Just like I dismember

The original Dead Space is still one of my all-time favorite horror games. It seemingly came out of nowhere and turned the genre on its head. That was 15 years ago. Now EA Motive have returned to the franchise to give the original game a complete facelift. Bringing back Isaac and the crew as they delve into the mysteries of the USG Ishimura with a brand-new coat of paint and a ton of quality of life upgrades. This remake takes a classic game and somehow makes it better. It felt good to return to the terrifying halls of the Ishimura in one of the first must-play titles of 2023.

Dead Space puts players in the role of an engineer named Isaac Clarke. He and his crew responded to a distress signal for the USG Ishimura. The mining ship had been on a planet called Aegis VII when it went dark. Once upon the ship they discover all sorts of horrors including an alien relic that is apparently turning the crew into monsters known as Necromorphs. The story behind the game is one of its most endearing pieces and is made better in the remake with Isaac no longer being a silent protagonist. The events and reactions are now much more real, and it helps push the story forward.

MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $69.99

Let’s kick things off with one of the biggest changes to the core game. The USG Ishimura is now one big area to explore. Fans of the original will remember that moving between areas in the 2008 game was done via a tram system. There were no ways to just move between areas. This was mostly due to technical limitations. Now the entire ship can be traversed without the tram system, although it does still exist. So think of it as more of a fast travel system.

Next up on the changelog are the visuals. Motive Studio has done an outstanding job recreating the Ishimura with plenty of next-gen detail. It helps that the title is only on new consoles, but the amount of detail is staggering at times. The way the ship now feels more oppressive and darker simply adds to the atmosphere. The dark hallways and creepy corridors are even scarier now thanks to excellent lighting and texture work. There are two graphics modes included here. One with 60fps at a lower resolution and the other focusing on adding raytracing and attempting 4K. As with most games I stuck with the performance mode as it is hard for me to go back to 30fps regardless of any resolution upgrade.

There are a ton of changes sprinkled throughout the game as well. Sequences such as the asteroid elimination have been completely retooled to make it more interesting. Space walking is much more dynamic. Motive Studios is clearly composed of people who appreciate the original while also realizing what didn’t work. They have taken the best bits and simply improved their mechanics while taking the stuff that didn’t work and retooling it to be more interesting. This is truly the definitive version of this game.

All of the original weapons make a return and the upgrade trees remain basically the same. I still found myself sticking to the same combo of weapons I enjoyed in the original. Plasma Cutter is always on hand alongside the Pulse Rifle and Line Gun. I used the others mostly to earn my kill achievements. The shop and workbench work the same as before, but now the shop offers the ability to buy multiple items at once making it much more streamlined. The upgrades are relatively easy to find, and players can even purchase nodes at the shop. The game does a nice job of managing inventory simple and I rarely had to drop items along the way as long as I upgraded my suits when available.

There are a host of accessibility options as well including subtitle options and speaker names during talking. There is also menu narration, separate volume sliders, and even an option for mono audio. The difficulties range from story which allows Isaac’s health to regenerate, to hardcore which essentially allows for instant death. There are color blind options and remappable controls alongside the ability to swap mashing sequences with just holds. They have done a great job of making the game playable by lots of people and I always enjoy seeing modern games taking these steps to make their games much more accessible.

Remakes are a much harder thing to pull off than remasters. The original game exists and changing things can be a scary proposition to fans. Motive Studio has done an outstanding job of tweaking what worked and fixing what didn’t. This remake is on the same level as Capcom’s efforts with Resident Evil and will be considered one of the best going forward. This is a gold standard and I truly hope we get to see them continue this work with a new game in the series, or even a remake of the second game. I love this world and hope it is truly back and here to stay.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.