Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater review: A 20-year-old classic reimagined for PS5

Konami returns with a graphically revamped version of a 2004 stealth action classic and Snake is taking no prisoners in this gloriously rendered but identical game from 21 years ago

I was never a massive fan of the Metal Gear Solid games, I was more of a run-and-gun shooter player than a sneaky stealth killer.

But it’s with a warm smile that we’ve got to welcome back another classic video game on the modern systems.

The original of this game came out in 2004 on the Playstation 2.

It was the fifth Metal Gear game written and directed by a certain Hideo Kojima and serves as a prequel to the entire series.

The bods at Konami have lovingly put this game back together with a modern graphics look for the PS5 and it looks great on the newer machine.

Stunningly rendered in the cutting-edge Unreal Engine 5, the visuals feel ‘today’ despite the overall game design and gameplay simultaneously feeling like something from the past.

The story is very much a Cold War era espionage thriller.

You play the hero Snake, a seasoned warrior, who is air-dropped into Soviet territory to escort a defecting scientist called Sokolov to safety.

That’s where your problems start.

Sokolov ends up quickly in the hands of the Russian GRU forces after a botched rescue op and a double-cross and you’re in one hell of a fight for survival.

As this is written by the very same man, Kojima, who built the wacky world of Death Stranding, you can imagine the rather oddball tone of this game as Hideo became comfortable fleshing out this world some 20-odd years ago.

The story, characters, voice acting, gameplay, and music that made the original a sensation all return, albeit remade for modern consoles.

But there’s little difference at all in how this game runs, other than the improved graphics.

Jungles, forests and swamps all feel far more lifelike than they ever would have in the original, but the tale and its main parts remain completely true to its source material.

And 3D audio adds some extra immersion.

The battle damage system has been upgraded, with the wear and tear of Snake’s clothes, as well as bruises and bullet wounds on his body, reflected in real time.

That’s a nice touch.

And the game itself plays beautifully as you stealth and dash your way past baddies, hoping more often that not that they won’t see you and you’ll be able to avoid a deadly face-on fight.

Players can elect for a newly added, more modern control style. These intuitive controls let you focus entirely on the game, and the immersive thrills of the survival stealth experience.

You can also choose to play with a classic control style that more closely recreates the feel of the original game.

Extra game modes have been added.

One called Fox Hunt is scheduled for release this autumn for the game and is said to bring an online multiplayer mode set in the same world as the same story, alongside hide-and-seek style gameplay.

And In Snake vs Monkey mode, you’ll play as Snake, and round up all the escaped apes running amok in each stage. Good fun.

Overall, this is a good chance to revisit one of the defining early stealth action games that really led to many future titles’ signature gameplay, like the Hitman and even Assassin’s Creed series.

If you’ve played it before there’s not enough here to warrant another pass.

But for those seeking a nostalgia hit, or to try a classic they may have missed, it’s well worth a look.

VERDICT 3.5/5