Modders Zoft and Triggerhappy have brought crouch walking to the PC version of Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Volume 1. Available on Nexusmods, MGS3 Crouch Walk allows for players to find a happy medium between belly crawling and upright walking (via PCGamer).
As iconic as crouch walking might be in modern stealth games, the original Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004) didn't feature the option at all. It was only with the Nintendo 3DS port in 2012 that the third installment of the series would allow players to crouch walk for themselves.
Thanks to Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D, Zoft and Triggerhappy had access to crouch walking animations that they could transplant into the Master Collection. When using this more modern form of stealth locomotion, players will benefit from a higher camo index level (Snake Eater's way of measuring your overall stealthiness) compared to moving while completely upright, but less than you'd get from the traditional belly crawling.
Of course, in the modern era of video games, crouch walking is a visual shorthand for stealth. From the gritty realism of The Last of Us Part 1, to the historical fantasy of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, characters from all walks of life will drop into the iconic crouch walk at the touch of a button.
However, back in 2004, this middle ground between upright movement and full-on crawling wasn't nearly as ubiquitous. It wasn't until Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots in 2008 that crouch walking would be included as part of a mainline Metal Gear Solid title.
That said, it'll be interesting to see if Konami includes crouch walking with the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, otherwise known as Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. Though we know the game will reuse the original voices of the 2004 cast, we don't yet know if the movement mechanics will be a carbon copy of the original or whether they might bring in crouch walking more officially.
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