Dead Space Review (A1S)
At first I wondered: Does Dead Space need a remake at all? But now I'm wondering: Who needs the original?
Well, I suppose the curious players that are not familiar with the original may be interested. You know, just so that they can see how things used to be. They used to be great, and, well, they still are. Dead Space 2008 is the gold standard of a survival horror. Dead Space 2023 is the gold standard of a remake. Everything has already been said about the game and there's nothing to add—it's an absolute must-play. So I will briefly, one by one, go through the changes that caught my attention the most.
• First things first: audio and visuals. The game looks and sounds amazing. Almost everything has been slightly reimagined in these aspects, but the game itself is as recognizable as ever. Most of the locations have remained virtually untouched in terms of geometry, but have been saturated with a huge amount of effects and detail, making the Ishimura even more uncomfortable than it was 15 years ago.
• Some new places have been added to the ship for the player to explore. They are mostly small rooms with loot, so their existence doesn't have any significant impact on the overall perception of the surrounding area. This is still the same USG Ishimura from 2008, updated technology-wise to a modern level.
• Dr. Mercer and Nicole, as well as some minor characters, have been recast or had their appearance changed. Nicole now appears to be a deeper character than in the original game, thanks to the expansion of her story arc. She used to be more of an archetypal princess to be saved. And, thanks to his updated appearance and behavior, Dr. Mercer has become a less cartoonish villain.
• The development and expansion of the overall plot, some characters' arcs, secondary events and lore have become available through the addition of a number of new audio and text logs, as well as simple side quests. The rewards for completing the latter are cutscenes in which Isaac watches holograms of past events.
• Controlling Isaac feels a bit different, as he now runs, punches and stomps a little faster. What's more, Isaac has now also changed his in-game appearance and learned to talk. And personally, I don't see any problem with that, because the actor who played Isaac is still Gunner Wright, and his participation in the dialogues didn't change his character at all, instead making it possible to better understand what kind of person the protagonist was at the beginning of his journey.
• Isaac doesn't need to stop every time he changes or reloads weapons anymore, which not only makes him more mobile, but also much more convenient and enjoyable in terms of controlling him. It would be absolutely wonderful if the locator could also be used on the move, but now, whenever you use it, not only the path is displayed, but also a brief description of the active quest.
• Some mechanics, quests, and side activities have been overhauled. Episodes like recalibrating the ADS Cannons, interacting with Power Cells, shooting range, Zero-G Basketball, and some other things are played very differently.
• As for Zero-G zones, Isaac now moves freely in space, just like in DS2/3.
• The changes to weapons mainly relate to new firing modes. Also, each and every Node in the suit or weapon upgrade system now gives a boost to some stat, unlike the original.
These are only some changes; there are still a lot more that weren't mentioned here. I only listed the ones that, in my opinion, have the greatest impact on the perception of gameplay. And what's valuable about these changes is that they can be seen and felt by anyone who has ever played through the original Dead Space, but surprisingly they give almost the same, somewhat nostalgic, feeling, updating what can be updated without breaking what was already working perfectly. Motive Studio has done a phenomenal job. When remaking iconic projects like DS, you have to strike the perfect balance between not breaking anything and not doing too little. All in all, I would love to see a continuation of the series by this studio.
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