Dead Space Review (2023) - Hello Ishimura, long time no see

A remake of Dead Space, one of the best horror games of our time from a popular online games Friv2Online provider, is finally available on consoles and PC. We visited the Ishimura spaceship, encountered hordes of terrible necromorphs, and are ready to share our impressions of this adventure in the review.

In 2008, Dead Space showed what a good space horror should be - dark, creepy and very uncomfortable. In 2023, the remake of the game looks ready to repeat the success of the original - it's still a great action game, updated and improved in line with current trends.

The storyline remains the same: Engineer Isaac Clarke and other team members arrive on the huge planetary ripper-class Ishimura spacecraft to perform repairs.

On the spot, the heroes learn that almost everyone who was on the ship was killed, and terrifying necromorphs are now roaming the corridors and compartments - monsters that used the bodies of the dead as a constructor to create something unimaginable and completely unnatural. Thus begins the battle for survival, in which the protagonist and his companions have almost no chance of winning.

Whereas the original Dead Space rather slowly introduced the player into the course of events, keeping the intrigue about the origin of the Necromorphs for a long time, the remake is more active: an attentive player will reveal all the secrets very soon, and the additional quests introduced by the developers of the re-release expand the story and add motivation to the characters.

At the same time, the main character, Isaac Clarke, has got a new look and is now talking: in the 2008 game, he, like Gordon Freeman, kept deathly silence. Now the character feels more alive, human, but without frills - you will not expect jokes and unnecessary phrases from him. Other characters have also changed, with some of them you will be able to find out more information than you might like - yes, the authors did not manage to get past the opportunity to dump on the player details about the sexual orientation of Clark's companions.

Launching a remake, it is impossible not to pay attention to the updated graphics. This is not a simple remaster with tightened textures and improved lighting: the developers created a new game from scratch, and although they focused on the original, there are still many changes that cannot be missed.

So, the interiors of the Ishimura have become more detailed, like Isaac's spacesuit. Yes, and the monsters now look much more creepy, with hanging pieces of flesh, creepy growths and blood splatter on them. In addition, the model of damage to opponents allows not only to shoot off limbs, but also to observe in detail how the skin exfoliates from the muscles, and they lag behind the bones. Fascinatingly realistic, though you're unlikely to get caught up in the spectacle given the increased combat dynamics in the remake.

Although the picture is clearly prettier, the game also became much darker. In the original, we wandered around Ishimura without needing portable light sources like a flashlight, as there were almost no dark places in the game. The remake, on the other hand, meets the player with pitch darkness, in which anything can be hidden - from a lifeless body to a hidden necromancer.

This gives a bonus to the atmosphere of the title, but also makes the gameplay less comfortable. Looking into the dark is still a pleasure, and the limited number of light sources is more annoying than scary.

Gamers familiar with the original game will quickly get used to the Ishimura, experience a fit of nostalgia from the sight of familiar locations and remember familiar techniques during battles with opponents, such as an unkillable monster with crazy regeneration.

At the same time, the remake brings a lot of innovations compared to the 2008 title. Some gameplay scenes have been expanded, while others have been completely redesigned. For example, the first meeting with the Infector takes place with the direct participation of Isaac, and the episode in which the hero must deal with the asteroid rain takes place not at the helm of the turret, but in open space, where the engineer moves between automatic guns and calibrates them under a barrage of falling stones.

There were also previously unavailable shortcuts and fast movement between areas, the widely advertised ability to fully fly in zero gravity, and not just jump from one point to another, as was the case in the original. Locks that required spending power nodes to unlock have been eliminated, and the system of access levels that allow you to open locked doors brings a metroidvania element to the game: by getting a higher rank, you can return to previously visited locations and unlock a compartment with valuable loot. Finally, the developers have added simple puzzles, during which you need to distribute energy between nodes: for example, turn off the lights or oxygen supply to open the door.

When it comes to gunplay and melee combat, the remake is not far from the original game. Isaac has become a little more mobile, and the monsters seem to have become a little smarter, but otherwise these are the same battles as in 2008, only more vile and realistic. If you look into the details, you will notice changes in the weapon leveling system, but by and large these are minor innovations.

Comparing Dead Space 2008 and Dead Space 2023, we can conclude that the innovations benefited the remake, but it is also worth noting that the original title is very well preserved, so it cannot be said that it should be forgotten in light of the release of the re-release. The new game perfectly complements the already classic horror, but does not become something radically better.

If we compare two space horror films of this winter - The Callisto Protocol and Dead Space, then we would recommend choosing the hero of this review: he boasts a more coherent plot, a diverse combat system and a thick atmosphere of horror before the unknown, while among the advantages of the project from Striking Distance Studios there is only beautiful graphics and nothing more.