Dead Space (2023)

We live in a world of nostalgia and remakes, most of which exist for a quick cash grab. DeadSpace was a classic in horror gaming. Well, thankfully, the folks at Motive understood the assignment. Dead Space is honestly the best horror remake I’ve played, beating Resident Evil 2 (2019) .

The story at it’s core is virtually the same. What changes is everything around it. Issac is no longer a mute protagonist but rather is voiced by the same VA as Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3 as well as given a much-needed backstory, adding to the pathos of the engineer. All the characters are flushed out more. The story is told with a deeper narrative emphesis instead of being hidden away in the logs around the ship.

The Ishimura has expanded. Now there are side missions that make you want to retrace your way through the doomed vessel. There is a price, however. Combat has drastically improved but so have the nercomorphs. The weapons are the same but reworked so that the Plasma cutter won’t easily carry you through the whole game. Ammo is much more scarce so you do have to get creative. On the flipside, the necromorphs are smarter, more aggressive, and respawn more throughout the ship. The necromorphs are nothing short of nightmare fuel. The attention to realism, especially when chopping them down, is nothing short of masterwork.

Perhaps what I really admired was that Motive fixed nothing that didn’t need it. The controls are basically the same as 2 and 3. They replaced the annoying gravity jump mechanic with the booster jets from the later games. Parts like the meteor shower and the congestion boss are no longer a pain in the ass but are arguably highlights now. Every weapon has a good pro and con to it. The atmosphere, creatures, story and experience have either remained pure terror or have been carefully elevated.

Unfortunately, this is an EA game. While well-loved by critics and players, they canceled the Dead Space 2 remake, so as of now, this slice of horror game perfection is all we have. Stranger things have happened but I cannot recommend this horror masterpiece enough. May the gaming gods bring you glory.