Most uses of a cardboard box in a videogame

The cardboard box has been an iconic mainstay (aka a running joke) of the Metal Gear series ever since Solid Snake used it for evading enemies in Metal Gear (1987) on the MSX. In Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Konami; 2015), there are 12 unique gameplay uses for the cardboard box. Snake can disguise them with desert, wet terrain, all-purpose and rocky terrain camouflages, and then hide, walk or crawl around in them. He can use an emergency flap to flee or surprise enemies. He can hide inside a box at designated cargo pick-up points in order to be fast travelled to destinations via delivery trucks. He can toboggan down hills in boxes at great speed. He can use them as a shield against enemy gunfire. And he can adorn them with decals of bikini-clad women (two designs) or a saluting soldier in order to both distract and fool enemy soldiers.

Various camouflages and decals for the cardboard box may increase through the release of DLC.

The cardboard box in The Phantom Pain has made such an impression on the game's fanbase that there are numerous montage, tutorial and comedy videos devoted to their gameplay significance on YouTube.

Website The Verge jokingly labelled The Phantom Pain "the best cardboard box simulator on the market".