Dead Space (2023): A Horror Masterpiece Reborn
Ah, Dead Space. A classic from the seventh generation of video games. As a love letter to the sci-fi horror genre codifed by Alien, it was an amazing franchise, starring a very scared-out-of-his-wits space engineer fighting against horrible undead mockeries of humans, while trying not to flat out collapse from the mental strain of both that and an alien artifact whispering to him. It felt like a more science fiction take on Resident Evil, being a horror-themed third person shooter against biological monstrosities.
Though it started strong, in the end it went out not with a bang, but a whimper. The third game’s critical reception was polarizing, especially with its first, last, and only campaign DLC that made everything the protagonists fought for completely pointless. Since then, the franchise has been left dormant, with the original dev team having been dissolved, much to fans’ eternal sorrow.
But all was not lost, because in 2021, it was teased, then revealed, that a new entry in the series was being developed. Led by a new team, this game promised to be not only a revival of the franchise, but also a chance to pay homage to the original game’s vision while achieving something new.
Dead Space (2023) is a sci-fi horror third-person shooter developed by Motive and published by Electronic Arts for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC on January 27th, 2023. Taking the role of CEC Engineer Isaac Clarke, players must brave the depths of the USG Ishimura in search of answers as to what happened, as well as find Isaac’s girlfriend, Nicole Brennan. On top of this, he must use scavenged and modified engineering tools to fight against horrid undead abominations known as Necromorphs plaguing the ship… and that’s if he doesn’t crack from the mental strain first.
As a remake of a game from 2008, there’s bound to be tons of changes that make it stand out from the original. Did Motive hit the ground running or did they fail miserably? Let’s take a look.
Story
Right away, the story is already improved with one simple aspect: giving Isaac a voice. In the original game, he was almost completely mute, only letting out screams of fear and pain or panting in exertion. The cast repeatedly had to talk around him, which made the supposed emotional connection between his allies and his girlfriend fall flat. Here, however, he’s played by Gunner Wright, his voice actor from the original second game onward, and Wright’s still got it – his performance lends so much more depth to Isaac, whether it be bewilderment at what’s happened to the Ishimura, to angrily snarling at Unitologists, to chatting cordially with his allies. Now that he’s no longer forced to be a mute, Isaac displays so much more personality with how he actively engages with characters in the story, instead of just awkwardly staring at them as they talk to and around him.
Other characters also had their personalities and identities altered to some degree in the remake, primarily Hammond and Kendra. Whereas the original had them hostile to each other from the beginning (begging the question of how they stuck together before the game started), the remake has them being substantially warmer, at worst being neutral. It becomes a lot more believable to watch them slowly but steadily grow more stressed out and prone to anger as the story progresses, especially as Kendra indicates Hammond may be hiding something. It also makes for a tearjerker near the end, as Kendra still betrays Isaac, and this time it’s clear that she’s reluctant to do it, though she expresses confidence that he’ll still find a way to get off the ship.
The nature of Isaac and Nicole’s relationship is given some exploration in a side mission, where it becomes a lot more believable that they were together and loved each other deeply. Even when it becomes clear that Nicole isn’t what she seems, Isaac still shows devotion to her that is very heartfelt.
On the Necromorph side of things, the Hunter is still here from the original, but instead of just being a hapless test subject of Mercer, here, he’s a completely willing minion who doesn’t hesitate to do his bidding. His identity as Brant Harris gets explored through recordings and a side mission, which ends up making a one-off boss enemy into a rounded character in his own right.
A somewhat minor form of storytelling here is how they also changed how you acquire the weapons. Whereas you previously had to buy everything except the Plasma Cutter in the Ishimura’s store terminals, here, they’re all found lying around the ship, either just by themselves or still in the hands of fallen crew members. It really helps with immersion, and definitely sells the vibe that these people used these tools out of desperation, but it still wasn’t enough in the end.
Another example of this is the completely changed structure of the ship. The original game didn’t have anything connecting the various decks outside of the tram stations, giving the implication that if the trams broke down for whatever reason, well, sucks to be you until it’s fixed. Every deck felt completely disconnected from each other as a result. The remake instead has them all easily reachable on foot through numerous additional passageways between each deck, making it very possible to start at the Bridge at the front, and go all the way to the Mining Deck that’s at the very back. Now it’s more believable that all of these decks are on the same vessel.
The remake’s story blows the original’s out of the water if you ask me!
Gameplay
The moment-to-moment gameplay of the Dead Space remake resembles the original. You play as Isaac Clarke, looking over his shoulder constantly, and using scavenged engineering tools repurposed as weapons to fight the Necromorphs. Uniquely for this game, instead of just aiming for the chest or head, the enemy only goes down for good if you aim for the limbs and cut them off. Even if you destroy the head completely, at most it will just anger that enemy and make them flail their blade arms around in a blind rage. This forces you to keep a close eye on ammo and aim with purpose, instead of just pointing a gun in their general direction and firing until they go down. You have the option of quick melee, which can get breathing room if a Necromorph gets too close, but isn’t really reliable against tough enemies or on crowds. And when an enemy dies, you can stomp on them to check if they’re really dead or force some loot out of their body.
The remake takes cues from the original trilogy’s sequels, with Isaac being much more agile and adaptable both normally and in zero gravity. Instead of having to perform Superman-esque leaps to surfaces above you (which can easily be instant death if you end up leaping towards something unsafe), you’re given full 360-degree movement without compromising your ability to aim and fight. A definite upgrade!
Similarly, Kinesis and Stasis have been given an upgrade mimicking how they were boosted from the original second game onward. Isaac can use Kinesis to lift various objects he uses his free hand on, while still being able to shoot with his gun hand. If there are any long and pointy objects around, he can grab them and fire them at targets to impale them and knock them down! This includes the bladed appendages Necromorphs might have cut off of them, which can result in the somewhat-silly-but-still-badass scenario of blasting off a Slasher’s arm, then quickly yanking it out of the air and impaling the monster in the face before it can even react! Stasis also comes out faster compared to the last game, making it much snappier to use in a pinch.
To keep things interesting while traversing the ship, Motive added something called “Intensity”. This system makes it so that Necromorphs can randomly appear in already-cleared areas when you return to them later on, and you won’t know it until the door opens and you see something like a Slasher or Pregnant standing there and getting ready to charge you. Vents may also randomly break open, without a Necromorph jumping out, making for scares on top of having to regularly acquire and expend resources as you go.
Some weapons from the original game got overhauled to be more viable to use, which I say is a great change. Chief among them is the Force Gun, a shotgun-like weapon that blasts kinetic shockwaves forward to cause knockback for its primary fire; its secondary fire launches a rolling bomb that detonates after some time, or immediately if it hits an enemy. While powerful, it was fairly awkward to use, especially with it only being really powerful up close and having to be careful about the bomb. In the remake, the secondary fire was changed to instead plant a gravity well that yanks enemies toward it, making it much easier to corral them and deal with all of them at once while it’s active. The Line Gun also got a major improvement, where its secondary fire of a timed mine was instead replaced by a deployable laser trap that cuts apart anything that gets in the way, making for some creative combat solutions when paired with Kinesis and any object that can be carried.
The upgrades for the weapons have been vastly expanded, with numerous additional parts you can pick up to modify a weapon’s behavior. As a standout example, the Plasma Cutter, the starting weapon, is decently strong on its own, but a late-game upgrade known as the Weighted Blades makes it even more powerful. The Weighted Blades now ensure that any time you melee any enemy that isn’t a Brute with the Plasma Cutter equipped, it will always get knocked backward onto the floor. This even works against multiple enemies, ensuring that you can force them away and get yourself more breathing room. It’s also very handy against the Hunter, making it easier to keep it at bay a bit longer without having to constantly sever his limbs.
Taking a cue from the Metroidvania genre, some rooms and lootable lockers or boxes are visibly locked, requiring increased security clearance to access. A similar thing was present in the original, but there, those locked objects suddenly opened when you came back to them later with no explanation. The remake not only gives you incentive to increase your security clearance, but even gives an in-story reason for it.
The trademark of Dead Space is still here, too – the complete lack of a traditional HUD outside of subtitles if turned on. Instead, all information comes from things in the environment, specifically your current health and amount of Stasis energy being meters mounted on the upper spine of Isaac’s RIG. Ammo is also displayed only when you’re aiming a weapon, and all actions like looking at the inventory take place in real time. This heightens the immersion substantially, as you still have to be alert while sorting your stuff, and also keep an eye on Isaac’s vitals to determine if he’ll survive the next fight or if he really needs healing. Things you can interact with are also displayed with holographic markers over a relevant terminal or device.
A new element in this game involves power junctions that only allow a limited number of systems to be powered on. The best example is in the third chapter, where Isaac can only supply power to either the lights or the oxygen system in the fueling station. This ends up providing a really difficult choice – do you kill the lights to stay breathing, but rely only on your flashlight to see? Or do you keep the lights on, but now have a time limit on how much you can stay there before Isaac suffocates? All the while, the Necromorphs don’t care, they’ll still happily come out to try and kill you.
Graphics
Fifteen years of graphics enhancements have led to the remake looking so much better than the original in every aspect. It’s still dark and scary and muted… but now it’s in VERY high definition, to the point you can see individual screws, scuffs, and blood marks on surfaces rendered in great detail, telling the story of the Ishimura long before the Necromorphs began attacking.
Isaac himself also has plenty of detail. On top of having a face resembling his voice actor Gunner Wright, his RIG has been given a huge facelift. Now it looks more like a very detailed vest and leggings with boots, with clamps on his shoulders for his zero-G thrusters. His starting helmet has also received a redesign, where instead of just a very open visor, it already has three bars running across it to protect his face but still let him see.
Naturally the Necromorphs also get an upgrade, albeit more gruesomely. The terror of facing these horrible, twisted mockeries of the human form is amplified due to the increased level of detail on their skin, including spots where it’s outright melted from the heat given off by the transformation, alongside the new “Peeling” system – every subsequent attack on a Necromorph has a chance to strip off layers of flesh from their body, until only bones remain. And yet they still keep coming until you cut off their limbs! It’s a common sight to see something like a Slasher keep trying to stab you while reduced to just a bloody skeleton.
The atmospheric effects have also been given an enormous boost. The new fog and particle effects make things ever creepier, which actually respond to Isaac moving through them. The lighting in this game is also simply fantastic, adding some amazingly realistic vibes, especially in vacuum environments.
In terms of performance, it ran exceptionally well on my rig, playing at a rock-solid 60 FPS for the most part. The only times it faltered were in a few areas on the ship, and against the final boss. A patch fixed that last one, however, making it as impressive as it should be.
Pros
Dead Space (2023) is basically the original game, but better in every conceivable way. From the story, to the graphics, to the gameplay, it’s all a wonderful package that makes it so much better than the 2008 title.
Isaac being voiced makes it so much easier to be immersed, because now he actively participates in dialogue with other characters, and he can properly express himself in ways his original incarnation wasn’t allowed to. In between the panic of fighting Necromorphs, he displays moments of exasperation at events unfolding, sadness over his teammates dying, and desperation to find Nicole, even if it’s a bad idea. The extra insight into his relationship with Nicole gives further depth to not only himself, but Nicole as well, making it vastly more believable (and even more heartbreaking) that they were together but now they’re separated.
The “Intensity” and “Peeling” systems ramp up the paranoia fuel and terror, as not only do you have to constantly be wary of enemies popping up in places you were certain were empty long ago, but you have to watch them keep going after you even though you’re reducing them to just bone. The monsters are everywhere!
The snappier Kinesis and Stasis mechanics make combat a lot more fluid, so you can concentrate more on the actual fight instead of being distracted by how sluggish your character is. The expanded upgrade system for weapons also makes customizing them worthwhile, and the fact that you find a lot of them out in the open instead of having to purchase them means you can save your credits on more important things like ammo, health, and more.
Connecting all the decks to each other through on-foot passageways makes the tram system feel more like an optional fast travel system instead of just a method of disguising load times between chapters. This ensures that the perspective of constantly peering over Isaac’s shoulder is only properly broken when you die or you quit the game.
A neat little feature of the game revolves around Isaac’s health state during scenes where he talks with other people normally. His current health alters his tone of voice, from speaking normally at around full health, to sounding tired at half, to grimacing in pain and straining to stay focused at critical health. Similarly, on the occasions where Isaac runs completely dry on ammo in a fight, he’ll either swear in panic, or loudly complain about the CEC’s equipment. It really adds to the immersion and helps sell the fact that he’s not your average badass horror protagonist, he’s a living, thinking man who reacts understandably to really bad situations.
Cons
Despite how good the game is, it unfortunately has some bugs that managed to slip through testing. During my initial playthrough, there were occasions where parts of the level wouldn’t load the graphics of the next area until a second or two passed after opening a door. This also affected a major cutscene during one of the later chapters, which has Isaac encountering at least two characters behind glass… yet the game forgot to load one of those characters into the scene, making it look like Isaac and the other character are interacting with empty air. This particular scene also had all the dialogue not play, reducing them to just gesturing. It was unintentionally creepy. I had to reload the game several times, then wait a bit in front of the door for a minute or so before entering, for it to play properly.
Another bug occurred in my New Game+ playthrough, where the Hunter ended up softlocking me by spawning in a doorway and refusing to budge. No matter what I did – stomping him, shooting him, hitting him with Stasis to strip him to the bone – he refused to budge. I had to wait until a patch came by to solve this.
In terms of the story, it’s majorly improved in all ways, except for one instance – Isaac reunites with Nicole for real, but while he gets to talk with her, he’s still not allowed to actually touch her. The emotional impact is somewhat dampened, which is a shame, because with all the effort they put into things like animating Isaac during every other scene, I think they could have spared time to animate him removing his helmet and hugging her. It would have reaffirmed their relationship and provided some much needed heartwarming when there’s a break in the terror and the violence.
Another minor nitpick would be how they reused all the death animations for Isaac whenever a Necromorph succeeds in overpowering him during a grapple. While they still look pretty gnarly, especially with the updated graphics, I was admittedly hoping for more gruesome and creative animations, especially for the Infectors, who forgo their usual MO for just decapitating Isaac once they stab him enough times.
Final Verdict
As remakes go, it’s an absolutely fantastic one. It surpasses the original game in nearly every way, serving as a glorious rebirth for an amazing franchise. I really hope that the people at EA and Motive take note of this and work on remaking the rest of the trilogy as well, those two could use some major makeovers for sure.
I give it a 9/10. Well worth the price of admission!