2023 gave us two exceptionally good remakes of classic horror games with Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 and EA Motive’s Dead Space, but the approach to each was different. Both approaches were right for the game involved.

Dead to Rights

Dead Space as a series is a fascinatingly frustrating and tragic tale—a franchise slaughtered in the space of half a decade at the altar of consumerism. What began as a promising new sci-fi survival horror series in 2008 had become a dread-inducing benchmark for the general attitude towards horror games and big-budget gaming at companies like EA.

Dead Space 3 is notorious for how far removed it was from the vision of the original. Bloated by microtransactions, a heavier action emphasis and crafting mechanics detracted from the genuinely good ideas in there (the co-op perspective shift, wintry Necromorph action).

Visceral Games would end up suffering hat most undignified of studio deaths as it was folded into EA’s other projects and eventually dissolved.

2022 held the promise of two exciting alternatives to that horrible end for Dead Space. Former Visceal Developers were bringing us a spiritual successor with The Callisto protocol, while EA Motive were tackling a shiny remake of the original Dead Space. Before The Callisto Protocol’s release, you’d be forgiven for thinking the spiritual successor had a better shot at taking the sci-fi horror crown. Still, despite releasing ahead of the Dead Space remake, The Callisto Protocol flopped critically and commercially. The,n of course, Dead Space remake was released at the beginning of this year and proved to be an accomplished reinterpretation of the original.

Its secret? It knew what the original had going for it and made sure to keep that in. But EA Motive also realized there were great moves forward in the sequels, both mechanically and in world-building. So using the skeleton of what came before, EA Motive fleshed out the experience with more intuitive controls, greater freedom, and crucially, made the Ishimura feel a lot less like a set of interconnected levels and more like a massive explorable ship.

Taking God of War’s real-time schtick was a massive benefit in that regard. Dead Space remake moves seamlessly from one horrifying situation to the next and, in doing so, draws you in deeper into Isaac Clarke’s terrible time aboard the Ishimura.

It helped that EA Motive make the game look like a beautiful nightmare. The detail of the environments, the disgusting viscera splattering the walls, the Necromorph’s horrifying human body distortion, and the ship’s greasy industrial thrum. Dead Space is an audiovisual treat.

A Familiar Resident Reemerges

Meanwhile, Capcom was faced with its own tough task, albeit one it had tackled successfully before. How do you remake a beloved survival horror classic?

Resident Evil 4 has aged far better than its predecessors, so there was a lot more opportunity for griping if things about it were changed too much for the remake. But there was no point in slapping a new layer of makeup on the 2005 game’s face beyond the more cynical and obvious ones. So Capcom did not budge from the reimagining vision it had for Resident Evil 2 and 3, but clearly looked at what had been done with the best remake of a Resident Evil game (2002’s Resident Evil) and brought that level of faithful overhauling into the mix.

Resident Evil 4 remake finds the balance between faithful remake and revitalizing reimagining. The knife parry seemed like an odd idea before the game was released, but not only did it get integrated beautifully into the rejigged combat. it fed into the signature mix of the horrifying and the absurd that makes Resident Evil such a magical series.

Where improvements were needed, Capcom addressed them, and inarguably made the overall game stronger for it. While the Ashley sections were never as terrible as some made them out to be in the original, they feel so much more natural in the remake, and giving the character herself more personality and engaging moments in the story ensured this wasn’t just Leon saving the damsel in distress.

With more remakes and remasters in the genre on the way in 2024 with the likes of other classic series returning such as Silent Hill, Alone in the Dark, and Clock Tower, it will be interesting to see what approach they take in balancing fan expectations and appealing to a modern audience.

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EA has hinted that its Iron Man game won’t be getting a release date or window anytime soon. Yesterday, developer Motive Studio provided a rare update on its current projects and work pipeline, revealing that it has been fully focused on Iron Man since its Dead Space remake’s successful launch.

Iron Man’s release date is a ways away because the game is still in pre-production

EA Motive’s general manager Patrick Klaus said that Iron Man is “still early in pre-production” and the team is in no rush to get it done. The studio is taking its time “to make sure we set the best possible foundation for development.” Iron Man is being built on Unreal Engine 5 and although EA hasn’t mentioned platforms, it’s unlikely to land on last-gen consoles.

“We’re finding so many opportunities to explore story, design and gameplay with Iron Man, and it’s exciting to see the fantasy start coming alive,” Klaus wrote. “Even this early in the process, we’ve put in place a Community Council made up of Iron Man and Marvel fans; as with Dead Space, they’ll be offering feedback on pretty much everything throughout the development process.”

After months of rumors, EA announced its Iron Man game in September 2022, and this is the first update we’ve had since.

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After being burned by Resident Evil 3, I’m wary of any survival horror remake. So, I initially didn’t have high hopes for the Dead Space remake when it was announced. However, as EA Motive revealed more, I found my optimism rising. The studio stated multiple times that its prime directive was to be respectful of the source material, and it turned out better than I had hoped.

Note this review is aimed at readers who have played the original Dead Space. For a review from someone who didn’t experience the original beforehand, check out our sister site, GameRevolution.

Warning: There are minor spoilers for the game below.

Mr. Clarke finds his voice

The story beats in the Dead Space remake remain the same. You take the role of Issac Clarke, an engineer tasked with accompanying an emergency maintenance team to the USG Ishimura. Unfortunately, the ship carrying the team crashes into the Ishimura, and they find themselves stranded there. The Necromorphs quickly make their presence known, and Clarke finds himself fighting to make it off the Ishimura alive.

The biggest difference to the plot this time around is that Issac is a fully-voiced character instead of a silent protagonist. Since this was the case in Dead Space 2 and 3, it makes sense that the devs would want to revisit the script and give Issac more agency.

In practice, Issac’s new characterization is a mixed bag. Giving him a voice removes some of Dead Space’s claustrophobia. In the original, you weren’t just trapped in the narrow corridors of the Ishimura. You were ensnared by a gallery of nefarious characters that were using you to their own ends. You were forced to go along with whatever you were told in the vague hope that it would somehow lead to an escape.

In the remake, Issac is treated as an equal partner by Hammond and Daniels. It shifts the tone of his relationship with these two tremendously when Issac offers input and gives his opinion. Also, for some reason, Hammonds and Daniels are less antagonistic toward each other in the remake, which takes away that awkward feeling of being stuck in the middle that the original gave.

Fortunately, EA Motive did avoid making Issac too chatty in the Dead Space remake. He doesn’t typically speak until spoken to and keeps things relatively brief. He also doesn’t constantly talk to himself and make quips, which is great most of the time.

However, some awkward moments occur when Issac remains completely mum when it’s inappropriate. For example, in the medical section, you enter a room and see a woman in an isolation tube kill a patient by slicing him wide open from stem to sternum, and then she casually slits her own throat. This definitely seems like the kind of scene where you might throw out, “No stop,” or at least a “Dang.” Instead, Issac is utterly silent concerning the poor woman’s fate.

Making the dead come to life

The graphical upgrades in Dead Space remake are excellent. Many environments replicate what we saw in the original, which looks terrific. However, the big star here is the new effects. The new, vastly improved smoke, fog, fire, and sparks all combine to make the Ishimura feel more lifelike than ever before.

Fortunately, Motive didn’t overdo things here. While some areas feel a bit more homogenous than they did before, each has a unique feel that lets you imagine what it might have been like before the Necromorphs. Engineering has massive engines and fuel tanks, medical is full of labs and macabre scenes, and there are plenty of doodads making noise and moving in the background to paint an even better picture that you’re on a massive starship.

This time around, you can traverse from one end of the Ishimura to the other without a loading screen or even using the tram system. The devs hyped this up a major deal, but the progression in the Dead Space remake is almost exactly the same as it was in the original.

There are a few side quests that expand the story of select NPCs. However, these are just short little jaunts, and some can be done on the way to your main quest objectives. Unfortunately, one of these robs Nicole of some of her mystique. In the original, you’re left to fill in a lot of the blanks about what she was doing before Issac boarded the Ishimura with your imagination. However, the remake makes her out to be a bit of a martyr, which makes her less interesting as a character.

Don’t dead, open inside

In the original game, once you cleared a section, that was it. All encounters were scripted, so once it was over, you knew that part of the ship was safe. However, that doesn’t really vibe when your foes can spring out of airducts or generate new Necromorphs out of corpses. Fortunately, Motive came up with a solution for this. According to the devs, the Intensity Director AI has around 1,200 scenarios it can throw at you anytime.

You never know what will happen when you enter an area in the remake. You may hear gunshots in the distance and screaming as the remaining crew members of the Ishimura fight for their lives. Enemies might burst from air ducts, or you may just hear them rattling around. Power could fail in your section and leave you shrouded in darkness. It’s a great way to keep you on your toes and addresses an issue that has plagued horror games since their inception. The director works alongside pre-scripted encounters, so each playthrough should be different.

Of course, sound plays a big part in the original Dead Space’s presentation, which carries over into the remake. Motive kept the original score by Jason Graves and added new audio cues to work alongside the AI Intensity Director.

The work by Graves still feels fresh, but, unfortunately, the new musical cues often feel overwhelming. Too often, a blaring of strings gave away the surprise of an enemy encounter before I could hear or see them. I hope they’re toned down in a future patch because it detracts from the otherwise excellent sound design.

Making the right changes

The gameplay in Dead Space is amazingly fresh for a 15-year-old game, but some parts have aged better than others. The remake takes the opportunity to add some quality-of-life features and changes some of the more annoying sections for the better.

Zero-G gameplay, which limited Issac to jumping in one direction from surface to surface, now has six degrees of freedom in its movement. This allowed Motive to completely revamp sections like activating the ADS cannons and fighting Leviathan.

One thing I didn’t notice during my playthrough was any missing content. Like with the Resident Evil 2 remake, there are some differences in text and audio logs and some new and tweaked lore (particularly when it comes to Unitology), but everything from the original is represented. Unlike Resident Evil 3 remake, there are no missing locations or vastly different interpretations of the source material.

Dead Space Remake review: The final verdict

The Dead Space remake is the definitive version of the game. The original has aged relatively well, but it’s not available on current-gen consoles, and the PC version is finicky on newer hardware and versions of Windows. Some changes in the remake work better than others, but the important thing is that, like the original, it’s survival horror at its best and a worthy successor to the beloved series.

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EA Motive nearly decided to make Dead Space Remake “far more impactful” for players by removing the pause button completely but decided against it in the end. The original version of the game already has a reputation for making players feel vulnerable, and it seems like this was just a step too far.

Why they wanted to remove the pause button in Dead Space Remake

Horror games are meant to terrify their players, yet the pause button gives a brief moment away from the danger to gather their wits once again. EA Motive’s Realization Director Joel MacMillan explained to Inverse how removing the pause button would help to create a “far more impactful” experience:

In horror games, you can pause and you have a moment of safety there. You can take a breath. And I think you get a reprieve from that. It deflates some of the tension. But with persistent online games, you’re playing with dozens of other people, and you can’t just pause everybody’s game.

I think removing that as a feature would make horror games far more impactful — You would truly feel like you’re never actually safe.

MacMillan went on to explain how he personally prefers to have a pause button available as “I still tend to get jittery when I play these games,” and it seems like this was the common consensus amongst the team. The idea to remove the pause button was ultimately turned down.

Dead Space already keeps players on the edge of their seats seeing as the action around them never stops while visiting stores or checking maps, objectives, and inventory, always leaving them vulnerable to attack. At least those that want an even more “frightening, on-the-edge-of-your-seat, anxiety-ridden experience” can still refuse to use the pause button and the option is there for those who need it.

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New Dead Space remake screenshots and box art for the upcoming game have been released onto the Xbox Store, showing a closer look at what we can expect from the upcoming reimagining of the survival horror game.

Take a look at the new Dead Space remake screenshots

The brand new images were rather unceremoniously uploaded to the Xbox Store, before being spotted by eagle-eyed browsers of the Microsoft storefront. They depict series protagonist Isaac Clarke aboard the terrifying  USG Ishimura, showing off the game’s improved visuals, along with its new box art:

The Dead Space remake was first revealed during 2021’s EA Play presentation, offering a brief glimpse of the upcoming game. Since then developer EA Motive has been light on details, aside from a special community livestream held by the developer back in August and an early development look showing off its new dismemberment system. These also highlighted changes EA Motive had made to the game’s audio, in accordance with player feedback to the sound of Plasma Cutter and Pulse Rifle.

The Dead Space remake is set to release on January 27, 2023, for PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. It was previously planned for a post-March release date, though EA seemingly brought this initial launch forward, as confirmed in an earnings call earlier this year.

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Dead Space Remake has received a release date for 2023 and it’s arriving earlier than first anticipated. While EA didn’t seem to mention the game in its fiscal year 2023 release schedule earlier this week, the game is indeed launching at the start of next year. The release date was revealed during the latest developer live stream that focused on the updated artwork.

Starting 2023 with Dead Space Remake

Dead Space Remake will be released on January 27, 2023, for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. This was earlier than the post-March release date implied by EA’s financial results presentation yesterday as the game turns out to be the mysterious “Remake” in that report. Initially described as unannounced games, it seems like those descriptions now apply to games that could have been previously announced but whose dates haven’t been publicly disclosed. The “sports title” was later confirmed to be Super Mega Baseball 4, while several people now believe the “major IP” to be Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2. The only one remaining a mystery is the “partner title”.

The release date was revealed during an art developer live stream titled “Crafting the Tension“. Players got an early glimpse at the redesigned graphics for the latest generation of consoles as they try to stick to three key principles: “Horror,” “Immersion”, and “A Lived in World”. There was a focus on creating a lived-in look on the USG Ishimura, as well as updates to lighting and VFX like fog, smoke, and pyrotechnics. Isaac’s Engineer Suit has been refined and redesigned to bring it into the modern world too.

In other news, we won’t be seeing Alan Wake 2 this summer as Remedy canceled plans to introduce the game despite development progressing well. Elsewhere, rumors claim that Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is about to go free-to-play as Mediatonic promises its “biggest ever announcement” on Monday, May 16.

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EA Motive has said that Dead Space remake is going dark until next year as its developers are putting their heads down to work. The brief development update follows a livestream that gave fans an early look at work in progress.

Over on Reddit, EA Motive provided another brief work-in-progress clip, showing some of the ways its team is giving Ishimura a “worn” look. Check out the clip below.

EA Motive has said that it will go through all the feedback and suggestions that it received following the livestream, and will continue to read them. The team plans to shape the remake based on feedback where possible.

The letter reads:

It was important to us to give you an early look at what we’ve been working on so you could tell us your thoughts. We’ll continue reading your feedback and what your expectations are for the remake of Dead Space.

Everything we showed was a work in progress which means that we’ll be working on things like Isaac’s suit, the aesthetic and ambiance of the Ishimura. We’re doing work to ensure it has the right level of wear and tear. For example, here is an early work in progress clip showing some of the ways that the team is going to be giving that worn look to the Ishimura.

We’re going to be heads down now working on the game, taking some time to review all the thoughts, theories, and suggestions you’ve all shared with us. We look forward to showing you how you’ve helped shape the game next year when we’re further in development!

Dead Space remake is in development for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

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Motive pulled an unusual move today for a major AAA studio and showed off pre-production gameplay and concepts from the Dead Space remake. The community live stream was intended to show fans their ideas for modernizing the classic game, and get feedback on if they are headed in the right direction as they look to evolve what came before while remaining faithful to the core of the classic. The stream showcased a new “flesh peeling system” that adds another layer to the dismemberment system, revealed original Isaac Clarke voice actor Gunner Wright returning to voice the character in the remake, and showed how they are updating the environment with added fidelity and details.

Updates to the dismemberment system was one of the central things the stream focused on, showing the concept motive has for enhancing how you’ll be cutting off limbs. Shots will now tear the flesh away, exposing bone. Hit a different spot, and you won’t cut the limb off, you’ll just remove more flesh. This makes it play even more tactically than the original, requiring a bit more precision with your shots to remove the limbs. Additionally, thicker sections of flesh left connected after a dismemberment could cause a limb to be detached, but still dangle by the attached flesh. While they didn’t showcase anything more than the “naked necromorph,” they hinted that armor and clothing could further create opportunities for tactical gameplay.

This also gives new life to other weapons besides the classic plasma cutter. You can now get a better sense of how much damage you are doing by seeing the flesh fall off the enemies, and even expose weak points that can then be shot be the plasma cutter for dismemberment. It’s opening up a lot of possibilities for new tension and exciting gameplay moments with increased visceral detail.

The stream also revealed another surprise detail: despite not having a voice in the original game (besides those grunts and yells as he stomped necromorphs), Isaac Clarke voice actor Gunnar Wright (from Dead Space 2 and 3) is returning to the role for Dead Space remake. Don’t worry, they aren’t suddenly going to have Isaac talking all the time and ruining those scary moments. In fact, they have a few core rules to ensure his talking doesn’t break tension. First is that he will primarily only speak when spoken to. The second rule is that anytime he speaks outside of the first rule, it’s only in places where it wouldn’t make sense for him to stay quiet.

Along with the return of Wright, the Motive devs confirmed an expanded story that will retain the focus of the original game’s iconic narrative, but offer more insight into other characters and will do more to highlight the fact that Isaac’s entire struggle is his goal of finding Nicole.

Motive used the stream to also show how they were improving on the environments and updating methods of getting around, like fixing the original game’s jarring zero-G jumps.

You can watch the full Dead Space community live stream video on demand on Twitch.

Dead Space doesn’t currently have a release date, but is headed to new-gen consoles and PC. Rumors put the release at the end of 2022 at the earliest.

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During yesterday’s Dead Space remake live stream event, Electronic Arts’ Motive Studio revealed that the upcoming title will not only feature updated environments, it’ll also come with new environments and new ways to navigate them. Additionally, the zero-g mechanics will be overhauled.

“Now you can interact as you fly around, go into tighter corridors and it allows us to revisit some of the old content and introduce new ways to navigate,” explained creative director Roman Campos-Oriola. “It allows us to create new environments with new challenges to surprise the people who know the game.”

While the reboot will come with new features such as a dynamic flesh-peeling system, EA Motive has reiterated that Dead Space‘s foundations won’t be changed.

“We are not going to change the foundation of the story because that story is really iconic,” Campos-Oriola continued. “It’s about being Isaac, going into that hulking spaceship, and feeling alone and isolated as you try to survive, and try to find Nicole and solve that mystery of The Marker. All of those core things of the original are the elements we want to continue to have in the game and build on top of.”

That said, EA Motive does want to enrich the reboot in context of the overall Dead Space universe.

“We want to have more ties with what came after,” Campos-Oriola said. “Whether it’s the books, anime or Dead Space 2, we want to put them back into the original in a better way. Sometimes it could be through audio links or messages in the environment and sometimes it can be a bit more.”

The Dead Space remake has yet to be dated.

[Source: IGN, VGC]

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The recently-announced remake of Dead Space will reportedly release in late 2022 if production goes smoothly, though publisher EA has not officially confirmed the date (and with work from home protocols amid the pandemic, we’ve seen countless instances of production being delayed and pushed). According to rumors verified by industry insider and GamesBeat writer Jeff Grubb, the company is currently planning a release during its 2023 fiscal year (which begins in late 2022), with more information reportedly coming sometime this year.

Announced during last month’s EA Play Live, the game will reboot the entire Dead Space franchise and offer a remastered version of the first game with added features and updates. Jeff Grubb, who originally leaked the remake news ahead of its official announcement, also mentioned that a brand new Dead Space game was currently in the works. According to Grubb, the remake is inspired by Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 remake—that’s to say, faithful to the original with some meaningful modern changes—and that it would serve as an effective template.

If Grubb is correct, internal sources state that Dead Space remake will likely ship sometime in fall 2022. He also notes that EA Motive simply calls the game “Dead Space,” similar to Resident Evil 2 remake just being named Resident Evil 2, without the “remake” moniker on the box.

When asked for a comment, an EA spokesperson neither confirmed nor denied the rumors, stating, “We haven’t shared a release date for the game, and we don’t have any comment based on the current rumor and speculation. But we’re glad people are excited for the game!”

Grubb further reveals that the company “does have some intentions” to reveal more information about the upcoming title, likely before the end of 2021. He speculates that this reveal could be in the form of a new trailer, adding to the first teaser revealed late last month. However, publishers and developers have been reluctant to share final release dates due to complications surrounding the ongoing pandemic, with many studios large and small announcing delays this year and last, and plenty more expected to come.

For now, Dead Space fans will have to wait for an official release date for the new-gen exclusive title. We’ll keep readers abreast of any further developments.

[Source: VentureBeat]

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