Been a while since I’ve played through the original Dead Space so may need to go through it again for better comparison here (and thinking of replaying 2 and 3 also), but I will say the remake certainly does an exceptional job living up to it, keeping most of the experience intact from what I can tell and greatly polishing on its strongest aspects, while also making some welcome changes throughout that further amplify this modernized revisit to the Ishimura
On a technical level it’s mostly superb with stunning detail and lighting, greatly enhancing the game’s unsettling atmosphere while revamping the ship to expand on its areas and connect them more seamlessly without load screens. And I don’t recall the original being too scary, but the increased focus on sound design in the remake definitely made me more on edge too
Another big difference from the original is that Isaac actually speaks like he does in the sequels. Initially I was unsure about this as his silence had some appeal given how isolating it made the first game feel, but for the most part that’s still maintained since he only talks when directly spoken to and doesn’t make any quips when alone. Personally I still don’t think the story in Dead Space is especially great, but having Isaac actually engage with the characters is a change for the better in my opinion
In regard to issues, I had a problem where the game would briefly stutter whenever opening a door even with VRR on, and some other launch bugs that occasionally came up. Also I can’t remember exactly if I felt the same with the original, but the back half of the game got weaker as it started to lose its tension and locks you in rooms with waves of the same necromorphs more often. Overall though it’s a really well made remake that, while not being a big departure, more than justifies itself and succeeds in faithfully updating this horror classic
On a technical level it’s mostly superb with stunning detail and lighting, greatly enhancing the game’s unsettling atmosphere while revamping the ship to expand on its areas and connect them more seamlessly without load screens. And I don’t recall the original being too scary, but the increased focus on sound design in the remake definitely made me more on edge too
Another big difference from the original is that Isaac actually speaks like he does in the sequels. Initially I was unsure about this as his silence had some appeal given how isolating it made the first game feel, but for the most part that’s still maintained since he only talks when directly spoken to and doesn’t make any quips when alone. Personally I still don’t think the story in Dead Space is especially great, but having Isaac actually engage with the characters is a change for the better in my opinion
In regard to issues, I had a problem where the game would briefly stutter whenever opening a door even with VRR on, and some other launch bugs that occasionally came up. Also I can’t remember exactly if I felt the same with the original, but the back half of the game got weaker as it started to lose its tension and locks you in rooms with waves of the same necromorphs more often. Overall though it’s a really well made remake that, while not being a big departure, more than justifies itself and succeeds in faithfully updating this horror classic