Dead Space is a remake to serve as an example [Review]

Dead Space, the original released in 2008, is certainly one of the greatest survival horror classics. With a lot of quality, the game debuted a franchise that would consolidate itself in the genre in the following years, although the arrival of the third title was turbulent with the game being below its predecessors.

Now, at a time when the industry is going through an avalanche of remakes, Dead Space has returned in the hands of Motive to try to repeat its first successes, getting back on track while there seems to be a lot at stake. In case of success, new remakes are totally possible, while even sequels should return to EA’s radar, the publisher.

In the current scenario, many remakes arrive to improve journeys, updating great games with the possibilities of advancing technology. Sometimes the titles even seem to surpass the original releases, as is the case with the excellent remake of Resident Evil 2. On the other hand, we also see remakes that do not live up to the title they try to recover, while others seem totally unnecessary, without improvements or advances that justify their own existence. Fortunately, Dead Space Remake is one of the good examples.

The USG Ishimura is inhospitable and terrifying (Image: Gregory Felipe/Oficina da Net

The horrors of the USG Ishimura gain more weight

In 2508, the USG Ishimura, a mining ship for the CEC corporation, sends out a distress signal just before going out of reach, causing five people to be sent out to find out what’s going on. Isaac Clarke, the protagonist of the title, is part of the small group and is in search of Nicole Brennan, his girlfriend, who worked at the USG Ishimura.

While the space horror plot is clearly inspired by titles like Alien, the remake follows exactly the same rhythm and events of the original game, despite some new features, to throw the player in the middle of terror in a matter of minutes. You quickly find yourself in a desperate situation, and thus begins the journey of Isaac Clarke.

One of the great strengths of the remake is giving voice to a character who was previously mute. If in the original title Isaac didn’t speak a word, here the character interacts with his companions, reacts to the horrors he witnesses and is no longer just a “choice boy”. If before the protagonist only listened to orders and obeyed, now he is often the one debating plans and offering solutions, even gaining greater weight as a hero, as he often gives great demonstrations of heroism to resolve complicated situations.

With the original plot already being interesting, here the narrative becomes even more competent, either because of the greater dynamism offered by having a speaking protagonist, or even because of the choice to give more importance to other characters. In the remake, the plot seems to develop in a much more natural way, in addition to the story involving the player even more, allowing it to be easier to bond with the protagonist and sympathize while he faces the horrors of the USG Ishimura.

Isaac now has much more weight and charisma (Image: Gregory Felipe/Oficina da Net)
Isaac now has much more weight and charisma (Image: Gregory Felipe/Oficina da Net)

sequence plan

Another asset of the game, and here we have many, is the fact that the title adopts the sequence plan, as seen in the most recent releases of the God of War franchise. With Ishimura now being all connected, moving around the gigantic ship is much freer and doesn’t require loading screens, in fact, there are no loading screens at any point in the game.

Whether using the monorail or exploring Ishimura on foot, you can go back and forth through the ship’s corridors and rooms, with the title offering even more inviting exploration due to elements such as side quests and optional rooms that can only be unlocked after the player reaches some requirements.

Now featuring beautifully crafted and beautifully executed cutscenes that give even more weight to key plot moments, Dead Space also begins and ends these moments without the need for any cuts, mixing them with the gameplay in a very interesting way. Thus, apart from the possible deaths of the player, the title does not feature cuts at any time.

endless tension

The game released in 2008 had already managed to deliver one of the most intimidating atmospheres in the history of the genre, driven by excellent art direction and excellent audio design. In the remake, the hits have been improved with the best possible use of current technology. It even seems impossible to talk about Dead Space without valuing its audio design, with such an element being one of the great assets of the work… as I said, there are many.

Exploring each space of the ship brings up countless sounds, of the most varied kind, that appear and disappear in a natural way. While the audio offers horrors, the randomness delivered by the remake makes every moment even more filled with tension, as the developers prepare an event generator that serves to present surprises in each room and corner of the ship, thus making exploration by Ishimura quite unpredictable. and making the ship become a really inhospitable place.

Exploring the USG Ishimura is terrifying (Image: Gregory Felipe/Oficina da Net)
Exploring the USG Ishimura is terrifying (Image: Gregory Felipe/Oficina da Net)

The excellent lighting, and other elements, form a complete package for an art direction that was, again, absurd. Necromorphs also appear as an important part of this horror movie, of course, being an even more brutal and terrifying threat. Now, with a superior design, the creatures are more monstrous visually speaking, while also being redesigned in terms of movements and attacks.

The game still has a great system that delivers many layers of necromorphs, with dismemberment being much more robust. Now, using different weapons will always result in different types of kills for enemies. It is possible to see them melting with the fire, being torn apart by shooting or even seeing skin, muscle and bones being torn off little by little, with the violence changing according to the weapon used.

Reimagined, redesigned and better

Dead Space Remake is an excellent example of how to reimagine a remake without taking away the essence of the original game. There are no major changes here that could be controversial, as the title only gave room for the necessary changes and innovations. Many of these innovations are small and simple, but make a huge difference in the final result.

For example, the weapons in the remake are exactly the same as the original game, but all have been redesigned and gained new features that greatly improved the game’s combat, making the experience even more fun. With a more robust balance, each weapon is much more useful for different times, which encourages the player to constantly change equipment. There are no expendable weapons, and combat, which was already great, is even better.

Also, you can now keep all your weapons in your inventory, unlike the remake where some had to be in the vault. There is still a limitation of equipping four equipment at times in shortcuts, but there is freedom to change them at any time by accessing the game’s inventory.

The reimagining improved memorable moments (Image: Gregory Felipe/Oficina da Net)
The reimagining improved memorable moments (Image: Gregory Felipe/Oficina da Net)

Still talking about reimagining, several moments and environments in the game were rethought so that everything worked properly with the new mechanics and possibilities. The result is an even better experience, with iconic moments proving even more competent here. Boss battles are more fun and better planned, moments that were very basic before now gain more gameplay depth, and so on.

I must say that the fact that Isaac now floats in zero gravity, which was not possible in the original, is something extremely important among the new features, being an element that makes many moments even more interesting and memorable. In kinesis, the game also reuses elements from Dead Space 2, as it did with zero gravity, allowing it to now be possible to impale enemies with sharp objects. Another right choice.

Little problems

Although Dead Space Remake is a very beautiful game, sometimes the visual leaves something to be desired, even more so when we remember that it is an exclusive game of the current generation, that is, a title that ignored the PS4 and Xbox One with the idea of ​​reaching the maximum potential.

Both Quality mode and Performance mode have issues, with the latter being the most affected. Unfortunately, jagged textures show up more than they should here.

Also, at times the game’s conservatism felt a bit over the top. While certain moments seem to present precise changes in the reimagining, others are shown to be completely faithful to the original content, when they could certainly benefit from the new possibilities of the remake to deliver interesting changes.

the verdict

Dead Space Remake is a perfect example of how to recreate a great classic. If the original title was already a milestone for survival horror, the remake arrives with the same weight for the genre. With excellent choices, the developers have improved what was already excellent.

There’s a great respect for the original work, while even the moments with the biggest changes stay within acceptable limits. Everything that has been modified is accompanied by the right reasons. The experience is scarier and more robust, as well as more fun and engaging. Dead Space Remake repeats what we saw Capcom accomplish with the remake of Resident Evil 2. Now, we meet a new survival horror classic.

Deep Space Remake

pros

  • Excellent audio mixing
  • Redesigned weapons make combat even better
  • Giving voice to the protagonist made the plot more robust
  • Random events make the USG Ishimura unpredictable
  • Respects the original work, but reimagines it in the right way
Contras

  • Visual leaves something to be desired
  • Textures are sometimes a problem
  • Conservatism weighed in at times

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