Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater isnโt only my favorite Metal Gear game, itโs one of my favorite games of all-time. Hideo Kojimaโs 2004 stealth-action title was revelatory to me when I played it at the perfect age of 13 on my PS2. Since then, Iโve returned to Snake Eater a handful of times, with each new playthrough continuing to be as compelling to me as the one before it. As a result, when I heard that Konami was fully remaking MGS3 in the form of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, I was excited to say the least.
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Sadly, Metal Gear Solid Delta isnโt as good as I had hoped it would be as a remake. At its core, this is still the Snake Eater experience from the past and is greatly replicated on modern platforms. In fact, itโs certainly the best version of the game to now play and is one that Iโll likely revisit in the years to come. Despite this, I canโt help but feel like MGS Delta could have been so much more than it is.
Konami Doesn’t Go Far Enough in the Metal Gear Solid 3 Remake’s Gameplay
Generally speaking, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater remains the same as its predecessor in terms of gameplay. The largest change on this front is the introduction of a new camera dubbed the โNew Style.โ This shifts the perspective to sit behind Snake more directly. Those who prefer the traditional, isometric type of camera that was seen in the original MGS3 still have this option available as well, with Konami bringing it back as a โLegacyโ option.
This โNew Styleโ isnโt necessarily a drawback, but it also doesnโt feel as โnewโ as Konami is suggesting it is. While this perspective might have never before been seen in MGS3, itโs not really new to Metal Gear as a whole, as itโs essentially the same viewpoint from games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Solid 5. This isnโt inherently a negative, but it does make some of the more drastic stylistic changes that Konami made with its Silent Hill 2 remake stand out that much more.
Personally, I would have preferred a camera that locks in a bit more closely to Snake and plays more like a traditional third-person shooter. This would have given Delta a vibe and perspective all its own and is something that I think could have worked quite well with the experience.ย It also could have begun the process of Metal Gear as a franchise moving on from what we’ve already seen in the past, which is something that Konami has been hesitant to do since Hideo Kojima left the company.
Even with this being said, Metal Gear Solid Delta still feels great to play. Sleuthing past enemies, swapping camouflage to more closely blend in with the environment, and capturing animals to snack on is still a fun gameplay loop that doesnโt get stale. Delta definitely plays and controls like a PS2 game, but it also doesnโt feel as dated as other games that launched near it in the early 2000s, which speaks to how great the core game still is.
Snake Eater’s Outdated Audio is Disappointing
One aspect of Metal Gear Solid Delta that I thought would be a positive coming into the experience was the decision to use the same voice acting audio from the original. Snake Eater has an iconic cast that stars the likes of David Hayter (Snake), Jodi Benson (EVA), and Lori Alan (The Boss). The performances from these cast members (and many others) arenโt just some of the best in the Metal Gear Solid franchise; theyโre among the best that have ever been seen in gaming. As such, featuring this voicework in the remake felt like a borderline requirement.
Instead, after having played Metal Gear Solid Delta, Iโve come out the other side feeling differently. The reason for this primarily stems from the fact that you can tell that the audio being used in the game is dated. Even though it has surely been remastered to some degree, the voice acting audio is noticeably lo-fi and stands out greatly when compared to other audio found in Delta. This leads to cutscenes, which are a pretty major part of Snake Eater, feeling very off at times.
While the graphics and character models all look better than the original, the audio hasnโt matched these upgrades in the same way, which makes Delta feel like not a true remake. Although it would have been divisive, it might have been a better move to re-record the voicework completely, whether it be with a new cast or those from the original.ย
By reusing previous audio, the facial animation in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater also suffers. Many games over the past decade or more have used motion capture as a way to give more life to character models and make their expressions more lifelike. Since there is no motion capture to work off of here, all of the facial animation has been done in an โold-schoolโ manner, and itโs quite noticeable. It perhaps makes Metal Gear Solid Delta feel more like the PS2 era game that itโs trying to emulate, but again, it makes this feel more like a remaster and less like the remake that was promised.
The Visuals are Where Metal Gear Solid Delta Really Shine
Even though there are some disappointments to be had with MGS Delta, the best selling point for the game is its upgraded visuals. In this regard, Konami did not miss. Delta looks excellent both in motion and during its cutscenes. Colors are vibrant, environments are well-detailed, and character models (at least when theyโre not speaking) look fantastic.
Itโs clear that this area is where the majority of Konamiโs attention was focused throughout the development of Delta. What makes it even better is that Snake Eater hasnโt strayed too far away from its original look when making the jump to a higher fidelity. While a yellow sheen that appears on characters and environments isnโt as prominent as it was in the original, the art style from MGS3 still feels greatly represented in this revamp.
Missing Content at Launch is a Big Drawback
The one wholly new aspect of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is its Fox Hunt multiplayer mode. This is something that I was really looking forward to trying out for myself, but unfortunately, itโs not present here at release. Konami intends to add the mode later this fall, but itโs still a drawback not to have Fox Hunt ready to go out of the gate, especially since it is something entirely different that could make or break the longevity that Delta has.ย
Luckily, the Snake vs. Monkey game mode from the PS2 version of Metal Gear Solid 3 is here in Delta and itโs something that Iโm shocked made the cut. Chasing down and capturing apes from PlayStationโs Ape Escape series remains a blast and is fun to revisit in an attempt to break your own highest score. Konami made sure to also add some new surprises to this mode (especially for PlayStation fans) that really caught me off guard. Snake vs. Monkey isnโt the driving force to play MGS Delta by any means, but the fact that it was even brought back for this remake shows how all-encompassing Konami wants this version of the game to be.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater isnโt a bad game by any means, itโs just one that doesnโt fully live up to the hopes I had when the term โremakeโ was invoked. While much of MGS Delta does qualify as a remake, other aspects felt like Konami was simply cutting corners and, if anything, playing it a bit too safe. The result is a game that is still a ton of fun to play and is likely the best way to play Snake Eater in 2025. Still, with the original version of Metal Gear Solid 3 readily available on modern platforms, I would have preferred Delta to take some bolder swings and be reimagined from the ground up to truly differentiate it from its source.
RATING: 3.5/5
A review copy of the game was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review. The game was experienced on a PS5 Pro console.
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