I didn't want to get my hopes up about Metal Gear Solid Delta, but Konami's somehow done it

GamesActionMetal Gear Solid Delta: Snake EaterI didn’t want to get my hopes up about Metal Gear Solid Delta, but Konami’s somehow done itWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Konami)

The lens on Snake�s air goggles reflecting the sun.

If you’re a Metal Gear fan, then chances are your stance onMetal Gear Deltaso far has been cautious optimism at best. Konami hasn’t done much with the series since the departure of its creator, Hideo Kojima, but the recent release of MGS: The Master Collection Vol. 1 and the remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater shows the Japanese publisher starting to reclaim its most iconic and standout series.

At today’s Xbox Games Showcase, Konami offered up the first gameplay trailer of MGS Delta, though it should be said that while this is all in-game a whole bunch of it consisted of cutscenes. The approach Konami is taking with Delta prioritisesbeing faithful to the original game, but with a stunning visual overhaul alongside bringing the controls and some mechanics more in-line with contemporary expectations. And I probably wouldn’t have called it “stunning” before this trailer.

The look of Delta blows me away because, honestly, I didn’t know if Konami still had it in them. But the jungle environments here are visually some of the best I’ve ever seen, no matter the map layout underpinning them, with the air so moist at points you can almost feel it on your skin. At one point you see Snake wading through swampwater with the crocodile cap on, before a drone’s searchlights swoop over the surface, the sun blazing over distant hills as the surface ripples, and in some way captures what Snake Eater always looked like in my imagination.

METAL GEAR SOLID Î: SNAKE EATER - Official Trailer #1 - Xbox Games Showcase 2024 - YouTubeWatch On

METAL GEAR SOLID Î: SNAKE EATER - Official Trailer #1 - Xbox Games Showcase 2024 - YouTube

Other observations: the CQC system seems to be pretty in-line with what we saw in MGSV: The Phantom Pain, which is great. The animations have been overhauled with real sensitivity to their accuracy and speed. At one point Snake crawls backwards and aims, which is new. Every gameplay sequence shown is present in the original game. The environment layouts seem totally unchanged. And it ends without giving us a release date.

The only repeated criticisms I’ve seen of the trailer so far relate to the character models of Snake and the Boss, which is always going to be one of those super-subjective calls. For my money they look fantastic and manage the not-inconsiderable task of recreating a PS2 model’s characteristics while balancing the huge increase in visual fidelity. I’d go against the tide on the Boss especially, who here looks stern, maybe a little weary, and noticeably older than Snake.

This element of Delta in particular was always going to be a thankless task, but I think Konami’s done as good a job as it could have. Note also that in the cutscenes the lip-syncing animations have been vastly improved over the original, though still retain wonkiness in parts.

I didn’t want to get my hopes up about Delta, but Konami has somehow got me hyped. Not that my expectations are too wild: MGS3 was a PS2 game and, with how closely Delta is hewing to the source material, this is definitely going to feel archaic in some ways. But it’s also one of my favourite games ever, with one hell of a visual shine-up and a few modern quality-of-life improvements. For me this is a must buy. But whether Delta’s odd mix of old and new will appeal to the mainstream audience will have to be seen.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

More about actionAll Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’LatestEpic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’See more latest►

More about actionAll Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’

More about action

All Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’

Zenless Zone Zero codes - Miyabi and section four

All Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codes

Image of Yasuke striking an enemy in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’

LatestEpic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’See more latest►

Latest

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’

Tim Sweeney

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’

See more latest►

Most PopularTeam Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KIs the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I’m totally not fuming because PC players aren’t invited to the party, or anythingIf you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 offAMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fabI tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bayFinal Fantasy 14 communities panic as it turns out change to blacklisting, meant to help reduce stalking, also lets players use mods to track their altsTikTok’s time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he ‘opposes banning’ itMSI intros cheaper ‘back connect’ Project Zero Intel motherboards for super-clean PC builds you might actually be able to affordThermaltake’s new 2000 W PSU is too powerful to be sold in the USA and comes with four PCIe 5.0 GPU power connectorsAMD accuses Intel’s Arrow Lake of being a ‘horrible’ product and implies a lack of options for consumers has caused the Ryzen 7 9800X3D shortage

Most Popular

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40K

Is the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.

Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I’m totally not fuming because PC players aren’t invited to the party, or anything

If you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 off

AMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fab

I tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bay

Final Fantasy 14 communities panic as it turns out change to blacklisting, meant to help reduce stalking, also lets players use mods to track their alts

TikTok’s time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he ‘opposes banning’ it

MSI intros cheaper ‘back connect’ Project Zero Intel motherboards for super-clean PC builds you might actually be able to afford

Thermaltake’s new 2000 W PSU is too powerful to be sold in the USA and comes with four PCIe 5.0 GPU power connectors

AMD accuses Intel’s Arrow Lake of being a ‘horrible’ product and implies a lack of options for consumers has caused the Ryzen 7 9800X3D shortage

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals