Why I Won't Be Playing Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater

If you’re like me, a kid born in the early 90s who saw the evolution of video games from the 2D realm that soon seeped into the 3D realm, who experienced a cultural impact on movies, music, books, and other arts, and who witnessed the dot-com boom of the late 90s and early 2000s, you’re probably one of those who understands and recognizes the fascination of the Metal Gear Solid series.

Metal Gear Solid blew our minds with its grounded setting and tone of magical realism as it drew us in as new fans to the series. Even though Konami released its predecessors only in Japan, MGS1 garnered a massive audience.

Kojima screwed with our heads as he presented the events of Shadow Moses in a sound reality while making a compelling narrative that revolved around the theme of genes.

Then came Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty in 2001. It was the long-awaited and highly anticipated sequel that we wanted. On top of that, it was coming to the PlayStation 2. It was the next video game console that would leave a colossal mark in history.

Although it was a controversial game, MGS2 received its overdue appreciation in time. Kojima predicted the dangers of memes and confirmation bias before social media took off. It was a postmodern masterpiece, and my favorite game of the entire series.

Then came the most heralded, beloved, and fan favorite of the franchise: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. While its reception wasn’t as big nor as well-reviewed as its predecessor, it is the most popular in the community.

With the theme of scene, Kojima established an apology metaphor to the community that paralleled with the narrative of this game; he had to prove his innocence to the fans.

Metal Gear Solid 3 had both a great story and a deep theme. It also has gameplay with profound mechanics that contains meaning and purpose. It still holds up today despite its 20-year-old technology.

Why am I saying all this? Because Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater recently came out… and I’m part of the party that says it didn’t need a remake. It’s that reason why I’m not buying it

Now, before you tar and feather me for contrasting popular opinion, let me make my case. As a disclaimer, no, I don’t hate Δ. I’m sure it’s going to be fine and I’m sure it’s going to sell well, but I’m not interested in playing it.

Allow me to explain where I’m coming from.

We’re living in a time where game companies are so creatively bankrupt that they rely on older, successful IPs to make a profit. Since remakes remain a trend, Konami is playing this business game like any other companies.

Case in point: look at Capcom. They have a good number of remakes of Resident Evil. Final Fantasy, Dead Space, Saints Row, and Silent Hill 2 are further examples and not exceptions.

The fundamental problem I see in these remakes are the re-imaginings of the IP’s origins.

It’s something I detest.

Re-imaginings are an implicit push of modern-day values or ideology into the medium. It subconsciously suggests the player to forget about its origins because of its nature, tone, attitude, and/or spirit being outdated, “unethical,” and/or “harmful.” Thus, the new remade product promotes “safer,” up-to-date, and “ethical material” for the modern audience. As a result, it affects the quality of its style, coming out as a mediocre or sub-par product.

Sound familiar?

I wanted to use Capcom with its remadeResident Evil series as the epitome of the remake trend. The remakes aren’t bad (except for Resident Evil 3), but it’s the way they present their re-imagined universe and characters that inhibits enjoyment.

There’s a nonverbal or unconscious suggestion of embarrassment or shame when you compare the juxtaposition of the two differing styles of the OG and the remake. Because of the IP’s original tendency of being weird, nerdy, “out of fashion,” or “cringe,” they modernize it.

Remakes introduce the beloved IPs to a new mainstream audience while abandoning the original fan community. They replace the colorful, personality-driven, humanity-bearing spirit of the old games with a “realistic,” grounded, gritty, cold, gray, unfeeling, and— I would even add — cynical and nihilistic tone.

To be more concise, the message is, “Hey, remember how we started off? Forget all that! That stuff never happened because it’s too weird, too cringey, and too wacky. Our new rebooted universe is the better one. Why? Because it’s more realistic, grounded, and angsty! Don’t you want to see more girl bosses and deconstructed men?”

If you want more details into this corroding cycle in the Resident Evil Series, I suggest you watch the videos of Ruby of Blue (RE2 and 3), Emamnond’s Legacy, Critical Nobody, Studio, Boulder Punch, Under The Mayo (First and Second Video), Synthetic Man, and ThrillingDuck. Pay attention when they bring up the story, characters, or tone.

This is a trend we have all seen in the gaming industry. Sadly, it’s not exclusive to just games.

Now, I bring all this up because when the Metal Gear Solid Δ teaser was revealed in the PlayStation Showcase back in 2023, I expected another industry remake.

You can imagine everyone’s excitement, and my apathy.

“Oh look. Another remake of a game I love that’s going to be modernized by a company I hate. Yay.”

And yes, I’ll admit I’m still very grudge-ridden with Konami after what they did with their IPs of Metal Gear and Silent Hill. More on that later!

Oddly enough, Δ is an interesting specimen. It’s not exactly a “remake” as I had described. It keeps the spirit of the OG and doesn’t re-imagine, re-interpret, or commit revisionism with modern-day slop.

I find it hard to put it under the same definition I stressed about with the Resident Evil examples earlier. Δ doesn’t suffer the same identity crisis either, which is why I prefer to call it an “ultra-remaster.”

I know I’ll get some flak for that since the game mechanics are based on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. On the other hand, I would argue the original control schemes are fine.

MGS3 still holds up with its deep gameplay by today’s standards. Take it from Super Bunnyhop as he explains the depths of the game. I’d further recommend his Metal Gear Solid 4 video as he argues 3 is superior.

With those factors in mind, I’m considering this game a remaster.

Regardless of definition, remaster or remake, Δ does something that’s running game urinalists up the wall. It recognizes who its audience is and refuses to sacrifice its identity and spirit to political hacktivists.

Konami chose not to compromise Δ with modern-day non-values and identity politics. This has led writers and critics of the leftarded variety to seethe in bitterness.

As an example, I’d like to give a shout-out to Doctor Disaster, who brought attention to the IGN article written by Vikki Blake.

As much as I don’t want to give IGN credit, Vikki Blake’s article subtly seethes as she has to write about Δ’s success. It may not look like it, but she bit her tongue writing it as she couldn’t rage about “toxic masculinity.”

She even said that Δ is “faithful to a fault,” right before saying, “We gave MGS3 an impressive 9.6.” That’s the subtle proof of her anger and bitterness that the game isn’t driving the narrative she and other activists want to promote. She hates the fact that Δ does not have identity politics to push her propaganda. And, more importantly, she hates the fact that it’s catering to the fans.

All I have to say is, “Stay bitter.”

Does that mean Δ broke off all woke features? Sadly, no.

Special thanks to Smash JT and to CrookedDe_light on X (formerly known as Twitter) for bringing this up.

When the game starts, it has a disclaimer that says:

I cannot help but roll my eyes when I read this, so I’ll make it clear to Konami:

Stop appealing to groups who don’t play your games!
Stop placating ideological idiots who dislike your games and dislike your fans!
They are fascists who want others to conform and submit to their ideology!
They will use verbal, coercive character assassination to impose their will on others.
THEY ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS!!!

You’re not making the world a better place. The woketards hate you, Konami. Get with the program!

Another piece of not-so-subtle-evidence of Konami’s placation to the same people comes from a post on X (formerly known as Twitter). LearningTheLaw posted the following on August 26th:

Now, is this a minor detail I can overlook? Sure. But it undoes an element that is crucial to the story, which is the sexual tension between Snake and Eva. And, YES, that is important to the story!

Look at it this way: does removing it help? Does it add anything interesting to the scene or story?

No.

So, what’s the point of removing this feature? To appeal to an audience that hates the gaming community. It does no one any favors.

It shows that Konami will censor its own product out of “ethics” and “safety.”

And by “ethics” and “safety,” they really mean to exercise censorship, control, and consumerist authoritarianism. It’s all a euphemism! There’s a reason why we Americans champion freedom of expression over the censorious garbage these piece of shit companies promote.

Alright, I’ve talked enough about the cultural politics, and I’ve had enough. It brings me no pleasure to discuss such things, but this is the world we live in. As the one popular show says, “Welcome to The Amazing Digital Circus.”

Although I talked about subjects around the game, they are not the major reasons why I’m not playing it. The real reason is this: I have no incentive to play.

After seeing gameplay and cut-scenes, I can say Δ does not differ from MGS3.

It’s an exact copy-paste of the dialogue, camera angles, cut-scene editing, and level design. Perhaps there are some re-voiced sections in cut-scenes, sure. But unless you don’t know every word flow, every beat, and every bit of dialogue, it’s a replicant.

Courtesy of theRadBrad

The only differences are the graphics, which are beautiful and cutting edge, and the gameplay is basically Phantom Pain.

To be fair, I watched long-play footage of Metal Gear Solid Δ by MKIceAndFire on YouTube. I saw up to the end of The Virtuous Mission and then some. As much as I can bitch and criticize Konami for their business jackassery I have to admit, it looks crisp and gorgeous. That is assuming you can run it well, like MKIceAndFire (more on that later).

If you can, as an experiment, I would recommend having him on while also having the original Snake Eater play alongside. Play the cut-scenes side-by-side to have an interesting experience of what has and hasn’t changed. I recommend LongplayArchive’s for the original MGS3 footage.

With almost all the dialogue memorized, I spent most of my time keeping an eye on the smaller details, such as fabrics, skin, physics of fauna, etc. And it is fantastic.

Some complaints I have heard is the missing of that classic Snake Eater yellow pallet that made it distinct. As much as I like that yellow pallet from the original, I really didn’t mind the greenness this remaster had. It had the beautiful, floral design that was top notch.

One fascinating thing I found was how much emphasis they put on extras. In Ocelot’s intro, there’s a medium close up of a KGB trooper. As he’s talking to Ocelot, you can see his mouth movement through his field mask. Even his eyes give off life, and it’s impressive.

Control layout changed and according to Max Derrat, if you’re a veteran, like me, you’ll have an easier time playing this game. I’m not sure exactly what to make of that, apart that the game most likely got streamlined. Which means it would behoove said veterans to play on the hardest difficulty for enjoyment and challenge.

Camera is practically like Snake Eater. Only in Δ, Snake is just off-center to the left, like a modern third-person shooter.

What’s interesting is the Legacy option, if selected, allows you to experience the original camera in Snake Eater. Not Subsistence; Snake Eater!

Courtesy of Lucian The World Gamer

That’s a very interesting choice. I never played the original Snake Eater, and I’ve never used that camera on Subsistence. But I’ve heard some complaints about that camera with buffed enemy vision. It hindered gameplay.

It wasn’t until Kojima took the camera from their competitor, Splinter Cell, and released the game under Subsistence, and improved the game by leaps and bounds!

I’m not sure how the game will fare with that Legacy camera. But it’s an interesting choice.

Courtesy of FP Good Game

The camo problem, to my utmost joy, has also been updated and improved upon. You can now switch your camo in-game rather than having to pause and make adjustments. That was one of my critiques with the previous game as it would make gameplay choppy and halt the pacing. It was a pain in the ass when you were attempting a stealth run and had to constantly switch camos. Glad to see they resolved this small issue in a great game.

Courtesy of Metal Gear Informer

One critique I was hoping they would add was smoother transitions from area-to-area, from radio-to-gameplay, or even cut-scenes-to-gameplay.

The best way I can describe it is how Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption II did it. When the playable character walks into a mission start point, the cut-scene starts with no cuts, no black screen, nothing. Hell, even Phantom Pain did this, and it just kept the pace going.

It was strange watching Snake at the end of a level and a black screen transition. It just felt weird and bit of a throw-back. I was anticipating a more quality-of-life improvement where the game would smoothly transition to the new area seamlessly. And as Snakes moves to the area, the name would be at the bottom of the screen. No black screen, just continual gameplay.

Sound seems to be updated in certain aspects of the game. Radio calls from benefactors no longer sound clear. Instead, they have an electronic radio filter effect to make it sound realistic.

The sound effects for weapons also changed, but I’m not sure for the better. They just don’t seem to have that punch that I liked in the original. Some sound fine, like the Mosin Nagant, while the AK-47 leaves me wanting more. Its reloading sound effects especially is something that just doesn’t ring satisfying for me. The best description for the weapon sound effects is like they’ve been through a filter and not actually recorded.

Voice lines remain unchanged while some had to be re-recorded. Apparently, some sound data could not work with the modern technology.

One part that sounded new to me was when Snake had to re-adjust his broken arm. Mr. Hayter’s grunting and panting didn’t sound like the one in the OG, but it sounded pretty good!

Wink, wink.

And the music… do we have to go over that legendary score that Mr. Harry Gregson-Williams did? It’s phenomenal as always. And the Snake Eater theme never gets old.

Now that I’ve made some points of the beautiful good and the minute bad of this game, I’d like to talk about the historical ugly of its background. It’s one of the reasons why I refuse to buy this.

It’s important to recall that Konami originally had Metal Gear Solid 3 re-released as a pachinko machine. A pachislot, to be precise.

Courtesy of Super Bunnyhop‘s Review: Metal Gear Solid 3 Pachislots

This was back in ’16 when Kojima separated from Konami. That means that Konami had the Fox Engine and the game’s assets to re-render all the cut-scenes with the beautiful visual effects of said engine.

Remember, this came out only as a slot machine for gambling parlors in Japan. This was a huge, patronizing insult to the fans as they replaced us with an elderly audience. They also did this with Silent Hill, Contra, Castlevania, and more.

Courtesy of コナミアミューズメントパチンコ・パチスロch

Courtesy of M00NSTAR

Stranger still, although they had these assets and the Fox Engine, they would later make Δ with the Unreal Engine 5. The reason being because 1. the developer of the Fox Engine quit the company and 2. Konami stated they would focus their efforts on mobile games and pachinko gambling machines using said IPs. The Fox Engine in time became obsolete.

It would seem that Konami had to backtrack, as they would later have to resume some operations and resurrect their beloved IPs. Why else would they be advertising ∆ and Silent Hill 2 (’24)? Hell, even Castlevania has a Netflix show.

To quote JonTron, “That one didn’t age quite so well!”

Of course it did nothing to win me back.

Another main reason I have no interest in playing Δ is that I have not forgiven Konami after what they did to Mr. Kojima, their employees, their fan community, and their IPs.

Call me a grudge-bearing hater that refuses to let go of the past, but I can’t forgive their shutdown of Silent Hills after the release of PT.

I still have it on my PS4. And unfortunately, copies have to be safeguarded by pirates.

Konami could’ve made MILLIONS! BILLIONS, even! Silent Hills could’ve appealed to many audiences, from many mediums and many fan communities! Even if it SUCKED, Konami could’ve been raking in a fortune!

Instead, they went, “NO! Fuck those peasants! We don’t want to be that likeable! We’re going to do mobile gaming and pachinko slots! And we’ll insult the community further by letting them know that THIS could’ve been a remake that we could’ve made on console! But we invested it in slot machines for old people! KISS OUR ASSES! BWAH HA HA HA HA HA!” And they’d run away with the bag of money while cackling in the distance.

I haven’t let go of that. Believe me, when I’m betrayed, I do not forget or forgive that easily. And I don’t think I ever will.

Now that they’ve returned to the gaming market and advertised a remake of Silent Hill 2 and a re-master of Metal Gear Solid Δ, I reckon it’s an act of begging for forgiveness. My reply is the Bugs Bunny meme, “No.”

And boy, after hearing complaints about the game’s optimization, I don’t regret my choice. Especially after my rough time with Battlefield 6 Open Beta. For some reason, newly released games are having trouble with optimization as they seem to stutter or crash a lot. Δ has problems with stuttering as it could not maintain a steady 60 fps.

Its the only other deterring factor I can think of. The poor optimization that PC players keep reporting due to the Unreal Engine. In fact, even console players are experiencing the same thing. I suppose Konami should’ve stuck with the Fox Engine instead of pulling off all that bullshit in the past that brought them to using this garbage.

Courtesy of zWORMz Gaming

It’s befuddling to me how designers can never make optimization work, especially on PC! It’s a PC! It’s got features that surpass a console! MAKE IT WORK!

Another critique that deserves a facepalm that I have heard from YongYea. Players got conned with their pre-order of Δ’s Collector’s Edition for $200. For $200, they were supposed to get a figurine of Naked Snake with a replication of him retrieving his backpack.

On the advertisements, the quality looks passable. But when customers received the pre-order, they found the quality to be utter trash grade.

It’s very reminiscent of Fallout 76’s infamous pre-order scandal with their crappy duffel bag.

What was more insulting is that European and Japanese version of the Collector’s Edition actually had a quality figure. I guess the message from Konami is they hate or don’t care about their American customers.

And that’s the reason why I don’t pre-order or order anything beyond standard edition.

The thesis of this entire re-release of Snake Eater comes from the character, Δ. It is supposed to represent a change in difference while maintaining the game’s foundation of story and design.

It originates from the principles of math and science. Change or difference is present in a quantity but the foundation is not altered.

I supposed Konami wanted to use the philosophy of Δ a theme to attract fans. The same way Kojima used gene, meme, scene, etc. It is clever, I’ll admit.

It’s clear Konami didn’t want to try to re-imagine the game. They knew damn well the “outdated” way of writing was far superior to the modern-day, apologetic slop we have nowadays.

All the more reason they shouldn’t apologize for this game existing. With this being a remaster, it was a smart move on Konami not to alienate its fans. Therefore, I will say it once again: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater did not need a remake or remaster.

Funny thing is if they had done a remaster of Metal Gear Solid with updated controls, stealth mechanics, AI, etc., I would have incentive to play it. Although, I remember when they remade MGS with Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes… I’d rather they not go down that direction of style again…

I think Konami had a missed opportunity. They could’ve made a remake of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. I’m sure there are some die-hard fans that would want to hang me on this opinion. But I think it would’ve been great to introduce the origins of Metal Gear with a HD 3-D upgrade. That would’ve sold me bit more than a retread of a beloved game I highly respect.

On the other hand, it wouldn’t be the same without the writing of Kojima. Konami would have an uphill battle trying to sell a product without one of the company’s greatest visionaries.

So, with all this being said, and to bring it to a close, I’m not convinced about buying a copy of Metal Gear Solid Δ.

Yes, I will admit, my spite for Konami still continues.

I doubt anything will remedy that.

That aside, I have no incentive to play Δ. Snake Eater still holds up to today’s standards and still functions as a fun stand-alone game. You don’t have to play the other games to understand the context of its universe, but you will miss references.

To wrap up, I’m sick and tired of these companies doing more reboots or remasters or re-imaginings or sequels with modern slop of games that I love. And to give them my money would only give them incentive to make more.

To any gamer out there who is tired of seeing these garbage corporate patterns of shit and wants to see something new, like in the days when designers pioneered on ideas, do what I do.

Stop giving your money for mediocre garbage. Read a book, especially mine. Work on something else. Go to the gym. Find some purpose in life.

ANYTHING!

Just don’t give them your money.

Or better yet, buy the classic games. GOG has a treasure trove of great games of the past. Play and appreciate them to send a message to theses companies. We want our games to be fun, innovating, non-political, and for the gamer!

I’m sure that Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater has sold well, with it being near the top in Steam’s wishlist metrics. And I’m sure it will be just fine, if it can run well. But I am in no hurry to go back over previous experiences.

As I stated in my Battlefield 6 Open Beta piece, the economy isn’t stable this time around. I’d rather spend my money on other important things and spend my time and energy on working on my own craft.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is the fan favorite, and it does a good job in holding up with the standards for the past 20 years of entertainment. And if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.

It’s a game I still respect and love. But I’m not interested in paying and playing for an experience that I already had just because graphics are pretty.

I only hope the community will understand where I’m coming from with this and restrain themselves from throwing away their money to a company that doesn’t care or respect them.

Thank you for listening to me. But now I want to listen to your opinion! Did you agree or disagree with me? Did you like Δ? Did you hate it? And why? Are there any details or points I missed that I should talk about! Feel free to leave your comment below! And don’t forget to subscribe and follow me on my social media! As always, thanks you for your time and have a good day!