METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN
METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN
Game
Game2023Published by indie.io
RICE - Repetitive Indie Combat Experience™
Developer Pirate-Rob
A rich paragraph of information which will try to charm and pique interest, trying to catch your eye in a sea of competition using a slew of buzzwords such as ‘bullet heaven’ and ‘in-depth meta-progression’, in a vain attempt to make you believe this game is any different from others in its genre. From the Steam store page
174 reactions from 1 source (Steam reviews) · newest May 28, 2026 · last updated Oct 7, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
69
Fresh
120 positive · 54 negative
95% range 62–75%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 120 | 54 | 0 |
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
196 of 267 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Mixed: praised for depth and humor, but criticized for performance and balance.
Many players enjoy the game's deep meta-progression grid and self-aware humor, calling it a fresh take on the genre. Some highlight the unique risk/reward level-up system and the developer's active updates. [3][11][12]
However, performance issues are a major complaint, with many reporting severe lag, crashes, and poor optimization. Some also criticize balance problems, such as unkillable bosses and slow meta-progression, and a few object to the use of AI in development. [10][25][28][35][36]
Praised meta-progression system · humor and self-awareness · unique mechanics
Criticised performance and optimization · balance issues · use of AI in development
Summary drafted by an AI model from the 36 reactions it cites ([n] links open each post), then checked by code: every paragraph cites real posts and every quote is verbatim. Written Oct 7, 2026. Method
Reactions
60 of 174 · most liked firstAsked how to resize the game (because I can't read text with my big 27inch screen) on the discord: -You can't When you turn on 4k the game "get closer" but you lose like 80% of the field of view that you had earlier - You can't change it Developper response to those questions: "Pirate-Rob — Today at 10:57 AM Rip" Okay rip then Never refunded a gamer quicker in my life
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →PLEASE check and make sure this game is using your actual GPU if you have performance problems. Mine wasn't, and I was playing a slideshow, but I just checked and fixed it and now I can actually play it. Ask around or look it up if you aren't sure how to do this, but on Windows 10 with NVIDIA, open RICE if you're able to and then close it once you get to the menu, right click an empty space on your desktop, go to NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D settings > Program Settings, click Add, if you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →not gonna lie the sarcasm this game has is what made me buy it and so far its just as sarcastic as i hoped my very first run i had like 50% useless cards because how could i not pick "card that cannot be balanced and changes every patch"
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the game lags way too hard for me to even enjoy my bullet heaven.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Can't give a positive review on good faith. I've been very anti AI since the beggining of this craze, I couldnt believe my eyes when I beat a run and saw the developer thanking ChatGPT in the credits... I don't know what parts of the game were made using it, but I'm against it and always will be. The worst thing is that it's actually a really fun game!!! I will probably keep playing it for a while more, but like I said, I can't support a game that was made using genAI, sorry.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →stopped updating
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →16 hours in one run, thats because the game, while fun, scales way too hard, too early. Needing to spend over 30 minutes in a level because of boss HP regen and scaling, reaching level 550+ by the end of it, only to crash out. The game isn't optimised that well, some weapons and abilities will immediately kill your game FPS, I almost wish the XP/currency global pickup ability would skip spawning the items on screen, as a major part of lag was the game trying to animate hundreds of objects. If…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wish they spent more time on making a fun gameplay experience instead of going ham on "self-aware jokes."
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unplayably laggy on my desktop (Windows 11 Home/12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-12400 (12 CPUs), ~2.5GHz/Radeon RX 6600/ASUS Prime Z690-P/32GB RAM) and crashes upon starting a new game on steam deck.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mmmeh? It's not bad, there's just better variants. I wish there was a neutral. Still, I'm going to thumbs down entirely due to the optimization becoming horrendous very quickly into an endless run, which is due to having entirely too many entities on screen at once and being limited to a single CPU core (the latter is not the developer's fault as it's an engine limitation, but it still impacts a game designed like this). Coins everywhere and too many projectiles and death effects and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The amount of content is extremely lacking. After just 3 hours of play I feel like I have seen most of what the game has to offer. There are higher difficulty levels, but weapons are the same, maps are the same and I already unlock most of the meta progress. There might be some fun for people who love minmaxing, but that is it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So I died to a 0.2 fps slideshow in endless mode, just a straight up 9k HP with 100% barrier down to 0 from a mess of an explosion that made me wait 2-3 minutes between levelups at times just 'cuz the "scaling" is done so poorly that it kills all calculations happening behind the screen. Then I am met with a n00b endscreen? Yeah I suppose it's time to close this game. It respects nothing of my time, I wasn't enjoying myself after the 2nd run already and I just kept going 'cuz yeah I paid 5…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun systems and enough differences between the standard VS formula; as it stands though, I can't recommend it because of how imbalanced the numbers are. Right now one of the three level bosses is basically unkillable, and the other bosses are simply not interactive enough or, well, fun to fight. The meta progression also doesn't feel meaningful; unlocking upgrades on the skill grid changes the runs very little aside from bigger numbers. There's decent weapon variety but it all feels pointless…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Would really like to enjoy this game but there is lag even in the start menu, so the regular game play is basically unplayable. I would be open to changing my views if it ever works lol.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overly convoluted, just for the laughs I guess? But they get old fast, and you're stuck with a clumsy meme Survivors game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Font size is too small with no way to change it Hi, thank you for adding rescale, it indeed helped. however(maybe its because im playing on a big tv) its still hard to read a lot of things, specially in the meta progress menu ( the cards are unreadable since the font gets too small). Keep up the great work! as soon as we get some more UI fixes/QOL i will change the review to positive since i love this game!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Superficially, R.I.C.E. is a playful jab at the recent ceaseless wave of "survivors-like" games that plague the store page... the ones that your one friend won't let you ignore, persistently insisting that "this is the one", that "this is better than the last one" they had recommended... ... and to be fair, R.I.C.E. has some interesting features... but only on the surface... The player is able to (eventually, after years of grinding) assemble a Tetris board of passive buffs, each hand-picked…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a nice game, you know, there's some really good art here and it's not a bad idea, BUT... Let's start at the start: when you load up, it gives you a bunch of text that's all mysterious and you don't know what it means and I thought, 'oh ♥♥♥♥, here we go, a game trying to be like Risk of Rain' and what do you know, I was right. That forced mystery is then pushed all the way through the game to the detriment of the player. There are so many stats, mechanics, abilities, etc. that are just…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Still can't play it on a laptop that should absolutely be able to run it as per the required specs provided, but my desktop runs it fine, so while I'm happy to review the game as-is, it remains at a "do not recommend" until I can address why it isn't working on my laptop. RICE isn't a bad game by any means, it's clear a lot of work went into it and it has some really interesting ideas and is genuinely a treat to play — but it's also unclear how certain in-game mechanics work and has little to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →3.5/10 - you level up to fast and i spent alot of time on the upgrade screen - upgrades are so minor they hardly effect gameplay most of the time - pre level upgrade costs become insane!!!! + 5$
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An exceptionally deep horde survival game that doesn't take itself too seriously. During a run it's a fairly standard affair, but outside of your runs is where the depth occurs. Your upgrade "tree" is a grid that you place upgrade tiles on (the upgrades range from Bronze, Silver, Gold to Gemmed (green)) and the stronger the tile, the larger and more complex the shape of what needs to be placed. Synergies can be found by combining special tiles with unique activation points with other tiles and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cheaper than an actual bag of rice, and provides at least as much entertainment value
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is very much early access and most stats are not working. Limiting weapon choices behind limited slots that you will be lucky to raise in any given run. You get three and can combine weapons to get a boost to them once you get three of the same kind, but good luck on that. Half the weapons are trash tier. Meta-progression is minuscule and seems very necessary. It's also beyond confusing and has no real information. The power-ups and meta-progressions that have the cheeky names and no…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →...Its not bad? The upgrade system in between runs is really cool and is pretty unique, but a lot of the upgrades are just boring. Most things you are grabbing are just +Crit chance and +damage. Every now and then you'll get something cool like every bullet pierces enemies or every bullet sets things on fire, but every upgrade in between that is boring and lackluster. The amount of currency you get every run is also piss poor, and I've seen other reviews say the same thing. Sometimes you just…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You: "Can we get Vampire Survivors?" Mom: "We have Vampire Survivors at home." The Vampire Survivors you have at home:
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →don't believe what the other reviews say, the game is extremely good if it runs in your system
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I want dredgers back >:(
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Feels like a fever dream! I was able to kill one sun because I had back to back to back weapon slots, every game after of 20 attempts I can't get even get to the sun, the black hole summoners mutate and summon insta kill mobs. Game feels beyond RNG frustrating, I never saw a second weapon slot upgrade after that triple slot game, ~15 games of nothing but basic useless upgrades. Meta progress seems to make little difference, i had an explosion of meta currency at one point and got ~16k and put…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Promising survivor-like but it's just too hard to look at. I like the meta progression system and some of the weapons are pretty interesting. There is no indication what projectiles and effects are friendly. The text on the cards is difficult to read even on a large monitor.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Coming back to the game after a few updates and I have to say it's going in the wrong direction. The biggest problem with this game - which wasn't a problem before, is visual clutter. Why are things streaming blue, green and yellow? Yes that's cold, poison and hot but does that mean I've shot them or does it mean that they are shooting status effects at me? Why are those streams being attracted to me? Why are those streams covering up enemies and projectiles? Should I be avoiding those…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's got the bones of a great Vampire Survivors clone, but it needs time in the oven. The premise of the game itself is very fun. The weapon system with the different aim AI and the combining, the level up system with its incremental skips and rerolls, the meta-progression grid system are all great concepts. It's all fun to play with! But on the other hand, you can see this game is in very early access very quickly. There isn't much to do once you've gotten the hang of the game, because the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →+1, great game. The main character is pretty Hot, has an awesome Scarf that he doesn't Choke on no Matter how long it gets. There is some clear Dev Bias in the cards you can get; some of them are Kind of Problematic. Anyone on the Discord will be Quick to tell you that Sparks can fly at high Velocity when people discuss builds, like whether Armour or Barrier 200 is better. They really don't pull any Primal Punches. Sometimes there is even Pushback against some of the changes the dev makes, but…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →genuinely the most confusing game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not my cup of tea
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you have a big screen, you cannot play it. Don't buy it. The text is ridiculously little and there is no way to change it. I have waited for this game to continue getting updated but it doesn't. Also a lot of lag.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really, really, really needed more updates to get the full potential and replayability out of this game. It has a super fun meta progression system, but that's most of where the fun lies for me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →absolutely incredible. 100% worth the price
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →T h e O n l y t h i n g t h e y f e a r i s F P S w h y a m I t y p i n g l i k e t h i s ? B o t t o m t e x t
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Never had I thought I would play a game where my kill count rose higher than the age of the universe measured in seconds. Truly a labor of love, this game is worth every penny and more. The dev literally answered a question 12 minutes after I posted it. Awesome game with a ton of replay value and fun takes on the genre not to mention a cozy art style and EXPLOSIONS! Do yourself a favor and pick this one up
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When I bought it, I thought it was going to be mostly a joke game filled with meta-commentary on the genre. It turns out it's actually a serious game filled with meta-commentary on the genre. It has some pretty cool and unique systems as well. Though they are at times so complex that I wonder if the complexity itself is parody.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An extremely unique take on the VS genre.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Love this game but it does lag like others have said.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its cheap and i have been enjoying it. Meta progress is a puzzle of sorts. You destroy planets that drop weapons or meta progress currency. It has some jokes and those didnt bother me at least. I think there is a ok game if dev keeps going at it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fantastic start to an awesome future. It is pretty jokey. It does get a little old but i love the upgrade system and it is ridiculously fun to play. Give the people what they want.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is major bang for your buck even in its current state -- The builds are fun to play and tinker with, once you get going the runs still feel rewarding. With the work being put into it it's worth every penny if you're a fan of these types of games.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It has the potential to be fun, and I did enjoy myself for the most part, but right now it plays more like the videogame version of a shltpost where it's more about memey "get gud" ribbing over actual skill/tactics.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unbalanced POS with lasy ass dev who plays up the "cheeky meta humor lulz u guis" to excuse their trash game, boring and pointless garbage
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Incredible game with HUGE potential!!! Absolutely love everything about this game. Insane music, great game-play, good systems, amazing style and attention to detail Current thoughts and things i would like to see improved on: Button to clear all Meta Progression Medals Hold TAB in game to bring up a small overlay telling you useful details (Crit Chance, # of pierce/bounce, hp/s) Sometimes when alt-tabbing or changing resolution the bars for HP/XP stop rendering Maybe give the Sun a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Rice is good :) I like rice with chicken the most
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In this game, you play as an average Japanese rice farmer, doing galaxy-scale industrial farming.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →game is funny. but Crash when clicking outside the game screen the game is too unstable
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are neat things in this game but the lack of weapon variety and the fact that most of the upgrades are simple stats really makes the game boring quickly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm not a huge fan. The upgrades aren't very interesting. Meta progression isn't very interesting and slow. The game encourages you to repeat the same level a lot of times since you lose all your meta currency if you go to the next level. In combat I take damage without really knowing why. I'm not even 100% sure what's dangerous on the screen and what isn't. After a point all level ups feel useless. This +1 damage or +5% attack speed but -10% crit doesn't seem to do a lot. There aren't a lot of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →good fun so far. the meta progression can be a little slow but you will defiantly get you moneys worth out of this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have already seen enough! This game is beyond bad in multiple aspects. - The performance is so terrible when you try turning bloom/shader effects on or even at higher settings - it will melt your GPU while still looking very simple XDDDDD. - Upgrades are unrecognizeable and some do the same and just have a different name (means you have to read through every upgrade on every level up and do that probably for the whole run and beyond). - Hit feedback when receiving damage is basicaly…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game but no tutorial that I saw. Things I wish I knew when I started: -you blow up a sun to finish/go to the next level -get 3 of the same weapon to evolve it (dunno if you can double evolve) -focus on one between Depravity and Verdancy, and one between Frost and Fire, try not to mix those 2 pairs with eachother (they bring eachother's bonuses down, also some planets give a bonus to one of those 4, so plan accordingly) -you can get extra weapon slots, but you can only hold one extra…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty fun casual game. No idea what this 'meta currency' is for, but after I beat world 3 I guess I'll figure that out.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is fun. If you're struggling, try starting with the wand.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a buggy mess right now. Lag, dying as soon as you enter a level, and numerous other issues. Needs significant work before it's worth playing any more.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So I was a big fan of the dev's other game called Dredgers which i also recommend you check out if you like rouge likes. So getting R.I.C.E was an easy choice for me. The game is in early access but the dev is constantly working on updates, even pushing out a couple in one day. If you like survivor games I definitely recommend this one, the different synergies and builds are really fun and there's a good amount of different things to try considering it's early access. There is a bit of an fps…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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