Hitman: Absolution vs Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Hitman: Absolution is an action-adventure strategy game from Nixxes Software (2012) while Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is an FPS open-world game (2015).
What each one is
Steam files Hitman: Absolution under Action-Adventure and Strategy. In contrast, it files Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain under FPS and Open-World.
The original assassin is back! Betrayed by the Agency and hunted by the police, Agent 47 finds himself pursuing redemption in a corrupt and twisted world.
Ushering in a new era for the METAL GEAR franchise with cutting-edge technology powered by the Fox Engine, METAL GEAR SOLID V: The Phantom Pain, will provide players a first-rate gaming experience as they are offered tactical freedom to carry out open-world missions.
At a glance
| Hitman: Absolution | Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.9/10 | 8.2/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (93%, 63,506) | Very Positive (92%, 107,873) |
| Critic aggregate | 79/100 | 91/100 |
| Price | $19.99 | $19.99 |
| Install size | — | 28 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 2012 | 2015 |
| Developer | Nixxes Software | — |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Hitman: Absolution vs Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Hitman: AbsolutionAction-adventure strategy gameMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom PainFPS open-world gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Hitman: AbsolutionStealth, Action, Third PersonMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom PainStealth, Open World, ActionThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Hitman: AbsolutionScore 7.9 · 93% on Steam · 79 criticMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ✓Score 8.2 · 92% on Steam · 91 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Hitman: Absolution63,506 reviewsMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain107,873 reviews · 13 add-ons · 28 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Hitman: Absolution$19.99Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain$19.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Hitman: AbsolutionPlayableMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom PainPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueHitman: Absolution and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (GamingPickz Score 8.2)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
StealthActionThird PersonSingleplayerThird-Person ShooterTacticalShooterReplay Value
Where they differ
AssassinCrimeDifficultStrategyScore AttackLinear
Open WorldGreat SoundtrackHorsesSandboxDarkSci-fi
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Hitman: Absolution is demanding, for players who want a challenge. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Hitman: Absolution | Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 (2GB) |
| Minimum CPU | — | Intel Core i5-4460 (3.40 GHz) |
| Minimum RAM | — | 4 GB |
| Install size | — | 28 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Hitman: Absolution · Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Hitman: Absolution and 1 for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Hitman: Absolution and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain in scope?
Hitman: Absolution has drawn 63,506 Steam reviews. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has drawn 107,873 Steam reviews, ships 13 add-ons and installs in 28 GB.
Is Hitman: Absolution or Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain rates higher (8.2 to 7.9). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Hitman: Absolution or Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain?
Hitman: Absolution is cheaper right now at $19.99, against $19.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.