And I doubt even you can stop a convergence event fueled by the entire population of earth.
When I was younger, I only played a little bit of Dead Space, which I did not find scary, and I actually put the game down for some reason or another - and this was at a time when I was scared to even pick up a horror game. Years later, I wanted to try Dead Space again and thanks to a wonderful friend of mine, I was gifted the Dead Space remake. For this playthrough, I decided to try something new and play the game on my Steam deck, before bed, with all the lights off, and my earbuds plugged in. So, did I find the remake scary? Well, yes and no but even then, I will say that this is one of the best remakes I have played. However, not without some issues.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- A great story with lots of suspense
- Fantastic and suspenseful gameplay that will keep your eyes peeled
- Fun weapons to help take out enemies
- Very fun upgrades to utilize
- Beautiful and creepy graphics
Cons
- The steam deck controls are a little awkward
- There are some bugs that I did come across on my playthrough
Story
The story follows Isaac Clarke who is with a small crew that is going to the USG Ishimura, a planetary mining ship operated by the CRC. They are above the planet Aegis VII, however, the entire crew on the ship has gone silent. Isaac also joined the mission to find his missing wife who was aboard that ship. He is accompanied by Kandra Daniels and Zack Hammond who have also been sent to investigate the USG Ishimura.
Upon their arrival, the crew discovers that the entire ship has been abandoned with almost everyone missing. Although, when the lights go out, the crew is attacked by a creature called the Necromorph and everyone had to go their separate ways. Isaac must find a way to survive the onslaught of Necromorphs and find his wife, hoping she is not dead.
The story for Dead Space is honestly brilliant, it manages to be suspenseful while also having a sense of dread. You question everything around you and what each character goes through as you will be asking yourself, what is real and what is not real? One of the biggest changes made to the game itself for the remake, which also changes the story in some ways, is that Isaac now speaks. This actually brings some more character to Isaac which I found really nice; it adds to all the scenes in the game that he is in.
Gameplay
You will be going around the USG Ishimura and fighting enemies with the weapons you find. One of the improvements in this remake is that you don’t have to buy weapons. All of them in the game are unlocked by story progression instead of being sold at the shop. There will still be weapon upgrades that can be bought in it, however. The weapons themselves also have abilities to them, like the Pulse Rifle having a detonator when you shoot which will explode when an enemy is nearby. The line gun also has a laser trip wire instead of mines and the flamethrower has a wall of fire mode.
Some weapons are also much better than they were in the original, my favorites include the Plasma Cutter as it’s honestly the best weapon in this game. I could have probably played the entire game only using that weapon, but I wanted to try the others out, there is an achievement where you have to beat the game while only using that weapon though. My other favorites include the Line Gun, as it’s a heavy-hitting Plasma Cutter. The Force Gun is improved in this remake and pushes enemies back while damaging them, good for clearing large groups. The last weapon I liked was the Contact Beam, as any Necromorph who meets the weapon was saying hello and goodbye to it. All of these weapons can be upgraded by finding Nodes scattered throughout the game.
The entire area that you explore has also been changed in some respects, there are now hidden areas for you to backtrack to as well as side quests. There are only three side quests in the game, but they offer some more experiences. There are also a few ways to replay the game and if you are masochistic enough, there is an option to play the game on the hardest difficulty with only one save slot where if you die, it’s game over. So, if you want that challenge then go for it but you must beat the game once to get it.
Isaac can also use a telekinetic ability, which will allow him to slow enemies down or to grab objects. You can even throw said objects back at enemies to deal damage. It’s also used to help pick up items out of Isaacs's reach or to help move an object to power up a door or something else.
The gameplay for the remake is honestly fantastic and suspenseful, it will keep you on your toes when going through the ship. While I did not find the early parts of the game scary, it did get scarier in the later parts. Especially when the Hunter comes in as you can’t kill it and you are mostly in small rooms, so you better keep your distance. There are also a few areas with some extra goodies for you to find to help you on your travels. You can even get some upgrades on your suit to give you more space in your inventory and some extra health.
However, I do have one issue with the Dead Space remake that is worth noting in terms of gameplay and that’s with the controls on the Steam Deck. Never once in my life would I have ever thought I’d have an issue with a game on the Steam Deck, but the controls are certainly one.
The main problem is that they display keyboard and mouse-based controls rather than the Steam Deck ones, and because of this they can be awkward at first. Even navigating through your inventory is a bit of a hassle as you have to use the mouse pads on the Steam Deck. This is because when you are in your inventory, the game is still in real-time, you can’t use the joy sticks as Isaac can still move while using it. Because of the controls, I have unnecessarily died a few times.
The game does run like a charm on the Steam Deck though and the controls are great once you get used to them, but I did have a rough time when I first played the game.
Graphics and Performance
The graphics for the Remake are honestly beautiful, they are incredibly detailed in the game and look creepy in some of the areas. I tested the game on my 256 GB Steam Deck and I came across with no issues while I was playing.
However, I did come across some bugs while I was playing. One of them came when I was saving while an enemy was attacking me - I saw my character model when I was viewing it. Another one occurred during a cutscene, and it was just not showing the entire cutscene, instead it was just Isaac standing still which ruined the impact of it. The final bug was when the save point was glitched and my character just froze, this one occurred multiple times throughout my playthrough.
Final Verdict
The Dead Space Remake is possibly one of the best games I have played this year, it’s a true survival horror experience that makes it worth playing. If you are new or a returning player, I recommend picking this game up as you will have an awesome experience. A lot has changed from the old version which makes this remake really stand out.