Dead Space -PS5- 9

October 2, 2023

I did not think 2008’s Dead Space needed a refresh or a remake, but this 2023 version makes enough updates and touch ups to the original that I couldn’t help but love taking a trip on the ill-fated Ishimura all over again. According to my save file, it took me 13 hours to finish. I also did all the sidequests, but there were not too many.

To be fair, I played through the original DS’08 several years ago, so my memory of everything is not perfect. I did rewatch some segments of DS’08 on YouTube for the purposes of this review, though. Some of the changes in DS’23 start out subtle, but they become more visible as the game goes along. For one thing, Isaac talks, but only a little bit to other characters. He still stays silent during gameplay, except for his grunting. You also find new weapons in the environment, instead of having to buy them. This was a very good change. You also have completely new controls during anti-gravity segments, which lends its way to some striking imagery of outer space. My favorite parts of the original were always when you went into space, and it became quiet all of a sudden. All you could hear was Isaac breathing. But now, you have more freedom to float around and gaze at the stars. It is a sight to behold, multiple times throughout the game. There are also some tweaks to certain story beats, and a few optional side quests to flesh out some the backstory with Nicole, Mercer, and the plot about the Unitologists and the Marker. These updates are not as drastic as say, the Resident Evil Remake on GameCube compared to PS1, but this was certainly more than a simple reskin like Shadow of the Colossus on PS4vsPS2 or Last of Us Part 1 on PS5vsPS3.

Beyond comparing the differences, Dead Space 2023 is just as terrifying and gripping as the original DS’08. This is a brilliant survival horror game with staggering attention to detail in the graphics and especially sound. (Play this with headphones for the best experience!) It thrilled me from start to finish with frightening creatures, violent combat, fun psychics&puzzles, and incredible atmosphere. This is very much the videogame equivalent to movies like Event Horizon and Aliens, where a giant crew ship is being infested by a horrific alien race. I loved the plot here, about a fanatical religious group fighting with the government to obtain the Marker monolith and the unknown powers it possesses.

Dead Space has always been one of the best survival horror games ever made, and this new update does the original vision justice. 9 out of ten, which is the same score I gave the original version when I played it several years ago. For the record, I started the game on medium difficulty. But I started dying so much that i switched it to easy half way through. Some parts towards the end were still tough, even on easy mode. DS’23 is a hard game, with relentless monsters and scarce resources that add to the scares and tension. Highly recommended.