The legendary voice behind the first four Metal Gear Solid games, David Hayter, never got the chance to reprise his role in the fifth (and final) entry. Instead, 24 star Kiefer Sutherland landed the part, and Hayter made his feelings clear early on. Two years before the game's release, he flat-out said he would never touch it. But now, almost ten years after launch, he's changed his mind.
David Hayter explains: "I didn't want to play the game because I figured it would hurt my feelings. Then, you know, 10 years went by and I was like, 'Ah, to hell with my feelings. What do I care?' ... I'm a screenwriter, so I get fired for a living, like I literally, eventually, get fired from every single gig that I've got, and I'm not a child."
What he once expected to be 60 hours of pure humiliation turned out to be the opposite:
"I was like, 'Stop being a baby and play the game.' So I played it. It's amazing. [...] I would ask fans, 'What's your favourite Metal Gear?' And if they said Metal Gear Solid 5 I'd be like, 'What the hell, dude? Like, you know, thanks. Do you wanna give me a paper cut as well? Maybe pour some lemon juice on it?' And then I played it and I'm like, 'I think this is my favourite gameplay of the series."
What impressed him most? The freedom of choice.
"The fact that you can go into the same scenario each time, and the [enemy] soldier's gonna be doing the same thing, but you can take on different routes or different strategies of attack, makes it feel like time travel... So, yes, that was badass. So far as I'm concerned, all is forgiven."
Beyond making peace with Metal Gear Solid V, Hayter has also recently returned to the franchise. Less than a year ago, it was confirmed that he had recorded new lines for Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater, which is set to release in just eleven days.