Snake Eater – hands-on report – PlayStation.Blog

When Konami announced Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater on PlayStation 5, you could almost hear the iconic “!” ringing in the ears of the gaming world. A remake of the stealth classic Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater – originally available on PlayStation 2 – coming? With a slew of updates and improvements? There’s nowhere for Snake to hide – the whole planet is watching…

I played a short demo of MGS Delta, as well as chatted with the game’s producer, Noriaki Okamura, about how the game is shaping up to be more than just a simple solid.

The right team for the job

Remaking a cult classic like MGS3 is no small feat, which is exactly why the combined development team of Komani and Virtuos Studios has a mix of new and familiar talent from the original, combining fresh eyes with safe hands.

“We had to sift through some old development material, but thanks to the expertise of some veterans who worked on Snake Eater, it didn’t take us too long to learn the ins and outs of the preparation,” Okamura said. “We were also aware that there was a whole generation that had never played a Metal Gear Solid game before.”

Enhanced controls with traditional options

Keeping with the important but difficult philosophy of making Delta appeal to everyone, the main focus is on the controls. MGS3 traditionalists will feel right at home, but there’s also an option that will feel natural to modern audiences. So if you like playing with a third-person camera on the right stick while being able to move and shoot simultaneously via an over-the-shoulder view, you’ve got it.

“Originally, our goal was to keep everything as close to the original as possible,” Okamura explains. “But obviously over the course of 20 years, the way people play games has evolved and changed. So we looked at modern action games to make sure Delta was on par with some of those games, so it didn’t detract from the experience.”

This certainly had the desired effect during my demo playthrough, as the changes to Delta created a satisfying illusion of how I remember MGS3 being controlled even though that’s not the case. The transitions felt natural, smooth, and fun.

Consider accessibility

The number of quality of life improvements also extends to modern menu design and a number of invaluable accessibility options that make the game better for a wider audience. This includes the ability to customize how you prepare and use your weapons/equipment, removing the need to hold down buttons when grabbing enemies, and the ability to change visual elements like color calibration and center point display.

Using Unreal Engine 5

Of course, the overall presentation isn’t without its upgrades either. Unreal Engine 5 gives Delta an incredible visual punch. “We didn’t want new players coming to the game to feel like it was old or nostalgic,” Okamura says.

It’s an impressive feat. Every detail the director keeps intact, whether it’s bringing in the incredible depth and distance of the Tselinoyarsk forest, or using the camera in a real-time cutscene to zoom in close enough to see the pores on Snake’s skin.

Visually blend the old with the new

Like any Snake mission, however, such improvements aren’t easy to come by. “We initially thought we could just change the basic exoskeletons of the models,” laughs Okamura. “But when we saw them moving in-game with the old character movements, we realized they didn’t fit together anymore. So we had to tweak them—it was important to keep the player in the experience, but also to stay close to how the characters originally moved and breathed, and still make it seamless.”

Show damage system in battle

Creating a new look that feels familiar isn’t just about cosmetics. Konami has made it a point to show any injuries Snake receives during his missions throughout the game, which made me see how bloody Snake could get after being spotted by some guards. The answer? Well, let’s just say Snake was pretty much crimson by the time I finished.

While remaining cagey about how this will affect gameplay, Okamura confirmed that this will have a significant impact on Snake, highlighting the original’s in-game damage system. Want to keep Snake sharp? Better treat his fractures and cracks…

Play in Camo Index land

And then there’s the complex Camouflage Index System. Different uniforms, face paints, and camouflages improve Snake’s chances of going undetected on his missions, but this is taken to a new dimension with improved visuals. Roll around in dirt and mud and Snake will become convincingly covered in it, increasing his camouflage.

To test its improved fidelity to the original MGS3, I dunked Snake in Dremuchij swamp mud, completely covering him (admittedly after accidentally drowning him in a previous attempt). His entire face and body turned a wet brown, his hair was sticky and slippery… and his Camo stat maxed out, making him nearly invisible to nearby alligators.

Struggling with old and new expectations

If there’s one thing that’s finally as clear as some of Metal Gear Solid Delta’s improvements, it’s how seriously Okamura and his team took the task of reviving Snake Eater. “It’s just pressure, every day,” he says.

“We have a lot of veteran employees, but they’re also getting older, so this may be the last chance for some of our key people to work on these games while they’re still at the company. But it’s our job to make sure these games are still playable – not just for current players, but for future generations as well.”

While the demo ended too quickly at the iconic Boss Bridge scene, it was enough to reassure me that Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater will live up to the original’s lofty expectations. You’ll be able to experience it for yourself on PS5, with a release date to be revealed later this year.