Konami revisits a classic legend with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, delivering a remarkably considerate remake built by developers who worked on the original.
When Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater was first announced, I—like many others—felt uneasy about it. Since I regard it as one of the greatest Metal Gear entries ever made, it would have been easy for a remake this many years later to dull an all-time favorite, simply to chase the money nostalgia can bring. Thankfully, that concern didn’t hold up, and I’m genuinely pleased to be proved wrong.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is an Unreal Engine 5 remaster of the original Snake Eater, originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2004. The new voice work is excellent, every original location has been refined to a brilliant sheen, and a new multiplayer mode—Fox Hunt—has been added. It works as a sincere tribute for long-time series fans while also giving newcomers a clean place to begin.
That dual purpose became clear almost immediately: Metal Gear Solid 3 still feels just as exceptional as it did before. For kicking off this next chapter of Metal Gear, Konami picked the right title—and it’s obvious they took care to protect what made it great in the first place. Delta is, thankfully, a well-regarded classic refreshed, where the visual craft is still there and the core experience remains intact.
After all this time, Metal Gear Solid 3 continues to stand out as a top-tier stealth action game. It captures the tone of a spy thriller, threaded with the uneasy shadows of Cold War dread. The game handles frantic set pieces, dangerous betrayal, and even moments of near-comical absurdity—oddly enough, these elements strengthen the overall experience instead of turning it into a joke. Everything is reinforced by solid stealth systems that hold the whole adventure together like a makeshift splint under fire.
Move through the brush, change your camouflage to slip into the tall grass. Snake! (Yes, an actual snake). Stab it and eat it raw to fuel yourself. There’s even a custom animation of you devouring that cobra like it’s a late-night kebab. Lurk in dark corners, slither beneath parked cars like a coiled serpent. Use CQC to snatch guards quickly off their patrols, pull them into a hidden spot for interrogation, then finish with a cheeky choke.
You have to admire that while Metal Gear Solid established this particular style of stealth action, Metal Gear Solid 3 truly mastered it. It’s distinct, eccentric, and unmistakably shaped by its director Hideo Kojima. The balance is pitch-perfect: it mixes cool, strange, and downright outrageous moments, and the gameplay rewards how bold you’re willing to be. It asks you to slow down, then keeps surprising you with small touches—details that still feel beautifully presented even now.
Metal Gear Solid 3’s lasting appeal comes from these kinds of understated nuances, and Delta keeps all of them exactly as they were—intact and preserved.
Early on, you’ll find a helicopter close to a small base. You can just walk past and continue on, but if you clear out that base, you’ll discover some TNT stored nearby. Using that TNT to blow up the helicopter will later reshape a mountainous stretch a few hours after the fact. No one points you toward it, and there’s no tutorial explaining the option. Still, if you take the time to explore this charming sandbox, you’ll consistently stumble across discoveries like this.
The same idea applies to storage areas as well: smashing these compact rooms packed with loot can put your enemies in a tougher spot when you come back. My personal go-to is food storage—destroying it leaves nearby foes hungry. It’s tempting to ask, “So what?” But if you’ve tried the food you pick up along the way, you’ve probably already come across a few poisonous frogs, for example. Drop those dangerous morsels near guards who are desperate for food, and they’ll hurry over to grab a bite.
Even big targets can be handled early with a sniper rifle, you can use a fake death pill to get through tricky stealth sections, and yes—you can leave the game running and wait for a hard boss to eventually die of old age. These layers are part of what makes Metal Gear Solid 3 so compelling; without them, the experience would be noticeably poorer. I’m glad Delta keeps all of that.
Without giving too much away, even though Metal Gear Solid 3 is now around 20 years old, it’s arguably one of Kojima’s strongest stories. It’s a tense narrative packed with political maneuvering during the Cold War. Rival nations clash in the (fictional) jungles of Russia as they try to dodge nuclear disaster and tilt the balance of power. Zooming further in, you also find a deeply personal reflection on what it means to be a soldier, how patriotism fits into that identity, and why discovering a purpose worth fighting for matters so much. An ally can easily become a threat tomorrow—a point that still feels just as relevant today as it did in 2004.
Beyond the action itself, this otherwise weighty tale—packed with surprises and, at times, genuinely devastating moments—also leaves room for goofy pauses and genuinely upbeat bits of business. Inside Snake’s cutting-edge stealth aircraft, there’s still a woman in a swimsuit. You can still fling adult magazines at guards, who remain utterly fixated on them. Even years later, time paradoxes stay both feasible and oddly entertaining. It’s a game that doesn’t…
take itself too seriously, and that’s exactly what makes it better.
Alright, a large part of this review has already covered what the original game does so well—and, thankfully, that core quality still shows up clearly in Delta. So what about the new additions?
Let’s begin with the most obvious one: it looks incredible. Sure, it’s become something of a running gag to say, “Hey, let’s rebuild this iconic retro title in UE5 and toss in $100m,” but Konami has actually done the source material proud here. The game keeps its liveliness and personality, and the small improvements unlocked by this newer engine make for welcome upgrades. For instance, you can now pick up a layer of muddy camouflage while you’re crawling through the dirt, which is a nice touch. Switching camouflage while moving is also smoother now, so you don’t have to waste time digging through menus—especially helpful during tense stealth sequences. And placing yourself against a wall is clearer and less awkward than it used to be after all these years.
I also want to call out Snake vs Monkey, which is included in the PlayStation and PC versions. Not only does it refresh an unusually enjoyable side diversion in the Delta remake, it also brings a more contemporary twist that fits the oddball nature of the mode. Some things really need to be seen to be believed, and you do need to check out Snake vs Monkey.
Still, Konami’s approach with Delta is smart: it doesn’t clutter the experience with unnecessary extras. Most of the game stays exactly as it was, with changes focused on strengthening the central experience that first won fans over.
On top of that, I can’t help but note that the voice acting in Metal Gear Solid: Delta still holds up. Many people will point to David Hayter and Lori Alan as standout choices—both in the original performances and in the additional lines added in Delta. They’re absolutely right, and they deserve every bit of recognition, ideally in shining white. But the entire ensemble in MGS3 is full of bright standouts. Big thanks to Michael Bell as well for bringing back the exact reason I still find myself hissing “The Fear!” at my cat, just like I did years ago.
Jodi Benson, who recently confirmed her role as Eva, also delivered real skill to the game—and I’m glad she finally gets the chance to take a bow and receive the recognition she’s earned.
That said, I do see a major downside to the game—one that’s also completely avoidable. The new control scheme is intriguing because it offers a freely movable camera, plus the ability to move and fire without friction. The trade-off is that it makes the game feel a bit too easy. Yes, on higher difficulties you’ll still get detected if your camouflage isn’t up to snuff, but actually fending off enemies doesn’t require much effort.
Consider The Fury. With the original layout, you had to stop and shoot from first-person mode when using a heavy weapon like a sniper rifle, correct? And even when you’re dealing with smaller guns, the pause needed to get into position and aim is long enough that The Fury can start raining flames on you.
Under the updated control setup, quick shots are so simple that the pressure of the confrontation is reduced. Fans of the first game might say the fights were never particularly brutal in the first place—and that’s true. Even so, the suspense doesn’t quite land the same way here. When you can easily keep track of The Fear, he doesn’t come across as especially menacing, and trading shots with The End feels far less intimidating when you can do it effortlessly from a third-person angle.
Normally, this would be a real issue for me, but there’s a catch: both control styles are available right from the start of the playthrough. You can comfortably recline and enjoy the game as it was meant to be played. So which one would I recommend? Honestly, I suggest beginning with the original. If the opening credits leave you annoyed, restart and switch to the new scheme.
And that’s… basically all the complaints I have. Metal Gear Solid Delta is an impressive reworking of what many consider to be the finest Metal Gear entry ever made. It doesn’t mess with what doesn’t need changing—it reintroduces a classic rather than dressing it up with needless extras. A fresh coat of paint and a steady helping hand, and you’re off: it’s a great chance to return to the series again or to experience it for the first time.
Playing through Delta made me think about what I truly look for in remakes like this. With a game like MGS3—which I don’t think has aged badly—I want the remake to function as a living display. Not locked behind glass, but open and out in the open, ready for new audiences to discover and enjoy. In Delta’s case, it’s recreated faithfully inside a modern engine, of course, but every odd detail and animation quirk has been reimagined with care. The original voice lines largely remain in place, with some additional new performances layered in. That’s the part that matters most to me: adding without unintentionally taking anything away.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater stays true to what made it special in the first place; it’s a tribute to one of gaming’s greatest stealth games. Gameplay updates are understated, and the new mechanics are, for the most part, completely optional. A lot of the experience remains untouched—and that’s a good thing. Add a bit of original artwork, include a few lesser-known modes, and let it shine.
It’s possible the team behind Delta could have built an even more remarkable game if they’d been given permission to overhaul more systems and push innovation further. Still, considering the special place MGS3 holds in my heart and among gaming classics, I feel the cautious, restoration-first direction was the right move.
It’s also an achievement worth noting for the Delta development team, many of whom were original members from the Metal Gear Solid 3 group. Thanks to their work, the legacy of Metal Gear Solid 3 has been brought back—and playing it has put me in a spot I never would’ve predicted just a few years ago. All at once, I’m looking forward to the next Metal Gear game, whatever it ends up being. If it’s made with even a slice of the care invested in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, it can very well continue honoring the series’ legacy.
A copy of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater was provided for this review by Konami.