The classic action-stealth games gets the full remake treatment, does it add anything to the classic experience?
What Is It? Metal Gear Solid 3 was a 2004 entry in the classic Hideo Kojima action-stealth MGS series. The game takes place decades before the events of the other games, providing a glimpse into the origins of the story including Snake, Boss, and Metal Gear itself. Delta is a ground-up remake of that title.
The headline here is that this remake does not reinvent or drastically change any portions of the original game. It is a, sometimes shockingly, straightforward remake of the original game. The improved controls and graphics are the two obvious improvements.
The game follows a young recruit named Jack who takes the codename “Snake” as he enters into a solo mission infiltrating Cold War-era Russia in 1964 to rescue a scientist. Snake’s mentor and partner, The Boss, double crosses the US and Snake must set out to take down her team of weirdo henchmen and stop Soviet plans to build a superweapon. This game stands out in the series, along with the original MGS, as a game which manages to hold a tight narrative together throughout. It gets a little strange here and there, but compared to 2 and 4, this is a very straightforward story and the game is better for that.
On the gameplay front, most of your time will be spent navigating through small open-area sections flooded with guards. You can proceed as you wish, with gunfire risking Alerts and the additional guards that brings, whereas stealth takes time and patience to find the right paths as most areas have many to choose from. I mostly felt like the game steered me in a certain direction, but that there were many others to choose from.
When you aren’t sneaking around fairly dumb guards you are probably watching a cutscene because this is a Kojima game, after all. The third pillar of MGS3 is the boss fights. More on these below, but these are the clear highlights for me and getting to play some of the most iconic boss fights of all time with good, modern aiming controls is a joy.
The unconventional healing system is worth a note as well. You will rarely actually heal yourself in the traditional videogame sense. Instead, you need to manually patch up wounds as you get them. A gunshot, for example, requires you to remove a bullet, disinfect, apply a styptic, and then bandage the wound. This is done quickly through a clean menu system. Doing so stops life from draining. If you have your stamina relatively full, often done by eating living things you kill during the game, you will begin to heal as long as you aren’t actively wounded. It is a unique approach to a typically boring “consume medkit” system most games employ.
Sneak or fight your way through a variety of terrains, finding fun ways to distract or take out guards, watch some lengthy cutscenes, meet some truly ridiculous characters, and play some incredibly fun boss fights. That’s Metal Gear Solid Delta.
Your final save file will likely land somewhere in the 12-13 hour range, but that won’t include an hour or two of trial-and-error getting through stealth portions or retrying boss fights. The game features a slew of difficulty levels and hands you a rating when you finish. There is a lot of room for replay in this game if you want to go down that path.
The Best Part: The boss fights. Without spoiling too much, some of these fights were among the most creative I’d ever seen when I first played MGS3 a few years back. The only downside was that they required some quick-trigger aiming and/or movement to get your shots in or avoid big damage. That is solved in this remake and the fights truly shine as a result. There is a good variety with some taking a loooooong time (complimentary) and others running on a relatively tight timer to avoid being blown up. There is also good variety between stealth and all-out assault. The boss fights were the best part of the original game and they are drastically improved in this remake simply thanks to modern controls.
The Worst Part: This is a remake which feels like you are playing a remaster. Oftentimes, remakes of these 20+ year old games manage to fold in new elements which make the games feel fresh. MGSD feels like you are playing MGS3 with a fresh coat of paint and better controls. Maybe that is a testament of the strength of the original game? I’m not sure, but this is the most by-the-books full remake I can remember playing, for better or worse.
The Verdict: I love MGS3, it ranks a clear and clean second on my all-time Metal Gear Solid rankings. Although nothing can touch the original PlayStation game for me, 3 ranks safely above 2 and 4 in my book (full disclosure: I have not gotten to 5 yet). Getting to experience that again with modern graphics and controls was a lot of fun.
My only issue here is that the remake does not add much of anything beyond controls and graphics. The game, thankfully, holds up quite well with a strong balance of stealth segments, boss fights, and narrative. If you’ve never played the original you are in for a massive treat with this game.
If nothing else, this game stands as the best way to experience the classic Metal Gear Solid 3. Regardless of anything else, that is probably enough of an accomplishment for many fans and should not go unappreciated. Don’t go in expecting anything to be reinvented, but do expect a game that falls a bit closer to what I’d expect from “remaster” territory instead of “remake.” If you accept these limitations, Metal Gear Solid Delta is a wonderful time with some of the most memorable moments in gaming history.
How to Play: PlayStation 5*, Xbox Series, PC
*console played on for this review
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