Since the reveal of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater in 2022, Metal Gear Solid fans have had plenty of reason to be skeptical about the next big entry in the series. The remake of the 2004 PS2 classic will be the first traditional Metal Gear game made by Konami since series creator Hideo Kojima left the company in 2015. Konami confirmed last year that Kojima Productions is not involved in the remake.
Over Summer Games Fest weekend, a new two-minute trailer finally gave players their first extended look at Metal Gear Solid Delta, and it looks to be a faithful remake of the original game with some new additions that feel like an appropriate extension of the series’ legacy.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a souped-up version of what is chronologically the first game in the series. Delta is being made in Unreal Engine 5, updating the look of the original’s lush jungles teeming with wildlife. The trailer showed that the remake will offer more modern movement options aligned with 2015’s Metal Gear Solid 5.
The last time Konami leveraged the Metal Gear name for a new release, the result was universally panned. 2018’s Metal Gear Survive was a big departure that pulled away from the series' sneaky roots in favor of a more generic zombie survival game. Konami clearly learned a vital lesson in how to appease fans, as the developer is providing them with all of the familiar trappings they’d ever want from a redux. Voice actor David Hayter reprises his iconic role as Naked Snake, as do his fellow co-stars. The opening HALO jump and opening level look amazing in the new engine but don’t appear to deviate from the easy-to-understand level design of the original. And the new close-quarters-combat maneuvers, like sticking someone up after knocking them to the ground, look like a fun, welcome quality-of-life addition that won’t break the game.
The game’s website says Delta’s control scheme and the third-person camera can be reverted to the classic something that more closely resembles the original game. It also hints at one of the new additions to the remake: a permanent battle damage system.
In the original game, Snake would sustain bullet wounds, burns, and broken bones. These injuries had to be dealt with using splints, bandages, medicine, and whatever else players could find to ensure Snake’s survival in harsh marshlands and swamps. In Delta, these injuries will leave authentic rips and tears in Snake’s clothing, as well as cuts, bruises, and permanent scars on Snake’s body.
According to Konami, the scars are meant to tell “a story of each player's unique journey through the game,” as no two players will finish the game with a Snake that looks the same.
Metal Gear Solid 3 is already bursting with cool ideas. From hunting for Snake’s nourishment to swapping out clothing to blend into the environment, Metal Gear Solid 3 holds up because of its many inventive systems. In a game that already makes players wrangle with the consequences of their actions (the hallucinations experienced during The Sorrow’s boss fight come to mind), injuries resulting in a permanent scar feel like a long-lost feature the original could have used, had the technology been available to them two decades ago.
Metal Gear Solid Delta is a game that could have had a much more divisive reveal. The reception to Konami’s other big remake of Silent Hill 2 shows fans can outright reject jazzed-up old classics if they’re not done correctly. Thankfully, however, the much-anticipated remake of Metal Gear Solid’s best game looks to be making respectful and logical decisions modernizing its source material for new audiences and returning veterans alike.
