There are two ways to remake a video game. One way is to take the transformative route and reimagine the classic from a new perspective. This is a risky choice that may upset purists, but it can lead to a project that exists on its own, not in the shadow of another game. Then there is the much safer route. It is to give players as much of a 1:1 experience as possible, and win more with a lower legacy limit.
If you’re having trouble imagining the differences between the two, Konami is modeling exactly what it will look like. Silent Hill 2 The remake is faithful to the original horror game, but it feels like developer Bloober Team has tailored the classic game to fit the needs of the game’s creators. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake EaterOn the other hand, at the complete opposite end of the spectrum, it seems like not a single hair has been touched.
At least that’s the feeling I got after playing the early versions. Metal Gear Solid Delta‘s opening 90 minutes. Those who were worried that Konami would ruin Hideo Kojima’s vision can rest easy. The remake seems afraid of upsetting its most ardent fans. That means we’re all guaranteed a great game, but the lack of ambition makes you wonder what this version will bring to the table other than modern graphics.
The mission of virtue
Why is it fun to demo a solid 90 minutes? Metal Gear Solid 3 A play session can last up to 10 minutes, with actual gameplay taking place. snake catcher‘s opening is a long-winded one, full of exposition, a Cuban Missile Crisis history lesson, and a lengthy tutorial. That long cutscene wasn’t just about giving us a chance to remember something weird and wonderful. snake catcher‘s story; it gave me a lot of time to study the aesthetic changes of the remake. And there are less changes than you might think.
The biggest change is the visual overhaul that makes the PlayStation 2 classic look like a modern game. There are subtle changes here, like the fact that you can see damage accumulating on the snake’s body and uniform. The most noticeable difference from the previous version is the re-tuning of the yellow hue of the original, which made the forest look like it was baking under a heat lamp. Instead, it opts for a less stylized palette with a modern gloss. It’s not something that new players will notice or care about, but it does remove the distinctive glow from the image.
Besides those changes, Metal Gear Solid Delta It’s faithful to the script. The cutscenes are smoother, but they’re shot-for-shot re-creations of their counterparts. Konami resists the urge to completely overhaul the level design, as it doesn’t fit the PS2’s limitations. Instead of turning the original map into an interconnected jungle, it’s still a collection of small rooms separated by loading screens.
“We don’t want to feel like we couldn’t make a Metal Gear game without some of the original staff.”
The more I play, the more I get the feeling that Konami was sweating it out when they started this project. It’s as if they knew that the idea of remaking a Metal Gear Solid game without Kojima’s involvement would be a target on their backs. When I was interviewed at a preview event, I asked producer Noriaki Okamura how much the remake team reached out to the original developers for guidance on the project. He says that some of the original developers are still at Konami, some now in leadership roles, but that Kojima had little input on the project.
“In order to faithfully recreate something, there wasn’t anything critical or pressing that we necessarily had to go back to the original staff and ask them for advice,” Okamura told Digital Trends. “We didn’t feel like we had to ask them for advice. Our goal was to be able to deliver a Metal Gear title with the team we have now… We didn’t want to feel like we couldn’t make a Metal Gear game without some of the original staff.”
It sounds blasphemous when he says it, but when you actually play the remake, it makes perfect sense. There are no creative decisions made here that the game’s original director would have had to execute to fit. The script hasn’t changed at all. In fact, the remake uses the original game’s voice acting and music. With those limitations, Konami can’t really mess it up even if they try. The side effect is that it’s a game that looks modern but still has characters telling Snake in detail how to press the X button. It’s a little disjointed, but it’s honest. This is definitely snake catcher.
New controls, same game
The demo is mostly spent on Codex Call, but you can test out Snake’s stealth toolkit while rescuing Soviet scientist Nikolai Sokolov. You’ll go through a familiar sequence of events: first, you’ll climb up a tree to collect a backpack. Then, you’ll sneak past a few guards in an open area. You’ll get a quick gun tutorial as you test all your skills in a small infiltration mission, where you’ll have to shoot a beehive and scare off guards before you can drag Sokolov out of a heavily guarded room. If you’ve played the original, you’ll be able to do everything from memory.
But here’s what’s different: Metal Gear Solid Delta‘s control scheme. The original release featured the famously tight controls that can be a bit difficult to get used to today. To ease that pain, the remake introduces new options that make it feel as smooth as any modern game. Everything works flawlessly, allowing for a more fluid play. In the first stealth encounter, I can easily slip onto the ship, sneak up behind the guard, grab him with CQC, and throw his dazed body into the tall grass. The on-screen tooltips make it easy to remember every move, a handy feature whenever you catch a guard you don’t want to accidentally decapitate.
Despite this, Konami is still committed to preserving the original experience. The full game will be released with a classic control scheme that is faithful to the original PS2 version, although it was not available in the demo. If you haven’t played it, Metal Gear Solid 3 Previously, you could get 95% of the experience with this version. Hunting animals, camouflaging, knocking down trees, interrogating guards – all aspects are here with little change.
That’s good news. Metal Gear Solid 3 There’s a reason it’s one of the greatest films of all time, but that begs the question: why did they remake it?
Konami version
When asked about Konami’s decision to remake the game, Okamura emphasized the idea that it was all about preserving the franchise’s legacy. “We realized that there was a whole new, younger generation of gamers who were either unfamiliar with the series or had never played a Metal Gear game before. We couldn’t stand to see this wonderful series being forgotten over time.”
It’s a great answer on paper, but it doesn’t hold up when you look closely. Last year, Konami Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater As part of the franchise, it is widely available to all players. Master Collection. The package includes a relatively untouched port of the original game, available for most platforms, including Nintendo Switch. snake catcher You can already do that without buying the original remake for the first time. Perhaps it means that younger players can’t relate to old games that lack modernized visuals and controls. I’d like to reject that idea, but I’m sure Konami has more data on that than I do.
I can only call it what I see. This is more like Metal Gear Solid: Konami’s Version than a remake.
Just as Taylor Swift recorded nearly identical versions of all of her old albums and then stole the rights from her former record label, this is Konami making a version of Snake Eater that has no permanent connection to Hideo Kojima. Konami and the director have had a notorious feud since its release. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain That left the series seemingly dead in the water, with the publisher trying to continue without it until 2018. Metal Gear SurviveBut the negative response sent a harsh message to the person fans consider the mastermind behind the series. But what should a publisher do? Will they let the loss of one of their team members kill their most beloved IP?
Metal Gear Solid Delta It feels more like a business decision than an artistically motivated remake. At least so far. It’s a very safe touch-up, closer to an HD remaster. The closest analogue is Sony’s Shadow of the Colossus A remake, a project focused on bringing the visuals and controls up to modern standards. Is that a bad thing? No. In fact, it may be a better approach to preserving the game. This version snake catcher It feels the same as I remembered 20 years ago, but it’s okay to call a shovel a shovel.
The more I talk to Okamura, the clearer Konami’s long-term goals become. snake catcher It becomes clear. “Our mission with this new team that we’re putting together is to bring these games back to life,” he says. “We still have some of the OG staff with us right now. Now is the time to do it, and hopefully build a new Metal Gear OG staff for the future.” If Konami wants to keep the gears of the franchise turning, it needs to earn back some favor first. What better way to do it than by making a near-identical clone of one of the greatest games of all time, and only after the new developers have mastered the basics can they make a sequel to the original?
Perhaps it’s easier to put aside the business headaches and just enjoy the return of David Hayter’s delightfully over-the-top one-liners in all their untouched glory. I think it’ll be just as easy to enjoy what will be a clinical, but perfectly faithful remake for most players.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater Currently in development for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
