Dead Space
Sound the remake klaxon: EA’S sci-fi survival horror classic has been given new life – or should that be brought back from the dead?
The Dead Space series showed no signs of life after getting canned a decade ago, when EA thought games-as-a-service was the future. But it turns out single-player blockbusters are still in demand, and so are visual overhauls of generations-old faves.
This remake faithfully follows the plot of the original Dead Space, where engineer Isaac Clarke and his crew are sent to investigate a drifting spaceship that has been overrun by a deadly alien virus, transforming its workers into monstrous Necromorphs. But beyond adding a fresh lick of paint, EA’S Motive Studio has given the USG Ishimura a refurb, expanding the space and making it explorable sans loading screens.
New rooms hold text and audio logs that flesh out the Ishimura crew’s backstory, side quests expand the original 10hr runtime, and the zero-gravity sections have been streamlined – they’re less of a challenge now, but greatly improve one notoriously tricky asteroid section. As before, the quickest way to dispatch enemies isn’t with headshots, but by cutting off their limbs.
Isaac’s familiarity with a Plasma Cutter means that, even after acquiring proper military hardware, you’ll often be falling back on that weapon’s workmanlike precision. And improved physics mean your suit’s kinesis ability can interact with more objects now, which helps mix up the combat.
Movement is perhaps a little too smooth, though, which makes encounters easier: the chilling audio design and dimly lit corridors might have your hair standing on end, but fights tend not to be quite as pulse-raising. Completionists will also have to put up with a bit of backtracking… and while it does undeniably look great on next-gen consoles, it’s not such a visual leap that fans of the original absolutely need to check it out.
New elements make this a different, more modern experience next to the original, but the setting remains fascinating – and yes, the Necromorphs remain nightmarish.