Dead Space Remake: An In-depth Review
Over the past few years, remaking legendary old titles has been a trend in the gaming world. We saw the mind-blowing remakes of the first few Resident Evil games, Final Fantasy, and even a Demon’s Souls remake. While some were total overhauls from visuals to gameplay, like the RE titles and Final Fantasy, some were just visual remakes, like Demon’s Souls. Another legendary title, Dead Space, has been remade to fit today’s gaming standards. This brand-new remake also falls into the latter part of the spectrum, a visual overhaul, retaining all the fun and nostalgic gameplay mechanics the original game bore.
About Dead Space
The original Dead Space game came out in October 2008, almost 15 years ago, and the game defined how a survival horror game should look. Dead Space drew much inspiration from Resident Evil 4 and films, including Event Horizon and Solaris, to make up a unique game. In addition, the game’s unique atmosphere and sound design brought out its dark Sci-Fi vibe, which was unmatched at the time.
Motive Studios and Electronic Arts have done it again in this new iteration. The Dead Space legacy is stunningly portrayed, showing how good the game should look in 2023 while retaining its original identity. The latest game in the franchise, Dead Space Remake, came out on January 27, 2023, across all current-gen consoles and PC.
A Massive Visual Overhaul
Right off the bat, the massive visual upgrade the developers have given stands out in this new remake. The original 2008 Dead Space game was one of the best-looking games at the time, but it started showing its age in recent years since video game graphics have become almost photorealistic. The new Dead Space title not only addresses this issue with enhanced graphics, but the dev team has gone as far as to extend the game’s overall environment to make levels more spacious while utilizing today’s hardware capabilities to the max.
The new Dead Space title utilizes EA’s proprietary Frostbite engine to bring its stunning and scary world to life. This has allowed the developers to introduce modern graphics to the game, such as vastly improved lighting, a ton of volumetric fog and lighting, and other particle effects to bring out the ambiance. However, what stands out the most is that the Ishimura, the spaceship players get to explore in the game, is now open to be a singular open-world experience. The original game contained level-based sections that would load when players progressed. However, faster loading times of modern gaming have allowed the world to be a singular unit, unrestricted by loading screens like in the original.
Make It Extra Horror on the Side!
Now that players can explore the USG Ishimura without restrictions, the gameplay has to have a balancing system to account for that. So often in video games, exploration can be a bit stale, especially in already completed levels. The dev team has developed a unique system to combat this minor issue, “Intensity Director”. Essentially, what this newly introduced system does is that it tracks the movements and positioning of the player to add an element of surprise with random enemies jumping right in front of the player.
Speaking of enemies, the remake has brought in all the familiar enemies from the original but with a more vicious and gorier look. The Necromorphs appear more horrifying thanks to the utilization of additional special effects introduced in the game. Additionally, killing enemies splatter guts and blood everywhere, leaving behind an extremely gory mess.
In hindsight, continuous level streaming and the Intensity Director are the key elements defining this remake. They add value to the game’s “explorabilty” and affect its overall pace and feel. This helps in making the game flow with the right pacing and progression. Pair that with the incredible audio design of the game, and you have one of the best horror games you have seen in a while.
Combat Mechanics Remains Unchanged
Combat is where the game starts returning to its roots in the original game. Dead Space Remake features very straightforward weapon mechanics, just like the original game, where players get to blast through all sorts of monstrous enemies they encounter. In addition, of course, the trusty Plasma Cutter is available for players to slice through enemies. Other weapons like the Pulse Rifle and the Ripper also exist for a more diverse combat experience.
The best part is that the game doesn’t feature complicated movement and dodging mechanics like in The Callisto Protocol. And weapon ammo isn’t scarce, either. So, this makes for a hassle-free combat experience where players don’t get frustrated trying to perform tedious drills. Instead, you just simply slash through all enemies. Furthermore, players also get to use the Kinetic module and the Stasis module for telekinesis abilities, allowing them to get more creative in combat.
Same Story but Enhanced Cutscenes
The plot follows the same course as in the original. However, the dev team has gone the extra mile to re-render all cutscenes in the game by adding more depth and tense to the story. Apart from the main cutscenes, the remake has also introduced mini-cutscenes throughout the game to give the progression a more cinematic feel.
However, there is one significant difference this time apart from the overall look and the game’s pace. The original voice actor of the game’s protagonist, Gunner Wright, has been brought back to give life to Isaac Clarke. And Isaac Clarke has a voice in this game! The original game contained almost zero to no voice lines for the protagonist, but he has things to say in the remake. So even though the story remains the same, the added dialogue adds more life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Dead Space Remake is the definition of a best-in-class remake. The dev team identified what limited them back when the original game came out and addressed almost all of them to make this remake feel like a modern game. And to add to that, the game is stunning and packs a punch with the updated gameplay, thanks to EA’s Frostbite Engine. As a result, this remake should please players of the original version and new gamers alike.
Co-Authored by Fiver Freelancer