Tright here had been an excellent few years in there the place it was trying useless sure that Steel Gear was gone ceaselessly. The sequence’ creator and the director of all of its mainline entries had left the corporate that owned it underneath acrimonious circumstances, whereas the corporate itself, Konami, had determined that it not needed to make conventional console video games going ahead, as a substitute deciding to focus the majority of its enterprise round pachinko machines, amongst different issues not associated to video video games. For a lot of, there was completely no hope that the legendary stealth franchise would ever come back- and to make issues worse, Steel Gear Survive would all the time be its remaining launch.
Blessedly, nonetheless, Konami is able to return to the world of AAA gaming. Silent Hill is, in fact, lastly waking up from its lengthy slumber, and is about to be adopted by a return to the limelight for Steel Gear, with Steel Gear Stable 3 coming again within the type of a remake titled Steel Gear Stable Delta: Snake Eater. For quite a lot of causes, that’s an thrilling factor. Followers of Steel Gear and followers of stealth video games basically have been starved for much too lengthy, and this marks a protracted overdue reprieve on that entrance. On prime of that, Steel Gear Stable 3 is, to say the very least, one of many biggest video games ever made, so there’s each purpose to be excited concerning the likelihood to dive right into a remake.
And whereas we’re, in fact, seeing Steel Gear Stable Delta generate loads of buzz amongst long-suffering followers of the franchise, it’s simple that the majority (if not all) conversations associated to the sport are tinged with fairly sturdy hints of skepticism- or, on the very least, warning. It’s simple to know why. In any case, Konami hasn’t developed a AAA sport in a protracted, very long time, so it’s solely pure to wonder if the corporate goes to have the ability to get again into the swing of issues with none rising pains for its inside growth pipelines. It’s additionally simple that the prospect of the primary Steel Gear sport with out Hideo Kojima at Konami was all the time going to search out some pushback from followers of the sequence.
However that’s not all, as a result of for a lot of, the larger downside is that Steel Gear Stable Delta: Snake Eater is trying essentially uninteresting. From what Konami has proven and mentioned of the sport to date, it’s clear that past a whole (and spectacular) visible and technical overhaul, Delta goes to be an extremely trustworthy recreation of the unique MGS3, with Konami not solely deciding to maintain the entire design and content material intact, but in addition reusing the unique sport’s script, VO, and cutscenes. Each inch of the sport is being remade, however for those who’ve performed the unique, it’s all going to be familiar- which is one thing that many have expressed their disappointment about.
On one hand, that disappointment is, in fact, simple to know. We’re residing in an period the place online game remakes are extra formidable and thrilling than they’ve ever been. From Sq. Enix’s radically expanded Remaining Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy to 2019’s extremely reimagined Resident Evil 2, we’ve seen loads of examples lately of the heights that remakes can contact after they’re not afraid to deviate from the script. With Steel Gear Stable Delta being the primary Steel Gear sport in what has felt like an eternity, it’s not stunning that there are some who had been hoping that if the sequence had been to come back again with a remake, it will be a way more formidable one- one that might be capable of generate much more pleasure with the promise of enhancements and additions with story and gameplay.
As thrilling as that prospect is on paper, nonetheless, in the actual world, it’s most likely an excellent factor that Konami is enjoying it protected with Steel Gear Stable Delta: Snake Eater. For a number of causes, that is the right remake to play issues this straight with. There may be, in fact, the truth that even now, greater than twenty years on from its unique launch, Steel Gear Stable 3 is an excellent sport. Barring some annoyances with dated controls and a few frustratingly designed sections, it has aged extremely effectively. Past that, not like, say, the unique Steel Gear Stable, Steel Gear Stable 3 can also be lengthy sufficient by itself to have the ability to maintain a straight, no-frills, trustworthy recreation. Simply take that sport as is and slap trendy visuals, controls, and quality-of-life options on prime, and you continue to have an unabashed masterpiece. Konami, in fact, is aware of that it will probably get away with that strategy for this sport particularly, which, for all we all know, could have been among the many causes it was chosen because the one to carry the sequence again from its exile.
Extra importantly, nonetheless, enjoying it protected with the comeback of Steel Gear Stable is smart as a result of, as we talked about earlier, this (together with Silent Hill 2’s upcoming remake, which isn’t internally developed) goes to be the primary we’ll be seeing of Konami within the AAA area in a few decade. The corporate is, in fact, receiving growth assist from Virtuos, however we don’t understand how rusty Konami’s growth pipelines are, nor do we all know how a lot religion we will put in that crew proper now from a artistic perspective within the absence of Hideo Kojima.
That final bit is especially necessary. If Konami was, proper off the bat, promising huge modifications and additions in Steel Gear Stable Delta, there would doubtless be widespread skepticism over whether or not the corporate may very well be trusted with one thing like that, particularly with Kojima not there to guide them. Steel Gear as a franchise is one thing that’s maybe extra strongly linked with its creator and his explicit imaginative and prescient than another IP in gaming, so it’s protected to imagine that the concept of radical story or gameplay modifications in a Steel Gear Stable remake from a post-Kojima Konami would get greater than somewhat little bit of pushback from the sequence’ fanbase.
With Steel Gear Stable Delta: Snake Eater, enjoying it protected is probably the neatest factor Konami can do. Because of the sport’s timeless strengths in each story and design, the upcoming remake is just about assured to ship an unforgettable expertise to each new and returning gamers (until, in fact, Konami messes issues up, which isn’t a risk that may be completely discounter). In the meantime, by counting on that timelessness and never having to make any vital modifications or additions, the remake additionally avoids the inherent dangers of doing so. It could very actually have its cake and it eat too, and given the horrible place that the Steel Gear IP has been in for therefore lengthy, that’s just about precisely what it wants proper now. Will we hope that future Steel Gear remakes – assuming that they get made – will probably be extra daring and bold? We completely do. However we’re utterly high-quality with that not being the case with the upcoming Snake Eater.
Be aware: The views expressed on this article are these of the writer and don’t essentially characterize the views of, and shouldn’t be attributed to, GamingBolt as a company.
