The original Dead Space, released in 2008, is a fantastic, terrifying, anxiety-inducing survival horror game that pushed the genre into new territory. The 2023 remake is…fine. Having just finished it I’m left wondering why Dead Space was even remade at all.
The remake isn’t bad, it just seems a bit redundant. Everything it sets out to do, the original game already did and oftentimes did better. And while there have been some changes and extras they actually detract from the experience rather than improve it. By and large, the 2023 Dead Space remake is a visual upgrade with new elements that make it worse than the original.
If you’ve never played Dead Space, sure, the remake is probably a great place to start. But, if you’re someone with fond memories of the original, the remake may not be the second coming you were hoping for. It certainly wasn’t for me.
Dead Space Review
First things first. Yes, Dead Space looks amazing. I played with all settings on Ultra and switched between performance and quality and (mostly) played for the duration without incident. There were some occasions where the framerate would bottom out for no reason and once or twice there were some odd graphical bugs and glitches but for the most part, Dead Space is a visual treat. Like the original, lighting plays a huge role in setting the tone and creating a spooky atmosphere aboard the USG Ishimura. The decade and change since the original have meant EA Motive could really go ham on lighting effects and throw every new trick in the book at players.
Flickering lightbulbs, industrial torches, flames and more all weave together to create the rich foundation of lighting that Dead Space is built on. The art direction and design remain absolutely stellar too. The USG Ishimura looks and feels like a real place and one that’s actually been lived in by human beings. There are so many tiny details to take in that you can really get lost just by absorbing the art.
Layered on top of this is the deformation system which shows enemies literally peeling away as Isaac deals damage to them. Flesh gives way to bone, which gives way to splinters before finally being dismembered altogether. It’s a suitably gory way to provide visual feedback in a game that has always prided itself on doing away with a HUD.
However, not every visual change and upgrade is a winner. Isaac’s new face, for example, is a weird departure from the original character model, as is Nicole’s for that matter. It doesn’t change the way the game plays but it does feel really strange considering how hyped the remake is as being faithful to the original. I’m also not a fan of having Isaac speak in the remake. Again, it doesn’t change the gameplay but it certainly creates a totally different tone. When Isaac speaks, player agency is diminished and the game loses its scariness.
Speaking of scares…The original Dead Space scared the hell out of me. It was really, truly terrifying. I remember having to stop playing some nights because I was getting too worked up and worried something was going to come through the window and get me. With the Dead Space remake, I was scared literally zero times. As a horror game, it simply fails and I think I can point to a few reasons why.
First and foremost is the new, much touted AI Director that supposedly has hundreds of scares. From what I can tell, the AI Director just throws enemies at you semi-constantly. There isn’t any build-up of suspense, no fake-outs and no curated moments of terror. Instead, the AI Director conditions you to expect enemies all the time and so when they appear they’re not shocking or surprising. After a while, they actually become annoying.
It may be that I remember the original Dead Space with rose-tinted glasses, but I don’t remember it being so lousy with kill rooms. I swear, the Dead Space remake sticks you in a room and fills it with enemies so many times it loses all impact. In fact, so often do enemies appear and in such great numbers that the Dead Space remake feels more like an action game than a horror one. And such was that feeling that I started to get annoyed and bored by exploring because I knew I was going to run into too many enemies, soaking up my ammo and getting in my way.
This brings me to the revamped gameplay experience and additions included in the remake. Unlike the original, which locked you into specific areas for each chapter, the remake keeps the Ishimura open to you for the duration. In theory, this sounds grand, especially when coupled with a light Metroidvania system whereby Isaac can backtrack to unlock certain doors, except it isn’t. Rarely, if ever, is the backtracking worth it. Not only are you accosted by the AI Director constantly, with enemies cropping up every step of the way, but you’re also only ever backtracking for one or maybe two locked doors. It’s just not worth traipsing through 15, 20 or even 30 minutes of game for a handful of credits, a power node and a note.
If there were some meaningful rewards or story beats or even shortcuts you opened by going back it would be worth it but with how it’s been implemented in the Dead Space remake, it’s not. Worse still, this newfound freedom only serves to make the design of the game seem dated and shine a light on the linear and sometimes painfully padded gameplay of the original. I’m also not really a fan of the changes made to some of the set pieces and/or puzzles. Sure, some of the changes make sense, but they’re not as fun to play and don’t have the same impact as their counterpart in the original.
Again, it’s difficult to understand why Dead Space was remade without really doing it in any meaningful way.
Take Resident Evil 2 for example. The remake was a vast departure from and a vast improvement on the original, yet it still felt the same. Playing the remake still gave you the same feeling as playing the janky old PSX original did. Dead Space doesn’t have that. In the moment-to-moment gameplay, it literally feels identical, but that’s because it is. Anything new in Dead Space doesn’t enhance the experience, it detracts from it. So, we’re left with a worse version of a game that looks vastly superior.
I know which one I’d prefer to play.
All that being said, Dead Space still has a fantastic story, an incredible setting and wonderful art direction and design. However, the remake is, at the end of the day, a better-looking, worse game than the original. It is too heavy-handed with enemies and introduced elements that draw attention to the fact you’re playing a 15-year-old game.
What works about the Dead Space remake is what worked with the original. It’s still stupidly good fun to dismember necromorphs and fire their limbs back at them. It’s still great to explore the Ishimura, learn the lore and slowly unravel what’s gone wrong. Plus, if you’re like me, you get a real kick out of playing the whole game only using the Plasma Cutter; the way you’re supposed to play.
Fans of the original, you’re probably better off just replaying it for the umpteenth time, but if you are keen on the remake, temper your expectations and know that it’s not going to be completely smooth sailing. For those who’ve never played Dead Space, the remake has modern sensibilities and great visuals so it’ll be certainly easier to dive straight into.
It’s not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination it’s just redundant. It fails to actually remake Dead Space in any way besides visually and it loses all of its horror in the process. Fingers crossed for Resident Evil 4 and Silent Hill 2.
Dead Space was reviewed on PC using a digital Steam code provided by EA.
