5 key differences between Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater and The Phantom Pain

With just a few days to go until the release of Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater, it's the perfect time to explore its key differences from The Phantom Pain. The upcoming installment is a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 2004 and follows a similar narrative and protagonist.

In contrast, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which was the last mainline Metal Gear game, was released in 2015. Despite a 10-year-old title, the graphics were exceptional and well-optimized even by today's standards. However, as players are all set to witness the current remake, it will be interesting to see what changes the developers have made over the past decade.

This article highlights five key differences between Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater and The Phantom Pain.

Note: Some parts of the article are subjective and solely reflect the writer’s opinion.

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Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater vs The Phantom Pain: 5 major differences between the games

1) Difference in graphics

The most significant difference players will notice lies in the huge graphical changes between the games. While most of Metal Gear's installments used the Fox Engine for development, this time, Konami has prioritized Unreal Engine 5 to make the game more realistic and better accommodate modern platforms.

Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater is using Unreal Engine 5 for realistic graphics (Image via KONAMI)

Although the Phantom Pain is a 10-year-old title, its graphics are excellent even by today's standards. However, upon comparing both games, Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater clearly stands out with its nearly realistic graphics and stunning visuals.

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2) Different storyline and timeline

Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater is set in 1964, two decades before The Phantom Pain. It showcases a storyline during the Cold War era. As a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, it follows the same storyline, centered around the FOX operative codenamed Naked Snake, who must rescue a Soviet rocket scientist and sabotage Shagohod, the Soviet nuclear superweapon.

Both games follow different narratives and are also set on different timelines (Image via KONAMI)

The Phantom Pain, on the other hand, is set in 1984 and serves as a prequel to the 1995 original Metal Gear. Players take the role of mercenary leader, Venom Snake. He attempts to enter Soviet occupired Afghanistan and the Angola-Zaire border areas to avenge those involved in killing his forces and trying to kill him, which players can witness at the climax of Ground Zeroes.

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3) Gameplay style

The Phantom Pain is known for its two massive open-world maps, which include various areas of Afghanistan and the Angola-Zaire border region, with a smaller area in Cyprus where the game begins.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater follows a semi-linear environment (Image via KONAMI)

On the other hand, Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater does not have a specific map; instead, it follows a semi-linear environment where the protagonist navigates through tropical and industrial surroundings while killing enemies, evading traps, and avoiding items that could compromise his identity.

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4) Different Protagonist

Both installments feature different protagonists tasked with different objectives. In Phantom Pain, the protagonist is Venom Snake, better known as "Published Snake." He serves as a body double for Big Boss, also known as Naked Snake.

Different Protagonists in both games (Image via KONAMI)

In Phantom Pain, Venom Snake initially worked as Naked Snake's medic and eventually became a double for him. In Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater, the protagonist is Naked Snake himself. Players can witness him as a Big Boss in the later stages of the remake.

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5) Gameplay mechanics changes and new animations

Here are several differences in the gameplay mechanics and combat style areas:

Quick access to Radio

In Phantom Pain, accessing the radio requires players to navigate to the menu and then select a contact to use it. In the latest title, the developer has made some changes, and now it just requires a press of a button on the D-pad to bring up the codec menu and a quick tilt of the stick to access the radio.

Camo menu

In Phantom Pain, if players wanted to change their character's camouflage, they had to pause the game, open the menu, go to the customization options, and select the camouflage. However, in Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater, it is now much easier for them to change outfits.

Accessing Camouflage is easier in the remake one (Image via KONAMI)

They simply need to press the D-pad to choose different outfits from the Camouflage options. This system is much more convenient and helps players disguise Naked Snake on the fly.

New CQC animations

Close-quarter combat is one of the mainstays of the franchise throughout its many installments. In Phantom Pain, the CQC animations were similar each time a player sneaked up on and killed an enemy. In the latest installment, the CQC animations have been completely changed.

Players will witness a new CQC animation in Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater (Image via KONAMI)

Players now get unique and stylish animations that are completely based on how and from which direction they target an enemy. The animations to Naked Snake’s takedowns are now more brutal as well as satisfying than ever before.

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That's everything to know regarding the key differences between Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater and The Phantom Pain.