5 Questions We Have About Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

The last couple of years have seen no shortage of speculation and leaks about Konami gearing up to bring Metal Gear back from the dead, and recently, the long-rumoured Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, dubbed Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, finally got officially unveiled. Even so, many questions remain unanswered, and there’s still plenty about the game that we don’t know yet. While Konami will, of course, have more to show and say about the remake in the months ahead, for now, Metal Gear fans have got a number of burning questions when it comes to MGS Delta, and here, we’re going to go through a few of them.

WHAT ARE THE GAMEPLAY CHANGES?

Konami has said that while Metal Gear Solid Delta is going to be quite a faithful recreation of MGS3, it will nonetheless feature “evolved” gameplay- though that’s pretty much all the company has said so far. So the question then, of course, is exactly what kind of gameplay changes is the remake going to feature? Metal Gear Solid 3 is a two decade old game at this point, and even though it still holds up as the masterpiece that it was when it launched, there are aspects of the experience that can do with some polishing. In light of that, it’s no surprise that its remake will be making a few changes- but what changes exactly?

Can we expect the developers at Konami and Virtuos to look at Metal Gear titles that released after MGS3 and try and bring over some of their gameplay improvements into the remake? For instance, will MGS Delta look to incorporate the more emergent and sandbox-focused stealth mechanics that the series introduced with Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain? Will the remake make any changes to the original game’s focus on survival mechanics? Presumably, things such as the controls and the camera will receive a coat of polish, but can we expect larger, more significant changes to be made in the remake as well?

ARE THERE ANY LEVEL DESIGN CHANGES?

This in particular is a question that many will likely have. Metal Gear went open world with its last numbered entry, and though that decision was unpopular with some in the series’ fanbase, there’s no denying that that open world sandbox was one of The Phantom Pain’s biggest strengths. Will Metal Gear Solid Delta, as a game releasing in a post Phantom Pain world, and in an era where so many AAA titles feel the need to have open world design, adopt a more open ended structure as well?

Honestly, that probably wouldn’t be the best choice. While MGS3’s setting might see some obvious benefits from going open world, it’s worth remembering that above all else, what that game focused on first and foremost was its storytelling, and we’re not sure the remake would be able to maintain the original’s excellent pacing and narrative chops while also giving players the freedom to freely explore a massive open world. Of course, given the fact that Konami is billing this as a faithful remake, it’s probably safe to assume that it will be structured similarly to the original MGS3. 

WILL THE BOSS FIGHTS BE UPDATED?

Since its inception, the Metal Gear franchise has built its reputation partly on excellent boss fights, and over the years, it delivered a number of those across its multiple instalments on a consistent basis (Metal Gear Solid 5 notwithstanding). Metal Gear Solid 3 was no different in that regard. From a tense sniper battle in the jungle with The End to having to deal with The Pain and his hornets, from the fiery encounter with the pyromaniac known as The Fury to the climactic battle with Volgin, MGS3 was peppered with memorable boss battles from beginning to end.

Like a few other aspects of the game though, some of those fights have aged a little bit- some would argue they’ve aged a lot more than just a little bit, in fact. So is that something that Konami and Virtuos will be looking to address in Metal Gear Solid Delta? We’d be surprised and more than a little disappointed if that weren’t the case. The boss fights were a big part of why Snake Eater was the rollercoaster ride that it was, so our hope is its remake will make the appropriate improvements and changes on that front to wow players once again.

HOW FAITHFULLY WILL IT RECREATE THE STORY?

This is perhaps the most significant question that we have about this remake right now, because as we mentioned earlier, there’s probably nothing more important to the MGS3 experience than the game’s incredible story, which probably still remains the best story in the series to date. Learning about Big Boss’ origins, crossing paths with Ocelot in his younger days and watching him go about his double and triple crossing ways, meeting Eva, and of course, diving into the story of The Boss and her relationship with Naked Snake- there’s just so much in MGS3’s story that fans hold sacrosanct even now.

Konami has, of course, already said that where the story is concerned, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is going to faithfully adapt its source material- but does that mean it will make no changes whatsoever, similar to, say, what Naughty Dog did with its remake of The Last of Us Part 1? On one hand, that seems like the safest approach, and given how captivating MGS3’s tale remains even now, we wouldn’t mind experiencing it again without any changes in the slightest. Then again, this might also be a great chance to add in narrative elements that connect back to other games in the franchise. For instance, we know that MGS5 villain Skull Face was providing covert support for Naked Snake during the events of Operation Snake Eater, and seeing that added into the story would certainly be something series fans would be interested in. Of course, with Hideo Kojima not involved in Metal Gear any longer, there will likely be many series fans who’ll be nervous about any story changes or additions, so maybe that’s something Konami will want to steer clear of, at least for the time being.

WILL VOICE LINES BE RE-RECORDED?

The casting always has such a big role to play in Metal Gear games – just look at the controversy that was kicked up when Metal Gear Solid 5 replaced David Hayter with Kiefer Sutherland – so it’s no surprise that series fans are desperate to find out how Metal Gear Solid Delta is handling its voice cast. Well, there’s certainly good news on that front, with Konami having confirmed that the remake will be bringing back the original game’s voice cast.

We do not, however, know what exactly that will entail. Will the original voice cast come back and re-record their lines, or is MGS Delta just going to take the voice lines from the original game (or perhaps its HD Collection version) and remaster them? Frankly, we wouldn’t mind that one bit. The likes of Lori Alan and the aforementioned David Hayter absolutely knocked the ball out of the park in the original MGS3, so there’d be nothing wrong with using those exact same performances for the remake. If that is what’s going on though, that would also mean story changes in the game will be minimal at best.