I got into the series because of the cinematic and linear structure of them all.
However I am missing that in this and the other non Kojima iteration. Does anyone else feel this way?
A lot of people feel this way. It's a great game. I think the mechanics and gameplay are some of the best of the generation. I mean tactical horse pooping is fantastic. But MGS should never be open world even if the open world is good, which it's not. The environment being claustrophobic brings lonearity which brings critically, pacing. Locking the story away on tapes on Peace Walker Dog Watwr was semi understandable until you realised MPO could deliver the story just the same way on the same hardware. For MGSV to do it was awful and there's no excuse considering the budget.
What also doesn't help is for the most part the protagonist does not react to stuff. It's all outsourced to Kaz for the whole "Venom" shtick." Why should I be invested in the story if my character isn't?