Modder restores missing PS2-era visual effects to Metal Gear Solid 2, including 'a ton of things that were literally left marked as BLUEPOINT TO-DO still in the source code'

I've said it before and, in all likelihood, will say it again several more times: one of the best things about PC gaming is that modders can come in long after a game has been set aside by its developers, and proceed to clean up all the nagging bugs and imperfections that continue to linger.

Take, for example, MGSHDFix, which sprang into existence not longer after the initial launch of the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol 1 to spruce up MGS1 and 2 (plus MG1 and 2) ports that were, at the time, lackluster. Konami's done a lot of work on the games since then, and they're in a good state, but there's always work to be done. That's why MGSHDFix 4.0.0 released over the weekend.

It's a doozy. "With MGSHDFix 4.0.0, MGS2 is effectively restored back to its original pre-HD Collection state," writes author Afevis. "All of MGS2's graphical effects that Bluepoint left unimplemented (there was a ton of things that were literally left marked as 'BLUEPOINT TO-DO' still in the source code that are still untouched to today), have been fully restored (either through the game's own rendering system, or in some cases, through modern custom D3D11 recreations.)"

While Bluepoint's 2011 HD-ifications of Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3—which are what the Master Collection versions are based on—are generally well-regarded, that doesn't mean there weren't some regressions from the original games. MGSHDFix de-regresses them. For instance, both games' depth of field rendering now actually works, and scales properly with modern resolutions.

MGS2 got most of the game-specific love here—a meaty list of PS2-era effects that were missing from the Bluepoint versions have been restored, like certain water effects, cutscene filters, motion trails, crossfade camera transitions, bloodstains on guards and more. It's a lot of stuff that you might not notice is missing, but which is certainly nice to have. And in games that have the kind of strong directorial vision that MGS does, it's sure nice to feel like you're getting the visual experience the original designers intended.

Anyway, if you want to check it out, you're best off downloading the 4.0.1 hotfix version that released yesterday. A little bad news if you run the mod using Luxtorpeda on Linux, like I do: Luxtorpeda is still pulling the 3.1.0 version of the mod at the time of writing, but I don't doubt that'll be fixed sharpish.

2026 games: All the upcoming games
Best PC games: Our all-time favorites
Free PC games: Freebie fest
Best FPS games: Finest gunplay
Best RPGs: Grand adventures
Best co-op games: Better together