If you’re a Metal Gear Solid fan, it’s probably best to remain skeptical about the recently announced Snake Eater remake, at least until we see the game in action. The trailer didn’t do much to capture the vibe of the original (especially compared to the tonal masterpiece that is the original Snake Eater trailer), and if the rumors are true, the studio developing it, Virtuous, is relatively unproven.

Considering Konami’s track record, there’s no guarantee that Hideo Kojima’s legacy is in good hands, so it’s best not to get too excited. That being said, we already have some evidence that the new studio is honoring Kojima and delivering the Metal Gear Solid we remember - just look at how confused everyone already is by the limited information we’ve been given.

Thanks to the rumor mill, we already knew a Snake Eater announcement was coming last week. What we didn’t know is that it won’t be called Metal Gear Solid 3, but rather Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater. Maybe getting rid of the three could be a good way to draw in new fans that would otherwise be driven away by a threequel, but then they decided to slide a Δ in there. What the hell is that? Is it called Metal Gear Triangle? I’ve never had to type Δ, and I guarantee video game sites are not going to keep up with this Δ charade for long. Putting a random symbol in a title definitely feels like a Kojima move, and the explanation given sounds even more like Kojima.

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“The Delta symbol (Δ) was chosen because its meaning fits the concept of the remake project,” wrote the official Metal Gear Solid Twitter account. “Delta means ‘change’ or ‘difference’ without changing structure.” First of all, no it doesn’t. A delta is a mathematical symbol that is used to represent a change in a variable, and it can also denote a small difference between two values. Sometimes it refers to an area where a river briefly splits off into a bunch of smaller rivers as it flows into the sea, and it can also refer to a quantifiable difference between two things. So while ‘change’ and ‘difference’ are both elements of certain definitions of delta, they’re not synonyms, and there’s no part of any definition for delta that refers to the structure remaining unchanged. Konami wanted to convey with the title that the new Snake Eater will have some differences from the original, but that the structure of the game will remain the same.

Kojima also likes to redefine words and invent new terminology, and the Metal Gear series - and in particular MGS5: The Phantom Pain - is preoccupied with explorations of language as tools for both forming human connections and perpetuating systems of oppression. The delta in the title here is heavily Kojima-coded, not just because of its idiosyncratic verging on pretentiousness, but also because of its suggested relationship to some of Metal Gear Solid’s deeper themes. Konami could be trying to emulate Kojima by adding a delta to the title, but it comes across as a genuine and bizarre thing to do, to the point where I’d be willing to believe it was Kojima’s suggestion to add. It’s the exact kind of high-concept rule breaking and low brow, on the nose symbolism that makes a name like Die-Hardman work so well.

The other confusing element is just good old-fashioned poor publisher communication. The Metal Gear twitter account explained that the “story and character voices in Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater remain the same from the original game”, which is a statement that requires some clarification. Does that mean all the original voice lines are being reused, or has Konami brought back all of the original actors to re-record their dialogue? Some of the actors have passed, like Kenji Utsumi, who played Colonel Volgin in the Japanese version, so at least some of the actors will be replaced if the dialogue is to be re-recorded. If the studio is using the original voice recordings, that brings into question whether the new Snake Eater is a true remake in the way Dead Space and Resident Evil 4 remakes were. These were questions everyone was asking, so Konami released a statement to clarify - except it just said the exact same thing and didn’t clarify anything.

I only know two things about the new Snake Eater and they both confuse me. Even though I know this won’t be a true Kojima game, Konami is making a lot of Kojima choices already, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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