How does Metal Gear Solid Delta Compare to Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain?

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a superlative remaster of an old classic, but the fact of the matter is that it doesn't compare all too favorably to truly modern games. We are quite keen on its remarkable graphics improvements and tech upgrades, but we'd be remiss not to mention some of the things you might consider faults or problems if you're not aware of them. This isn't critique in and of itself, mind, but a realignment of expectations.

As you might suspect by the establishing tone of this piece, Metal Gear Solid Delta is not going to compare favorably to Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain when it comes to its gameplay loop. It's not just a matter of the latter being an open-world sandbox, and the former a sleek, streamlined, and linear stealth experience. More so, the core gameplay loop and its flexibility are miles apart. Delta: Snake Eater is still the same exact game as it was back in 2004, and that means it's quite clunky and clumsy in some respects. Especially if you hadn't played it back in the day!

Please note that this isn't a bad thing in and of itself: it's just that the game is categorically different from what you might expect, and that's precisely what we'd like to prepare you for.

Play Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater today!

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is more of a remaster than a remake, and Phantom Pain still plays far, far better in practice

If you, too, will be jumping into Metal Gear Solid Delta as a PC player whose primary experience with the franchise (and, indeed, the works of Hideo Kojima) comes from Phantom Pain, prepare for a far slower, more meticulous, and punishing experience at large. Snake Eater is old-school Metal Gear Solid through-and-through, and Snake doesn't get to leap around like he does later on, in MGSV. Even though the game has received a new over-the-shoulder camera view and a modernized control scheme, Snake is still every bit as slow and cumbersome as he was back in the day.

This comes as a pain at first, but it's simply necessary for players to tune into a more deliberate and slower gameplay loop for everything to fall into place. You need to plan your moves and actions ahead of time in Delta: Snake Eater, as Snake's moves and animations don't connect to one another nearly as flawlessly as they do in Phantom Pain.

It's all about expectation management, really: Snake Eater is not a full-on remake under the sleek, polished visuals. Instead, it's a super spruced-up remaster with a slight layer of modernization applied on top. That's what the developer specializes in, as it were, so it only makes sense for this to be the case.

If you want a hard comparison, here's how Snake Eater fares next to Phantom Pain:

• Less streamlined control scheme, with a fewer number of movement and combat options.
• Gameplay loop features don't necessarily overlap with one another the way you'd expect them to (i.e. no CQC takedowns from cover).
• A more granular approach to camouflage and enemy handling.
• Old-school progression systems.
• A large number of fairly small "levels" or scenes to go through, in lieu of a larger open-world arena.
• All the clunkiness of the old, classic Metal Gear games.
• Substantially more goofy and campy than you might expect it to be, which can feel out of place now that the game's been given a new lick of paint.

On the flip side, Delta: Snake Eater is arguably a far superior narrative in the grand scheme of things. As meandering and Kojima-esque as its cutscenes may be, they tell a single, focused storyline with no missing parts or skipped beats. There's no open-world drudgery to contend with, either, and every single sequence in the game is a deliberately designed microcosm of stealth gameplay.

Metal Gear Solid Delta is an excellent, true-to-form remaster of one of the best stealth games of all time, but it's still worth keeping in mind that it's old-school for a reason. With all of that in mind, there's lots and lots to enjoy in this game, and we cannot recommend it enough. Stay tuned for more, right here at 2Game!

Play Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater today!