Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is now out in the wild in New Zealand, and players are getting a taste of what the remake of the 21-year-old classic has to offer.
Unfortunately, the bulk of the online discussion around the game since the review embargo lifted last week has been about its performance on PS5. As an Unreal Engine 5 game, some had expected issues, but a recent deep dive has shown that it's got some more pronounced issues under the hood.
The technical geniuses at Digital Foundry did a deep dive on the game's performance specifications, and the results were less than stellar. I've been playing the game for a couple of weeks now, and I can confirm the base PS5 version suffers from some serious framerate choppiness and muddy textures.
The PS5 Pro version runs and looks better to me, but the difference between the base version is noticeable, especially when jumping back and forth. But if you're only playing one version, as I suspect most players will, the differences and shoddy game performance itself are not all that problematic.
Digital Foundry is the best at what it does, and they offer another masterclass in describing the game's framerates and resolution varying between modes. But the reaction I've seen to the DF video is in stark contrast to what I experienced when I played myself.
Playing in Performance Mode on base PS5 will offer a resolution between 720p and 1080p, which feels and sounds unacceptable in 2025. But when it comes down to it, I'm willing to bet the majority of gamers won't be able to tell the difference or have much of an issue with what they're looking at.
As an MGS3 fan, the fun in this experience was all about re-living the classic with some new visuals and controls, and I've had a blast while playing it. Do I wish the game ran more smoothly? Absolutely. And I hate that optimization in many games these days comes by way of post-launch support as opposed to being available on day one. But as the game stands now, it's more than playable and a gorgeous recreation of one of Kojima's masterpieces.
I will be very curious to see how the Xbox and PC versions of MGS Delta perform in comparison to PS5 and PS5 Pro. Which one will look superior? In the end, I feel as though the performance issues are annoying at times but do not do much to detract from the overall experience.
If you're considering picking up MGS Delta, I personally don't think you should let the framerate issue sway you. This is a well-made remake and one that impressed me through and through in my hours with it, even after playing and watching the original dozens of times.
But if you're a gamer who shudders at the thought of 45 FPS, then perhaps wait for a potential optimization patch or two to help the game run a bit better than it does on launch. Either way, I think it's a title that is enjoyable for newcomers and veterans both.
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