Summary
Ahead of the launch of last year’s excellentDead Spaceremake, many fans who still had access to a copy of the original game took a preparatory stroll down memory lane. For those that played through the original 2008 version ofDead Spaceprior to 2023’s remake, perhaps most remarkable was how well the original held up under scrutiny even when placed side-by-side with modern survival horror games. TheDead Spaceremake’s faithful reimagining of one of the genre’s all-time greats is precisely what makes it succeed, smoothing out the original’s rough edges but not fixing what isn’t broken. It also happens to serve as a proof-of-concept for giving EA Motive its own shot at craftingDead Space 4.
The success of theDead Spaceremake was one of the early highlights of 2023, even prompting publisher Electronic Arts to send out a survey gauging fan interest in more remakes in the sci-fi horror franchise. WhileaDead Space 2remakewith EA Motive at the helm is an enticing prospect, what’s more exciting is the idea of giving Motive the reins to the franchise and letting the talented studio develop a follow-up toDead Space 3. 2023 didn’t just mark the release ofDead Space’s remake, it also was the 10-year anniversary ofDead Space 3’s launch, and the remake proves there’s still plenty of life (ironically) left in the franchise.
After wowingStar Warsfans with the studio’s ability to craft impeccable visual and sound design in bothStar Wars SquadronsandStar Wars Battlefront 2,Motive’s work on theDead Spaceremakestands as some of the most impressive presentation of any game released in 2023. In particular,Dead Space’s audio design is second-to-none, making it a game that practically demands to be played using headphones. Even a year later, as more and more games come out that are built using Unreal Engine 5 and push the limits of visual fidelity,Dead Space’s lighting and textures are also a standout within the survival horror genre.
Motive has established it has a knack for creating an engaging and engrossing horror experience, and it would be a shame to restrict that talent behind the constraints of another remake. TheDead Spaceremake is excellent, but there’s little denying that it is incredibly faithful to the source material, somewhat dampening the impact of its scares for players who are incredibly familiar with the original. Seeing EA Motive take its talent for atmospheric lighting and audio design and crafting abrand-new experience within theDead Spaceuniversehas the potential for it to end up being the most frightening game in the series.
Despite many players holding fond memories of the game from having played through its campaign with a friend in co-op,Dead Space 3was an odd misstep for the series that wound up being the nail in its coffin for a decade. After two games that so perfectly captured the essence of the survival horror genre,the thirdDead Spacegamemade the unexpected leap into action, and like the similarly action-forwardResident Evilgames releasing during the same era, fans weren’t happy about the change in direction.Dead Space’s excellent remake offers a chance for Motive to be the studio that rights the ship.
Instead of giving the studio the responsibility of making a remake ofDead Space 2, Motive could harness its experience from developingtheDead Spaceremaketo create aDead Space 4that reboots the franchise, much in the same way thatResident Evil 7did for Capcom’s survival horror juggernaut. 2023 gave players not one, but two excellent remakes of all-time greats within the survival horror genre. A year out fromDead Space’s release, it’s obvious that it should just be the start of a full-blown series revival.
Dead Space (2023)
WHERE TO PLAY
The sci-fi survival-horror classic Dead Space™ returns, completely rebuilt from the ground up to offer a deeper, more immersive experience. This remake brings jaw-dropping visual fidelity, suspenseful atmospheric audio, and improvements to gameplay while staying faithful to the original game’s thrilling vision.Isaac Clarke is an everyman engineer on a mission to repair a vast mining ship, the USG Ishimura, only to discover something has gone horribly wrong. The ship’s crew has been slaughtered and Isaac’s beloved partner, Nicole, is lost somewhere on board.Now alone and armed with only his engineering tools and skills, Isaac races to find Nicole as the nightmarish mystery of what happened aboard the Ishimura unravels around him. Trapped with hostile creatures called Necromorphs, Isaac faces a battle for survival, not only against the escalating terrors of the ship but against his own crumbling sanity.
