Kojima says Bowie song holds the key to understanding Metal Gear Solid V

pcgamer.com:

Hideo Kojima recently went on a minor digression about Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, interesting in its own right as part of the series creator talking a little more openly about the games in recent years—in the immediate aftermath of the Konami split, Kojima didn't talk much about Metal Gear. Before we go any further: spoilers, obviously.

In MGSV's opening the music used is David Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World, specifically a cover version by the Scottish artist Midge Ure.«If you listen deeply to the lyrics here, you can understand the structure of MGSV,» says Kojima, before adding in a second tweet: «What is the background of Bowie's writing this song, and why is it a cover song? All the answers are clearly stated from the beginning.»

1/2At the beginning of MGSV, «THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD», a cover of David Bowie's famous song by Midge Ure, is played in the hospital in Cypros. If you listen deeply to the lyrics here, you can understand the structure of MGSV. pic.twitter.com/wQks4gCmgGMarch 2, 2022

The 'answers' Kojima is referring to here are the game's big questions around identity, and the relationship between Venom Snake and Big Boss. For those who haven't played the game, you essentially build an army as Venom Snake, who you think is Big Boss and everyone else thinks is Big Boss, then find out at the end you're not him. You've been used as a decoy, building the real man's legend, your own identity plastered-over and lost in the process.

So: not that I'd posit this as any kind of answers, but a few notes about the song. Bowie wrote it in the pre-Ziggy Stardust era, and its ambiguous lyrics waver between the singer and the titular figure, who are heavily implied to be the same person. Lyrically the song