8Bit/Digi

A Tale of Two Nightmares in Space

Released in 2008, the original Dead Space gained popularity for its incredible atmosphere, heightened tension, sound design, and that neat little twist all wrapped up in an adventure where players were encouraged to gruesomely dismember nightmarish creatures called Necromorphs while in the shoes of an untraditional hero. What wasn’t to love? The 2023 remake caused many fans to question if this iconic survival horror title set in deep space needed a new coat of paint or not, especially if the plan was to keep it close to the source material, but that type of talk didn’t last long once this new beast was released.

Gamers Nightmare will reflect on what each version of Dead Space did right. This is not to see which release is the best. Instead, it’s to highlight which did what better. I will look at several key criteria and then judge which version handled it best.

The Story: An Engineer’s Tale

Both versions of this game weave the same basic tale of unraveling the horrible events that occurred on the USG Ishimura after their illegal mining operation on Aegis VII, and the players see this through the eyes of Isaac Clarke, an engineer and part of the crew of the Kellion sent to help the Planetcracker vessel with maintenance. As expected in any good story like this, however, people are going to die, others will turn out not to be what they seem, and what lurks at the heart of this nightmare is quite sinister, an experience that will leave no one unharmed physically or mentally.

Discovering what happened on this huge ghost ship and how many of its crew perished is a fantastic journey, one which is handled mostly in cutscenes, but there are a lot of extra documents to read and logs to listen to that will flesh out many of the events leading up to this disaster. The main story is handled well in the original and the lead-up to the reveals seems better paced, whereas the remake telegraphs the big twist and clumsily repeats itself so that it feels as if the player doesn’t get to realize any of this naturally. A few people did enjoy that those aspects of the story were laid out more plainly, but many of the tweaked interactions feel as if they were more for the fans who already knew the game’s secrets rather than fresh eyes. The best aspect of the remake’s approach is how it goes a bit more in-depth with the side characters and their plights.

Our main characters are a bit different, several models were changed to look more like their voice actors or have them stand out more, but this was jarring for some, especially in the case of Nicole Brennan, Isaac’s girlfriend. Clarke himself is no longer a silent protagonist in the remake, but instead voiced by Gunner Wright, who had already taken the role in the franchise’s sequels. The re-recorded lines feel like they were going for a slightly more serious tone – or in the case of Challus Mercer, making him more intimidating – which unfortunately stripped away some of the charm the original performances provided, but the newer interactions do make Isaac and crew come across as just a little more realistic and human rather than just being reactionary archetypes.

Overall: Though the new take on this story offers more, the original simply presents it better when looking at the big picture.

The Gameplay

Being an engineer, Isaac doesn’t do much flipping around and dodging, and he doesn’t have the same level of military training as most other heroes in his position, so much of the focus is put on his weapons and tech abilities he finds. This means that there are several creative weapons with alternate modes of firing to choose from, and the remake has rebalanced this arsenal and improved on certain devices, like the Flamethrower, making them much more effective than in the original.  

Fighting out in space can also make things trickier, but thankfully, the mechanics for all of the zero-G sections have been drastically overhauled and made much better. Isaac feels like a slow-moving submarine rather than an erratic frog now and it improves many of these encounters, making them smoother. The Meteor Turret sequence has also been altered, and although it isn’t perfect, what we have now functions better.

Necromorphs may take a few more hits to put down in the 2023 version, but that doesn’t mean the game is too tough, especially since much of the survival aspect here is based simply on knowing where the enemies will be coming from. Combat can always be chaotic, especially when Stasis, Kinesis, and explosives are brought into the mix, but it’s also much smoother and a little less frustrating.

Overall: The remake is smoother, making the experience more enjoyable in the long run while feeling familiar in most ways.

Exploring the World: The USG Ishimura

Most of Isaac’s time is spent aboard the Ishimura and he’ll need to unlock new sections and backtrack through most of it to finish his mission, so it makes sense they put so much work into making the Planetcracker feel massive, lived-in, spooky, and a little realistic, right? The original had the various parts of the ship sectioned off and needed to load between each, but the remake does away with that and offers extra pathways to get around. There are bonuses for going back and sometimes exploring can be a gamble, but that adds a little thrill. This environment is almost entirely metal, dried blood, and bile, but the original sometimes felt like it embraced the brown and gray color scheme a bit much, while remake pulls the camera back slightly to help some rooms feel even larger, show off extra space in the backgrounds, and make this vessel seem more imposing.

Both games make excellent use of lighting and shadow, having spots where the dark works completely against the player and builds tension, but the remake leans into that more and has the advantage of newer technology. It also adds a lot of detail (in most places), while strangely cleaning up a couple of areas, but more importantly, it offers players additional destructible objects to help cut down on surprises and create more improvised weapons.

Overall: The old ship has a bit more mystique, but this new sheen is hard to pass up.

Necromorphs

The main enemy of the Dead Space franchise, they aren’t quite iconic yet, but it’s hard to say these twisted undead aren’t making a good case for climbing the ranks. Their look, weakness, and long limbs make them recognizable and frightening. A new ‘peeling’ system was added in the remake to let players tear and rend flesh away, gaining more insight into what these hellish creatures look like beyond skin deep and feeling more satisfaction with each attack as they shoot through the layers.

The remake Necromorphs seem much studier, requiring additional shots to sever limbs and sometimes surviving explosive containers being hurled at them, which is scary on its own, like an alien terminator coming through the flames. It doesn’t appear like they’re much more effective, however. They sometimes make odd choices or get in each other’s way. The original enemies may have gone down a bit quicker, but their AI seemed smarter and deaths felt more like the game was well-programmed rather than me making a simple mistake.

Overall: The original game’s Necromorphs felt a bit more threatening through most of the game and seemed to get out of their own way when I busted in trying to show off.

Bonus Content

These two games have replay value for a single-player experience, but it’s mostly found in the harder difficulties, like Impossible Mode, which provides a large amount of challenge and additional items to unlock. New Game+ is excellent for those who want to carry their progress over after being handsomely rewarded for beating the game, and the original even had a small bit of DLC including new weapons and suits for players who wanted everything. The big contribution from the remake was new side quests that expanded on the lore and an additional ending, but this may not appease those who are just here for the gameplay.

Overall: Though the remake may be the best way to experience Dead Space overall, both versions have around the same amount of post-game content and depend more on what each player wants from multiple playthroughs.

Did you ever play the original Dead Space or the remake and what are your thoughts on them? Let us know in the comment section. 

8Bit/Digi is an independent media outlet that provides insight into the video game community and industry of the San Francisco Bay Area.