Game review: Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (PS5)

The Metal Gear Solid franchise has kind of been a dead franchise ever since its creator, Hideo Kojima, was unceremoniously ousted from Konami back in 2015. Since Konami owns the Metal Gear Solid IP, Mr. Kojima decided to make his own game studio and released two Death Stranding games from then on. 

Without the guidance of Hideo Kojima, nothing good has come out of the Metal Gear Solid franchise in a long time. Konami released a bunch of pachinko arcade machines, plus the ill-fated Metal Gear Survive zombie game, since then. 

Knowing the Metal Gear Solid franchise shouldn't go to waste, Konami finally did the right thing and has released Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. Despite being called Delta, this game is really the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake that fans have been looking forward to for a very long time. 

Even though the original Metal Gear Solid 3 game came out in Japan and North America back in 2004, the New Zealand release date was early 2005. I remember getting really hyped for the game's release because I was kind of disappointed with Metal Gear Solid 2, as Raiden, instead of Solid Snake, was the main character in that game. 

While we don't play as Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, we play as his father, called Naked Snake. The game takes place in the '60s before Naked Snake earns the title of 'Big Boss'. 

In this game, Naked Snake has to infiltrate the Soviet Union and destroy a dangerous nuclear warhead weapon known as the 'Shagohod'. He also has to kill his former mentor, called 'The Boss', who has defected from the USA to join Colonel Volgin and the Soviet Union. 

In terms of graphics, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater gets a huge visual overhaul as it uses Unreal Engine 5. The remake gets rid of the yellow/green tint that the original game had, and it mostly looks beautiful. The only downside to using Unreal Engine 5 is some frame rate drops on certain platforms. Performance issues are supposedly going to improve with future patches. 

Another thing worth noting is that the original Metal Gear Solid 3 game had fixed camera viewpoints. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater uses the more modern way of allowing players to move the camera around for themselves. The new camera viewpoints make it much easier for you to see where enemies are. 

Control-wise, certain button placements have been changed around to make the game feel more in line with modern titles. Instead of using the square button to shoot, you now need to aim and shoot using the L2 and R2 buttons on PlayStation platforms. 

To check out your inventory, these are now mapped to the d-pad. Even using Snake's CODEC messenger is more streamlined than it was in the original game. I have to admit, it took me time to get used to the controls at first, but I got comfortable with it after the first hour of playing. 

Aside from the controls and visuals, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a very faithful remake. Unlike the Resident Evil remakes, Metal Gear Solid Delta retains the same level design, the same voice acting, and the same gameplay mechanics.

There was some controversy with the Resident Evil remakes because some fans hated the new voice actors for some characters. Here in this game, David Hayter is still here, as well as every other original voice actor. Not to mention, the cutscenes have been recreated perfectly without too many differences. 

The only real downside to Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater being a faithful remake is that there are no new levels or things to explore. The Resident Evil remakes at least gave us new experiences for even old fans to be surprised. Nothing is really surprising or new about Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. 

The other minor flaw I have with this game is that the game mechanics still feel outdated and archaic. Snake still has his awkward-looking punch and kick combo, and his takedowns aren't smooth or satisfying. It would have been better if the developers had adopted the game mechanic from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain instead. 

If you are a new fan, though, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is still a great game to play for first-time players. The remake also retains the mini-games that were included in the older versions of the game. 

My favourite extra mode in this remake is 'Snake vs. Monkey'. This is a bonus mode where Snake has to capture the cheeky monkeys from 'Ape Escape'. I really loved this mode since Sony hasn't touched the Ape Escape franchise in many years!

After completing the main game, you also unlock a hack-and-slash mini game called 'Guy Savage'. I didn't find this mode as exciting as the monkey one, but it's a bonus that was included in the original PS2 version of MGS3. 

Overall, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a great remake for newcomers and fans who loved the original game. However, this remake might disappoint some people who wanted to find any new content or improved gameplay mechanics. Still, the game is a classic and my second favourite MGS game behind the first one. 

Verdict: 8.0/10