in the industry, even after almost five years since its initial release. It sports the witty charm and game design we've come to expect from Hideo Kojima, and even though this project's development had a rocky conclusion, the results were still excellent.

If you enjoyed Death Stranding and want to see Kojima's past work, or just want to play an outstanding stealth game, then you must try MGS 5 before it leaves Xbox Game Pass.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will be leaving Xbox Game Pass on July 15, 2020.