Metal Gear Solid Delta Is Faithful to the Original to the Minute Details. It Is the Same as Snake Eater, Just Nicer and More Comfortable to Play

If Silent Hill 2 Remake represents a bit risky approach, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater stands on the opposite side. If the whole game is as good as the fragment I played, the new version will be similar Diablo 2 Resurrected. This remake is very safe, essentially the same game as the original Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater by Kojima, only with new, beautiful graphics and with minor improvements that make the gameplay smoother.

Long-time fans will be thrilled for the most part, and a few new players may even find MGS appealing if they don't mind the game's archaic, arcade-style feel. After all, it's no coincidence that Konami chose the third game for this task. Chronologically, the story takes place earliest and is the catalyst for the events of this strange series of stealth movies where we sometimes get some gameplay (okay, there's a lot of it in Snake Eater). This is an excellent entry point to get acquainted with the story about the Snakes, The Boss, Major Zero, or Ocelot.

Tactical briefing

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is an extremely important installment for fans of the series. It's like Episode I: The Phantom Menace, but done well. Sensitively designed to appease gamers who weren't sure what to think after the wild (and, as it turned out, prophetic) Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. It tells about the beginnings of Big Boss - then Naked Snake - the antihero/villain (cross out the one that does not match the interpretation of your choice!), who is an important figure even in those games in which he is absent.

We get to know "Papa Snake" in the 60s, when the Cold War was in full swing, and any wrong move by the USA and the USSR could cause atomic bombs to fall from the sky all over the world. Naked Snake is tasked with rescuing a certain scientist, but, as is typical in Metal Gears, things get a bit complicated.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Konami

Snake Eater moved from secret, futuristic bases or tankers and threw us into the middle of the jungle. Supposedly, the third installment referred to Bond movies in terms of poetry and music, but fans of Rambo and Commando could also find something for themselves in Kojima's game. Especially since the gameplay has been enriched with simple but gratifying survival mechanics (a stamina bar, which we replenish with food - and we often have to hunt for it ourselves).

Snake Eater is an important to me as well. This is the first Metal Gear I played, and it was on PlayStation 2. I liked the bosses, the atmosphere, this dose of weirdness and magical realism, I also liked the main character and his companions as well as enemies. It all started with one game offering cool stealth and cinematic experiences with an animate-like twist. Now I think I know all the variants of theories about what happened at the end of The Phantom Pain and Guns of the Patriots. And all of this is because I approached the series from the side of the most understandable story seasoned with very good gameplay.

Operation Snake Eater Delta

During the event I was able to not only play Delta, but also talk for a while with the game's producer – Noriaki Okamura. When I asked about various details or being faithful to Kojima's vision, the Konami representative assured that they are creating a game very consistent with the original. And after playing the demo, I believe that. MGS Delta is faithful to a fault – providing that the small fragment of gameplay we got is representative of the whole.

During the show, we were able to check out the prologue, Virtuous Mission, which served as an introduction to Snake Eater. It's the short stage, during which we try to rescue the scientist Sokolov, we meet The Boss, Major Zero, Ocelot and the rest of the cast. The gameplay here lasts for about an hour if you are familiar with these maps. And these are the exact same locations. With the same corridors, the same jungle, and even the same frog you can shoot. We even pick up the backpack from the same tree after landing.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Konami

But now everything runs on Unreal Engine 5 and it looks very good. Modern, spectacular and cinematic. Like a blockbuster movie. Of course, every scene of the prologue was smothered with "credits" paying homage to Kojima. The cut-scenes were directed almost identically, only sometimes allowing for a bit more spectacle and more expressive shots, because the technicalities no longer pose such a limitation.

They got rid of this greenish-yellow filter, which gave the original a somewhat animated atmosphere. This is a problem because with the anime-like aura it was easier to ignore all the weirdness, arcadeness, and the fourth wall breaking that we know from MGS3. Now the identity of the game resonates more with Quentin Tarantino or the over-the-top action movies from the '90s. Such as Con Air, in which Nicolas Cage seemed to be the most subdued element. Playing Snake Eater this way is also an interesting experience.

Nonetheless, the level of graphic detail can impress - for example, if you look closely at Snake's camouflage, you can see the texture of the paint on his face. Plants and shrubs also create the atmosphere (they grow in the same spots as in Snake Eater - so we have the same tactical options).

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Konami

Generally, it's an accurately recreated Kojima's story about fictional soldiers larger than life. The characters, places, shots, music and dialogues were pulled straight from Snake Eater. The characters, due to the capabilities of the engine, have more expressive facial expressions and gestures, they "act" more. This actually fits, because Kojima loves cinema and if he could have do that 20 years ago, he would probably direct in a similar way. This was evident while directing the actors in The Phantom Pain.

By the way, I have to say it's good to hear David Hayter as Snake again. I really missed him. The sound design, including all the jingles, ambiances, and signals - and of course the "Bond-like" music remained almost exactly the same. Did you miss me? Welcome home.

Kept you waiting, huh?

Delta really gives the impression that it is replicating Snake Eater in the smallest detail. Need examples? We save the game by selecting the appropriate frequency (fortunately it's assigned to the button, so it happens automatically, but it was like that in the original) in our codec - a device through which we communicate with the support team. The process is accompanied by the same movies trivia conversations between Snake and Mrs. Paramedic as they were in the original. I got their conversation about the Godzilla.

The gameplay, however, has become much more convenient thanks to small but enjoyable improvements that bring Snake Eater closer to The Phantom Pain in terms of gameplay. To the extent that sometimes I wondered why I couldn't send incapacitated soldiers back to their base using the Fulton Recovery System. This is generally a good direction, because while the plot in Metal Gear Solid V polarized the audience, the gameplay was addictive (until it became painfully repetitive).

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Konami

First of all – the camera is now different. In the first edition of Metal Gear Solid 3 we watched the action from above, and in the Subsistence edition the camera followed Snake who was placed in the center of the screen. Delta is a fully-fledged modern over the shoulder TPP.

The aiming with firearms was also done like in the new games. It is a million times more comfortable and stays in TPP (although I have also seen materials showing the first person perspective, so this option will probably be included in the old-school control model), it just gets close enough for us to aim better. Nothing new, but there's no need to reinvent the wheel here - it's a big improvement, now it's definitely more convenient to maneuver and simultaneously shoot with a tranquilizer gun or a rifle you found somewhere. It's also easier to perform CQC techniques. Now, all it takes to immobilize is one button and it's done - reminiscent of the more modern stealth games.

All this now gives us a huge advantage over opponents who are controlled by an AI very faithful to Snake Eater – as if this AI is from a previous era. I should complain about the fact that the enemy soldiers behave like fools and are helpless in the face of the advancing Snake (I've mixed my gameplay with stealth and action). Nonetheless, I'm buying it. The original AI and enemy behavior are part of the experience.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Konami

The guards also show a similar sensitivity to our stealth as they used to. They make a noise with a characteristic exclamation mark as often and from similar distances as in the original – while we have the advantage of a free camera. So it's easier to slip between patrols, control the space around, and quickly stun the enemy if necessary. This ease, "cheating" even, didn't bother me. The essence of MGS was never realism (although the series fetishizes the military down to the smallest detail, despite the anti-war message), but looking spectacular. And the fact that we play the god of raids with such ease fits into the narrative that Metal Gear creates.

"Infinite ammo"

These cases show one thing. The graphics have become more realistic and cinematic, even the animals look more real (by "animals" I mean mainly snakes and alligators), but the gameplay hasn't. If ludonarrative dissonance throws you out of the game more effectively than a bluescreen, and MGS Delta is your first contact with the series, then you may have a problem.

It's still an arcade stealth game in nature, even if it does require some tactical thinking and scheming. The game emphasizes its surreal, grotesque character whenever it can. Ammunition dropped by enemies or food rations are still boxes levitating above the ground, just like in arena shooters. They are also accompanied by all those retro echoes and clicks from Snake Eater. An exclamation mark above the heads of enemies who noticed us? As I already mentioned - present. So probably the mighty cardboard box will also return as the most OP tactical camouflage in military history.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Konami

Therefore, if you understand the convention of Metal Gear Solid, the new "advantage" over patrols will not bother you. Who knows, it might even allow for an even more efficient and crazier - and smoother - fun with all these gadgets that we can use after completing the prologue. The only problem I had with the show was that we were only playing the Virtuous Mission. After the prologue, MGS 3 opened up a lot in terms of tactical options and the ability to play with all sorts of gadgets.

However, I suspect that all these elements from the original will be present in the remake. The producer I interviewed didn't want to spoil anything, even when I asked about alternative methods of defeating bosses, but admitted that they were trying to recreate the entire experience.

Snake's new groove

In addition to technological changes, Konami also took care of small, pleasant facilitators. Now we have a compass that points us to the main point of interest. Not that I mind wandering in the original, but it's good to have such a gadget. In Delta, it is also much easier to navigate the inventory or initiate conversations via codec. One of the buttons of d-pad opens a quick selection menu. If you need a "full Metal Gear Solid 3 experience”, you will be able to play with the classic control model, but I can't tell you anything about it, because during the game we only played with the new scheme.

If Virtuous Mission is a worthy representative of the rest of the work, then we're getting a game full of QOL changes, with new, spruced up graphics, but essentially the same story and content. It's the same Snake with David Hayter's raspy voice. They simply dressed him up in more comfortable, Unreal-style clothes and provided a bit more freedom of maneuver. So much and so little at the same time.

Will it be enough for your hard-earned money? It all depends on how much nostalgia you have - or how much you want to finally get to know Snake's adventures, but were afraid to ask. If you chose reason number two, then it might be worth checking it out. After all, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was an outstanding game. Actually, it still is.