Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is, by and large, mission accomplished. The original Metal Gear Solid 3 has been ported wholesale, with as few changes made as possible in order to retain its heart and soul. The improved graphics are great and the quality of life changes are solid — just don’t expect some grand reimagining of the 2004 classic beyond a modernised camera angle. It is still brilliant to play and the story remains engaging all these years later, making this the new best way to play MGS3 despite its lack of new features and content.

Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater isn’t the bold reimagining some fans might have hoped for. Instead, it’s a visually stunning update that preserves the 2004 classic almost to the letter : story, voice acting, cinematics, and gameplay included, with all their dated quirks. Unreal Engine 5 delivers impressive character models, environments, and lighting, but the clunky mechanics, outdated AI, and stiff animations remind you of the game’s age. For newcomers, it’s still a fantastic gateway into Snake’s world of stealth and espionage. For veterans, it’s a nostalgic return, faithful, polished, but not revolutionary.

Overall, this is a good chance to revisit one of the defining early stealth action games that really led to many future titles’ signature gameplay, like the Hitman and even Assassin’s Creed series. If you’ve played it before there’s not enough here to warrant another pass. But for those seeking a nostalgia hit, or to try a classic they may have missed, it’s well worth a look.

Remaking Metal Gear without its creator seems foolhardy but this is as good an effort as could be imagined, without completely redesigning the original game.

MGS3: Snake Eater is one of the best games I have ever had the pleasure of playing. The remake, although it could have been done better, will also allow you to taste some of its genius. This release is beautiful in some parts, but it suffers most from the inconsistency resulting from the fact that, despite its beautiful presentation, it is inherently rooted in the PS2 era and runs poorly on UE5.

Metal Gear Solid Delta is an excellent remake that will appeal to both longtime fans and new players alike. Its visual overhaul and modernized gameplay make it a huge hit and relaunch the franchise in a positive direction, much like Silent Hill 2 Remake did. Unlike the latter, however, there is no risk-taking here. Metal Gear Solid Delta is a 1:1 remake peppered with fan service. While it allows players to discover this masterpiece, it adds nothing new. The game retains all its flavor, quality, and flaws, which mainly concern its gameplay inaccuracies and AI weaknesses from another era. In an effort not to offend anyone by offering a game that takes no risks, Konami sometimes creates a strange sense of dissonance between nostalgia and modernity. This results in gameplay issues that didn't exist at the time, as well as mechanics that no longer seem as coherent as they once did. That said, it's hard not to enjoy it and recommend it, as it's currently the best way to discover this incredible game.

Metal Gear Solid Delta doesn’t change the game; it rather does the bare minimum to bring itself up to date. Fortunately for it, MGS 3 is a fantastic game, with undeniable charm and rich creativity, even today. It’s an adventure you finish with pleasure and enjoy replaying over and over to master every aspect of it, making it a worthwhile investment. On the other hand, one can’t help but feel that Metal Gear Solid 3 deserved better. The result here is that MGS 3 is still a highly effective soldier, strong as ever, but trapped in a body whose only youth lies in its aesthetics. It’s up to you to decide what you truly expect from it.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a game in an odd place. I get the reverence to the original, especially with series creator Hideo Kojima no longer involved, and the bad blood that ensued between him and Konami. I get the hesitancy to retouch a game considered as one of the greatest ever made. But then, I question what the point of remaking Snake Eater is at all, if you’re going to try and keep everything exactly the same.

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.