‘Dead Space’ first impressions: Sci-fi horror that feels oddly comforting

The Dead Space remake aims to surpass the original game’s legacy. Released 14 years ago, the original game revolutionized the horror genre by immersing players in the terrifying and thrilling world of the Ishimura spaceship, haunted by grotesque monsters. The remake faces the challenge of living up to the nostalgic memories of the original.

Motive Studio and EA recently showcased a demo of Dead Space, allowing players to experience the first three chapters of the remake. The updated graphics and sound design contribute to a modernized experience, with enhanced details and atmospheric audio cues. The remake introduces fresh voice acting, puzzles, storylines, and mechanics, including an AI-driven director that maximizes the horror elements in each scene.

The demo showcased familiar elements from the original game, such as dark corridors and menacing necromorphs, alongside new features like revamped weapons and zero-gravity mechanics. Despite the promising improvements, some players experienced technical issues during the demo, including framerate problems and sluggish controls. Developers assured that these issues would be addressed before the official release, but the preview experience was not without its flaws.

Impressions of the Dead Space Remake

Outside of the framerate frustrations, the Dead Space remake was a delicious slice of old-school video game terror. The necromorphs attacked from the shadows and screamed with guttural, humanlike cries, their long blades and bloody intestines lit only by the glow of Isaac’s plasma cutter. The Dead Space rhythm of stasis, shoot, stomp still worked wonders on nearly every enemy, and headshots didn’t do much to stop the onslaught. Resource management was a crucial aspect of play and each monster took multiple hits to die, leaving infected limbs and tentacles strewn across the floor after each encounter. Some elevator rides were also conspicuously long, as was Isaac’s time on the horizontal people mover — developers told me this was all on purpose, not to cheat in extra loading time, but to give players a moment to breathe and think about the horrors ahead.

I screamed within two minutes of playing the new Dead Space. Even in the crowded demo room, surrounded by PR people, developers and other reporters, the remake sucked me in and scared the hell out of me. It didn’t matter that I’d played the original when it came out in 2008; it didn’t matter that I knew what to expect out of the necromorphs and NPCs; the first three chapters of the remake were tense and terrifying.

More impressively though, the new Dead Space made me smile. Even in its pre-beta form, the remake felt familiar but fresh, and I could’ve kept playing all day — well, if the framerate issues had abated. This problem worries me slightly, but there’s time for Motive to address it before the game hits PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles on January 27th, 2023. When the remake ran smoothly, its lack of a HUD was still effective as an immersive tool, the necromorphs were horrifying, and the upgraded mechanics slid smoothly into the frantic rhythm of the game. Overall, this was Dead Space, but better than I remembered.