Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater Review: Old-School Gameplay for Nostalgic Gamers

Hideo Kojima’s Cold War epic was a landmark in stealth action, blending espionage, survival mechanics, and cinematic storytelling into something unforgettable… 20 years ago. When Konami announced Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, expectations soared. A modern remake built in Unreal Engine 5, promising a faithful recreation of a classic with updated visuals and controls, sounded like the perfect way to introduce Snake’s origin story to a new generation. Unfortunately, on Xbox Series X, the result is a reminder that sometimes, simply reskinning an old game is not enough.

On the surface, the remake is undeniably attractive. The jungles look lush, character models are richly detailed, and cinematic cutscenes benefit from updated lighting and motion capture. Crawling through swamps or scaling cliffs has never looked so good, and Snake himself feels more lifelike than ever. But here is the issue: almost every game today looks good. Visual fidelity is no longer a rare achievement. Pretty graphics can only carry a game so far, and once you settle into actually playing Delta, the cracks in its design quickly show.

The core mechanics remain nearly identical to the original Snake Eater. That might sound like a virtue, but it is also the biggest weakness. Movement is stiff and cumbersome by modern standards. The act of sneaking feels more like fighting the controls than outsmarting enemies. Animations are slow, aiming feels clunky, and close-quarters combat remains frustratingly imprecise. Games in the stealth genre have evolved enormously since 2004, but Delta clings so tightly to its old systems that it often feels more like a museum exhibit than a living game.

The survival mechanics, once groundbreaking, now feel tedious. Stopping mid-mission to cure wounds, heal bones, or eat tree frogs was novel twenty years ago, but today it interrupts pacing in ways that feel more archaic than immersive. Likewise, the camouflage system, which asks you to pause the game and manually swap outfits to match your surroundings, feels like a chore. What once added flavor now just highlights how far modern design philosophies have moved on.

The level design also betrays its age. The maps are small and segmented, loading screens constantly disrupt momentum, and the AI remains inconsistent. Sometimes enemies seem clairvoyant, spotting Snake instantly with impossible precision, while at other times they are laughably oblivious. The trial-and-error nature of stealth in Delta feels punishing not because of player mistakes but because of clumsy legacy systems.

Konami has also made the puzzling choice to keep voice performances from the original game. While David Hayter’s Snake is iconic, the audio quality and delivery feel dated next to the new visuals. The dissonance between the shiny graphics and the old voice tracks is jarring. It is as though the developers could not decide how much of a remake this should actually be.

All of this points to a deeper problem: Konami’s lack of creative direction without Kojima. The studio has access to one of gaming’s richest legacies, yet instead of reinventing or reimagining, it has delivered a safe, glossy coat of paint over a decades-old framework. Where Resident Evil 2 Remake reinvented a classic with modern sensibilities, Snake Eater Delta is content to act as a time capsule. The absence of Kojima’s eccentric energy, his willingness to experiment and surprise, is painfully felt. This is Metal Gear without its soul.

To be clear, there will be players who appreciate this faithfulness. For older gamers and longtime fans who simply want to relive Snake’s story with prettier graphics, Delta delivers that. The narrative is still compelling, the Cold War setting remains unique, and the boss encounters are as bizarre as ever. But those moments are dragged down by mechanics that feel clunky, pacing that feels uneven, and a design philosophy that belongs to another era.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater proves that visual fidelity cannot mask outdated gameplay. It is a gorgeous reminder of a classic, but not a compelling experience for 2025. For new players, it will feel awkward and punishing. For veterans, it may spark nostalgia but also frustration. Without Kojima, Konami has lost the inventive spark that made this series legendary. What remains is a technically impressive but spiritually hollow remake. This is not the rebirth Metal Gear deserved.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is now available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.