Review of Dead Space (2023)

Recreating a classic is no easy task. It's important for developers to stay true to the source material while improving and adding elements of modern games. Capcom has found the perfect formula for Resident Evil, removing outdated mechanics and reimagining games from a different perspective. The original Dead Space is still great (at least for its time), so let's figure out why Motive Studio decided to improve the experience of the game.

You take on the role of Isaac, an engineer who goes on a seemingly routine mission to repair the USG Ishimura spacecraft. Trying to establish contact with his girlfriend Nicole after a long separation, after landing, the hero discovers an empty ship. Hoping to find his soul mate, he explores a vast territory teeming with Necromorphs. Danger lurks around every corner. Although the story is plus or minus the same as the original, there are some minor deviations and changes that significantly improve the presentation. Although the differences are minor, they develop characters and lore.

Main character's voice

In the original, Isaac was the silent protagonist, which made him look like a man who obeys orders without question. New tasks were sent to him, and he simply did what he was told without hesitation. This was changed in the sequels and luckily Motive Studio decided to do the same in the remake. Voice actor Gunner Wright returned to the role of Isaac, who added, albeit not so verbose, but important lines that allow you to put the character in a certain place in the game world.

USG Ishimura is an atmospheric ship. The scars of the past dot every room, as if telling a terrible story about the events that happened before you arrived. This creates an unsettling environment that is constantly one step ahead of you. Limbs and remains adorn the monochrome interiors, and the flickering lights cast frightening shadows that are then hard to get out of your head. A new game-improving feature is the Automatic Power Distributor. To gain access to certain parts of the ship, you need to redirect energy from one area to another. In rare cases, this increases the feeling of panic - sometimes, in order to open the doors, you have to turn off the lights or even the life support system.

To increase the level of stress, Dead Space uses the Intensity Director feature.

Help . Intensity Director keeps track of what is happening around the player at a particular moment and, depending on this, creates random events in front of him, which should keep him on his toes.

So that the game can assess the situation and initiate various events so that your journey through the infected spaceship is not so calm. Depending on a number of elements, dynamic events can be triggered, including the appearance of new enemies and other environmental hazards. The horror becomes more organic. This also gives a unique flavor to repeated passages.

Removal of restrictions

Now that all parts of the USG Ishimura are connected, you can move around the entire ship. The transition between chapters is not interrupted by the action stopping, which helps the game maintain a great pace. As you carefully explore, you will come across doors and areas that require clearance levels. There is an incentive to revisit these places in order to obtain valuable resources that will help in achieving the goals. In some areas you will return by story, in others - only at will. Moreover, you won’t have to move along countless corridors, since you can move between decks on a trolley.

And if the original showed innovation in its approach to dismemberment, the remake developed this aspect with the inclusion of a peeling system. Despite the fact that you still have to cut off the limbs of enemies, the implementation of this is accompanied by a chilling realism. You will literally cut through the muscles, tissues and fat layers of creatures until you expose the bones. While this may sound like overkill to some, it's actually a unique method of discreetly showing an enemy's health. And dismemberment is a great opportunity to experiment with weapons. You can incinerate the flesh of Necromorphs with a flamethrower, then slice through their skeletons with the Ripper to perform a grotesque symphony of violence.

Weapons have been improved. And most of the weapons now have an alternative fire mode. The pulse rifle allows you to fire a mine, while the flamethrower can create a wall of fire. The inclusion of these aspects provides more options that bring a significant variety to the battles. Further modifications can give the weapon special features that will only enhance the gameplay. Combining this with the ability to use kinesis to throw the claws and other body parts of other Necromorphs at enemies makes for a compelling combat experience.

flight of fancy

The weightlessness sequences in the original were pretty simple. You could move from one platform to another to reach your goal. The remake greatly improves these segments, giving you full control over Isacrem.

Dead Space is a cult classic that is considered one of the greatest horror games in the history of the industry. Some might say the game didn't need a remake, but Motive studios remained true to its approach and only improved the original. Improvements made to the combat system and storytelling are the most important things to look out for. The storyline of the game follows the same path as the original, but thanks to all these innovations, it now looks like Ultimate edition . And there is also an alternative ending that somehow connects the first and second parts.