It’s been over a decade since Hideo Kojima parted ways with Konami, and his final work with the company would be the arguably unfinished Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – which is still a playable and top notch game in its own right yet had noticeable holes and unreleased content that left many fans wondering what Kojima’s vision would have been had things not fallen apart between him and Konami due to creative differences. Following that controversy and some years later, Kojima-san has successfully moved on to another chapter – starting a new Kojima Productions studio and releasing two Death Stranding games ever since. Unfortunately, the Metal Gear and Metal Gear Solid franchise are still owned and trademarked by Konami – with their post-MGSV release being the critically panned survival game Metal Gear Survive and shifting their focus on budget and mobile game titles.
That was more than ten years ago, and it looks like Konami has turned over a new leaf and decided to return to their bread and butter by producing quality AAA titles. This renewed focus on video games has slowly materialized in the past few years with the release of new titles and classics like the Castlevania collections, Silent Hill 2 Remake, and new Contra games, and now the studio has finally made the leap back to the Metal Gear series by remaking one of its best entries ever – Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Going back to the first chronological entry in the franchise, the new game literally recreates almost everything from the ground up – utilizing a new game engine with the Unreal Engine 5, gameplay enhancements and additions that allow modern controls and flexibility, and additional content that should get longtime fans and newcomers eager to try this remake out. Most important of all, the story and voice acting are still the same and remain intact, meaning David Hayter is still the voice of Snake and everything mostly preserves Kojima’s original vision of the game and respects the source material.
Now renamed as Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, the game is a “Pretty Good” modernization of a Hideo Kojima classic. It’s an action-adventure game that prioritizes stealth and sneaking through enemy territory in order to make it through obstacles and complete your mission. Set in an alternate history of the Cold War and taking place during 1964, players take control of Naked Snake – a CIA operative who is assigned to the FOX unit and is tasked with rescuing a Russian scientist named Sokolov who has defected to the US due to a secret military weapon called the Shagohod that could change the course of the war between the East and West. Snake’s mission is initially successful, however it all falls apart when his former mentor The Boss and her allies The Cobra Unit mysteriously defect to the Soviet Union and side with Colonel Volgin – who recaptures Sokolov and unleashes a nuclear weapon that causes tensions between the US and USSR.
Following these events, Snake and the FOX unit are forced to clear the name of the US government and themselves by undertaking a new mission called “Operation: Snake Eater”. His orders are to return to the USSR, stop Volgin’s group, stop the Shagohod, and eliminate The Boss. Feeling battered and betrayed, Snake reluctantly accepts his mission and begins hunting his former mentor and enemies – using his CQC skills, wits, and determination in order to get the job done and prove America’s innocence. It is through this journey that mysteries will be answered, loyalties and beliefs will be tested, and the line between friend and enemy will be blurred, leaving many key players and the future of war forever changed.
If you’re new to the world of Metal Gear, Snake Eater is a great entry point that will test your patience, intuition, and ability to adapt to a situation given the circumstances of your surroundings. Set primarily in the Russian jungles, swamps, and military bases, you are “naked” as your codename implies and you’ll have to use the items and weapons you have and procure on site to battle adversaries and accomplish objectives to get through your mission. Snake’s biggest advantage is sneaking and using stealth as a way to hide from enemies. Using the camo index properly by mixing the right face paint and camouflage outfits are key to blending with your environment and staying hidden, so it’s necessary to be on your toes and be one with your surroundings.
Another ability to master that’s Snake’s bread and butter is CQC or Close Quarters Combat. It’s essential to master and learn quickly in order to fight and interrogate enemies properly, and will come in handy throughout the entire adventure as your progress to complete your mission. Players will also have to keep an eye out for Snake’s health and wellbeing. Hunting for different animals and food will be as essential as fighting for your survival, and when injured it is necessary to treat those wounds properly with the right medication and supplies.
Snake Eater is a learning process, but it will be just as easy as riding a bicycle once you get the hang of things Modern controls and playstyle make this a much easier game for newcomers to jump into, and the game has difficulty settings that can be tailored and adjusted accordingly depending on one’s skill level. Also you won’t be alone and will be getting important information and tips from allies via the Radio, so be sure to talk to Major Zero, Para-Medic, Sigint, and EVA constantly, and ALWAYS SAVE YOUR PROGRESS when you can. It’s absolutely necessary.
For all intents and purposes, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is an enhanced remaster of the same game we’ve seen rereleased and improved over the years through various console generations. The latest rerelease was nearly two years ago with the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 – which includes the first two 8-Bit Metal Gear games from the MSX era and the first three Metal Gear Solid games including MGS 3: Snake Eater. All were enhanced and given a new coat of remaster paint for modern consoles and platforms, and patch updates were even added for bug fixes and improvements the games needed post-release. Delta goes above and beyond that by literally upgrading the graphics and gameplay while retaining the same story, with a few new modes and features sprinkled in to justify this as a new AAA title release for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
As a longtime fan and player of the Metal Gear series, I came into MGS Delta with tempered expectations – understandable considering this is the first remake of a mainline Metal Gear Solid game that doesn’t have the involvement or participation of series’ creator Hideo Kojima at all. Following that controversial split between him and Konami, I was very disappointed with the latter party and a lot of goodwill was lost due to their treatment of Kojima-san and focus on Pachinko and mobile games. But things changed over the years and the company finally went back to producing real video games again. This was evident with the release of the highly successful Silent Hill 2 Remake last year (which I reviewed), and that game made by Bloober Team helped reinvigorate interest in the series and showed that Konami was ready to come back to redeem themselves in the eyes of longtime fans of their classic IPs and franchises.
Bottomline, MGS Delta is a pretty good and awesome remake – and it doesn’t change the vision of Hideo Kojima’s original work in MGS3 but merely enhances and upgrades the experience for a new generation.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is now available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
