Legacy vs. New Style: Which Is the Better Way to Play Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater?

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, a stunning remake of the 2004 masterpiece, has rekindled fans’ affection for the iconic stealth franchise. Konami’s Unreal Engine 5-powered remake, set to release in 2025, immerses players in Naked Snake’s Cold War epic with new visuals, from lush jungles to precise character details, while retaining the original’s gripping story and emotional weight.

David Hayter’s return as Snake’s voice and the intact plot pay homage to Hideo Kojima’s history, but new elements such as dynamic camouflage and persistent wounds boost the experience. The remake introduces two separate playstyles: the New Style, which takes a contemporary approach, and the Legacy Style, which stays loyal to the original’s heritage. If you’re jumping in to play Delta whether as a first time player to the MGS franchise or a true fan who has played as Snake before, here’s the playstyle you should go for and why.

Legacy Style vs. New Style in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

In Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, players must choose between New Style and Legacy Style, which provide distinct gaming experiences geared to diverse user preferences. These approaches differ in terms of controls, camera perspective, and graphic display, which affects accessibility as well as nostalgia.

New Style

New Style features modernized controls and a third-person, over-the-shoulder perspective, similar to modern MGS titles such as Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. This approach lets players to aim and shoot while moving, resulting in a larger field of view and more fluid action. However shooting in third person comes with a disadvantage as your bullets have a significant projectile drop.

The controls are simple, with actions like crouching mapped to the circle (PlayStation) and B (Xbox) button and climbing to X (PlayStation) and Square (Xbox), making it suitable for beginners to the Metal Gear franchise or those who are used to newer titles.

The updated Unreal Engine 5 visuals deliver sharp, bright images, yet the complexity is balanced by boosting enemy reaction times and awareness. This makes stealth more difficult, despite the fluid dynamics. Unlocking the “War Has Changed” trophy is a bonus for selecting this mode.

Legacy Style

Legacy Style, on the other hand, recreates the original Metal Gear Solid 3 experience, complete with a top-down, fixed camera and old controls. Aiming requires entering first-person mode, and mobility feels more constrained, appealing to old fans of the franchise wanting nostalgia or a more intense challenge. All guns in this mode are hitscan, which means there’s no bullet drop when you shoot.

A visual filter replicates the original’s yellowish green color, which enhances retro aesthetics. The difficulty is slightly more forgiving due to the limited camera and controls, reminiscent of the PlayStation 2 period. It unlocks the “Old Snake, New Tricks” trophy.

Which Style Should You Choose to Play MGS Delta Snake Eater?

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater’s New Style is a clear winner as its controls provide a more updated, intuitive experience that outperforms the legacy style, improving gameplay while keeping the classic’s core.

Players can crouch-walk, a feature missing from the original PS2 edition, which allows for more fluid stealth navigation than the traditional style’s upright sneaking or crawling. Close-quarters combat (CQC) is improved with dynamic animations dependent on approach direction, making takedowns more diverse and responsive than the repetitive slams in legacy mode.

Sneaking behind an enemy, for example, now triggers distinct CQC animations, increasing tactical depth and immersion. The new style also contains quality-of-life enhancements, such as a pop-up camo menu accessible by holding down on the D-pad, which streamlines camo gear swaps without pausing, as opposed to the clumsy Survival Viewer in legacy mode.

The new-style opening film is a redesigned spectacle, containing a new rendition of Cynthia Harrell’s renowned “Snake Eater” song, with her vocals re-recorded to sound as lively as ever. Improved animations in the film depict Naked Snake navigating a rich, textured jungle, accentuating the remake’s photorealistic visuals in UE 5, as opposed to the original’s blocky, sepia-toned cinematic.

Despite these developments, players who crave nostalgia can apply a Legacy Image filter via the pause menu, duplicating the original’s murky sepia tone for a vintage appearance that balances current visuals with traditional vibe.

The new style’s intuitive controls, dynamic camera, and streamlined mechanics make stealth and combat more accessible and entertaining, catering to modern gamers while also including the legacy filter to satisfy purists, ensuring Delta feels both fresh and timeless as Kojima would have wanted, except removing its signature FOX Engine that fans wanted. But that’s a story to tell for another day.

So which style will you opt for – Legacy or New? Let us know in the comments below!