Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater arguably didn’t need a remake. It is one of those timeless gaming experiences that remains actually great to play all these years later. Understandably, many fans feared that in refreshing it, its existing charm might be eroded. Well, Konami is clearly very aware of this, as the developer has approached the task with an obvious sensitivity to the 2004 original. The result is a faithful remake of an all-time Hall of Famer — but one that is very cautious in its approach.
The post-Kojima Metal Gear Solid era is well and truly underway. Konami has come across as reticent in its reluctance to continue creating MGS games without Kojima, but actually, they have been playing it smart. In many ways, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater feels like they’re testing the waters, getting a sense for their audience’s appetite for the franchise to continue.
A refresh of Metal Gear Solid 3 was the obvious place to start. It’s the first chronological game in the series, and one that mechanically is much easier to parse alongside modern stealth games. The original is already regarded as timeless, holding up very well even today. Immediately upon skydiving into Delta, it’s clear that it wants to be the new touchpoint for reexperiencing the original in all its glory.
How does one go about imitating Hideo Kojima’s soul, then? Well, put simply, one doesn’t. Metal Gear Solid Delta is exceptionally faithful to the original, essentially copy-pasting the entire experience, modernising its graphics, providing a few minor quality of life tweaks, and calling it a day. For a remake, that may sound lazy, but it really was the smart choice — stray too far from the blow-by-blow account of the original, and you risk losing its magic.
Metal Gear Solid Delta, then, is exactly as fans will remember Metal Gear Solid 3, albeit with some beautifully updated graphics. The total faithfulness of this remake highlights how playable the original remains all these years later, and honestly, it’s refreshing to a play a stealth game in 2025 without a mindless x-ray vision ability or enemy tagging. Meanwhile, the changes that are made are made smartly.
The most immediate is the ability to play through the game in New Style — essentially a modernised third-person camera view with controls and close-quarters combat (CQC) mechanics updated to feel familiar for modern stealth and action games. Die-hard fans of the original, fret not — Legacy Style ports the original camera angle and controls, and the two styles can be switched at will from the pause menu. The other changes are minor and are aimed solely at ironing out the original’s objectively tedious niggles: players can now change camo from a convenient hot menu and cutscenes can be paused, to name a few. However, other desirable tweaks are bizarrely absent, such as the lack of a difficulty option change mid-playthrough.
At times, the limited nature of what’s new in Delta can make the experience feel overly safe. Players who would have liked to see more risks taken may be disappointed, as might fresh-faced newcomers who don’t know what they’re in for. The original MGS3’s menus, movement and overall mechanics are largely the same, and while they hold up well in the modern era, they do occasionally feel clunky off the back of more recent games. This is not at all a deal-breaker, though, and isn’t to say that Metal Gear Solid Delta is a half-hearted cash grab. It’s understandable that Konami didn’t want to get anything wrong. Kojima’s deft touch is impossible to imitate, after all.
The faithfulness on display is nevertheless a double-edged sword, as a graphical overhaul alone does not a modern game make. Because of the total commitment to the copy-paste job, this reviewer worries that Delta may appeal most to existing fans and Kojima’s adherents who haven’t yet played it. Despite the fresh coat of paint, newcomers may have a harder time enjoying it without the historical context to anchor them.
Furthermore, while the overall story of MGS3 remains excellent, it has begun to show its seams with time. The villain monologues are awfully clichéd and the tedious exposition may wear at the patience of the modern gamer. In fairness, this reviewer is adamant that these can’t be removed if the soul of the original is to be retained. Again, Kojima’s creations have an inimitable quality, warts and all. Still, his indulgences do occasionally elicit some bafflement, even if at other times they have the quality of genius.
Ultimately, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater accomplishes its mission of becoming the new best way to play and replay Metal Gear Solid 3. Its faithfulness to its namesake means no risks are taken, but were any big risks needed? Arguably, the modernised graphics were enough of an improvement for an already timeless experience. There is one glaring concern with this, though: if Konami goes on to remake the first two games with as much faithfulness, they will inevitably feel much more dated for players who come off the back of this remake. For now, though, Delta is worth playing — whether you’re revisiting it as an old friend or diving in for your first taste of one of modern gaming’s great forebears.
