Deluxe ‘Dead Space’ loses none of its chilling core in new release
“Dead Space” was originally launched across formats in 2008 and spawned several sequels. It is now back in a digital deluxe version completely rebuilt from the ground up to offer a deeper, more immersive experience. Available across all the main platforms, the remake of the survival action-horror classic retains its core identity with all the added power of the modern consoles and controllers.
For those new to the series, it owes a lot to the classic “Alien” film, combining a decaying industrial spaceship with various creatures looking to do you harm. Players take the role of Isaac Clarke, an engineer on a rescue vessel looking to see what has happened to the vast USG
Ishimura mining ship that has gone silent.
The full story of what befell the Ishimura is a mystery that unravels as users progress through the game – told in snippets of audio diaries or text documents discovered while exploring the ship.
The game has a content warning as the monsters prowling the ship have dispatched much of the crew in the bloodiest of fashions. Bodies lie strewn across corridors, blood strained messages are written on the wall, all adding to the fear and isolation felt by players as they guide Clarke through an over-theshoulder view.
Weapons wise, plasma cutters, flame throwers, and saw guns allow Clarke to take down mutated alien-like enemies that were once humans. These Necromorphs have vulnerable limbs and vary in form. Some throw acid, others move quickly across the ceilings but with ammunition limited in tight settings Clarke must be spot on with his targeting and knowing which vulnerabilities each opponent has.
Despite the terrifying setting, the character of Clarke is a bit of a black hole with no internal monologue or real personality, leaving the space to be filled by players' own paranoia.
Whether its intentional or not there is also a frustrating inability to use medical packs outside of the heat of battle.