In 2008, a team of software developers created a third-person adventure horror survival game where you solve problems aboard a 1,5 km long spaceship in distress, infested with monsters known as Necromorphs. The iconic classic has received an upgrade for next-gen hardware and gamers, and it really shows. The remake immerses you in each of the faithfully recreated environments and underpins them with clearer narrative continuity boosts. More survivors on each deck engage with Isaac Clarke to help and involve him with the encounters we all know from the original game.

The updated version of the game offers new experiences for both veteran and new players. The Ishimura will show sides of itself previously not seen in the original game, and provide a unique refreshing horror experience for both long-time fans and new players.

You will experience new and slightly revamped layers of gameplay: these include gaining security levels, upgrading your rig at the bench, lifting lockdowns, and looking for special weapon upgrade parts. The exploration gameplay has been horizontally expanded since the original game. While advancing, you will also encounter side missions, some of which lead to important upgrades that you wouldn’t want to miss. Boxes containing valuable weapon upgrades are locked behind a special clearance level that you will have to find to fully upgrade your arsenal of tools.

All of this takes place in a seamlessly interconnected version of the Ishimura. After you boot the game and enter the main menu, you find yourself right into the game world at the last position where you saved, whether it was at a save station or an autosave checkpoint. You just have to press “continue” to resume playing. The camera then moves to the back of your character, and you’re ready to go!

Some nitpicks:

A fair review should include a criticism section, and there are a few things I would like to address. Let’s start with some minor issues so that we can get them out of the way. Despite the significant improvements in all areas that define Dead Space, they are really just minor complaints.

Talking about doors: unlike in the classic games, as you open them and retreat: they don’t “emergency re-open” as you approach them again while they’re closing. It had a nice convenience to it, and if you’re accustomed to that behavior it takes some adjusting. Now, the door even closes a bit too soon if you peak into the room to see if there’s a crowd and back off from it immediately.

TK-slamming the item boxes feels slightly different than in the original games. The studio was inspired by Dead Space 2’s improvements but wanted to avoid creating the frenetic telekinesis speed from that game. Instead, they added a “Dead Space 1 weight” to it. It takes some time to get used to, but it’s still enjoyable. The action feels a bit in-between: not sluggish as in the original game but also more weighted than in DS2! It does feel like the things you pick up have substance. The limb-grabbing-and-shooting mechanic from Dead Space 2 is present in this remake as well and is implemented effectively. You can even earn an achievement by ripping off a dangling limb and shooting it back at the enemy. Overall, it’s a great experience despite the slight difference.

What I certainly dislike is how the priority rules of medkit sizes usage are reversed compared to the classic games. I would prefer to always use small and medium kits first even if I have low health, as I like to preserve these for the last chapters.

Soundtrack-wise, I liked the strings riser in the hive mind’s reveal scene from the original a bit better. It just had a more appropriate and dramatic finishing touch!

An extra bonus nitpick: Isaac doesn’t swear as often when you continuously stomp. BUT, for me, that is well compensated by the fact that he does it when all his ammo is empty!
Having played the original game so often, these are some of the things that are very noticeable, but really don’t get in the way of admiring the hell out of this remake!

There are some missed opportunities.

Though the previous list was minor, I suggest making some encounters in chapter 10 more intense. For example, the hunter could continue chasing you for longer runs until you reach the next residency. This would add more intensity. Even in Hard/Impossible mode, after understanding the restructuring of chapter 10, I felt that the hunter chases could be a bit longer, but not throughout the entire chapter. This could be a great way to experience the game in a separate gameplay mode.

Chapter 12 could have been fleshed out better. Despite the more evenly distributed Necromorph encounters: meeting colony survivors that tell you to restore tether power control would have been great, with an extra lore-related story item from the downfall movie.

But the classic game grew up nevertheless!

The sci-fi horror game has improved on classic versions in many ways. The core gameplay has successfully transitioned to a new engine, with some impressive new features such as banking and rolling while EVA'ing in Zero-G. The Ripper upgrade is particularly noteworthy, as it now feels more solid and effective than in any previous version. The Force Gun has a punch reminiscent of Dead Space 2, while item stomping is swifter and more satisfying than in classic games. The ability to examine the locator path on the new, more readable map view is also a welcome addition. The game's weapons overhaul lets fans and new players alike adjust and come up with new combos to experience. For example: I love to use the flamethrower's alt + stasis now. In the classic games, I barely ever touched this weapon.

Accessibility

it’s great that you can have an all-caps and character-colored subtitle, and one of the reasons I like dead space so much is that the dietetic in-game aiming tools are basically a very high contrast crosshair beam that always provides a lead on the target. Especially when you have the plasma cutter’s fire damage over time, the Necromorph arms light up, also when you use stasis, they light up really well in the darkness. One thing that I would suggest, is that the text-to-speech feature could also be used to narrate the many text logs in the game.

Conclusion

Newcomers to the franchise can rest assured that the overall classic identity of the original game is being put on steroids and the action-packed game direction from the sequel is artistically integrated into this definitive edition of the first game. It changes the rigid “chapter per deck” formula to a story progression that naturally flows from one situation into the other. In general, the remake offers more spectacle and heart-pounding (and breaking) moments, the scenarios are reconceptualized to illustrate the actors are touched by darkness.
As you can see, I played the remake several times now, to get all the achievements and this fancy foam finger which also makes a return after you finish impossible mode. And I have the peng statue on my night table beside my bed!

Overall, Motive did a stellar job and as a superfan surely trust them with the continuation of this franchise

In 2008, a team of software developers created a third-person adventure horror survival game where you solve problems aboard a 1,5 km long spaceship in distress, infested with monsters known as Necromorphs. The iconic classic has received an upgrade for next-gen hardware and gamers, and it really shows. The remake immerses you in each of the faithfully recreated environments and underpins them with clearer narrative continuity boosts. More survivors on each deck engage with Isaac Clarke to help and involve him with the encounters we all know from the original game. The updated version of the game offers new experiences for both veteran and new players. The Ishimura will show sides of itself previously not seen in the original game, and provide a unique refreshing horror experience for both long-time fans and new players. You will experience new and slightly revamped layers of gameplay: these include gaining security levels, upgrading your rig at the bench, lifting lockdowns, and looking for special weapon upgrade parts. The exploration gameplay has been horizontally expanded since the original game. While advancing, you will also encounter side missions, some of which lead to important upgrades that you wouldn’t want to miss. Boxes containing valuable weapon upgrades are locked behind a special clearance level that you will have to find to fully upgrade your arsenal of tools. All of this takes place in a seamlessly interconnected version of the Ishimura. After you boot the game and enter the main menu, you find yourself right into the game world at the last position where you saved, whether it was at a save station or an autosave checkpoint. You just have to press “continue” to resume playing. The camera then moves to the back of your character, and you’re ready to go! Some nitpicks: A fair review should include a criticism section, and there are a few things I would like to address. Let’s start with some minor issues so that we can get them out of the way. Despite the significant improvements in all areas that define Dead Space, they are really just minor complaints. Talking about doors: unlike in the classic games, as you open them and retreat: they don’t “emergency re-open” as you approach them again while they’re closing. It had a nice convenience to it, and if you’re accustomed to that behavior it takes some adjusting. Now, the door even closes a bit too soon if you peak into the room to see if there’s a crowd and back off from it immediately. TK-slamming the item boxes feels slightly different than in the original games. The studio was inspired by Dead Space 2’s improvements but wanted to avoid creating the frenetic telekinesis speed from that game. Instead, they added a “Dead Space 1 weight” to it. It takes some time to get used to, but it’s still enjoyable. The action feels a bit in-between: not sluggish as in the original game but also more weighted than in DS2! It does feel like the things you pick up have substance. The limb-grabbing-and-shooting mechanic from Dead Space 2 is present in this remake as well and is implemented effectively. You can even earn an achievement by ripping off a dangling limb and shooting it back at the enemy. Overall, it’s a great experience despite the slight difference. What I certainly dislike is how the priority rules of medkit sizes usage are reversed compared to the classic games. I would prefer to always use small and medium kits first even if I have low health, as I like to preserve these for the last chapters. Soundtrack-wise, I liked the strings riser in the hive mind’s reveal scene from the original a bit better. It just had a more appropriate and dramatic finishing touch! An extra bonus nitpick: Isaac doesn’t swear as often when you continuously stomp. BUT, for me, that is well compensated by the fact that he does it when all his ammo is empty! Having played the original game so often, these are some of the things that are very noticeable, but really don’t get in the way of admiring the hell out of this remake! There are some missed opportunities. Though the previous list was minor, I suggest making some encounters in chapter 10 more intense. For example, the hunter could continue chasing you for longer runs until you reach the next residency. This would add more intensity. Even in Hard/Impossible mode, after understanding the restructuring of chapter 10, I felt that the hunter chases could be a bit longer, but not throughout the entire chapter. This could be a great way to experience the game in a separate gameplay mode. Chapter 12 could have been fleshed out better. Despite the more evenly distributed Necromorph encounters: meeting colony survivors that tell you to restore tether power control would have been great, with an extra lore-related story item from the downfall movie. But the classic game grew up nevertheless! The sci-fi horror game has improved on classic versions in many ways. The core gameplay has successfully transitioned to a new engine, with some impressive new features such as banking and rolling while EVA'ing in Zero-G. The Ripper upgrade is particularly noteworthy, as it now feels more solid and effective than in any previous version. The Force Gun has a punch reminiscent of Dead Space 2, while item stomping is swifter and more satisfying than in classic games. The ability to examine the locator path on the new, more readable map view is also a welcome addition. The game's weapons overhaul lets fans and new players alike adjust and come up with new combos to experience. For example: I love to use the flamethrower's alt + stasis now. In the classic games, I barely ever touched this weapon. Accessibility it’s great that you can have an all-caps and character-colored subtitle, and one of the reasons I like dead space so much is that the dietetic in-game aiming tools are basically a very high contrast crosshair beam that always provides a lead on the target. Especially when you have the plasma cutter’s fire damage over time, the Necromorph arms light up, also when you use stasis, they light up really well in the darkness. One thing that I would suggest, is that the text-to-speech feature could also be used to narrate the many text logs in the game. Conclusion Newcomers to the franchise can rest assured that the overall classic identity of the original game is being put on steroids and the action-packed game direction from the sequel is artistically integrated into this definitive edition of the first game. It changes the rigid “chapter per deck” formula to a story progression that naturally flows from one situation into the other. In general, the remake offers more spectacle and heart-pounding (and breaking) moments, the scenarios are reconceptualized to illustrate the actors are touched by darkness. As you can see, I played the remake several times now, to get all the achievements and this fancy foam finger which also makes a return after you finish impossible mode. And I have the peng statue on my night table beside my bed! Overall, Motive did a stellar job and as a superfan surely trust them with the continuation of this franchise