Worth: $18.50
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Intro:
… a macabre, limb-lopping masterpiece not to be ignored.
“In space”, the tagline for Ridley Scott’s sci-fi/horror classic Alien claims, “no one can hear you scream.” In the case of Dead Space 2023 – Motive Studios’ shiny remake of the 2008 survival horror title – that’s probably a good thing. Because, this effectively refurbished slice of gruesome, blood-spattered body horror is going to have even the hardiest genre gamer involuntarily letting out a yelp or two and considering very seriously the prospect of hiding behind the couch.
Dead Space puts players in the role of the universe’s unluckiest engineer, Isaac Clarke. Ol’ mate has joined a search and rescue team heading aboard the massive mining ship USG Ishimura, since the planet cracking vessel has gone radio silent and it’s the last known location of Isaac’s girlfriend, Nicole. To say things have gone badly aboard the Ishimura would be a massive understatement. They have in fact gone downright Cronenbergian, with the ship infested by grotesque creatures assembled from dead tissue known as necromorphs and a mysterious alien artifact that appears to be sending the survivors insane. Isaac is forced to contend with narky monsters and demented humans as he schleps through the stygian bowels of the ominous ship, using mining equipment (and one pissweak pulse rifle) to dismember the toothy ghouls sent his way. Will he succeed in his mission? That’s mainly up to you, but it’s unlikely he’ll walk away from this situation with his sanity fully intact.
First things first, the original Dead Space is one of the best survival horror games of all time. Focused, taut and dripping with menace, it’s a slick weapon of a game that grips you from the opening scene and never lets go. Happily, the remake has lost none of that and in fact ratchets the tension to new heights by eliminating some annoyances by either deleting or upgrading the earlier game’s less successful sections.
The zero gravity levels in particular are really engaging, although the large blobby boss encounters still feel a tad antiquated. The gameplay is tense and immersive, with snappy controls that make you feel able but never overpowered. And the presentation is superb, with the score evoking that special blend of Alien, The Thing and Event Horizon that helped make the game feel so iconic back in the day.
On the very slender downside, some elements of Dead Space still feel a little retro. Poor old Isaac is pretty much an intergalactic gopher and the number of times a single task becomes a half dozen is hilarious in its predictability. Still and all, puzzle solving under duress is a big part of what makes survival horror work, see the entire Resident Evil series. Plus, Dead Space has one big element that makes it sing: it’s legit scary. Like, edge of your seat, “holy shit what was that noise?” levels of immersive terror. Playing this game with headphones on is possibly the most sincerely fear-inducing experience this side of Alien: Isolation, and your humble word janitor (who is no slouch in the horror department) was taking semi-regular sanity breaks just to get through the more grueling sections.
The original Dead Space (and its first sequel) are survival horror masterpieces that can be talked about in the same breath as Resident Evil 4 or Silent Hill 2. This 2023 remake is a welcome reminder of that fact, not to mention a superior upgrade that knows when to simply polish the existing material and when to replace what doesn’t work so well 15 years later. Put simply, if you’re even vaguely interested in survival horror – or would like to see what all the fuss is about – Dead Space is a macabre, limb-lopping masterpiece not to be ignored.
