There has been a resurgence in survival horror games over the last few years. While there are smaller indie horror titles released what seem like every other week, the AAA scene died down the last two generations as there has been a stronger push on action. Fortunately, Resident Evil VII proved the genre was still more than successful, which lead Capcom to revisit the beloved Resident Evil 2 to kick off a new trend: remaking classic horror games. This has caught on with Capcom remaking Resident Evil 3 and 4 afterwards, Konami remaking Silent Hill 2 and of course Electronic Arts remaking Dead Space. Dead Space was originally released in EA Games’ prime time of experimenting with single player such as Mirror’s Edge, Mass Effect 2, Dante’s Inferno and so many more. It became so popular that we saw two sequels, even though they quickly began to lean more towards the action side of things. EA Games is bringing back the classic futuristic horror title to the masses, not only revamping the visuals but overhauling a good chunk of the systems and story elements to better immerse players in this horrific world. Was the remake what we had hoped for or should we have just left Dead Space to be nothing more than a pleasant memory?

In terms of story, not a whole lot has changed from the 2008 release. Motive Studio stays true to the original’s work, including all the twists and turns you might expect, but with one major difference: the silent, faceless protagonist is no more. Isaac Clarke, our heroic engineer, can be seen right from the get go and he has dialogue. We’re not talking about a couple of lines of dialogue, either, but the entire game has been rewritten to fit his own narration into every single scene and interaction. No longer will the limited cast be speaking to a brick wall, but instead will have back-and-forths. They’re not especially intellectual conversations, but push the story forward as if the character is in it, not the player. This is for the most part entirely acceptable. It will take away from the Metroid-esque ending when we finally get to see Isaac’s unremarkably average face, but considering the two sequels quickly branched into this territory, it’s not as if this is ruining anything important.

There have also been portions of the game that have been reworked not necessarily because of Isaac’s ability to speak. There are characters that Isaac originally doesn’t actually meet, with instead their interactions being through audio logs you find throughout the environment. In the remake, they get in contact with our protagonist to help better push Isaac’s personal involvement with the story. To a certain degree this helps flesh out the characters and their motives, but at the same time it does take away from the isolation and emptiness of the ship. With that said, it’s not like you’ll be seeing anyone running around and these are just a few instances of sane people still trying to survive.

Combat has largely remained the same as this is a true horror game through and through. Isaac will be traversing a cramped setting with limited mobility, meaning if he runs into one Necromorph, it will be a challenge to get around without chopping them to bits. Speaking of which, the biggest and most satisfying feature to Dead Space is the ability to chop off limbs. It’s not an optional matter in approaching combat, but instead a necessity if you want to survive. Ammo is relatively scarce throughout the twelve to twenty-hour campaign, so every shot has to count, meaning cutting the leg off a creature and then his arm like tendrils will ensure for a quick victory. On top of this, using everything in the environment is key, as even pulling off the spiked limbs from enemies and hurling them at another is something that’s not only satisfying, but highly efficient. There’s so many options to speak of when approaching combat that no single scenario will look or play out the same. Outside of combat, zero gravity has always been fun in the later Dead Space games, but the original only saw Isaac jumping between floors and ceilings. This has been reworked in its entirety to allow for freeform zero gravity functionality and it has never felt so good. Players will get turned around and have they orient themselves, and it just feels so immersive and satisfying. Even the memorable boss fights feel different thanks to this.

The biggest change to Dead Space, though, is the design of the actual ship. It’s not necessarily the progression or scenarios as most of them remain close to the same, but instead it’s about how the ship is handled. Motive Studio has implemented a metroidvania-esque exploration system into the Ishimura where Isaac be able to upgrade his keycard and gain access to areas he normally wouldn’t be able to. This leads to unlocks for upgrades for weapons or armor, additional story and access to additional resources. On top of that, every section of the ship is connected, meaning the tram system is an optional, faster way to traverse. If you want to get from say Medical to Engineer, it can be a short trek. It makes the Ishimura feel like a fully fleshed-out ship instead of something that’s segmented. With this open ship at your disposal, there are quite a few side quests to partake in, most of which you’ll naturally stumble upon, but quite a few that will require players to go out of their way. It adds a whole new layer to Dead Space we didn’t know we wanted. Granted, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for Isaac to go back and explore older areas when his main goal is to get off the ship, but it adds to the adventure of things and even expands upon the story of what happened on the Ishimura.

Dead Space was ahead of its time back in 2008 from a visual perspective, crafting a beautiful, dreadfully-depressing mining ship that looks like it was ripped straight from the Warhammer 40k universe. The remake does the original a great service in bringing everything we remember fondly about it to the current generation. By far the biggest and best part of Dead Space’s visual design is its lighting. The vast majority of the campaign, Isaac will find himself in pitch darkness, and Dead Space uses this perfectly. The lighting helps enforce the atmosphere, even creating absolutely spectacular sections and areas that will have players stop and take it in. In addition, there’s added graphical gore as skin will peel and clothes will rip or burn based on your weaponry. It’s a subtle touch that goes a long way. On the PlayStation 5, there are two different modes: performance and quality. The former gives players a steady 60fps at 1080p while the latter drops the performance down to 30fps while including a 4K resolution and ray-tracing. Both obviously have their ups and downs. There are even accessibility options we are seeing far more of lately. This includes menu narration, a color blind mode, aim assistance, HUD adjustments and more. On top of all this, the sound department nailed the isolation and haunting cursed ship feeling. Hearing the Necromorphs move around in the vents, the heartbeat of Isaac as he finds himself in pitch black hallways or the eerily quiet dead of space will have players absorbed in the atmosphere.

Closing Comments:

Motive Studio has done the unthinkable with Dead Space. It has turned this iconic, incredibly memorable survival horror game from fifteen years ago into an even more immersive and engaging experience. This isn’t just a simple graphical upgrade, but an overhaul on a significant portion of the mechanics and storytelling, crafting a better and more gratifying universe to dive into. It perfectly straddles the line of nostalgia and feeling new. Whether it’s the new puzzles, additional ways to approach a combat scenario or simply the added storytelling elements to expand what happened on the mining vessel, Dead Space has never felt so complete. This is in addition to the Ishimura being an interconnected ship where players can go from one end to the other while exploring new areas with the metroidvania-esque keycard system. Whether you’re new or a longtime fan, there’s a lot here for you. Dead Space is up there with Resident Evil 2 as one of the best remakes ever made.