Press x to skip: it’s time we retired the video game cutscene

Non-interactive cinematic sequences remove control from our hands at games’ most emotional moments. Can’t players be trusted to take part in stories? At the close of Metal Gear Solid 4, just after Snake pulverises Liquid Ocelot, there is series of cutscenes that never ends. Well, that’s not strictly true. It does end – after 71 minutes – it’s just that I’ve never watched that far. I understand that the game’s director Hideo Kojima is a committed ci