Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater Review – The Best Stealth Game of All Time, Visually Improved (PS5)

Even as someone who never played any of the original Metal Gear Solid games, I had always heard that Metal Gear Solid 3 was essentially the game that set the standard for stealth-based games. And now that I played Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, I can easily understand why MGS3 still is the best stealth game ever made. Even if Konami should have pushed their own boundaries a lot further than they did with this remake, there are a lot of great things to say about it.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is available for $69.99 on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Story – Groundbreaking for Its Time, but Currently Outdated

Well… the story. How not to mention the absolute wonder that helped introduce complex storytelling in video games. Kojima’s passion for movies clearly shows during all of the cutscenes, and it’s a reminder of how stories have quickly evolved in this form of media.

And yes, it’s a nostalgia trip for most players to relive the same story all over again with better gameplay and graphics. The problem is, besides the archaeological, important nature of it, the story has aged terribly badly, and Konami knew this. They say it themselves on a disclaimer text every time you boot up the game.

The narrative follows Snake in a convoluted political story that heavily draws inspiration from action movies from the 20th century. It is as daring as a PS2 video game could get. Understandably, this game flew right over many kids’ heads back when it was originally released in 2004 (myself included). It is just so complex that I have no doubts that this series helped shift society’s perspective around video game consoles from a kids’ toy to an all-ages entertainment system.

Meet the Snake Eater.

Now, it’s a little ruthless to judge a 20-year-old story expecting today’s gaming standards. There’s a huge “but” though. This remake was made from the ground up, replicating the original MGS3 almost on a 1:1 scale. The story, dialogues, and even camera angles remained the same, and this is ironically what holds Metal Gear Solid Delta from being one of the best remakes of all time.

Excessively Old-Fashioned at Times

The scenes depicting soldiers performing flashy tricks with handguns and inappropriately touching some of the female characters get tiresome very quickly (sometimes even one immediately followed by the other). There is no excuse for a $70 remake not to alter the story and dialogues for the better to make it fit in today’s standards. If the price tag totally fits today’s standards, why shouldn’t the story and voice acting as well? I know, this was huge back in 2004, but most of the narrative elements of this remake are borderline insufferable without the nostalgic factor. It’s comprehensible that Konami didn’t dare to touch anything about the story without Kojima involved, but knowing how turbulent their relationship seems nowadays… It was probably just Konami trying to avoid any possible backlash.

As charming as Eve is, her constant objectification needed to be significantly toned down.

In any case, keeping the original story and dialogues comes with the benefit of somehow experiencing the original 2004 game, but with certain tweaks to make it more enjoyable. And I insist, being too harsh on the story and voice acting feels a little wrong considering the antiquity of this masterpiece, but… Even without Kojima, an outstanding story could have been remade even more outstanding for both fans and new players. Most of the greatest remakes of all time didn’t necessarily include directors or developers from the original games. Think about the very recent Silent Hill 2, which is casually owned by Konami as well. This is probably the biggest fumble of Metal Gear Solid Delta. And probably the only notorious one.

Gameplay – More Fun Than Ever

Alright, now that we covered the most complicated aspect of Metal Gear Solid Delta, we can start talking about the magnificent elements that make it still the most iconic stealth game ever developed in history.

The gameplay of the original MGS3 was revolutionary back when it was released on PlayStation 2, and even if Metal Gear Solid Delta tweaked the gameplay mechanics to refine and polish these elements, the core fundamental structure is still there. And it’s amazing how a two-decade-old video game holds the most crucial stealth mechanics of this industry. It was fascinating to recognize mechanics that were used on some of the best stealth-based games out there (like Dishonored or The Last of Us, for example), and it’s incredible how these gameplay patterns were not only revolutionary for their time, but also how valid they still feel nowadays.

Infiltrate enemy bases.

I had a lot of fun playing Metal Gear Solid Delta, having to infiltrate enemy bases and use stealth to incapacitate enemies is something that will never get old. And the way this game refines the movement and shooting mechanics is highly appreciated. The boss battles are excellent too, with almost all of them feeling completely different from each other. “The End” was the most outstanding one, being one of the most original boss battles I’ve ever faced. It’s a breath of fresh air to not have boss battles that rely on enemies having health pools that are a pain in the back to drain.

Variety is the Spice of Life

Almost everything in Metal Gear Solid Delta makes you try to think outside of the box, having to come up with interesting solutions to take the upper hand in certain situations. The use of camouflages to blend in with the scenario, disguises to not alert enemies, or doing certain tasks to distract them were all elements that added dynamism to the game’s appreciated slow pace.

The amount of weapons and gadgets given to the player is so high that you probably won’t get to use all of them unless you try really hard. The game gives you several tools so you can adapt your playstyle to it, every approach being a valid result. The collectible hunt is also very fun, most of them hiding in plain sight, but needing a lot of effort to tackle them.

Prepare for some intense boss battles.

I can’t come up with a single complaint regarding the gameplay, so if you want to experience this masterpiece of stealth games with better graphics and readjusted mechanics, Metal Gear Solid Delta is highly recommended for you. There’s also a classic mode to play the game with the OG camera angles, so if you want the closest original experience, you can also have that!

Graphics and Sound – Mostly Polished and Clean

The graphics are neat, as you would expect from any remake nowadays. The character models and scenarios are breathtaking; everything feels visually more human and authentic. It is true that there are certain parts where framerate and resolution have some significant drops even on PS5 Pro, but nothing that feels too harmful for the experience during gameplay, so most of these drops go unnoticed.

The sound is highly immersive, and the music does a wonderful job of captivating you with every slow-paced and action-packed sequence. Even climbing a ladder for a couple of minutes feels great thanks to the OST!

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater was reviewed on PS5 with key provided by Konami.