I’m no stranger to admitting that I complain about the whole nature of remakes and how common they’ve become, but that doesn’t change the fact that what EA Motive has been preparing with Dead Space Remake is already fun for me a period of time. After a preview event late last year I’ve been eagerly awaiting the game’s full release to see how the game takes shape, and now that it’s gotten to the point where I start this review with complete confidence telling you it’s a very good remake of . From a standpoint of technology, polish, fidelity, and new welcome additions, Dead Space pretty much does. Before I get back to these areas though, let me hang up some dirty laundry, if you will.
Here’s the thing, I don’t think the coupled genre term “survival horror” does Dead Space much justice anymore. Unlike Resident Evil, where you can actually run from enemies and have to deal with stalker enemies that are practically unstoppable, Dead Space is played differently. It’s still horror at its core, but it’s really an action game, one where you’re haunted by despair. I mean, you never actually see Isaac in real danger, he always gives a master of his destiny rather than extending his life for a few more minutes while fleeing the monsters that hunt him down. No, Isaac Clarke is more of an action hero who’s quicker to figure things out by throwing plasma bombs at long distances than by sneaking dodges.
This brings me to the “desperate” part, as far as I’m concerned, a game called “survival” has to see you deal with more threats than just the enemies in front of you – otherwise every move Games and shooters both fit the bill. Sure, Dead Space sometimes has to manage oxygen levels, but at some point, it’s more of a niche game mechanic. No, the greatest enemy Isaac had to overcome, and therefore I think “Desperate” better describes the title of this era, is the ammo economy, which relies on the old “survival horror” tropes of smashing crates and looting Corpses to find ammo while away from the store, not the most valuable mechanic in my experience. Dead Space likes to provide you with loads of spendable credits, which means you’ll be headed to the store to buy piles of bullets so you can go on your necromancy-killing rampage. At the end of the day, why buy gun upgrades if you don’t have the ammo to put your hands on.
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So, that’s why I think we should stop thinking of games like Dead Space — or even the more recent The Callisto Protocol — as survival horror, because they’re not those things. Don’t get me wrong, the improvements and additions that EA Motive have made in this remake do add a lot to the horror and atmosphere, but you’ll never feel really scared while playing.
But by those improvements, I’m mostly referring to the audio-visual experience, which is unlike anything else out there today. The game is graphically stunning, and the way the developers used volumetric fog and steam over sparse light sources made Ishimura feel hostile in a way it hadn’t before. Combined with audio improvements that bring 3D audio to the game, this is something you absolutely need to experience with headphones, as Necromorphs will pop out of the vents from every direction, and your best friend and saving grace will be your ears. All of this combines to make Dead Space Remastered feel more than a remake, it’s a fresh take on the iconic sci-fi series, and I encourage players to actually experiment with lower-than-usual brightness settings; since having to rely on spotlights and AI Sark’s torch did wonders for digging Dead Space more into the horror vein.
Atmospheric and technical improvements aren’t all that EA Motive wants to tweak. In this remake, Dead Space is a seamless adventure. There are no clear loading screens (instead, they’re disguised as driving on a tram, waiting for doors to open, and squeezing through tight spaces), meaning you can wander throughout USG Ishimura without being restricted to the actual game level. Combined with the ability to travel and zoom in zero gravity like Isaac did in the later Dead Space sequels, it all makes this remake feel modern and fresh, despite the fact that the narrative and story are still The same stuff we all fell in love with in 2008.
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Now I’m not going to tell you that Dead Space is flawless, because it isn’t. While talking, Isaac seemed distant and never really paid attention to the person he was talking to, which was really disturbing. Plus, it’s hard to appreciate the improvements the dev team has made to the undead enemies (giving them bones, incinerated flesh, and detailed anatomy), since you use the same formula as before to defeat them–namely, blowing up their limbs. Prettier gore if you can describe it that way, but not much else because it never really changes how you fight. You’ll still most likely just brute force a plasma cutter to chop off limbs instead of using a weapon type to strategically take down enemies, which should look like using a flamethrower or pulse rifle to blow up or burn flesh so you’re The bone can be cut through more easily with a cutter. In practice, it never really worked like that.
Otherwise, I do find that savepoints are still a fairly old mechanism, and because of the autosave element, it’s not that common. You never know when you can rely on the automatic system, or when you really need to recharge yourself, until it’s too late and the respawn loads the screen to complete the loop. Also, the last little thing that blew me away was this flight (or rather zero-g) system, which gets a little nauseous when you start to lose your way. Of course, this could be a very real explanation of what actual zero-g movement feels like, but I’ve never been to space, so it’s just kind of gross.
But none of that changes my opinion that Dead Space Remake is one of the best remakes we’ve received. Improvements in technology, audio, and graphics have all done wonders for the immersion this game relies on, and when considering some of the other “finished” games we’ve seen lately, the quality and polish is very welcome. So, whether you’re new to the Dead Space universe or looking to return, this is a game worth checking out because it’s thrilling, weird, engaging, and most importantly for a video game, fun.