Summary

• Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater's graphics are impressive, but the gameplay shown in the trailer is lacking.
• The remake doesn't seem to bring anything new to MGS 3, except a cover-based system that feels out of place for a stealth-focused game.
• The decision to not show any gameplay may be due to the trailer's limited focus, or because of the game's development status.

Something's off about Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. New footage revealed at the Xbox Partner Preview on October 25, 2023, doesn't show off its best side. This trailer, announced as a "first in-engine look" at the game's graphical prowess, is the second one to be released for the game so far. This marks the first major new release in the Metal Gear franchise - even if it is a remake - since creator Hideo Kojima's departure from Konami and the subsequent disaster that was Metal Gear Survive.

Metal Gear Solid Delta is a remake of the fifth mainline game in the series, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. It's actually the first chronologically in the series timeline, a prequel telling the origin story of perennial series antagonist Big Boss. It depicts the legendary soldier before he earned his title, way back when he was codenamed Naked Snake and deployed on an assassination mission deep in the jungles of the Soviet Union. It's one of the most innovative games in the series, and has earned its enduring legacy. But is the remake poised to do it justice?

MGS Delta Has Amazing Graphics, But Its Gameplay Looks Disappointing

MGS Delta’s graphics look amazing, but its gameplay not so much. The trailer opens on some leaves dappling the surface of a pond, gently undulating as the water ripples. It cuts to Naked Snake, hunched over in perfectly distressed army fatigues, as he eyes a sharp-toothed gharial lower its head. He wades carefully through the pond, pushing foliage aside in his wake, then emerges covered, dripping in mud. He lies prone in some tall grass, its blades bowing around him. Finally, he emerges, and grabs hold of an unsuspecting enemy - and then the scene cuts away.

Each scene is gorgeously rendered; just looking at still frames, it's obvious that MGS Delta is uncannily realistic, with tons of attention to detail. But the stealth and combat appear to be nonexistent at this point. Snake is never seen firing a shot, performing a close-quarters combat takedown, or interrogating an enemy, all mechanical cornerstones of the original MGS 3.

The trailer seems shy to show any of this off, leading right up to the point where the action should be, then deflating all its potential energy by cutting away. The one time Snake actually does perform a combat maneuver - grappling that one soldier at the beginning - it only plays an awkward animation and a dull thud, and the trailer cuts away before he does anything too interesting.

MGS Delta doesn't seem to be putting its best foot forward, and it has some big shoes to fill. As a remake of MGS 3, it's taking on the most innovative, mechanically unique title in the series, which introduced several new mechanics that even its sequels scarcely attempted to replicate.

Metal Gear Solid 3 is the most frequently re-released title in the series. Since its original 2004 release, it's seen updates in the form of the expanded PS2 edition Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence in 2005, an upscaled version for PS3 and Vita bundled with the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection in 2011, the 3DS port Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D, and most recently in 2023, as part of the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC.

A camouflage system, a more complicated version of CQC, a wide variety of injuries, and the ability to interrogate enemies for intel: all of these were introduced in MGS 3, and all of them make up an important part of its enduring legacy. Sure, the original game was graphically impressive for its time, and it's nice to see the remake following in that tradition, too. But at present, the MGS 3 remake just looks boring.

MGS Delta Doesn't Bring Anything New To MGS 3

What's more, the new trailer for Metal Gear Solid Delta doesn't seem to demonstrate any significant changes or updates to MGS 3's core gameplay. The only new feature it seems to display is a Metal Gear Solid V-esque system of cover: Snake moves near a ridge, and automatically crouches in a defensive posture behind it. That's all well and good, but not really necessary. MGS 3 isn't a cover-based shooter. It's a stealth game. The player's main concern isn't avoiding the line of fire, but remaining completely unseen, and that's primarily accomplished by wearing the right camo for the right terrain.

A cover system like this would make more sense in, say, Metal Gear Solid 2, where Snake and Raiden are constantly peeking around corners in narrow hallways, or indeed in the open combat sandbox of MGSV it originates from. It makes less sense in a remake of MGS 3, where Snake achieves camouflage by staying low in tall grass or climbing trees. In Metal Gear Solid Delta, it just seems out of place, unless there's a lot due to be revised about the original's gameplay. And there's been nothing to indicate that the MGS Remake will make such sweeping changes to the original.

Why MGS Delta's Trailer Didn't Show Gameplay

There are a few possible reasons why Konami declined to show any MGS Delta gameplay. For one thing, it may be that this trailer was simply intended to showcase the game's (and Unreal Engine 5's) graphical prowess. If that's the case, it almost achieves its goal, but it still appears wanting in some areas. Combat animations are a vital part of a game's engine too, and it just seems a waste not to show them off.

The other possibility is that Metal Gear Solid Delta is just too early in development to confidently put combat animations on display. The game doesn't even have a release date yet; all that's been said is that it'll be out during the current console generation. So it's hard to say just how far along it is in development, but combat and other more involved facets of gameplay might still be a long way out. It wouldn't be fair to expect a completed game to be revealed so early, but it would've been nice to see a little more.

MGS Delta has been dealing with a lot of lofty player expectations from the moment of its first reveal. It's dredging up one of the most iconic games in one of the most influential series of all time, a series that's been defunct for so long that any breath of it is a thrill. It'll be hard for Metal Gear Solid: Delta to live up to its inspirations, and early glimpses don't inspire confidence.

Source: Xbox/YouTube