Everything Important You Need to Know About Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater So Far
June 13, 2024
It's been a busy week for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. Between the Xbox Games Showcase and Konami's Legacy Series and Xbox Podcast's Deep Dive, there has been a lot of news to keep track of. To make your life easier, we're going to condense all that information into this one article. If you're looking forward to the game, there's plenty to be excited about. And even if you aren't...well, I'd reconsider that. Snake Eater's a gaming classic for a reason. Now, let's dive into the details.
The Meaning of Delta: The Philosophy Behind The Remake's Audio And Visuals
Producer, Noriaki Okamura, through his recent interviews regarding Metal Gear Solid Delta has given some insight as for how the "Delta" moniker was chosen for the game's title. In mathematics, delta is traditionally used to denote change. While that's part of the idea, it can also mean changing the quantity of something without changing the composition or character. According to Okamura, that is the core concept that they have followed with this remake. Nothing different. Only more.
And yes, this is a remake. At least, that's what the team at Konami feels is the best term for it. While the story, characters, and settings are functionally the exact same as before, the new cutting-edge graphics and 3D sound enhance the experience by a lot. Everything has been rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5 to look and feel better, from the environments all the way to the models and animations (many of which have been modified by hand to capture the spirit of the original as much as possible). That's all without even mentioning the completely new style of gameplay which we'll get to in a little bit. Metal Gear Solid Delta is simply much more than a remaster.
But for as much as the game has been meticulously rebuilt from the ground up, it still intentionally incorporates some old assets. Attentive listeners might have noticed that all the voice work from the original Snake Eater has been preserved. Only a few lines have been re-recorded in the remake to fit the changes in controls. The team at Konami really wants the experience to feel faithful to the original.
Added Depth & The Different Gameplay Styles
Among the few gameplay elements Konami has unveiled for Metal Gear Solid Delta is the upgraded battle damage system. In Delta, Snake's clothing will rip and tear in real time; his naked body receiving permanent scars from any particularly egregious injuries. As Konami envisions it, those lasting marks will tell the "story of each player's unique journey through the game." It's a neat improvement that enhances realism and makes the experience even more personally engaging. I'm all for it.
The one other major thing that we know is that there are two gameplay styles that players can switch between. You can either play in the New Style which gives you a third-person view or you can play in the Legacy Style which has an overhead view more reminiscent to the original game. Playing in Legacy Style, you'll even get the old color filter added to the visuals, making the experience even more authentic. It would be nice for the filter to be an optional feature regardless of what style you play, but we have no word on that. We also haven't really gotten any information as for what's different about the controls in New Style. There's a lot that still needs to be shown.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is available now for physical preorders. And if you're a Snake Eater super fan, you might want to consider the collector's edition. Be wary, though; it's having its fair share of stock issues so you'll need to be on high alert. There's no word on any release date so I can't really tell you when you should expect to see the game delivered, but...don't be surprised if it eventually comes out in November. At the very least, coming out on the anniversary of the original Snake Eater seems to have been one of Konami's goals at some point. Whether that's realizable, that's something different. But, hey, you can still dream.
