In a golden age of video game remakes, developers need to think out of the box in order to stand out. Some questions need to be asked, including the most important one: does it really need a remake? EA Motive's ambitious reimagining of Visceral Games' iconic survival horror game, Dead Space, is less of a major structural overhaul like Resident Evil 2 or Final Fantasy VII Remake and more of a visual and mechanical upgrade to the original. That said, 2023's Dead Space offers an expanded experience that doesn't rewrite the rulebook on video game remakes, but honours its legacy by applying a fresh, blood-soaked coat of paint.

Note: This review is completely spoiler-free.



Those familiar with the game might already know Dead Space's initial story beats. Set a few hundred years in the future, players assume the role of engineer Isaac Clarke, a crewman on a repair vessel for the massive mining ship, the USG Ishimura. After receiving a distress call from the ship's medical officer, Isaac's vessel is attacked by mutations called necromorphs and must now board the stranded USG Ishimura and get to the bottom of what happened.

From the opening, the remake's ambitious revamps are made clear. Motive took the God of War approach (or rather, the Dead Space 2 approach) by having one single tracking shot throughout the entire game that seamlessly bounces in and out of cinematics and gameplay. This adds a grander level of immersion while also giving the story a greater sense of urgency. Structurally speaking, the narrative flows similarly to the original albeit with minor changes to characters and plot revelations.



For example, Kendra Daniels' character in the original game came off as a bit one-note but in the remake, she is given a considerable amount of emotional depth and motivation. Isaac also speaks, but never overbearingly so like many PlayStation games. Instead, his dialogue is often quick and reactionary to situations but it all works to reinforce the story's alarming circumstances. This extends to other side characters on board the Ishimura as well, though I won't spoil anything further except mention that some plot revelations are wisely introduced earlier in the game, so slowly unravelling those mysteries only adds to the narrative tension and makes more sense thematically.

By far, the biggest upgrades are given to the environment.

Motive's Dead Space remake feels like an expanded blueprint of the original. Cutscenes are elaborated upon, a couple of story beats are rearranged and the game features vastly improved visuals, but the core experience is still intact. By far, the biggest upgrades are given to the environment. The Ishimura doesn't feel like a string of video game levels anymore. Instead, it now feels like a cohesive, massive location to explore helped by its more non-linear structure. You really get a sense of the Ishimura's scale and size in the remake.



Furthermore, the environment tells a story. You'll constantly come across bodies, pools of blood, flickering lights and machines, writing on the wall, leaky pipes creating dense fog, dark rooms with mass killings, etc. This is where a remake treatment benefits Dead Space the most, as it allowed Motive to get really creative by touching up and adding things to the world that enhances the suspense and horror. The remake's incredible attention to detail is unparalleled in the survival horror genre and it's clear that everything altered was done with love and care for the original game.

Gameplay-wise, the Dead Space remake also takes a few creative liberties but it all works organically. Apart from the single-take camera, the levels have now been expanded upon (though not as massively as I anticipated in some cases). The zero gravity segments allow the player to freely control Isaac instead of bouncing from platform to platform, giving players a lot more freedom with movement.



Puzzles have also been remade in clever ways. For example, during certain tense sections of gameplay, players can reroute power to specific enviromental functions like oxygen supply or unlocking a door, but this means that the lights will go out so you'll have to carefully navigate the darkness with nothing but your flashlight. If players choose to keep the lights on, your oxygen supply might quickly deplete which gives you a small amount of time to get to your objective. This agency keeps the remake's tension high and locked in throughout your playtime, which is honestly perfect for a survival horror game.

The action is meticulously balanced with the corridor-creeping horror that fans have come to love about the original.

Many sequences from the original Dead Space have been given this kind of blockbuster-esque feeling and grand presentation in the remake. The centrifuge generator puzzle section, among many other creative choices, has been turned into a huge action set piece that left me on the edge of my seat. One encounter in the later stages of the game against a particularly large foe is an action-fuelled spectacle. However, none of this works to detract from the game's ever-present sense of dread and terror. The action is meticulously balanced with the corridor-creeping horror that fans have come to love about the original.



The necromorphs are still your biggest adversaries in the Dead Space remake. Thanks to the new and impressive Peeling System, Isaac can determine how close a necromorph is to death by seeing its tendons, bones and layers of flesh peel off with every shot - trust me, it's freaking awesome. Bodily dismemberment still plays a crucial part in your strategies to immobilise enemies so going for the legs drops necromorphs to give you clean headshots. Body parts and heads pop like bloody, crunchy balloons and there's an immensely satisfying feeling that you get from all of it.

Isaac's arsenal also features some repurposed weapons and tools. The trusty Plasma Cutter is still your bread and butter, but the Force Gun isn't a meer pushback weapon anymore; it now creates a massive shock wave and blast that rips the skin off of enemies. The Pulse Rifle's proximity mine is a handy grenade launcher capable of trapping foes, while the Flamethrower's secondary function creates a wall of fire to keep large mobs at bay. Every weapon and its function feels "modern" without going over-the-top or compromising the soul of the original's combat.



Like the original game, Isaac's health is still monitored on the spine of his suit and ammo count/recordings are shown via a holographic display. Coupled with the one-shot camera, there's never a moment in the remake that breaks immersion. Moving from one section of the Ishimura to another is seamless without any loading times either. Because of this, several rooms are locked off in the beginning that must be backtracked to at later stages once specific keys or items are found. There were only a couple of times where this bothered me but some players might be frustrated when it begins to feel like a chore.

...there's never a moment in the remake that breaks immersion.

Getting into the visual and mechanical side of the Dead Space remake, Motive's major graphical overhaul is absolutely stunning. While the original's solid art direction and visuals still hold up decently well today, the remake takes it to another level, leveraging the PS5's powerful hardware to great effect. Textures are impeccably detailed and the gorgeous lighting paints a brooding atmosphere. It's a shame, then, that facial animations aren't great. They come off as a bit robotic, which stands out when you consider the amount of work that went into everything else visually.



Apart from a a couple of minor technical hiccups, the Dead Space remake runs well on PS5. Players have the option to choose from Quality which offers 4K at 30FPS with ray-tracing enabled, while Performance renders at 2K with a buttery smooth 60FPS without ray-tracing. I bounced between the two and found that framerate triumphs, though the ray-tracing is superb on all fronts. On that note, there were a couple of instances where the framerate dipped during heavy action segments and a save file got corrupted, but luckily it was in the initial hour of the game so I didn't lose much meaningful progress.

The last thing worth mentioning is the sound design. Motive put a lot of effort into creating a chilling soundscape that amplifies the horror elements. Walking slowly down corridors, you can hear the rattling of pipes, machines mulfuctioning or breaking around you, and the eerie cries of necromorphs in the darkness or around corners. I implore you to play with headphones for the best possible audio experience because the Dead Space remake sounds just as great as it looks.



Was a remake of Dead Space necessary? After the playing the game, I'm torn. The original will always hold a special place in my heart but the remake goes above and beyond to elevate not only the source material, but the survival horror genre as a whole. Fans are going to find a lot to love with Motive's careful and almost masterful handling of the original, while newcomers will find an exciting horror ride that awaits. It may not be as game-changing as the Resident Evil 2 remake, but I can honestly say that it feels good to have Dead Space back.

*PS5 Review code provided by Electronic Arts