Intent on reviving their IPs, Konami has been rolling out the classics these days. Last year saw Silent Hill 2 remade by Bloober Team, surprising and delighting fans with its faithfulness, reinvention and mood. Next on the remake block is Metal Gear Solid 3 with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. The Snake returns. Having now cleared the campaign and its suite of extra content to dive into, the headline and good news is that the team at Konami didn’t monumentally mess it up. It’s a blast to play through and get in the heat of espionage action, but that’s largely due to the fact that they’re already working on superb bones. Fundamentally eating itself and weaving the exact same tale again with little deviation, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a game that does not take any risks.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater follows the plot of Naked Snake on an USSR island in 1964, mid-Cold War, trying to secure and extract a VIP target in captivity by enemy forces. Surviving in a dense jungle with both wildlife and armed soldiers ready to cause a stir at any given moment, Snake will have to engage in his usual combat and stealth prowess to see through the journey. What awaits him on this journey are throwdowns with illustrious and iconic boss fights with weird figures, finding alliances in unexpected places, and a thrilling, deeply political narrative players will love for years to come… wait a minute, we’ve been here before.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is an interesting beast because it certainly is doing its best to appease longtime fans with how faithful it is to the original while also welcoming in a new crowd. While there’ll undoubtedly be exceptions, I don’t believe it quite exceeds in either of the two. Delta is more or less shot-for-shot recreated in modern graphics. It uses the same voice lines from the original Snake Eater. Maps look and function the same, even with the new option to control the game like a typical third-person over-the-shoulder shooter (the fixed camera mode is still there, too, if that’s more your cup of tea). So what? More Metal Gear Solid on modern platforms isn’t a bad thing, right? I’d agree, but we only got the remaster of the original trilogy less than two years ago. 

What makes the 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4 work so well is that it’s embracing its roots while also offering new flavours. It keeps its loyal fans on their toes about what awaits around every corner with new scenes and jaunts through familiar environments, while also having the beats you know and love. It was fresh. It had its cake and ate it too. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater does the stark opposite of this, and it hurts the experience. Scenes play out the same, even using the same voice recordings of the 2004 original. Fans know what’s coming next at all times, and nothing surprises them. Yes, newcomers perhaps have their best chance ever to get into the series with this entry, but you’re arguably starting with a lesser version as, like many other modern remakes, Delta favours fidelity over style, removing that iconic yellow-y nostalgic filter that detailed its Cold-War jungle setting oh so well. Similarly, you don’t have a cool, interesting and different version of the original waiting for you upon rolling credits on Delta, just a better one.

If you ask me, this was always going to happen with a game as precious as the third Metal Gear Solid game. I don’t fault the team for where they went with it. Could you imagine the Kojima fans coming after this if it took those risks and it didn’t pay off?

I’ve been a bit harsh on the game thus far, but Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater isn’t without its own merits. Though I have personal grievances with the style shift, the environments do look quite nice, remaining even more striking and detailed than they already were. The OG was already a great-looking experience that was well ahead of its time; this just makes that feel a little more realised. How the light seeps through trees as Snake crawls through tall grass, how fluorescent lighting leads you through facility buildings where a patrolling soldier could come toe-to-toe with you at any time… you’re really in it with this game.

Gameplay, simulation and immersion remain king in Snake Eater. Choosing the right weapon for each scenario is something that’s always on your mind, whether you’re in a tight hallway or a zig-zaggy maze of trees mid-jungle. Do you want to preserve your silenced weapon’s muzzle and go solely for stealth takedowns if you can perform them safely? Can you make that sprint to cover before you’re seen? All this on-the-fly thinking makes for quite the robust stealth action game, and thankfully, there are many tools at your disposal if you’re like me and admittedly weak at stealth, often needing to resort to all-out gunfire warfare. There’s a methodical and tactile feeling to gunplay in Metal Gear that feels unmatched—often deliberate with how you aim and what your approach to a situation is. This feeling translates really well when playing in the new over-the-shoulder camera mode.

The survival side of things also sees Snake needing to regularly tend to wounds and injuries, along with managing hunger. Your health won’t regenerate if your stamina is low from not eating anything in a while. Even then, health regen on full stamina is quite slow and can make for a real challenge where you’re picking your battles about when to engage or skirt around enemies. Snake tends to injuries and wounds in a menu, tasking him with pulling out bullets with knives, dressing wounds and the like. Already a novel function of its time, the interactivity and immersion here is driven just that little bit further this time with Delta, as Snake’s injuries will now also visibly appear on his body in real time.

Of course, the Metal Gear franchise would be nothing without its iconic characters and how you encounter them. Fans will be right at home coming toe-to-toe with them again. Volgin is still the joyously terrifying and souped-up electric psychopath whose monologues drag on but compel you. The Sorrow’s ‘boss fight’, where you’re in a haunting sequence, wading through the swamp and dodging ghosts, is as memorable as ever. These modern picturesque fixings do well to enthral you in a scene, and you feel more right there along with Snake for the journey than ever before.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater comes with a few surprises that I’m glad were included. More than you’d expect. I won’t detail them all, and though the announced multiplayer mode still isn’t here yet, the Ape Escape hunt mode that sees Snake scrambling to collect those pesky apes from the beloved PlayStation franchise across a series of maps in a limited amount of time is a charming blast from the past. This was missing from previous packaged releases and versions of Metal Gear Solid 3, making this version all the more momentous. Metal Gear as a franchise was always really good at being both deeply serious and the most out there thing on the planet, and I’m glad we’re still getting to see that latter side shine out.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is between a rock and a hard place. It’s far from a bad game, and if you’re hankering for more Snake shenanigans, there are no good reasons why you shouldn’t check this out. It’s more of a frankly superb game, it just also isn’t quite batting for the fences as it should be. When I envision a game that’s simultaneously inviting new audiences and returning fans, I picture one that’s taking more risks and going a bit more out there than the 1:1 approach we’ve got here. If all else, that very same stuff is some of the series’ best.