In 2004, Hideo Kojima and his team at Konami released the original run of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. It was one of most immersive gaming experiences most of us had seen and many legendary bits and pieces would influence games and their players for decades to come. Flash forward, Konami, in its recent trek back into AAA gaming, has attempted to recapture that magic with a remake in Unreal Engine 5. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a top-to-bottom redesign of the original that polishes its visuals, controls, and brings things to modern standards. While it misses a few beats and preserves some old warts in the process, it’s still an well-assembled love letter to one of the best games of the 2000s.
Kept you waiting, huh?
Let me put this right at the top of the review: Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is almost 1:1 to the progression and feel of the original MGS3. The story beats are the same, the interactions, mechanics, and progress are the same, and even most of the gimmicks and secrets you might remember from 2004 are all intact. I’m not exaggerating when I say whenever I remembered an Easter egg from yesteryear that was in the original, I would try it out in the new game and, generally, it worked. The main difference between Metal Gear Solid Delta and Metal Gear Solid 3 is the update of the visuals, a spruce up of the music and dialogue, and a rework of the controls. While Delta, by default, sets the camera in third-person-over-the-shoulder behind Snake, you can change the controls and presentation to Classic to feel more at home with the buttons where they were in the original and an overhead view.
Newcomers should know up front that this is the chronological start of the Metal Gear series, speaking to how the original Snake earned his name and legend, and began his ascent towards the title of Big Boss. Set in the Cold War after the Kennedy Assassination, CIA operatives infiltrate a Soviet base in the jungles of a region called Tselinoyarsk to yank out a scientist building a secret nuclear doomsday weapon. Things go horribly wrong when Snake’s own mentor betrays the US and joins a fringe group of Russian war hawks in securing the scientist and causing a nuclear explosion in Soviet territory. Then-Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, demands the US prove its innocence. Snake is sent back into Russian territory to rescue that scientist, destroy the secret weapon, bring down the extremists threatening Khrushchev, and slay Snake’s mentor, The Boss.
The first thing I noticed coming back to Snake Eater is that original story and its characters are often corny. Everyone has the dramatics and posturing of a 1990s Spanish soap opera. And there is so much exposition. I counted about 40 minutes of explanatory dialogue in the first hour. Many of the lines feel cheesy by today’s standards, characters do over-the-top gestures on the regular, and it often drags on a few more minutes than you’d probably like it to. The second thing I noticed is that main song hits as good if not better than it did in 2004. Cynthia Harrell continues to belt the Snake Eater theme out amazingly. The rest of the music throughout the game is thoughtfully updated and immersive as well.
It’s worth noting that Snake Eater had some off-color pieces that were a typical vibe of the time that probably won’t fly as well today, but the beginning also has a disclaimer for that very matter, so it’s a little hard for me to judge them too harshly for sticking to the original so faithfully. And speaking of faithful to the original, I know it should just be considered respectable practice, but I was glad to see Kojima’s name and some of the original staff all over the front end of this thing considering none of it would exist without him and the original Metal Gear 3 team.
One of the few things I have qualms with is that some of the visuals had issues in specific instances. I’d see a reflection of water on the ground spasm with strange colors when I was turning away fast, and Night Vision Goggles are a queasy nightmare of bright green and ugly saturation with the default intensity. Outside of these small issues, I was usually impressed with how Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater adapted pieces of the 2004 package into its 2025 Unreal Engine 5 version.
Beginning operation
One of the greatest parts of Metal Gear Solid has always been the challenge of using anything you can find in the field to help you navigate enemies like a ghost. Distraction and versatility are typically Snake’s greatest weapons and Snake Eater took this concept and placed it in the depths of a dense jungle. In the beginning, you have a .45 pistol, a tranq pistol, and a knife, but as you explore and navigate, your options expand. Whether you want to go aggressive and deadly or silent and unseen, Delta allows it. At its core, it’s a third-person shooter with survival elements, and Delta preserves all of that with just a few careful improvements.
Camouflage is still one of the main pillars. As you travel enemy territory, you will collect all kinds of unique uniforms and facepaint that work better or worse depending on your environment. Ensuring enemies can’t spot you as you hide in plain sight is crucial. I will say that in Metal Gear Delta’s new style, you have the option of a single button press that opens the camouflage menu where you can change your uniform and face paint, and that’s just nice, but all of the outfits, including the ones you’ll find in the wild, are here.
Food and procurement in the field are also still a huge part of the equation. As you travel and time passes, Snake’s stamina will drop, lowering his life and ability to do things like swim or climb. Killing or tranquilizing animals so you can eat them is how you keep your stamina up and, don’t worry, all of the CODEC radio conversations about how they taste are still here. In fact, most of the CODEC conversations as I remember them, from talk about movies, food, and weapons, to long diatribes about the the duties of a soldier, are all here, for better and for worse.
Even despite bringing some ugly bumps back, I still think Metal Gear Delta: Snake Eater is one of the best stealth action games to ever do it. It comes through in the crisp control of shooting and close combat. It comes through in the careful management of Snake’s health and wellness. And it definitely comes through in the elaborate set pieces and showdowns with the game’s bosses. Each of the main enemies in Snake Eater are as freaky as I remember and the methods for defeating them are as exhilarating as ever. There’s even a boss fight you can still circumvent if you know what to do, although you should still fight it because it’s one of the best in the game.
Still in a dream
It’s wild to sit down in 2025 and play a spruced up time capsule that was my world for most of the year it came out. I can’t remember how many times I beat the original Snake Eater, but it was enough for me to know just about every nook and cranny of it front to back. And so I did my diligence looking for those same nooks and crannies in Delta and was happy to find them for the most part. More than that, the changes Delta brings to its gameplay feel light, yet sensible. They are quality-of-life improvements for the most part, and you still get the option to play it closer to the original style if you want.
Did everything here age well? Heck no. Is it still a long-winded exposition bomb at multiple points? Absolutely. But if you’re here because of the original, I want you to know that everything in the OG Snake Eater that might have made you happy, sad, and/or mad, are all still here. All of the action, all of the stealth, all of the cheesy one-liners… For those of you who are jumping in for the first time? Have some patience and try to enjoy the rollercoaster. This one is definitely for the fans.
This review is based on an early PlayStation 5 copy provided by the publisher. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater comes out on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on August 28, 2025.
