Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater - Review

The story that started it all (even if it came many years later). Metal Gear Solid 3 has been brought to the modern day with a ground up remake, with updated gameplay mechanics. Does the remake do enough to justify its own existence however, or is this more a grab for nostalgic cash?

It has been 21 years since we were given the original Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. A year later we would see the updated and slightly expanded Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. Something that the series had been notorious for doing was re-releasing the games a little while after with new features, updated gameplay and usually a smoother run-time. A truly standout game, Metal Gear Solid 3 getting a complete remake announced sent most fans into a fervour, excited for what we could expect from what many would consider the best Metal Gear Solid game in a modern context.

The most important thing for to distinguish is that Metal Gear Solid Delta, is a complete like for like remake in the same vein as Demon’s Souls Remake. So if you were expecting a retelling in a different way of the story, further development on plotholes or even a change of the fourth wall breaking parts of the game, Metal Gear Solid Delta is going to be a disappointment for you. For those who are wanting the classic story told exactly as you remember it, with modern visuals and gameplay mechanics. Then MGS Delta is going to be exactly what you’ve been waiting for.

I’m not going to bang on and on about things that people already know. The story for MGS Delta is the tried and true one that we all fell in love with. This is the beginning of it all for the Metal Gear timeline, and it still holds up today. It is a strange, sort of supernatural, hyper futuristic alt history that really pushes the mould. If you like the stylings of Hideo Kojima’s games, you’re going to enjoy the story here. Nothing has changed, and I for one am glad. You get to experience the story as it was meant to be and is a testament to how strong this game truly is for Konami to have chosen to change nothing and retain everything here. If you’re good with that, lets look at the few things that have changed.

Metal Gear Solid Delta gives you an option when you first begin to play the game. You can either play with legacy controls and camera, using the slightly more 3rd person and not top-down style of MGS3 Subsistence, with a traditional locked in place when aiming style. The ability to swap into Snake Eater camera which gives you unique insights and viewpoints in combat scenarios that you won’t be able to get with the third person camera.

The other option is the one that I played with, and I felt was truly how the game was almost always meant to be played. The modern style puts you in a more action third person style camera and gives you the ability to move while aiming down the sights of your guns. This becomes incredibly useful when laying prone somewhere and needing to minutely adjust or move to the side to get the perfect shot of an enemy to take them down. The third person viewpoint also allows you to accurately see the drop off on your tranquiliser rounds, which makes readjusting for subsequent shots a little bit easier and in turn allows for you to play the game just a little bit cleaner than you may normally have thought possible.

For the most part, the modern controls do seem to make the game somewhat easier to play. I would almost recommend playing on one difficulty higher than you think will be the right setting to truly get the right feel for the game. European Extreme also makes a return here but requires the game to be beaten on Extreme at least once to unlock, so for those who want to push themselves through the hardest difficulty mode the game has to offer, you will need to play through on Extreme at least once to unlock it. I do think that even European Extreme will be far more approachable for a wider range of players with the modern control scheme, with only the traditionally more difficult areas remaining the difficult sections.

The modern visuals are truly something else here as well. As tempting as it was to play the game with the original MGS3 filter, I found that the game looks and performs unbelievably well without it, and I never found myself longing for the tinged green overlay of the past. Optimisation is big here too, with the game running incredibly well on PC at recommended specs on balanced, without a need to ever go adjusting anything again. A big boon for PC players who often suffer through a plethora of technical issues on release of a game. A small point but a big one for players to feel confident in.

For the truly nostalgic there is a secret little something that is unlocked when you beat the game too that is sure to bring a smile to your face. In the original PS2 release of MGS3 there was a nightmare sequence that one could enter called Guy Savage. This was meant as a sneaky little teaser for an upcoming game, but once it was cancelled, all future versions of MGS3 tragically removed the Guy Savage segment from the game. Well fret not and rejoice for Guy Savage is back! Upon beating the game for the first time, you’ll unlock a game mode called Guy Savage Delta which will allow to play this speedy, snappy and surprisingly enjoyable minigame. The care and love of Platinum Games is definitely felt here, and while it may not amount to anything more than a small nod of love to long term fans, it is lovely to see Guy Savage back in action here.

Metal Gear Solid Delta doesn’t look to change what already worked. What they have done is bring a game that is over twenty years old to the modern day, giving it an updated look and gameplay style and gives it to all the fans of the series. I’d love to see Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2 get this same loving care in future remakes. Metal Gear Solid Delta isn’t going to change the world, but for those who love these games and love these stories, this is a wonderful little gift. Everything that made Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater enjoyable remains, and we can enjoy it in a modern way.

The Score

9.0

Review code provided by Konami

The Pros

Gorgeous visual design

Guy Savage is back

Modern Controls feel like how the game was always meant to be played

The Cons

Little other quality of life changes

Lack of new features could deter new players

Some audio level problems between CODEC calls and game sounds