After years of rumors and false hopes, the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake is finally happening. Konami announced Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater earlier this year as part of the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase. It’s the first Metal Gear title since 2018’s lackluster Metal Gear Survive, and the first time familiar Hideo Kojima characters have graced our screens since 2015.

Considering his rocky exit from Konami and subsequent new ventures, Kojima’s future with the Metal Gear series seemed over. And while he’s still working over at Kojima Productions, Konami has been hard at work remaking one of his classic stealth-action games.

Metal Gear Solid 3 was first released back in 2004 and garnered critical acclaim. It remains one of the most popular games in the franchise, with many players voting it as their favorite. Now, players will get the chance to explore the origins of Big Boss and the Metal Gear Solid franchise once again, with updated graphics and gameplay.

Metal Gear Solid Delta doesn’t have a release date yet, although we anticipate this Snake Eater remake might come out in 2024. Until we know for sure, here’s everything we know about this title.

The dead are not silent

It helps to understand the backstory of the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, as it’s been a rumored project for a few years now. Although Konami mostly exited the video game business a few years back, talks of a separate division or company remaking classic Metal Gear entries was still buzzing. Konami wasn’t one to confirm rumors, and Hideo Kojima was too busy working on Death Stranding and Kojima Productions to worry one way or the other.

Still, the rumors persisted, and gained heightened attention in the lead up to the PlayStation Showcase in May. Many industry insiders proclaimed that Konami would reveal the MGS3 remake at the event. Many fans were understandably apprehensive, but the showcase proved that their fears were unfounded.

Konami revealed the remake, titled Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, at the event alongside the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection. The latter is a series of compilations that bring classic Metal Gear games to current-generation consoles; the first volume will include all mainline Metal Gear games up to Snake Eater, with some additional games as well.

With that and Metal Gear Solid Delta, it seems that MGS3 fans will have plenty to look forward to. As old and new players alike experience the original game through the Master Collection, we also have a revamped version on the horizon. With that, it’s time to start the mission proper.

We’re off on a mission of virtue

Konami and the team have confirmed that Metal Gear Solid Delta is as close to a 1:1 remake of Snake Eater as possible. Although it’s built on a new engine with recreated graphics and sound, the actual storyline and progression is the same. The team is even reusing the original voice clips, preserving the original script as much as possible.

As such, we can provide a basic rundown of the story as it relates to the original. (There won’t be any spoilers in this section, so fret not!)

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is the story of Naked Snake, an agent in the FOX unit. He’s sent deep into the jungles of Russia in 1964 to retrieve a defector from the Soviet Union. However, his commanding officer on the mission, a woman known as The Boss, interrupts his mission by defecting to the Soviets. She wounds Naked Snake, leaving him for dead and coordinating a strike on Russian civilians to frame the United States.

With the mission exposed and Russia threatening to retaliate if the situation isn’t under control, Naked Snake is forced back into the jungle after he recovers. He needs to stop The Boss and her Cobra Unit and shut down the new Soviet weapon, a mysterious combat vehicle nicknamed the Shagohod.

Head back into the jungle in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Up to this point, the Metal Gear series was primarily focused on interior locations and buildings. You’d sneak around long hallways and open rooms while trying to find cover amidst the manmade terrain.

Metal Gear Solid 3 switched things up by trading the concrete jungle for a real one. There were far more natural settings in that game, dropping you off in the fictional Russian jungle of Tselinoyarsk. It created more unique opportunities for stealth; in particular, camouflaging your gear and face to match your surroundings. You could also the naturally unpredictable terrain and elements to your advantage.

That’s true of Metal Gear Solid Delta as well, as its version of Snake Eater doesn’t change the location up. From the reveal trailer, the swampy marshes where Snake is initially dropped in have been rendered gorgeously. Considering the story is the same, it’s unlikely that there will be any new areas to visit.

Until we get a gameplay trailer for sure, we won’t know if Delta will retain either the original version’s fixed camera system or include the updated camera system from later versions of Snake Eater. It’s also entirely possible that the camera has been reworked entirely. It might take the more modern system found in Metal Gear Solid V. We’ll just have to wait and see.

What a thrill

As a remake that’s meant to honor the original to the letter, we can assume a few things about the gameplay even without a trailer. The core fundamentals of tactical stealth action should all be implemented into Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, but newcomers will hopefully have little struggle adjusting.

MGS3 gave you ample opportunity to surprise your opponents with both artificial and natural traps. Or you can sneak around them and avoid fights altogether (except for mandatory boss fights). When the heat does come down on you, of course, you’ll have plenty of weapons at your disposal. That is, once you find them first.

The tactical side of Metal Gear comes from the limited resources you’ve got in the field. You’ll need to find weapons and ammo as well as survival resources like food and water. One of the most unique parts of MGS3 was patching up your own wounds in the middle of combat. It remains to be seen if this system carries over in the same way in Delta. Given its apparent faithfulness to the source material, we can expect it to remain.

When is Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater coming out?

So far, Konami has not yet confirmed a release date for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. However, the original game hit store shelves in late 2024. It’s reasonable to expect that Konami might try to tie in with the game’s 20th anniversary and release it in Nov. 2024. However, this is pure speculation. Until we get more information from Konami, take this with a grain of salt.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is developed by Konami Digital Entertainment with the help of Virtuos and published by Konami. It will be available for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

What are your thoughts on this Metal Gear Solid 3 remake? Let us know!

The post Everything we know about Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater appeared first on Mega Visions.

It’ll take me quite a while to get through Sea of Stars, but if my first impressions are anything to go by, it’s going to be a hell of an adventure. This latest indie RPG comes from Quebec’s Sabotage Studio, the developers of the acclaimed The Messenger.

The developers were kind enough to send over a review key for me to look at the game. I’ve been plugging away at it over the past couple of days, with about 12 hours of progress done. Given that I’m not even halfway done, it’s easy to expect the review will take some time.

But one thing’s for sure: Sea of Stars is living up to the hype and then some. It’s a grand and engaging adventure that’s satisfying in its combat and enticing in its story. And despite a few incredibly minor issues that will hopefully be patched out, it’s set its hooks deep into me already.

Fire of the sun, light of the moon

Let’s talk about the combat first. I already had an idea of how this played, thanks to the demo released back in February. In practice, it’s already been a consistently fun and rewarding combat system, and I can see it appealing to both retro fans and newbies.

Much has been made of the game’s comparisons to games like Super Mario RPG, Illusion of Gaia, and Chrono Trigger. And they’re certainly warranted; any fan of 90s RPGs will be right at home here. I also got a substantial whiff of Mario & Luigi in it, especially with the combo moves. You have to juggle a few factors at once, including elemental weaknesses, enemy positions, charging enemy attacks, and available magic points and boost power.

While it’s a deep and layered combat system, it’s also very approachable. If you’ve never played an RPG before, Sea of Stars would be an excellent first choice. You can grasp the core concept very easily, and there aren’t so many mechanics and meters to keep track of that it’s overwhelming. The biggest challenge is determining the optimal strategy, which requires paying close attention in the heat of battle.

Feeling like a star

Sea of Stars immediately made a stir thanks to its wonderful aesthetics. You’ve probably already noticed the lovely pixel art through these screenshots, and in action, the game looks absolutely stunning. With beautiful color palettes and some excellent music tracks, it’s already a heavily absorbing adventure.

More than its aesthetics, though, I’m also really into the story and characters so far. With a wacky pirate crew, some excellent party members, and an old order of the Solstice Warriors to talk to, there’s plenty of love and care into these characters. I’ve gotten quite a bit ahead of the introduction, so I won’t be writing any story spoilers here.

Just know that the game takes maybe an hour or two to get going, and then a couple more hours to REALLY get going. For a game that’s expected to take about 25 to 30 hours with no side content, there’s hopefully plenty more great story bits and characters to come.

If there’s one aspect I can criticize Sea of Stars for, it’s that the dialogue needed a bit of a tune-up. Not the words themselves, but rather the grammar; there’s a few typos that needed ironing out. That’s something that could easily be fixed with a few patches, although of course, it’s not the most important factor. I haven’t encountered any other bugs so far, and hopefully that will remain the same throughout the rest of my playthrough!

Sea of Stars shines in its first impressions

I’m happy to report that my first impressions of Sea of Stars are highly positive. The combat is engrossing for both RPG veterans and newcomers, and it’s a beautiful game filled with charming characters and storylines. And while the text perhaps needed one last proofread, it’s hardly enough to take you out of the adventure.

Sea of Stars is developed and published by Sabotage Studio. It is available now for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC via Steam. You can also play it via Xbox and PC Game Pass. A free demo is available to play right now.

The digital version costs $34.99 USD. A physical version for Nintendo Switch is on the way, but Sabotage Studio hasn’t announced a price yet.

Thanks to Tinsley PR and Sabotage Studio for providing a review key!

The post First Impressions: Sea of Stars [PC] appeared first on Mega Visions.