Ah, remakes. It’s far from a novel concept and frequently on the top of minds of gamers. Like it or not, we’ve been cruising in a renaissance era of remakes and remasters as developers breathe new life into classics so they may be enjoyed by new and existing fans. One developer that’s been knocking it out of the park is Capcom, but with the launch of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Konami has finally thrown their hat into the “remake” ring. These two companies are titans in the industry, especially in the 90s and early 2000s, so I’m here to ask, which one is doing the whole “remake thing” better?

It may seem unfair to ask with the sheer number of remakes Capcom has under their belt, but after firing up Konami’s attempt to revive the Metal Gear franchise, I’m curious to see who does it better.

Capcom has remade several Resident Evil titles to date, including the first four mainline entries. They remade the original Resident Evil back in 2015, improving and expanding on the experience, yet stayed true to form. It was a difficult balance to strike, and yet they successfully did, and for many gamers, it is considered the definitive way to play the game. While that remake was a success, Resident Evil 2 perhaps is the most beloved remake. More liberties were taken in this remake, but it gave us more to love–expanded level design and the omnipresent Mr. X.

The graphics are gorgeously gory and the voice acting hits the mark. A lot of love goes to the Resident Evil 4 remake as well. While sticking closer to the original, the experience with modern controls made an already near-perfect game enjoyable to the modern-day gamer. The bits that Capcom did change, such as Ashley’s character and her interactions with Leon, helped age the game better. Not all remakes were top tier in the fandom’s eyes, of course. Resident Evil 3 remake, although high in quality, fell short with all the cuts that were made. Fans felt a lot was missing from the remake, and thus, considered sub-par to the original.

Now, what about Konami’s horror counterpart, the Silent Hill series? A remake of Silent Hill 2 released in 2024 was well-received, despite the high bar set by Silent Hill fans that have been waiting decades for this day. However, it wasn’t remade by Konami themselves. No. They handed the keys to horror indie dev team, Bloober Team. They handled the weight of this responsibility of remaking perhaps the most popular title of the franchise very well, and they served us a remake that looked great, sounded great (or terrifying perhaps is the better adjective), felt great, and somehow gave the story even more depth. It’s a remake whose foundation was built on love and respect for the series, but again, the credit really goes to the Bloober Team, although kudos goes to Konami for choosing the right partner.

What we are left with for comparison is Konami’s latest game, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3. After several delays, it finally released in August 2025 to a Metacritic score of 85. Not bad at all, falling short of Resident Evil 2 (2019)’s 91 and Resident Evil 4′s 93. Of course, it’s not all about critic scores.

Aside from the obvious graphical and controls-based upgrade in the remake, I noticed Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater’s differences are sparse compared to the original. In fact, Konami seemed to play it extremely safe with regard to the plot, characters, and cut scenes. I believe Konami likely acted intentionally with its conservative approach, preferring to handle a game created by the highly revered Hideo Kojima with utmost delicacy. While there are still those at Konami who’ve worked on the series, without Kojima himself there, the project likely had this invisible and weighted “air” about it.

While I admire the almost rigid adherence to the original (again, outside of the beautiful graphical overhaul and the option to play with modern or Legacy controls), there were some things I just wish Konami changed. For example, a personal thorn in my side is the ridiculously over sexualized Eva. Listen, I’m not just being a cancel-culture curmudgeon, either. I understand that violence and sex sells, but the overt “femme fatale” characterization aged horribly. A little bit, fine. In the end, I found myself squirming uncomfortably at how gratuitous and blatant it was. Maybe the hyper realistic graphics thanks to Unreal 5 pushed it over the edge where it all felt “too real” to me to take it lightly. The hyper realism also took some adjusting to the super campiness that Konami retained for Snake Eater. It was a little odd seeing Ocelot perform his cheesy gunslinging circus act and howling for his comrades in Unreal 5.

Before the Metal Gear fans come with their pitchforks and torches, I want to state that Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a solid remake (no pun intended). Konami is taking a step in the right direction to riding the money train that Capcom has embarked after reviving (and continuing to revive) various franchises. But in the end as it stands today, I feel that Capcom is the current champion of the remake against Konami…for now!

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Source: Metacritic

Featured Image Source: Konami