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Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater Rating Confirms Return of Controversial Feature
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater has officially been rated by the ESRB, and with its rating description comes the confirmation of a controversial feature returning to this remake of the beloved classic. The game will be rated M for Mature due to “blood, sexual themes, and violence.” The rating isn’t a surprise and follows suit with the original game’s rating, but what might be surprising to fans is the return of a feature that some players find to be predatory, and the reception this time is sure to be equally divisive as it was before.
The following article briefly mentions the following topics: sexual themes and objectification of women in video games.
The ESRB rating (via VGC) description for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater confirms the return of the Peep Demo Theatre that allows “players to view cutscenes of a female character’s body from a first-person perspective.“ The Peep Demo Theatre was actually not present in the original release of the game but was instead added in the Subsistence and HD Collection versions of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
The Peep Demo Theatre, Explained
More Than Just A Cutscene Viewer
In the original Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, the Peep Demo Theatre was a bonus unlockable to the game’s regular Demo Theatre, which allowed players to watch every scene in the game in which female character EVA is in her underwear, and then be able to control the camera freely to see angles of the character from a first-person perspective that could not be seen in the regular cutscene. The normal Demo Theatre mode also allowed players to watch every cutscene in the game and freely control the camera.
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The Peep Demo Theatre was one of the most difficult features to unlock in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, because every other scene in the normal Demo Theatre mode had to be unlocked first, requiring four complete playthroughs to unlock.
Our Take: This Feature Might Be Even More Controversial Now
It’s Very Faithful To The Original Game (To A Fault)
The Peep Demo Theatre was controversial in the original Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, but it might be even more controversial in the remake with its more realistic graphics and updated presentation. With character models more detailed than at the time of the original game, the inclusion of the Peep Demo Theatre might be even more divisive among players.
The main criticism by those against its inclusion is the sexual objectification of EVA, one of only a couple of female characters in the game. Standards have changed since the early 2000s, and even Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima, who previously defended the revealing outfit for the character Quiet in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, had more tame outfits for female characters in Death Stranding. Conversely, other fans might be okay with its inclusion to preserve the original game.
The inclusion of the Peep Demo Theatre may also be a surprising sign that this remake is going to be as faithful to the original game as possible, which fans would respond positively to, especially in an era full of remasters and remakes omitting some elements from their original versions. Metal Gear Online is reportedly going to be absent from Delta, so perhaps the inclusion of this feature somewhat makes up for other ones being scrapped. Either way, the Peep Demo Theatre is most likely going to divide a lot of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater players.
