Metal Gear Solid Delta Can Finally Fix the Game's Biggest Flaw
Kept you waiting, huh?
The Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater remake is real and it’s coming to PS5 ... sometime in the future. As announced during the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase, the remake, titled Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater is in the works, though very little else was revealed. This has been long-rumored for a while, and it’s heartening, as the 2004 original doesn’t hold up as well as many of us remember — due, in part, to its clunky controls. Delta: Snake Eater has the chance to fix this, offering a more fluid control scheme, allowing players to explore the Soviet Union’s jungles much easier.
The reveal trailer didn’t provide much information, though it did offer a sense of what the game will look like, at least. The jungle is deadly, and the trailer does a great job of showcasing that, with the circle of life at the forefront.
We open on some ants feasting on a frog’s carcass before the amphibian’s body is scooped up by a bird. After landing on a log floating in the swamp, it is quickly attacked by a giant man-eating snake. Then, a crocodile ambushes the snake before the camera pans to reveal ... Naked Snake (aka Big Boss)! It’s a sneaky trailer that surely drives hype for the return of Metal Gear Solid.
And Naked Snake is at the top of this food chain.
While we didn’t get to see gameplay, the remake will almost certainly offer better controls, akin to other modern third-person games. Konami says the Snake Eater remake will be a “faithful recreation of the original story and game design, while evolving the gameplay with stunning visuals and a seamless user experience.”
Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater is a faithful recreation of the 2004 original and will feature improved gameplay.
The original Snake Eater from 2004 remains a blast to play, but its controls haven’t aged as well.
This is particularly troublesome, as you can easily run into camouflaged creatures in the jungle, forcing you to make split-second movements to quickly get away. With the clunky controls of the original, getting away was often trickier than you’d expect, as turning the camera was frequently imprecise. Likewise, all of the first-person action feels a bit floaty, making it difficult to line up a shot.
Other times, you might be hiding in some grass while inching your way out of an enemy’s line of sight, which was difficult since you weren't able to make minor movement adjustments as expected.
Snakes aren’t the only thing waiting for you in the jungle.
Remaining hidden is a major component of this game, so it’ll be nice to see this vision fully realized with the upcoming remake. And these are just issues with the movement — the close-quarters-combat (known as CQC) is even harder to master, as it requires far too many button inputs to execute certain moves. You’d frequently get an enemy in a hold and fumble around with the buttons before finally pulling off a maneuver — likely the wrong one, since there are so many options.
The remake will likely remedy these complaints (among others), hopefully allowing for more fluid, precise controls that make it easier to play. Sadly, it’s unknown when the remake will launch, so we might have to wait a while to get our hands on it.
Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater is in development for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
