The Chyornaya Peschera Caves are the toughest section of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. They’re coal-black, loaded with skinny corridors, and strewn with threats you can barely spot until they’re almost on top of you.
While Snake can adapt his eyes to the dark over time, the most optimal method of navigating the caverns is obtaining the Night Vision Goggles (NVG). They permit you to carve a path through the darkness and trudge through the caverns without stumbling blindly through each passage.
Where to Find the Night Vision Goggles
You’ll go into the caves first after you fight Revolver Ocelot. Cutscene, and when you play again as Snake, you’re in Chyornaya Peschera Cave Branch, and the region around you will be near blackness. Move around from here by recalling these carefully:
- Start by entering the right-hand cavern. The initial tunnels are curly and turny, but stay on the right-hand side until you encounter a fork.
- Travel left first. Crouch along the left-hand wall and you will see a small crevice that you can crawl through.
- Ascend. A ramp will take you further up within the cave after crawling through the space. Continue on it until you find a small rock hole.
- Belly-crawl through the crevice. This one’s easy to miss, but you have no choice.
- Crawl through a second gap. On the other side of the first tunnel, you’ll have another tight spot—go through that too.
- Pick up your reward. As you exit, the Night Vision Goggles will be yours, along with a little additional AK-47 ammo.
Why NVGs are worth getting
Although you can navigate the caves with only your lighter or simply waiting for Snake’s eyes to recover, NVGs make the segment an awful lot safer. They will be able to see concealed enemies in the dark, light up trails that are too convenient to become lost on, and give you the assurance to walk through the caves at normal pace instead of crawling at a snail’s pace. They come in handy later in the game as well, when you’re in dark places.
If you do happen to lose these during the first time going through the caves, don’t panic—these can be collected, but having them earlier makes the whole sequence that much smoother.
