Starting our Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater review, we need to go back to the original Metal Gear Solid 3, which released at a time when Konami had a full understanding of the PlayStation 2’s capabilities, and to this day, it remains one of the greatest games of all time. The presentation, art direction, and gameplay hold up impressively, especially the Subsistence re-release, which further enhanced the gameplay with a fully controllable 3D camera system that became a series staple ever since.
Metal Gear Solid 3 was so good, most people got the HD collection just to re-experience it running 60 frames per second and to marvel at its high-def artistry. While the Master Collection was an awesome package, fans noted technical issues and missing content. After a few updates, most of the technical issues were addressed, but some of the fun extras never made it back.
Most modern games pale in comparison to Metal Gear Solid 3’s presentation and explosive amount of content. Features like Snake vs Monkey would have been paid DLC in any other game if made today, and nobody would dare to throw in a hidden nightmare mini hack-and-slash. Yet Konami dared to go all the way and pack in everything imaginable as if it might be the last game they ever made.
When an Unreal Engine 5 remake of Metal Gear Solid 3 was announced, it was met with confusion due to the timing. The Master Collection was already released, which included it and received bug fixes. The original game seemed as perfect as it could get, but little did we know that it actually could get a lot better. Find out how in our Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater review!
This is a review coupled with a supplemental video review. You can watch the video review or read the full review below:
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: Windows PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 (reviewed)
Release Date: August 28, 2025
Price: $69.99
Metal Gear Solid 3’s story unfolds in 1964, deep in the Cold War’s shadow. A lone operative, Naked Snake, drops into the Soviet jungle on a covert mission: rescue a defecting scientist, Sokolov, who’s building a monstrous weapon, the Shagohod, a nuclear-armed tank that could tip the global balance.
The mission, dubbed Virtuous, is no clean op. Snake’s mentor, semi-lover, and semi-mother figure, The Boss, defects to the Soviets, joining a rogue unit called Cobra and taking Sokolov with her. Alongside her is Colonel Volgin, a sadistic lunatic with lightning coursing through his veins, hell-bent on igniting war.
The headlining Operation Snake Eater unfurls into a psychedelic odyssey of double and triple crosses. The storytelling and cinematic style are best described as John McTiernan meets James Cameron, but with a surrealist twist that feels like David Lynch playing with G.I. Joe figures.
The original Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was set in 1964 but released in 2004, eerily foreshadowing real-world geopolitical, technological, and cultural shifts, as it melded Cold War espionage with uncanny prescience about the modern era. Its narrative is steeped in themes of loyalty, betrayal, and the manipulation of information, mirroring dynamics that have only grown sharper in the decades since.
Snake Eater’s backdrop is the U.S. and Soviet standoff with covert ops driving the global stakes, a persistence of proxy wars, and covert meddling. The Philosophers, a shadowy cabal pulling strings behind both superpowers, prefigure modern anxieties about unelected elites or globalists influencing policy.
The Boss’s defection and the layered betrayals in Snake Eater highlight the weaponization of loyalty and truth. Her story challenges blind loyalty to nations, a theme that resonates even more strongly in an era of polarized politics and widespread distrust in institutions. Despite being from 2004, tensions between the U.S. and Russia have only gotten hotter.
Snake Eater’s prescience lies in its grasp of power’s various mechanics: nations, secrets, and technology collide in ways that obscure truth and erode trust.
It saw the future not in specifics but in patterns and cycles of conflict, betrayal, and control that define the 21st century as much as they did 1964. It was a warning of those who control the narrative and the tech hold the world’s fate, and no one comes out clean.
The strength of the story isn’t just its prescience, but the impressive humanity and care put into the characters. Its surreality and fantasy elements are not meant to be taken literally at face value. Instead of trying to understand how the Cobras are all freaks or why Volgin has lightning powers, you are meant to internalize what they symbolize.
Volgin’s insane powers are not explained because they’re meant to represent mythological archetypes, such as Zeus, casting him as a self-styled god of war. His grandiose speeches and desire to reshape the world through the Shagohod align with this, but his powers’ volatility betrays his hubris. His “kuwabara” chanting further reinforces the spiritual symbolism steeped in the story.
Most cutscenes are layered with style and multiple meanings. It adds a profundity that was not seen in 2004, and you still don’t see it often. Delta smartly kept all the cutscenes and dialogue 1:1. All camera moves are identical, and the remake reuses the same audio, except for a couple of codec calls. Paramedic’s dialogue about Godzilla has been updated to reference the 70th anniversary and added dialogue that references the Oscar nominations for Godzilla Minus One.
Delta is the same story fans will know. The fan service has been preserved, and even the politically incorrect jokes made it in unscathed. The original game never shied away from some heavy concepts and imagery, and I can assuredly report that Delta retains everything and then some.
The HD Collection and Master Collection regretfully could not include Snake vs Monkey, but it’s here in Delta. Even the Guy Savage mini game makes its triumphant return, and it’s even more perplexing (and surprisingly deeper) than when it first appeared. Even the secret theater videos are back, but you gotta find them by holding up specific guards.
Delta’s gameplay is almost exactly as you remember it, but with some tasteful tweaks and changes that improve the experience. You can crouch walk like you could in the 3DS port, throwing items has a visible arc, and CQC has stylish cinematic editing. Finding the Kerotans or GA-KOs gets checked off on the map, and Snake can aim his weapons more effectively while prone. You can even still prematurely assassinate The End if you know how.
There are countless other improvements, but the most helpful is the quick-change camo system that dramatically cuts down on the Survival Menu, which was a huge drag in the original. The wound system functions the same as it always has, but now, when Snake gets an injury, pressing up on the d-pad becomes a contextual prompt to go straight to the first-aid screen, which helps cut down on the tediousness of the old system.
First aid was always a problem because it never worked the way it was intended. The idea was that Snake had to use resources to heal major wounds, but it never amounted to much other than busy work in a menu. Time is paused when doing this, so it has no tension. It would have been a real-time minigame where players had to administer first aid during the main gameplay.
The stealth-action gameplay still feels the same, but with more fluid and lifelike animation. Snake is still running around areas, avoiding guards and trying to keep his stamina up by eating whatever flora and fauna he can find. Some of the old and charming PlayStation 2-isms are still present, like the oversized spinning items and the limited enemy AI that can’t chase Snake into crawlspaces.
The areas are 1:1 with the original, which may seem small compared to the epic scope of The Phantom Pain, but it makes up for it with unparalleled detail, and the gameplay is slower-paced and designed around tight quarters. Every stage is like a mini-immersive sim with various routes and ways to sneak past sentries or amusing ways to mess with them. Sure, you can kill everyone, but there is more fun in blowing up the food storage and starving them.
Snake Eater is widely considered one of the most epic stealth action games of all time, with one of the most engrossing stories in any game. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a very tasteful and faithful remake that aspires to be the most complete and fully featured iteration of an enduring classic. The new gameplay features make it easier to play, but not easier to beat.
The new graphics are appreciated, and everyone looks great. The original’s visuals still hold up, and while I could take or leave the new realism, they only truly show their strength in expanding the vistas. The original Snake Eater could feel a bit cramped due to the room-based level design. Delta feels so much more expansive and makes every area feel less claustrophobic.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a great way for old fans to replay an undisputed classic. Newcomers will appreciate the added features and smoother playability. The story and gameplay are rock solid, with tons of features and unlockable things to mess around with that will keep players busy longer than ever.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater was reviewed on PlayStation 5 using a code provided by Konami. Additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy is here. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is now available for Windows PC (via Steam), Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.
