Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is widely considered by many to be the best game in Hideo Kojima’s critically acclaimed Metal Gear Solid series. Despite this, it is the only mainline game in the series that I never completed. I always bounced off the game throughout the years anytime I picked it up, and I could never pinpoint why it never clicked with me.
So when I was given the opportunity to review the newest remake, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater from Konami and Virtuos, I immediately jumped on it to finally fill this large hole in my Metal Gear repertoire. After finishing Snake Eater, I can say that my past self is an idiot and I’ve been missing out on one of the best games in one of the greatest video game series of all time. Konami’s experiment to remake this beloved classic and bring it to new audiences has paid off.
Not For Honor
Snake Eater’s story revolves around one of the most pivotal characters in Metal Gear history, Big Boss. However, here he hasn’t taken on the title of Big Boss just yet. We instead get to know the man who would someday become him: CIA Agent John Doe. John is sent on a special mission to the USSR to rescue a soviet scientist and weapons developer, Nikolai Sokolov, who previously defected from the Russians to prevent his inventions from being used in the Cold War conflict, but was traded back to the USSR to stop the Cuban Missile Crisis. John is given the moniker Snake for the mission and begins his search for Sokolov with the help of FOX, a CIA special services division, who communicate with Snake via Codec. Amongst FOX are Major Zero, Para-Medic, and The Boss, Snake’s former mentor.
Needless to say, the mission doesn’t go quite as planned, and The Boss betrays Snake after it is revealed she has defected to the USSR and has double-crossed the CIA. From here, there are so many twists and turns throughout the story with that signature Kojima charm that I have grown to love throughout the years. You will meet bizarre character after bizarre character while slowly unraveling the mystery of why The Boss defected and where everyone’s allegiances truly lie.
It is such a well-told and captivating story that anyone could pick this game up and enjoy it as a standalone title without any prior knowledge of Metal Gear lore. Big Boss is a character who had mostly been behind the scenes in the series up to this point in the story, and Snake Eater does a fantastic job of explaining how he became the person he would be in later games. His relationship with The Boss and their encounters throughout the story are some of the best parts of the game and really allow the characters to shine.
However, the best part of Snake Eater’s story occurs when Ocelot is on screen. Ocelot is another character that those who have played previous games should be very familiar with. Seeing a young hotshot Ocelot after mainly seeing him as the old grizzled gunman he would become in later years is such a joy and really elevates his character to new heights. He was already one of my favorite characters in the series, but his rivalry with Snake and how he takes each loss and learns from it is such great character growth and really allows the character to stand out in a game with so many other memorable characters.
There are more great references and connections to be found to other Metal Gear games throughout Snake Eater for those who have played the rest of the series, as well. I won’t spoil them here, but it was really fun to piece things together and hear characters discuss things that you know will be paid off in the future. I cannot praise the story enough, and I wish I hadn’t waited so long to finally push through and see what Snake Eater had to offer.
The Trial to Survive
The biggest curveball that Snake Eater throws at the player, compared to the other titles, is that it introduces survival mechanics. The jungle is a dangerous place and very different from the previous locations that the series has taken you to. Because of this, Snake must be prepared to deal with wildlife, unexpected injuries, and even scavenge for food in order to survive. These mechanics were admittedly off-putting at first. I’m not the biggest survival fan, and having to constantly monitor Snake’s stamina meter as well as having to care for individual injuries in the menu seemed tedious compared to just being able to pop a ration whenever my health was low. This system doesn’t become too intrusive throughout the game, though. In fact, pretty early into the game, you have enough supplies and quickly learn how to treat each injury that it only becomes a minor nuisance and doesn’t sour the experience much.
On top of this, players will also have to be more aware of their surroundings than in previous games, as Snake has access to a large array of camouflage options that he can equip that allow him to blend into certain environments. Crawling through tall grass? Better equip the leaf suit and apply some woodland face paint. Moving through an enemy base at night? Black camo and face makeup should keep you concealed. Moving through a crocodile-infested swamp? Just throw on the old croc suit and mask and wade your way through those murky waters (No, really).
Delta adds a brand-new way to quickly select camos and change between them without entering the main menu, which is hugely appreciated. It is a really fun system to play around with, and whenever you find a new camo suit, it is exciting to see what it is and how you could effectively use it.
What a Thrill
The Metal Gear Solid series is well known for its memorable boss fights, and Snake Eater not only meets expectations but excels in almost every manner. Almost everyone knows about the fight against The End, an ancient sniper who Snake faces off against in one of the best boss battles in the game, but there are many other fantastic encounters throughout the story.
Almost every boss fight against the legendary Cobra Unit has a fun and unique gimmick to their fight that makes you approach each boss differently. The Fear requires you to think on your toes as he leaps around the treetops in active camo while shooting poison darts at you that you’ll need to remove if hit by or else suffer severe stamina loss. The Fury flies around in his jetpack and unleashes his flamethrower down thin corridors. And of course, there is the climactic encounter with The Boss, which more than lives up to the expectations built throughout the game. If you manage to defeat each boss using non-lethal means you also get their camo as a reward, which is a nice challenge and my preferred way to play Metal Gear games.
Besides the boss encounters, there is a really nice flow to how you move through each location. There are always multiple ways to approach an area, and no matter what your playstyle is, it never feels like the game will push back or punish you for whatever that playstyle is. If you want to run and gun your way through enemies the game gives you assault rifles, rocket launchers and plenty of ammo in order to do so.
If you want to sneak through each area undetected, there are many routes for you to find and hidden alcoves to sneak past every enemy. The only time the game forces you into combat is during boss fights and one or two scripted encounters. It’s a satisfying gameplay loop, and the new gameplay style that this remake gives you the option to choose when starting the game is a godsend for those who may not like the top-down camera that was in the original release of Snake Eater.
With Darkness and Silence
Also included in this remake are updated versions of Snake vs. Monkey and Guy Savage. Snake vs. Monkey is one of the wildest crossovers, having Snake chasing around apes from the Ape Escape franchise in different levels where he is timed. It is an absolutely hilarious and addictive game mode that I found myself replaying over and over in order to try and beat my best times. Incredibly, Konami went the extra mile to recreate this game mode, as it would have been easy for the team to just focus on the main game instead.
Speaking of going the extra mile, in comes Guy Savage. What was originally a completely optional and easily missable section of Snake Eater, where Snake can have a nightmare if the player quits after saving at a specific moment in the story and reloads their game, has been turned into a full-on hack-and-slash mini-game that has you controlling Guy Savage as he slices through monsters and vampires. This new version of the mini-game is developed by PlatinumGames, and it’s seriously impressive.
I was surprised by how fun this mode was and how much effort was put into it. I know it’s asking a lot, but it is such a good tech demo that I almost wish that it were its one standalone game that was expanded on, or at least had a definitive ending. Instead, you either fight until you die or manage to kill all the enemies, then the screen fades out, and you are taken back to the main menu. It’s such an anti-climactic conclusion to such a fun little mini-game.
This Ordeal
My biggest, and really only, complaint with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater lies in its technical performance. I played on a base PS5 in performance mode, and there were a few times where the game would drop frames or have some funky texture pop-in. You’ll find that these dips resolve relatively quickly, but they are there and are noticeable. This wasn’t a huge dealbreaker for me, but there have been significant issues reported on the PC release of the game.
It has become an unfortunate trend in the last five years or so that either the console or PC release of a title will launch with severe technical problems and I really wish developers would take this more seriously. We shouldn’t have to deal with broken launches or bad ports with how expensive this hobby has grown over recent years. Games are too expensive and development time on games is so much longer than it used to be that there is no excuse for this to still be a problem in 2025.
Outside of these performance issues, though, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is visually gorgeous, utilizing Unreal Engine 5 to provide some seriously impressive visuals throughout. Every cutscene and encounter has been faithfully recreated with incredible detail throughout.
But You’re So Supreme
Even with the technical performance shortcomings, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is an amazing experience and an easy recommendation to anyone who is either a fan of the series or has ever had a passing interest. If the story doesn’t capture you, the minute-to-minute gameplay will, and the updates to gameplay mechanics and graphics are by and large welcome changes.
If you are a purist, there is still the option to play the game with classic controls and a wide range of ways to customize the gameplay. The Legacy Filter retains that original look Snake Eater is praised for, and the Legacy Style keeps the original camera angle. This is still the Snake Eater original fans know and love, just in a new package for a new generation of players to experience.
Add on replayability with harder difficulties, unlockable rewards, challenges, and two very fun extra game modes, and I can almost guarantee that you will find something to love about Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater.
Disclaimer: Konami provided a PlayStation 5 copy of Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater for review purposes.
