Everything we know about Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
Someday you'll go through the rain. Until then, here's everything you need to know.
After years of rumors and false hopes, the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake is finally happening. Konami announced Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater earlier this year as part of the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase. It’s the first Metal Gear title since 2018’s lackluster Metal Gear Survive, and the first time familiar Hideo Kojima characters have graced our screens since 2015.
Considering his rocky exit from Konami and subsequent new ventures, Kojima’s future with the Metal Gear series seemed over. And while he’s still working over at Kojima Productions, Konami has been hard at work remaking one of his classic stealth-action games.
Metal Gear Solid 3 was first released back in 2004 and garnered critical acclaim. It remains one of the most popular games in the franchise, with many players voting it as their favorite. Now, players will get the chance to explore the origins of Big Boss and the Metal Gear Solid franchise once again, with updated graphics and gameplay.
Metal Gear Solid Delta doesn’t have a release date yet, although we anticipate this Snake Eater remake might come out in 2024. Until we know for sure, here’s everything we know about this title.
The dead are not silent
It helps to understand the backstory of the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, as it’s been a rumored project for a few years now. Although Konami mostly exited the video game business a few years back, talks of a separate division or company remaking classic Metal Gear entries was still buzzing. Konami wasn’t one to confirm rumors, and Hideo Kojima was too busy working on Death Stranding and Kojima Productions to worry one way or the other.
Still, the rumors persisted, and gained heightened attention in the lead up to the PlayStation Showcase in May. Many industry insiders proclaimed that Konami would reveal the MGS3 remake at the event. Many fans were understandably apprehensive, but the showcase proved that their fears were unfounded.
Konami revealed the remake, titled Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, at the event alongside the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection. The latter is a series of compilations that bring classic Metal Gear games to current-generation consoles; the first volume will include all mainline Metal Gear games up to Snake Eater, with some additional games as well.
With that and Metal Gear Solid Delta, it seems that MGS3 fans will have plenty to look forward to. As old and new players alike experience the original game through the Master Collection, we also have a revamped version on the horizon. With that, it’s time to start the mission proper.
We’re off on a mission of virtue
Konami and the team have confirmed that Metal Gear Solid Delta is as close to a 1:1 remake of Snake Eater as possible. Although it’s built on a new engine with recreated graphics and sound, the actual storyline and progression is the same. The team is even reusing the original voice clips, preserving the original script as much as possible.
As such, we can provide a basic rundown of the story as it relates to the original. (There won’t be any spoilers in this section, so fret not!)
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is the story of Naked Snake, an agent in the FOX unit. He’s sent deep into the jungles of Russia in 1964 to retrieve a defector from the Soviet Union. However, his commanding officer on the mission, a woman known as The Boss, interrupts his mission by defecting to the Soviets. She wounds Naked Snake, leaving him for dead and coordinating a strike on Russian civilians to frame the United States.
With the mission exposed and Russia threatening to retaliate if the situation isn’t under control, Naked Snake is forced back into the jungle after he recovers. He needs to stop The Boss and her Cobra Unit and shut down the new Soviet weapon, a mysterious combat vehicle nicknamed the Shagohod.
Head back into the jungle in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
Up to this point, the Metal Gear series was primarily focused on interior locations and buildings. You’d sneak around long hallways and open rooms while trying to find cover amidst the manmade terrain.
Metal Gear Solid 3 switched things up by trading the concrete jungle for a real one. There were far more natural settings in that game, dropping you off in the fictional Russian jungle of Tselinoyarsk. It created more unique opportunities for stealth; in particular, camouflaging your gear and face to match your surroundings. You could also the naturally unpredictable terrain and elements to your advantage.
That’s true of Metal Gear Solid Delta as well, as its version of Snake Eater doesn’t change the location up. From the reveal trailer, the swampy marshes where Snake is initially dropped in have been rendered gorgeously. Considering the story is the same, it’s unlikely that there will be any new areas to visit.
Until we get a gameplay trailer for sure, we won’t know if Delta will retain either the original version’s fixed camera system or include the updated camera system from later versions of Snake Eater. It’s also entirely possible that the camera has been reworked entirely. It might take the more modern system found in Metal Gear Solid V. We’ll just have to wait and see.
What a thrill
As a remake that’s meant to honor the original to the letter, we can assume a few things about the gameplay even without a trailer. The core fundamentals of tactical stealth action should all be implemented into Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, but newcomers will hopefully have little struggle adjusting.
MGS3 gave you ample opportunity to surprise your opponents with both artificial and natural traps. Or you can sneak around them and avoid fights altogether (except for mandatory boss fights). When the heat does come down on you, of course, you’ll have plenty of weapons at your disposal. That is, once you find them first.
The tactical side of Metal Gear comes from the limited resources you’ve got in the field. You’ll need to find weapons and ammo as well as survival resources like food and water. One of the most unique parts of MGS3 was patching up your own wounds in the middle of combat. It remains to be seen if this system carries over in the same way in Delta. Given its apparent faithfulness to the source material, we can expect it to remain.
When is Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater coming out?
So far, Konami has not yet confirmed a release date for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. However, the original game hit store shelves in late 2024. It’s reasonable to expect that Konami might try to tie in with the game’s 20th anniversary and release it in Nov. 2024. However, this is pure speculation. Until we get more information from Konami, take this with a grain of salt.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is developed by Konami Digital Entertainment with the help of Virtuos and published by Konami. It will be available for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
What are your thoughts on this Metal Gear Solid 3 remake? Let us know!
