Metal Gear Solid 5 actress speaks out on her character's controversial outfit: "There were so many other options you could have gone with"
Nov. 2, 2023Stefanie Joosten on Quiet’s outfit and how her views have changed over time
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As it turned out, the story’s reasons for why Quiet needed to wear a revealing outfit weren’t quite as revelatory as expected. In the full game, it’s revealed Quiet’s body had mutated due to a Vocal Cord Parasite created by XOF and its leader Skull Face, which was an infection that targeted people’s speaking abilities and specific languages spoken. This parasite also imbued Quiet with enhanced strength and speed and photosynthesis through her skin – which explains the story’s need for her to wear as little clothes as possible to take in nutrients. It’s bizarre, but it makes more sense within the context of the game – though not completely.While Quiet became a fan-favorite character and was a fun ally for Venom Snake to bring into battle, many fans felt that the need to keep her in a bikini throughout the game wasn’t too justified, and MGSV added an option for Quiet to wear a more appropriate outfit if you wanted to. Joosten also agreed that Quiet’s outfit wasn’t totally justified, but still felt it was acceptable due it being a fantasy game.“Quiet’s outfit is not practical at all,” Joosten said to IGN. “Even with the explanation that was given of her breathing through her skin, of course, there were so many other options you could have gone with. I do agree on that. I got to see the character artwork when we were starting motion capture, and of course my first reaction was, ‘that’s a very revealing costume’, but I respected it and accepted it. So that’s basically my stance. It’s fantasy, and I find that acceptable as well. But I do understand, having more of a diverse representation in video games for woman and all minorities is something I would encourage as well.“Despite the choices for the character, Joosten stated she was proud to work on Metal Gear Solid V and that she would “absolutely” work with Kojima on another game given the opportunity. Quiet was certainly one of the MGS franchise’s weirded ally characters, who ended up being a total badass at the end of the day despite the one sore spot to her portrayal.With the Metal Gear Solid franchise back in the discourse with the recent release of the Master Collection, fans have been looking back on the franchise as a whole; with Volume 1 out the door, we’ll likely see even more discussion for MGSV once the next set of remasters come along.For more on Metal Gear Solid, check out our thoughts on the recent remaster, and how it gives themost underrated MGS gameits due.
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Alessandro is a freelance writer and editor based in the San Francisco Bay Area who has covered the games, tech, and entertainment industries for more than 13 years. Having previously worked at GameSpot, CNET, and various other outlets writing features and coordinating event coverage, Alessandro enjoys playing games on PC, but also gives plenty of time to his Nintendo Switch. You can find him on various socials at @afillari.
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