Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater review — the same classic in a new wrapper

The Metal Gear series has been in limbo for almost a decade after The Phantom Pain was released in 2015 (Survive in 2018, which was subtitled Metal Gear, does not count). Konami’s conflict with Hideo Kojima and the company’s poor reputation among players led to the fact that the series had to be frozen until they found a way to develop it further. Only now we are getting a tangible step forward in the series with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, a remake of one of the most beloved parts of the franchise. Unlike recent successful projects, Delta decided not to radically rethink the game, keeping the gameplay and story of the original. This makes me wonder: wouldn’t the game benefit from a bolder rethink, or is it still interesting with only visual changes?

Plot of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

The story of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a combination of a spy thriller and a drama about ideals, betrayal, and choice. The updated version of the game recreates this plot almost frame by frame without any changes — we play as Neked Snake, who is sent to the Soviet jungle of the 60s to carry out an operation «Snake Eater».

Chronologically, this is the beginning of the Metal Gear Solid series. In the midst of the Cold War, Snake is tasked with finding and bringing to America a Soviet scientist named Sokolov, who, against his will, helps the USSR develop weapons of mass destruction. This allows it to launch nuclear warheads from anywhere in the world. Snake’s mission is remotely assisted by his support team and mentor, the Boss.

But after rescuing the scientist, it turns out that his mentor has become a traitor and is siding with the Soviet GRU colonel Volgin, who is planning a coup d’etat. She wounds Snake and kidnaps Sokolov. After this setback, the protagonist is sent on a new mission: to rescue Sokolov again, destroy dangerous weapons, and thwart Volgin and the Boss’s plans.

Although the story of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is filled with pretentious dialogues and character actions, it’s interesting to watch because it has unexpected plot twists and dramatic moments. Yes, there is often complete Japanese absurdity, which can scare off the modern generation of gamers, but this is exactly the charm of Kojima’s stories.

Metal Gear Solid Delta gameplay guide: Snake Eater

Here we are dealing with the most cautious approach. Delta recreates the original gameplay almost unchanged. There are two camera modes — Legacy for those who want a classic isometric view, and New Style, which brings the camera closer to the level of Metal Gear Solid 4 or 5.

The Metal Gear series has made stealth a popular genre, and Snake Eater uses stealth elements to their fullest potential. Just like in the original, you can disguise yourself as the environment using various camouflages, distract enemies with smoke grenades, and hide in the famous cardboard box. Crawling in the grass or under vehicles is still an effective, though not guaranteed, way to go unnoticed.

The remake recreates the mechanics from the original, but makes them more convenient. For example, camouflage can now be changed instantly via the D-pad, without unnecessary menus. Snake can also move in a crouch, a feature that wasn’t available before.

Survival is another key part. The jungle and battles are exhausting, so you have to restore your health with food. This is where the meaning of the name Snake Eater really comes in: you can shoot an animal or collect plants and then eat them from the menu. The treatment system works similarly: you have to take out bullets or apply splints manually, choosing the right tool for a particular injury.

Konami has greatly simplified some mechanics but has not removed all the inconveniences. You still need to go to the menu to get treatment, eat, or change equipment, effectively pausing the game. It’s not critical, but these are the moments that prevent the remake from being smooth to control.

The lack of a seamless transition between locations is another drawback. For a game set in 2025, it’s strange to see a dark loading screen when you move from one part of the forest to another.

Bosses in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater — a separate story and perhaps the strongest impressions of the entire playthrough. They turn the game into something more than just a jungle stealth game. The battles with members of the «Cobra» unit are structured in such a way that each one is memorable for a long time: each has its style, unique tactics, and philosophy.

Metal Gear Solid Delta graphics: Snake Eater

The most obvious advantage of Metal Gear Solid Delta is its visual transformation. The game was created on Unreal Engine 5 and really impresses with the level of detail: from vegetation textures and reflections in the swamp to realistic character models. The jungle scenes look alive thanks to detailed textures, realistic lighting, and rich colors. Visually, the game creates an authentic atmosphere — from the morning sunlight breaking through the branches to the rainfall that adds drama.

Although the staging of the cutscenes hasn’t changed, the new details and lighting make them feel new. In the later sections of the game, where you spend more time in buildings, the visual effect is not as striking as in the beginning, but these locations look great.

However, not everything is perfect. When the characters speak, it is noticeable that the facial animations lag far behind modern standards. As a result, the models look modern, but the lip movements and facial expressions are reminiscent of the PS2 era.

Optimization on the PC

In terms of performance, I was playing on a laptop with an RTX 4070, which is slightly more powerful than the recommended one. Playing at maximum graphics settings in Full HD, I experienced FPS drops in some detail-filled scenes, but it didn’t happen very often. A more serious problem was crashes, which occurred several times during the game.

There are not many graphics settings: you can only select ready-made presets depending on the PC’s power and choose between 30 and 60 FPS. For owners of top-of-the-line computers, the 60-frame limit may seem annoying.

As for the bugs, I didn’t notice any problems during the game, but in the cutscenes I sometimes experienced frame breaks or minor visual artifacts with the environment.

The sound of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Konami’s most controversial decision is to keep the original voice recordings. On the one hand, it’s a guarantee that the legendary acting work of David Hayter (Snake) and Laurie Alan (Boss) has remained unchanged. On the other hand, you can hear that the recordings are already two decades old. This is especially noticeable in the cutscenes, where the dissonance with modern graphics breaks the immersion.

The synchronization of facial expressions also suffers because of the old audio tracks. Where modern games use motion capture, here we see hand-drawn animation that looks more theatrical and less realistic.

However, the musical component remains impeccable. The main theme of Snake Eater by Cynthia Harrell has been re-recorded and sounds gorgeous, like a real spy soundtrack of the 60s. Atmospheric compositions during stealth tense motifs during chases and combat scenes enhance immersion.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater prices

On Steam, the standard version of the game is sold for 1475 UAH. Digital Deluxe, which includes 6 costumes, 2 masks, and 2 variants of glasses, is priced at 1665 UAH.

On PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, the standard edition costs 2,199 UAH and $69.99 respectively.