User:NegativeMP1/Jetstream Sam

Jetstream Sam's appearance and role in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was praised by critics for his role as Raiden's rival. In the book Rules of Nature, Heather Alexandria, a former writer for Kotaku and Polygon, praised Sam's character and dialogue. Jetstream Sam's fight has been considered one of the greatest in the game by various critics. Peter Brown of GameSpot wrote that his fight was the "most straightforward yet rewarding conflict" in the game, and Rich Stanton of Eurogamer wrote that the fight was "classic, a desert duel for the ages". When ranking the boss fights in the game, TheGamer ranked Sam's fight as #1, writing it as a "true test of the skills".

Sam has also been considered among the greatest characters in the game, with some considering him the best overall. Rich Stanton of Eurogamer considered him the games most "fabulous" enemy, and critic Joe Juba of Game Informer who considered Jetstream Sam to be "the closest thing to an actual character" in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

Sam's fight theme, "The Only Thing I Know For Real", has been considered one of the greatest songs in Metal Gear Rising. Internet memes of Jetstream Sam's facial expressions and actions in the game were attributed to causing a resurgence in popularity of Metal Gear Rising in 2022 that resulted in the game's popularity to go up by 1000% on Steam (service).