When you’re remaking a classic title, there are certain things that you have to be wary of. You can’t just “remake the game,” as that would make it more like a cash grab if you did it wrong. You have to look at the title and see if some visual and gameplay elements can be improved, and then modernize them when it’s appropriate. However, you can’t just remake everything, as that would take it farther from the original classic concept. In the case of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, many are eager to see what the game looks like and plays like on PS5.
Sony heard those cries and decided to drop a special hands-on preview via the PlayStation Blog. Not only did they drop that preview, but they also had an interview with producer Noriaki Okamura, who noted that the game’s development went along much more smoothly than anticipated thanks to the veterans in the group:
“We had to sift out some old dev documents, but thanks to the expertise of some of the veterans who worked on Snake Eater we didn’t have to spend too much time figuring out preparation. We’re also aware that there’s an entire generation who have never played a single Metal Gear Solid game before.”
That’s important because this game is a prequel to all that came before, which makes it a fair jumping on point, but that’s only half the battle. The team refined the control systems so that players who enjoy the classic control scheme from the PS2 era have that option, while they also have the option to shift things to be a bit more modern and precise. Okamura noted that they wanted the game to be “on par” with certain action titles that are out there today.
Another key improvement for Metal Gear Solid Delta was shifting to Unreal Engine 5. One look at the trailers, and you’ll see a vast visual improvement over the original PS2 graphics. That wasn’t something that was easy, though:
“Initially we thought we could just change the basic outside skeleton of the models. But once we saw them move around in the game with the old character movements, we noticed they didn’t quite blend that well anymore. So we had to tweak them – it was important to keep the player in the experience but also as close to the original way the characters moved and breathed, and still make it seamless.”
You’ll find out later this year just how “seamless” the game really is!
