Konami’s newest launch of Steel Gear Strong 3: Snake Eater bucks a pattern in the case of shiny trendy remakes of beloved video games. Somewhat than reinterpret the unique recreation’s which means, analyze it by the lens of its reception and place in time, and shock followers with one thing unique, the builders of Steel Gear Strong Delta: Snake Eater play it comparatively protected.
Delta is a remake in a really pure sense: Konami has up to date the sport’s graphics with unbelievable element and modernized controls and UI parts to make the 21-year-old Snake Eater really feel brand-new. However it hasn’t touched its Chilly Struggle story, solid of memorable characters, or a lot of the stealth-action gameplay. Konami has as an alternative painstakingly rebuilt it.
It’s a stable (ahem) remake, however there’s additionally a timidness to Steel Gear Strong Delta, both resulting from reverence for the unique supply materials or to keep away from irking sequence creator Hideo Kojima and the gaming auteur’s legion of followers. And you may see Kojima’s title prominently in Delta. Upon beginning the sport, you’re introduced with a warning that sure parts of the sport might really feel outdated, however that Delta’s builders needed to protect the unique creators’ concepts. The title motion pictures credit acknowledge many members of the unique improvement staff, and explicitly point out that Delta is “primarily based on Steel Gear Strong 3.”
However when you get into the motion — which, admittedly, takes some time, as a result of the sport is frontloaded with exposition — you’ll discover the Steel Gear Strong 3 you bear in mind, solely a lot better trying. Delta’s jungle environments within the early recreation are rendered fantastically. Characters, together with Snake, Eva, and The Boss, look spectacular, richly rendered in a approach that makes them look extra photorealistic than ever, however nonetheless stylized in Steel Gear Strong’s aesthetic.
Steel Gear Strong Delta presents gamers with a wealth of issue and gameplay choices firstly of the sport. You may select to play the “Legacy” over-the-head fashion of digicam and controls from within the early Steel Gear Strong video games, or a modernized “New Type” that adjustments digicam and management settings to play it like a up to date third-person shooter. I performed by the sport on New Type, and located it rather more pleasing, if typically more difficult, significantly when it got here to staying hidden.
The sport’s story, set after the occasions of the Cuban Missile Disaster, is as beforehand talked about unchanged. Snake (aka Jack, aka Bare Snake) is dropped into Soviet territory to exfiltrate a Russian scientist who has constructed a brand new sort of weapon that might change the course of the Chilly Struggle. One betrayal and one rogue nuclear detonation later, Snake’s mission adjustments, and he’s charged with taking down his outdated mentor whereas additionally making an attempt to quietly stop international nuclear battle.
Snake’s relationship along with his mentor, The Boss, is advanced and compelling, and the perfect a part of Steel Gear Strong Delta’s story. As is frequent in Kojima’s video games, a lot of that story is advised by exhaustive, well-acted cutscenes (which could be skipped, if crucial) and radio calls between Snake, his assist staff, and rivals on the battlefield. The sport is dense with plot and intrigue, and the dramatically staged cutscenes from the unique are lovingly recrafted in Delta with unbelievable consideration to element (and slavishness to the unique).
Likewise memorable are the sport’s villains, Colonel Volgin and his staff of army commandos the Cobra Unit, whom Snake should take down one after the other. Every member of the Cobras boasts an outsized persona and a few vastly pleasing gimmicks: Marksman The Finish is a sleepy centenarian with bug eyes who’s allegedly the world’s greatest sniper. The Ache controls a military of hornets with thoughts management, utilizing them as weapons and armor. The Worry is a forked-tongue stealth knowledgeable who strikes like a spider due to elective surgical procedure. And so forth. Every Cobra is a puzzle to be solved utilizing Snake’s arsenal of weapons, stealth strategies, and particular devices. Boss battles involving the Cobras usually have a number of intelligent options, starting from “shoot him with a rocket launcher till he dies” to extra meta methods.
Lots of the strategies and weapons that Snake can make use of on the battlefield in Delta are frequent all through Steel Gear Strong video games. Snake can cover in cardboard packing containers to hide himself from enemy troopers or quietly tranquilize them with a sleep dart. Snake Eater launched a number of new gameplay options, together with a camouflage system, a survival system, and a stamina system that requires Snake to repeatedly feed himself, all of that are recreated in Delta.
Snake can masks himself even out within the open with Delta’s camouflage system, swapping between varied uniform patterns and face paints to mix in along with his environment (a onscreen indicator exhibits how well-hidden Snake is at any time). Lie inclined with the fitting camo outfitted, and he’ll be nearly invisible.
If Snake is detected, his greatest recourse is to battle in close-quarters fight, or CQC. Snake can shortly knock out foes, take them hostage to interrogate them or use them as human shields. Your different possibility, if detected, is to shortly reload the sport, which is less complicated than ever due to quick trendy loading instances and beneficiant autosaving. (I save-scummed loads by my playthrough, and I’ve no disgrace.)
If Snake is injured, he’ll steadily get well well being over time. Critical accidents, like burns and bullet wounds, are self-treated by a easy menu system that lets Snake patch himself up, even mid-fight. Delta supplies ample survival gadgets all through the sport, at the least on normal issue, and loads of meals to eat to maintain Snake’s stamina up.
Stamina restoration includes snacking on nearly something and every little thing Snake can discover within the jungle: snakes, rats, tarantulas, mushrooms, and the occasional bundle of on the spot ramen. Searching and consuming is a enjoyable system to experiment with; listening to Snake’s response to consuming varied wildlife is nice enjoyable — thanks, David Hayter — and there’s a collect-a-thon facet to discovering every little thing edible all through Snake Eater. It’s enjoyable to experiment with the optimistic and unfavorable results of consuming.
Steel Gear Strong Delta is a reminder that experimentation is the beating coronary heart of the MGS franchise. Like different Steel Gear video games, you’ll be able to play by the entire thing in a non-lethal approach, counting on tranquilizers and choking out enemies to dispatch most of them. You may also exploit the setting, throwing toxic snakes at enemies or taking pictures down beehives to trigger chaos. Puzzling out what Snake’s gear and what the setting can do, significantly in Delta’s dynamic boss battles, is far of the enjoyable.
Steel Gear Strong Delta does an admirable job of constructing Steel Gear Strong 3 really feel timeless, thanks partly to its Chilly Struggle setting and anti-nuclear battle message. However some elements of Snake Eater haven’t aged so effectively, particularly Kojima’s penchant for creepy, leering digicam angles and discovering each alternative to undress the sport’s Bond Lady equal, Eva. That’s frequent all through the Steel Gear sequence, so when you’ve made your peace with it, you gained’t discover something new to stress about right here.
Exterior of the sport’s story-based marketing campaign, there’s some aspect stuff to do, together with the gotta-catch-’em-all arcade minigame Snake vs. Monkey, by which Snake is tasked with monitoring down the apes from Sony’s Ape Escape sequence. (On Xbox, Snake’s chasing Bomberman.) Delta provides a brand new twist to this foolish, high-score-focused diversion: Astro Bot is right here too as a catchable rascal, and hidden all through Snake vs. Monkey ranges to up the problem.
Past that, there are sundry trendy conveniences and extras in Steel Gear Strong Delta, like a photograph mode, a theater to look at movies, and particular outfits to unlock, lots of them very amusing. One other mode, the net multiplayer hide-and-seek recreation Fox Hunt, is promised however not accessible at launch.
Steel Gear Strong Delta breathes new life into Snake Eater, making the traditional Chilly Struggle stealth journey look and play higher than ever. Konami has stated that it’s beginning its Steel Gear Strong remake plans with Snake Eater, particularly due to its chronological place within the franchise. Based mostly on how effectively Delta turned out, I’m excited to see the place Konami’s remake assets go subsequent, hoping for extra lavishly polished remakes of video games that, at the least mechanically, might not maintain up so effectively. However I additionally hope that Konami displays a bit extra confidence subsequent time, and takes extra probabilities with Kojima’s work. He’s moved on, and so ought to the staff overseeing the way forward for Steel Gear.
Steel Gear Strong Delta: Snake Eater can be launched on Aug. 26 on PlayStation 5, Home windows PC, and Xbox Sequence X. The sport was reviewed on PlayStation 5 utilizing a prerelease obtain code supplied by Konami. You will discover further details about Polygon’s ethics coverage right here.
