The actual execution was a mess, but Skullface's inspiration for his parasite weapon being the experience of linguistic imperialism as a child was a really novel premise. The idea that he would get his revenge by creating a weapon that killed anyone who spoke English is some cool super-villain shit I don't think I've ever encountered before. "Race-selective" weapons, genetic-targetting weapons, religious indoctrination viruses, I've seen all those, but I think MGSV is the only time I've encountered a weapon that targets a language community.
I think the not-quite-canon Portable Ops did the idea of "words that kill" much better with Gene.
I was really expecting with the whole
theme there would be more disinformation, propaganda, narrative control, persuasion techniques type stuff - "words that kill" being the words that turn men into soldiers and killers or cause people to turn on each other in civil war (yes, it's not a materialist understanding of how that works IRL but still). Skullface would be like Gene, a master of controlling words to control the world - if it then turned out his goal was to wipe out the English language: fantastic, that's Metal Gear baby. But instead, the "words that kill" are just the sounds that activate a particular strain of vocal cord parasite to cause a lethal infection. And the same parasites explain all the crazy supernatural powers of the Cobras that didn't need explaining. Combined with all the other unfinished storylines and missing content, it really left me feeling...
spoiler
the Phantom Pain
Bonus: Gene's speech in Japanese, as voiced by the inimitable Norio Wakamoto
It's always a blast to flip through the roles of Japanese voice actors with decades long careers.
I mean you run a private army made out of kidnapped-brainwashed conscripts
True, but beyond putting up some "BIG BOSS IS WATCHING YOU" posters that part is never really explored, when it could have made a great parallel between Snake and Skull Face.
"You know, we're a lot alike, you and I..."