Metal Gear Solid Delta trailer has me feeling like I’m still in a dream

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater’s TGS 2024 trailer is out, and It’s got my spirits high—almost like I’m still in a dream.

Konami dropped a new trailer for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater at Tokyo Game Show 2024. To fans of the series like myself, this looks like an amazing homecoming potentially worth rethinking some grievances with the developer. What unfolds here is a full look at the Virtuous Mission, which kicks off the game’s events. 

The trailer shows off key players like Dr. Sokolov, The Boss, and Colonel Volgin, before offering an extended look at Revolver Ocelot and Eva. Seeing Revolver Ocelot in his full glory is especially reassuring, signaling to fans that this faithful remake goes all-in on the more zany aspects of its source material. For gamers who felt like the existence of the Snake Eater Pachinko machines was a slap in the face when there was no remake on the horizon, this is everything we wanted. Metal Gear Solid Delta looks just as good, if not better than, the slot machine from 2016.

The trailer ends with an exchange between The Boss and Snake that resonates on a metatextual level, too. “’People aren’t the ones who dictate the missions.’ ‘Then who does?’ ‘The Times.’” Read literally, it’s an iconic line that can be applied to many cultural parallels the MGS franchise is known for. Speculatively, it almost feels like Konami is telling gamers that this kind of release always was dictated by the series’ relevance and profitability. 

Those who aren’t so intimate with the Metal Gear Franchise may not be aware of the absurdly public dispute between Konami and Hideo Kojima. Konami went as far as to prevent him from attending The Game Awards 2015 ceremony, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. And it’s why it feels shocking to see one of Kojima’s most well-known properties seemingly receiving so much care. For the longest time after Kojima left Konami, Metal Gear fans assumed the series was as good as dead.

Metal Gear Solid Delta represents a possible new beginning. Remaking this franchise is an easy sell to Konami: Many people love these games and seeing them updated and available on modern platforms could print money if done properly. Some fans are a bit suspicious, looking at this as a cash grab, but so far, Metal Gear Solid Delta has been impressive. The released footage of the game pays respect to the series’ history by refusing to make mistakes that leave similar attempts, even from the same series, open to harsher criticism. As long as Konami sticks the landing of this HALO jump, I’m in.