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.

The showcase also featured new gameplay for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Konami’s upcoming (and long-awaited) remake of Metal Gear Solid 3, out on August 28th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. At less than one minute and 50 seconds, it offered a fine balance of gameplay, teases and cinematic moments. The motorcycle chase scene through the forest looked thrilling, as did the CQC combat with Colonel Volgin. And for a game that’s showcased so much over the past several months, it’s impressive that there are still teases, like Raikov’s brief appearance and what seemed to be Metal Gear Online. The fact that it’s out in less than three months is almost unbelievable, especially a month before Silent Hill f and its freakiness.

But it can never be so cut and dry for Konami, especially when it comes to Metal Gear Solid in the post-Kojima era. Amid all the impressive animations, like that sweet takedown on Volgin, there were some odd standouts. It’s somewhat noticeable in the start when Snake is walking around crouched. At first, it doesn’t really register until you notice his knees reaching way up to his shoulders while his back remains unmoving. Which doesn’t seem that immersion-breaking – just more odd than anything else.

However, then we arrive at Ocelot’s reload animation, which pairs bizarrely with his unchanging expression. You’d be forgiven for thinking it’s some clever edit to the music done for humorous effect, but no, that’s the actual animation. Even his running animation while shooting looks a bit stiff. Beyond that, one other noticeable quirk is The Fury. Jetting through a tight hallway, twirling around and emitting flames? Not bad, but the flames casting almost no light or shadows on the surroundings felt odd.

Even with how visually sharp its textures and character models look or the thrill of chase sequences, there’s just a rough vibe to this trailer. There are some theories as to why the animation isn’t quite up to snuff, such as the animations carrying over directly from the original and not meshing well with the revamped, realistic visuals. Konami, of course, wouldn’t change anything because it would go against its goal, which is to retain everything that made Metal Gear Solid 3, simply updating the visuals (and throwing in a few quality-of-life improvements for those who want them).

However, Konami did touch up the animations. Producer and veteran Noriaki Okamura told Famitsu back in October 2024 that the team only intended to update the visuals. “As long as the backgrounds and character models were cleaned up, we decided to leave the rest of the game as it was,” he said, and that a prototype was created with the animations as they were. The results were less than satisfactory.

“We couldn’t help but feel a sense of discomfort,” said Okamura. “The graphics had been improved, but if the system, viewpoint and character animations had not evolved to match the current hardware performance, the game would not play as well as it could. I had this concern, but I was convinced of it when I started making the game.”

Konami thus reworked and updated “almost all” the animations for the remake. The development team even went as far as to utilize video data from a training course on knife motions for the original and used the “current technology to express them while looking at the correct knowledge again,” said Okamura. So the team had the same reaction way back when – of the original animations looking off when paired with the new visuals – and went about improving things.

How much they’ve improved is unknown, and unfortunately, a trailer that’s cutting between shots is no substitute for longer, extensive gameplay, where players can see how it all plays out. The concerns are slowly but surely growing. On the one hand, you have those who feel like the charm and ambience of the original have been lost, if not heavily diminished (and giving them a visual filter doesn’t seem to be enough). On the other hand, some are holding it to the standard of other remakes, especially in the Resident Evil series, and that it doesn’t look as polished in comparison. You could even argue that it’s comparable to Silent Hill f, whose animations also seemed like they require some more polish, except NeoBards Entertainment doesn’t have similar expectations as a remake of one of the greatest games of all time, that too with Konami personally in charge (and Virtuous assisting).

Of course, we’ve seen similar criticisms and concerns before for another Konami-published remake – Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2. Remember that one trailer full of action that even the studio called out for not being the best presentation of the experience, never mind the rough performance and iffy animations? By the time it launched, the overall experience felt incredibly polished and just genuinely incredible, becoming one of the best games of last year.

You could argue that Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater has even less time than Silent Hill 2 remake to polish and correct things. However, it may be a case, as with Silent Hill 2 remake, that Konami is showcasing footage running on an older build. It would certainly help explain those odd shifts between the animation looking smooth – the fight with Volgin, the chase sequence, etc. – and oddly underwhelming, as with Ocelot. This is a common occurrence for video game trailers debuting months before launch, though there’s no way of knowing if this is the case for Delta: Snake Eater.

Does that mean it’s time to panic and proclaim the remake as a complete and utter failure on Konami’s part? A misfire in trying to appease fans, a lack of concise vision, and so on? Well, no, because there are too many variables at play, that too with a few months left before launch. However, even if the development team is aware of these issues and any complaints seem superfluous, some skepticism and pointing out places where things don’t seem to be clicking are important. Perhaps that feedback will further improve the experience, maybe even add that ambience that some believe is so desperately missing. We can always hope.

You could chalk everything up to this being a less-than-amazing trailer, especially since it has not one but two additional endings to tease extra content, and wouldn’t be too far off. Sometimes great games get bad trailers, as seen with Silent Hill 2 remake. It happens more often than not.

Nevertheless, like many others, we’re still looking forward to the remake, diving back into the jungle and stealthily dismantling security detail before going up against the Cobra Unit and The Boss. We’re still keen on hearing “Snake Eater,” especially with Cynthia Harrell singing an updated version and sounding as incredible as ever. There’s time for improvement, and hopefully, Konami will make the most of it.

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.

What immediately stands out in the gameplay trailer is just how faithful MGS Delta is to the original source material. David Hayter’s recognizable gravelly tones echo from Naked Snake’s mouth like it’s 2004 all over again. Yes, all voice lines in MGS Delta are reused from the original game, as confirmed by Konami rep Tommy Williams. Speaking of sound, we can likely expect a lightly arranged version of the original soundtrack, if the trailers are anything to go by. The odds are pretty good that we’ll be able to switch between classic and MGS Delta soundtracks just like we are with the camera angles and control scheme, as we discuss further in the article.

And then there’s how the trailer is shot and framed. There are nearly a dozen 1-to-1 shots you can compare with the original, and it all looks so faithfully captured and enhanced. The cockpit inside the helicopter looks particularly stunning in MGS Delta. Just look at that dimly lit center console topped with oodles of dials and switches; it really does put the original shot to shame despite how good it looked back in the day. Slow panning shots make for great sun flare moments, and that’s exactly what the MGS Delta trailer showcases with its recreation of Snake shimmying across the bridge edge as the sun glimmers through the ropes.

The most interesting shot comparison to me is when Snake sneaks across the scaffolding above the broken wall. The original had a cloud of mist enveloping the surroundings, which provided lower visibility and a unique atmosphere. MGS Delta’s version of this scene clearly shows every bush and cranny with remarkable detail and narry a cloud to be seen overhead. I’ve heard some say they prefer the foggy atmosphere and color filter of the original, but the clarity of MGS Delta retains the classic MGS3 look with added realism giving a slightly different vibe.

Unlike other recent remake projects (I’m looking at you, Silent Hill 2), the redone characters look amazing without any instances of uncanny valley plaguing character faces. Snake looks exactly how we’d expect him to look with the modern fidelity treatment and I wouldn’t change a thing about his new design. Augmenting Snake’s facial design are his characteristic animations, which the trailer captures perfectly. I especially like Snake’s eyes scanning the environment with separate iris movement. MGS Delta’s character animations manage to look natural while fitting the mannerisms and familiar motions from the original. And you know what defined MGS3 back in the day? Rain. The rain looks spectacular in the Metal Gear Solid Delta trailer, with little dapples of drops flitting about in between the jungle branches. My goodness, it all looks so good. Konami is clearly putting that Unreal Engine 5 shadow technology and Lumen lighting to good use here.

The visual tone seems too good to be true, but what about the unique Kojima aspects? Kojima’s quirky tone even seems untouched in Metal Gear Solid Delta. For example, that classic Rambo Snake scream when firing the LMG is alive and well, along with the iconic exclamation mark visual cue and sound. Based on the trailer, we have little reason to doubt that Konami will keep all the zany Kojima aspects from the original into MGS Delta. Everything the trailer showcased has been an enhancement of the original game with little altercation to the intent or artistry of the original, so we’re hopeful the full experience delivers a full-blown modern enhancement of the classic.

This is exactly what fans want, and if the final game can stick the landing of what the trailer showed, how can Metal Gear Solid Delta not be a beloved remake? The original game wasn’t perfect though; certain gameplay elements are rough to return to, defining the janky controls of games from the era. Thankfully, MGS Delta is giving us a new control scheme that addresses many of the original’s shortcomings. Konami calls this modern control scheme, ‘New Style’ and will also include a classic ‘Legacy’ control scheme to compliment it. The New Style control scheme incorporates a dynamic over-the-shoulder camera and updated third-person shooter controls.

You can already see some of this control scheme in action with Snake smoothly going prone and aiming the gun while crawling backward in the trailer. And please, please give us finely tuned gradient aiming this time. The finicky sensitivity of the previous versions’ aiming is notoriously clunky. The Legacy controls feature the classic overhead camera and, in the words of Konami, “the original controls from the original Metal Gear Solid 3”. It’s such an awesome package having both control schemes in one, and it gives us hope that the original soundtrack will be an option as well.

We have yet to see or hear any details on how menus are implemented in Metal Gear Solid Delta. Based on all the improvements shown so far, it would be shocking if they didn’t fix the unintuitive menu hopping of the original. Remember having to manually update camouflage and refill stamina every time you stepped into some new terrain? That constant in-and-out of menus was a flow-breaker, but thankfully patching up wounds has been updated in a big way in MGS Delta, giving us confirmation that they’re overhauling healing.

Metal Gear Solid Delta is going all-out on the wound healing system, now making wounds permanently visible on Snake even after healing them. Footage shows just how detailed Snake’s wounds look. Bullet wounds and deep scars remain on Snake’s body even after healing him, resulting in a dynamic real-time wound system that adds even more player connection to Snake based on how we perform in the game. There’s plenty of other gameplay details that we don’t have info on. Like, are they overhauling the Survival Viewer? Is the Tranq Gun better balanced so it isn’t as game-breaking this time around? Only time will tell! I’m curious about boss fights. Konami has an excellent opportunity to fix the shoddy CQC mechanics of the Volgin fight, in particular. Some of the boss arenas were too open for stealth to function prominently in the fight, so hopefully we’ll get some enhanced stealth boss mechanics.

Lastly, MGS Delta also marks the first time we’ll likely have a version of MGS3 that is well-optimized for PC. The Master Collection is tied to the internal game speed making the game feel fast-forwarded and clunky when playing it above 30 fps on PC. MGS Delta is likely giving us that consistent 60 FPS PC release we’ve been waiting for. The unanimous fan approval the recent trailers have received is a clear sign that Metal Gear Solid Delta is shaping up to be a solid (pun intended) remake. Think about it, It’s not an easy task to satisfy fans for a game as sacred and beloved as MGS3, yet the latest MGS Delta showing did just that. Konami just needs to fulfill what the trailers have promised and we’ll have one of the best remakes we’ve ever had. MGS Delta hits all the requirements for a great remake: faithfulness, enhancement, and fixing archaic design. We’ll have to wait and see if Konami nails this one, but it already looks like it has the potential to be one of the best remakes of all time with what we were shown.

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.

Nothing else was revealed, save for the remake coming to PS5, which is interesting considering the rumors that it’s a multi-platform release. In addition to the remake, another rumor was confirmed – the original versions of Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater are being re-released for PS5 this Autumn.

These will comprise Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1, implying that other volumes are in development. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime and hopefully some actual gameplay for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Remake.

According to Windows Central’s Jez Corden, Konami is also planning on announcing a Metal Gear Solid Classic Collection soon- potentially next month, though where exactly the announcement will be made remains to be seen. According to Corden, the collection will include remastered versions of the original Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

It’s also been claimed that the remastered collection, similar to the aforementioned Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, will be multiplatform. Given how old these three games are, does that mean it will launch for the Nintendo Switch as well? That remains to be seen.

Either way, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of a remastered Metal Gear Solid collection, with reports earlier in the year also claiming that the same was being considered behind the scenes at Konami.

It was recently claimed that Metal Gear Solid 3’s remake was going to be exclusive to the PS5, as part of Konami having signed exclusivity deals with Sony for the Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid, and Castlevania franchises. Given how much Sony loves exclusivity deals, and the fact that Silent Hill 2’s remake has already been confirmed as a PS5 console exclusive, it was easy to assume that other Konami franchises may very well follow suit.

However, as per a repot published by Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson citing anonymous sources, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater’s remake is not going to be exclusive to the PS5. Henderson claims the game will be announced with a teaser at the upcoming PlayStation Showcase rather than with a full gameplay trailer, and that it will launch simultaneously for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Previous rumours have claimed that the remake is targeting a 2024 launch.

If you’re confused by the conflicting reports, thankfully, it seems like it won’t be long before we get official word on the game, when it will launch, and what platforms it will launch for. Stay tuned for more details in the coming days.

However, according to journalist Jez Corden, specifically where Metal Gear Solid 3 is concerned, an Xbox release might not be completely out of the question. Speaking recently on the Xbox Two podcast, Corden said that based on what he had heard, though Konami has indeed struck “some sort of” a deal with Sony, Metal Gear Solid 3 might not be a “full” PS5 exclusive. As per Corden, the deal could potentially involve timed exclusivity, exclusive DLC, or marketing rights, and the game might still end up coming to Xbox consoles down the line.

As for when the remake will be announced, it’s been claimed that Konami is set to unveil it at the rumoured upcoming PlayStation Showcase, which is allegedly scheduled for the week of May 25.

XboxEra co-founder Nick Baker recently said on the XboxEra Podcast that the Metal Gear Slid 3 remake might be announced at the showcase, which is allegedly set for later this month, and that the title could be exclusive to PS5.

Interestingly enough, Windows Central’s Jez Corden has corroborated this, saying on Twitter that he’s “heard similar” about Metal Gear Solid 3’s PS5 exclusivity, and going on to add that Sony has agreed exclusivity deals with Konami for Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, and Castlevania. Silent Hill 2’s upcoming remake is, of course, already confirmed to be launching exclusively for PS5 and PC, but does that mean the other two franchises will release for PC as well. That’s something Corden says he is unsure on.

Of course, with the PlayStation Showcase rumoured to take place later this month, there’s a chance we’ll end up getting official details on this front sooner rather than later.

Earlier this year, it was also reported that the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake is targeting a 2024 launch. Read more on that through here.

Heard similar about Metal Gear exclusivity for PlayStation btw. https://t.co/xH1C7iJ0O3

— Jez (@JezCorden) May 7, 2023

https://twitter.com/JezCorden/status/1655230347175510016

Ye, hopefully they're good. I'll literally buy a PS5 for Metal Gear if it's not coming to pc. But not sure if exclusivity includes pc or not atm.

— Jez (@JezCorden) May 7, 2023

Robinson says that Konami is now planning to launch the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake sometime in 2024. Interestingly, he claims that re-releases “of some kind” of previous Metal Gear Solid games might also be part of the plan, which is something else that past leaks have claimed as well.

According to Robinson, Konami was planning on announcing its plans for the revival of Metal Gear Solid at E3 this year, though given the uncertainty surrounding whether E3 2023 will even go ahead, it remains to be seen how those plans will change (if they need to change, that is).

Previously, it was reported that the company would be announcing the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake and a new Castlevania game at E3.

Earlier this year, veteran Konami producer Noriaki Okamura said that the company would be making “long awaited” announcements sometime in 2023, further fueling speculation that some of its beloved dormant properties could be gearing up to follow in Silent Hill’s footsteps and return to the limelight.

MGS3 remake is now a 2024 title and there's still talk of MGS re-releases of some kind. E3 window was their marketing plan, last I heard. https://t.co/Euaw3iEdrN

— Andy Robinson (@Andy_VGC) March 28, 2023

KEEP: CAMOUFLAGE MECHANICS

The Metal Gear Solid franchise has always been a standard bearer for the stealth genre, and back in the day, that was very much the case with Metal Gear Solid 3 as well. One of several ways it improved upon its predecessors in this arena was with its new camouflage mechanics, which required players to manually select specific camouflage suits and paints to allow them to blend into varying environments to varying degrees. It was a system that worked as well in execution as it sounded on paper, and it was a big part of that game’s central loop. Obviously, we’re assuming that if the Snake Eater remake is real, it’ll make improvements to emphasize this mechanic even further- but improvements is what we’re hoping for, not replacements. The camouflage mechanic definitely needs to stay in.

KEEP: THE SURVIVAL MECHANICS

Just like its camouflage mechanics, Metal Gear Solid 3’s survival mechanics were a crucial part of the game in more ways than one, and formed an important part of its identity. From a narrative perspective, it made a lot of sense that Naked Snake had to pay extra focus to things such as his injuries and hunger while he was all alone behind enemy lines, while from a gameplay perspective, the execution of those ideas was, in a word, incredible. This is one area where we’d say the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake should make little to no changes and just bring over the survival systems pretty much exactly as they were in the original game. MGS3 struck a great balance in how it implemented them, making them an important part of the experience while also ensuring that they didn’t feel too overbearing, and hopefully, the remake will follow in its footsteps.

KEEP: THE STORY INTACT

This one’s kind of obvious. For all of its excellent boss fights and its incredible stealth gameplay, what makes Metal Gear Solid 3 stand out to this day more than anything else is its stellar story, which sinks its claws into you right off the bat and somehow keeps getting progressively more captivating until the very end. That story needs to be brought over without too many changes. Remakes sometimes have a tendency to make narrative changes where they’re not necessarily needed, and going down that route would be disastrous for a Snake Eater remake. Obviously, there is some room for improvement here as well – for instance, we’d love for the relationship and history between Naked Snake and The Boss to be established much better than it was in the original game – but any narrative changes the MGS3 remake makes (if it’s real) should be additive only.

KEEP: THE ORIGINAL VOICE CAST

Again, this is an obvious one, but given the Metal Gear franchise’s recent history, it’s one that bears mentioning nonetheless. Metal Gear Solid 5 ruffled more than a few feathers when it replaced David Hayter with Kiefer Sutherland as the voice of Big Boss, and since then, the vast majority of series fans have agreed that should the franchise ever come back, Hayter should come back with it. His performance as Naked Snake in Metal Gear Solid 3 is one for the ages, and we’d hate for him to not get the chance to potentially even improve upon it in a remake. We feel the best course of action for the remake would be to bring back the original game’s voice cast, especially when it comes to the like of the aforementioned David Hayter, not to mention Lori Alan, who did an incredible job with her portrayal of The Boss.

KEEP: THE CODEC CALLS

Again, an obvious one, and one that would apply to pretty much any new Metal Gear game, remake or not. Metal Gear’s codec calls have always been an integral part of the franchise, and so it was in MGS3 as well. Naked Snake’s long, meandering conversations with his support crew that often veered into topics that felt unrelated to the story were not only incredible flavour text, they also had a very unique charm to them that added immensely to the game’s identity. Codec calls might not have too much of an impact on how the game actually plays for the most part, but it’s fair to say that Snake Eater would be a very different game without them. As such, the remake needs to make sure that it brings those over as faithfully as it can.

CHANGE: THE LEVEL DESIGN

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with Metal Gear Solid 3’s level design- not even in the slightest. If the remake ends up following the same structure as the original game, we’d have next to no issues with that. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t any room for improvement- especially in the modern context. Metal Gear Solid 5 was an excellent showcase of how well the series’ stealth mechanics can be translated into an open world format, and we’d love for Metal Gear Solid 3 to do something similar. Even if it doesn’t end up being completely open world, we’d still like to see areas that are much larger and offer a much wider playing space. Of course, at the same time, the incredibly designed indoor environments of MGS3 shouldn’t be done away with either, so a balance between the two is essentially what we’re hoping for.

CHANGE: THE CQC MECHANICS

Close quarters combat, or CQC, has become an integral part of Metal Gear gameplay over the years, but Snake Eater was, of course, the first game to introduce it- and frankly, looking back at it, it didn’t do a particularly good job of it. Even at the time, it’s fair to say that the CQC was one of the clunkiest aspects of Snake Eater’s gameplay. The series has, in the years since then, improved upon the idea in subsequent entries, but we’d say there’s still plenty of room for improvement there. If you’re looking for good melee combat in a stealth-focused game, just look at how The Last of Us Part 1 implemented it- we wouldn’t mind seeing something similar in an MGS3 remake.

CHANGE: VOLGIN BOSS FIGHT

This might be a bit too specific, especially compared to some of the other things we’ve spoken about in this feature, but if you ask Metal Gear Solid fans what they feel is the series’ most frustrating boss fight, chances are the majority of them will tell you that Volgin is right up there. This was a complicated fight, owing to Volgin’s love for shields and electricity, and while that wouldn’t be too much of an issue by itself, the time limit that the fight imposed made things considerably annoying- not to mention the fact that the fight was also a bit too reliant on the game’s clunky CQC mechanics. MGS3 had plenty of solid boss fights, but this is one that we’d hope to see be completely reimagined in a remake.

CHANGE: THE SHOOTING MECHANICS

For its time, Metal Gear Solid 3 had decent shooting mechanics, especially considering the fact that this wasn’t a game that relied too much on shooting (for the most part). When it did, however, it’s fair to say that the game’s mechanics took some getting used to. While Snake Eater is still one of the best playing games around when it comes to stealth, when it comes to things like aiming and shooting, it never quite feels as precise or responsive as it should. Presumably (or hopefully, at least), this is an area where the MGS3 remake will look to make considerable improvements.

CHANGE: THE CAMERA

Again, this one is a bit obvious, and if an MGS3 remake is indeed being made, one would imagine this change is pretty much locked in anyway. The original game adopted a third person perspective, which was definitely an improvement over the isometric camera angles of its predecessors, but even so, it would feel a little out of place in a modern game, especially when that game is as cinematic and story-driven as MGS3 is. Our assumption is that if a remake is being made, it’ll have a camera similar to the one that Metal Gear Solid 5 adopted.