Unseen PHYSINT Material Reveals It’s Basically Metal Gear Without Konami

Ever since its announcement, PHYSINT has been described as a game that will redefine the stealth-action genre under the direction of Hideo Kojima, creator of Metal Gear. Naturally, many expected the title to be some kind of spiritual successor to Konami’s legendary series. However, the first previously unseen material from the project suggests that it’s basically Metal Gear, albeit different enough to avoid legal trouble with Konami.

Kojima Productions is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and as part of the festivities, the studio organized the KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS 10th ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION BEYOND THE STRAND: The Odyssey of Creation and Endeavor, an event running from October 31 through December 20 in Tokyo, Japan.

The exhibition offers a look back at the studio’s first 10 years through production materials, concept art, documents, design proposals, and previously unseen prototypes. However, it also offers a glimpse into the future, as some of the materials on display concern OD and PHYSINT, the troubled project originally conceived with PlayStation that will now see the light of day on Xbox.

PHYSINT Concept Art Brings Metal Gear to Mind

ResetEra user Firmus_Anguis had the opportunity to attend the exhibition on its opening day and shared several photographs that caught their attention. Among them were what they described as “crazy new Metal Gear-like designs for PHYSINT” that they didn’t remember seeing before.

And they are right. As mentioned above, the exhibition features previously unseen material. Until now, the only things we’ve seen from PHYSINT were its original promotional image, shared with PlayStation’s support, and photo shoots featuring Bill Skarsgård and Charlee Fraser. Those sessions took place earlier this year, but the images were only made public a few weeks ago to show how far development had progressed.

As you can see, the pictures feature sculptures that will look familiar to anyone who has played Metal Gear.

On one side, there are bust sculptures of Skarsgård wearing different outfits and sporting different looks, vaguely reminiscent of the character illustrations from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

PHYSINT Looks Like the Metal Gear Game Fans Have Been Waiting For

However, the most obvious inspiration can be seen in the 2 statues displayed as part of the PHYSINT exhibition. They look like slightly altered, larger versions of the Gekkos that debuted in the game starring Old Snake, as well as Metal Gear REX, the iconic bipedal weapon from Metal Gear Solid.

In addition to these materials, the exhibition features a selection of glasses that the game’s characters will apparently wear, as well as what appears to be a complete copy of the PHYSINT script.

All things considered, PHYSINT is shaping up to be the oasis fans have been hoping for to satisfy their hunger for Metal Gear. The only thing missing from Konami’s franchise is the name itself. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering that the people behind PHYSINT are the same key creative minds who brought Metal Gear to life during their time at Konami. Even so, the similarities between the designs are striking.

What do you think of the first PHYSINT designs? What do you make of their resemblance to Metal Gear? Let us know in the comments.