This review contains spoilers
This coming out just a month after The Callisto Protocol might be one of the biggest kicks in the teeth I've seen in a while.
While I don't love the original Dead Space like I do 2, it's still a pretty solid game with fantastic atmosphere. Remaking it was a big task (especially considering what happened to the series with 3 and Visceral Games demise) but overall I felt that Motive did a great job bringing the classic to a modern audience. That being said my favorite things the remake does are actually some of its biggest differences, with the Ishimura being interconnected in comparison to the level to level style that the original had. Definitely liked this change because it makes the ship feel so much more alive compared to the original and the new card/side quest mechanics greatly benefit from this design. Another new change that threw me for a loop but ended up being a boon was how weapons were handled, with all of them now being items found in the world instead of requiring being purchased (that's for the new upgrades). While in some ways this leads to some odd pacing and some weapons still falling a bit flat (mainly the pulse rifle though I also didn't use the flamethrower much) it's overall a pretty fantastic change that feels natural. The last big change of note would be some story/character changes, with my favorite being Gunner Wrights grand return as Issac Clarke. The originals use of a silent protagonist was always an odd choice so seeing Issac actually interact with the cast was a welcome change and made for some phenomenal moments in more emotional moments (mainly near the end with his interactions with Nicole). Speaking of interactions, the addition of some new characters and changes to others (Unitology is a MUCH bigger focus this time around) helps further flesh out the Ishimura and creates a more complex picture of what truly caused the ship to fall apart.
As much as I praised the differences of the game compared to the original, the biggest issues are mainly with it feeling too similar. For all the new things they've added that make the game feel so different, plenty of other things are almost 1 to 1 which makes the experience feel a bit samey and lacking the surprise that other remakes like RE4 had. This issue permeates a lot in the second half of the game (which I didn't really enjoy in the OG either) with the game running out of tricks and just throwing more and more enemies at you (though they try to spice things up with a new enemy type that's sadly underutilized imo. On that note, while the audio design is top notch and some of the best this year, the original is easily better with it being crunchier and feeling more satisfying. This lack of crunch also permeates to some of the new deaths in the remake, which I feel were all much more impactful in the original (especially Hammonds death good lord). Last thing but I'd highly recommend playing the game on hard because holy fuck is the medium difficulty one of the easiest I've played in a long time, with the only deaths mainly being insta kills or the rare times I was out of health packs (which the game is somewhat generous with due to the adaptive drops).
Despite all that I'd still give the Dead Space remake an easy recommend if you liked the original or just wanna play a solid action horror game. It's absolutely not a replacement to the original (horrible PC port aside) and I'd say to play that first as it makes what the remake does different pop out more. If Motive were to remake the sequel (one of my favorites) I wouldn't mind but at the same time I'm really hoping its a more ambitious experience.
8.5/10
While I don't love the original Dead Space like I do 2, it's still a pretty solid game with fantastic atmosphere. Remaking it was a big task (especially considering what happened to the series with 3 and Visceral Games demise) but overall I felt that Motive did a great job bringing the classic to a modern audience. That being said my favorite things the remake does are actually some of its biggest differences, with the Ishimura being interconnected in comparison to the level to level style that the original had. Definitely liked this change because it makes the ship feel so much more alive compared to the original and the new card/side quest mechanics greatly benefit from this design. Another new change that threw me for a loop but ended up being a boon was how weapons were handled, with all of them now being items found in the world instead of requiring being purchased (that's for the new upgrades). While in some ways this leads to some odd pacing and some weapons still falling a bit flat (mainly the pulse rifle though I also didn't use the flamethrower much) it's overall a pretty fantastic change that feels natural. The last big change of note would be some story/character changes, with my favorite being Gunner Wrights grand return as Issac Clarke. The originals use of a silent protagonist was always an odd choice so seeing Issac actually interact with the cast was a welcome change and made for some phenomenal moments in more emotional moments (mainly near the end with his interactions with Nicole). Speaking of interactions, the addition of some new characters and changes to others (Unitology is a MUCH bigger focus this time around) helps further flesh out the Ishimura and creates a more complex picture of what truly caused the ship to fall apart.
As much as I praised the differences of the game compared to the original, the biggest issues are mainly with it feeling too similar. For all the new things they've added that make the game feel so different, plenty of other things are almost 1 to 1 which makes the experience feel a bit samey and lacking the surprise that other remakes like RE4 had. This issue permeates a lot in the second half of the game (which I didn't really enjoy in the OG either) with the game running out of tricks and just throwing more and more enemies at you (though they try to spice things up with a new enemy type that's sadly underutilized imo. On that note, while the audio design is top notch and some of the best this year, the original is easily better with it being crunchier and feeling more satisfying. This lack of crunch also permeates to some of the new deaths in the remake, which I feel were all much more impactful in the original (especially Hammonds death good lord). Last thing but I'd highly recommend playing the game on hard because holy fuck is the medium difficulty one of the easiest I've played in a long time, with the only deaths mainly being insta kills or the rare times I was out of health packs (which the game is somewhat generous with due to the adaptive drops).
Despite all that I'd still give the Dead Space remake an easy recommend if you liked the original or just wanna play a solid action horror game. It's absolutely not a replacement to the original (horrible PC port aside) and I'd say to play that first as it makes what the remake does different pop out more. If Motive were to remake the sequel (one of my favorites) I wouldn't mind but at the same time I'm really hoping its a more ambitious experience.
8.5/10