It’s a great time to be a Hideo Kojima fan. With Death Stranding 2 already taking the gaming world by storm, the legendary director’s previous work is set to shine in the spotlight once again with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater less than two months away from its release for current-gen systems.
There’s been a lot of carefully controlled hype around Konami’s remake of one of modern gaming’s cult classics, with Konami releasing excellent trailers for the remake that showcase its enhanced visuals and its ultimate goal of being a remake that stays faithful to the original title that inspired it. The origin story of one of gaming’s most badass antagonists is certainly a great choice for Konami’s mission to bring its older games to a new generation of gamers.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was among the PlayStation 2’s most iconic titles, stripping away all of the then-modern conveniences that Solid Snake was used to while introducing Naked Snake, putting him on the path to becoming Big Boss. It was a title with top-notch stealth mechanics and an insightful look into how the former soldier became disillusioned enough to begin questioning his ideals.
It’s perhaps the most obvious choice for a remake considering how Big Boss has been present in some form in nearly every other title in the iconic franchise. However, while Konami has been quite enthusiastic about showcasing its work on the upcoming remake, it has remained largely silent on a very important aspect of the game: a comprehensive overview of how its new features blend with what the studio has advertised as a largely faithful recreation of its original gameplay systems. Sure, we have seen bits of gameplay here and there but what we are desperately lacking is a deep-dive.
For fans of the original title’s emphasis on striking from the shadows, and for those players curious to see how the remake could integrate the many improvements, this lack of gameplay footage can be quite concerning. It also goes against the strategy that Konami is following with its other games, making the lack of a deep dive footage for Delta stand out by its absence.
In the run up to a remake that could very well be the catalyst for similar ones of other games in an IP that has held Konami in good standing over the years, there’s one major question on fans’ minds—where the hell is the actual gameplay for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater?
A Game That Needs No Introduction
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for nearly two decades, the Metal Gear Solid franchise is one that is kind of a household name for gamers. Konami clearly knew what it was doing when it decided to relaunch its iconic franchise on current-gen systems, allowing it to add fresh visuals and improvements to its core gameplay loop that could very well turn out to be the definitive way to play it.
While hand-on previews of the game from various publications highlighted its similarities to the original title ahead of the Tokyo Game Show 2024, there was apparently no gameplay footage accompanying those impressions, which could have indicated how the visual overhaul and other changes actually impacted the gameplay loop on offer. To be fair, Konami did showcase some snippets of gameplay at TGS 2024 and there was a public demo for fans to try the game out, but an in-depth look at how the various systems were running together was still lacking. Even the trailer that Konami revealed at the event conspicuously lacked a look at how the remake would feel like in players’ hands – a situation that remains unchanged even as we inch closer to the game’s eagerly awaited release date.
Further promotional content, a very brief gameplay trailer at the most recent State of Play notwithstanding, have also failed to showcase a lot of gameplay footage. It’s a rather baffling omission from Konami considering how on point the rest of its attempts to bring its modern take on an age old classic have been.
Each of these trailers has certainly done a great job of showcasing just how much the revamped visuals of the game bring a new layer of photorealism that was just not possible in previous iterations while also shedding light on how Konami has managed to stay true to the original game’s thrilling story and memorable cast of characters. There were official overviews of the game from Konami, each of which was a perfect opportunity to show us in-depth gameplay but failed to do so.
Konami’s enthusiasm to showcase its attempt to recreate a classic title from its library is definitely commendable. The new visuals, the addition of The Secret Theatre collectibles, a Fox Hunt multiplayer mode, a better way to apply camouflage, and so much more, are all fine additions to the game that can bring a lot of fond memories back for hardcore fans of Metal Gear Solid.
However, for a remake that claims to be as faithful to the original title as it possibly can, there’s no real replacement for true, uninterrupted, unedited gameplay as a way to lay emphasis on that promise. Just take a look at how CD Projekt Red recently showcased gameplay for a game that’s probably years away from release as an example!
That lack of actual gameplay footage is even more puzzling when Konami’s approach to its other remakes and upcoming titles is considered.
When Stealth and Secrecy Become Counterproductive
Consider the run up to Konami’s very well-received remake of Silent Hill 2 which it developed cooperatively with The Bloober Team. We were quite enthusiastic about the gameplay it showcased back then, when Bloober showcased early sections of the new game in comparison to the original. It was a clever way to demonstrate how the new visuals and quality of life changes would perhaps necessitate a new approach from players who may have been quite good at handling whatever threats they encountered in it.
It’s significant that Konami chose to show off its improvements on Silent Hill 2, while it hasn’t done the same for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. What makes this even more concerning is the fact that Silent Hill f has also received similar treatment, with a lot of its gameplay features being brought to its potential players well ahead of its September 2025 release.
Delta launches nearly a month earlier than Silent Hill f but has not received the same treatment. Is there more to Konami’s silence that meets the eye?
Should We Just Let Konami Cook?
The gameplay trailer for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater was barely two minutes long but we did find a lot left to be desired in its animations that did not seem to work as well as they did back in the day thanks to the game’s visual overhaul. We did consider the possibility that Konami was probably using an old build of the upcoming remake and would perhaps address those shortcomings in the final release.
It’s more than likely that the Japanese studio is doing just that, polishing and fine-tuning its remake to ensure that it does justice to the original while also being enough to pull in a new generation of gamers and get them hooked on its iconic franchise. With remakes of other Metal Gear Solid titles already on the cards, that would certainly be an excellent strategy to ensure Delta’s success.
However, with only two months to go, Konami would be better served if it were to bring a comprehensive gameplay showcase to the table in the near future. That’s because all of the excellent work it has already showcased must be backed up by the assertion that Delta plays as well as it did in the original game, if not better.
The lack of gameplay footage is sure to have fans questioning the remake’s quality which would be a downright shame for Konami considering how amazing its remake looks, while its purported quality of life features are set to bring a layer of convenience that was lacking in the original game. Showcasing how it plays at this point would reassure potential buyers, ensuring a smooth launch by earning the trust of hardcores fans that may be prone to finding reasons to dislike a new release.
It’s especially significant to build trust considering that Konami and Kojima have since parted ways, which could be a major drawback to fans of the director’s work and a possible reason for them to give Delta a pass citing that his absence has caused Konami to falter in how it has handled the remake of his work.
The stakes could not be higher for Konami considering the legacy it is trying to live up to. But thankfully, the solution to its current predicament is rather simple and straightforward.
A Peek Behind the Curtain
Let’s put it this way. Konami has two months for somebody from its development team to sit in front of a screen, boot up a working build of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, hit record on their system of choice, and go to town on a few soldiers who are unfortunate enough to be in the way of their objective. Once that’s out of the way, the studio simply has to follow a very effective marketing playbook and bring that footage to the rest of the world.
Perhaps the same developer could give us their two cents on how the remake measures up against its inspiration. It would validate everything the studio has been telling us up until this point and reassure eager fans that the new game is everything they’re hoping to be (us included).
That isn’t too much of an ask by any count. All it would take is just 10 solid minutes of gameplay to reassure fans and newcomers to the franchise that this remake is as tactical and thrilling as the original. We just hope that Konami is already gearing up to give us just that.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.