After what feels like an eternity of lifelessly drifting in the darkest corners of space, the Dead Space Remake is nearly upon us. It feels almost surreal after the turmoiled history the series went through that ultimately led to EA shutting down the development team, Visceral Games, in 2017 after “disappointing sales numbers” post-Dead Space 3.
With the release rapidly approaching, it’s time for some seriously hot takes. If the title of this article caught your eye, this isn’t supposed to be a fire starter or something that’ll anger the masses; it’s a reflection on the colossal mountain of opportunity the revival of Isaac Clarke and the Necromorphs face barring this remake checks off all the boxes.
Speaking of opportunity and hot takes, let’s talk about the idea and feelings I’ve been going through as we reach the fated date; let’s talk about why I’m more excited for the Dead Space Remake versus Capcom’s upcoming Resident Evil 4 Remake. First off, it’s time for a bit of a history lesson.
It’s been 15 years since Dead Space threw players into the engineering suit of Isaac Clarke and told its player base to “Cut off their limbs.” Dead Space was well-received and is often considered one of gaming’s top achievements for what series creator Glenn Schofield (the same Glenn who made The Callisto Protocol), Michael Condrey, and Visceral Games achieved with this product.
After Resident Evil 4 redefined survival-horror, it was hard to picture another game stepping up to the plate to recapture or build off of that Capcom created. However, Dead Space hit the mark in several ways, with the game’s technical design being one of its crowning achievements. As you travel through the USG Ishimura, faint whispers and snarls from the dreaded Necromorphs travel through the air. Much of what was on display here influenced The Callisto Protocol, and to this day, the technical design holds up very well.
When you think about a survival-horror game, these titles work wonders when they completely immerse their player base in the feeling of being underpowered. As an engineer with little to no combat training, Isaac Clarke is a one-to-one replication of that specific idea.
He has to assemble mining and engineering equipment to fight for his life while descending into the darkest corners of the Ishimura. Immersion was king as Isaac was allowed to move and shoot while he fights for his life, and the in-game menu didn’t stop time, meaning there was no moment to breathe if death was approaching. In some areas, it felt like a step up from RE4’s slower pace of play and identity.
Many Dead Space veterans know the core loop, and as mentioned, it holds up well 15 years later. However, with the power of next-generation and updated technology comes a whole new opportunity to redefine this genre both technically and gameplay-wise.
The development team, Motive Studio, has been very active in showing the love the team has thrown into this remake with improved physics, animations, sound design, and much more highlighting this remake. While The Callisto Protocol wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, it certainly nailed the technical design. If Motive Studio captures a fraction of that, fans and new players are in for a treat like no other.
At this point, I’ve hyped up new and old Dead Space enough; it’s probably leaving you wondering what’s the basis of my argument. Regarding the upcoming Resident Evil 4 remake, I’m stuck between two thought processes holding me back from Las Plagas levels of nirvana.
As someone who never played the original Resident Evil 2, I was blown away by the quality Capcom presented with the game’s remake. It faithfully brought back what made the original so great all those years ago and wrapped it up in a beautiful bow of modern technology.
Resident Evil 4 was my entry point in the series, and as much as I enjoyed Resident Evil 7, the remake felt more like Resident Evil 4, to my delight. Then came the remake of Resident Evil 3, and while I enjoyed it, it felt like a huge step back after the previous remake reinvented the wheel.
To say that the upcoming remake of Resident Evil 4 holds immense weight in the gaming world is an understatement. Resident Evil 4 is “that game”; it’s considered sacred ground in gaming. While it’s unlikely Capcom drops the ball in a manner akin to Resident Evil 3, even the slightest misstep will cause a massive ripple like no other. This raises an innate fear that something might happen that leads to some form of disappointment, even if it’s slight.
Quality fears aside, the story of Resident Evil has evolved quite a bit since its inception. After the experiment that was Resident Evil 6, the series hit a “reset” button, with Resident Evil 7 marking an eerie return to its survival-horror roots headed by Ethan Winters. Yet after Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil 2’s remake retells the story of Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield.
If you’re picking up what I’m putting down, Capcom essentially split the series in half, guaranteeing that the publisher will have a Resident Evil story to tell no matter what year it is. Keeping that in mind, if Resident Evil has been lurching from one hit to another since 1996, outside of the horrid media adaptations, it most certainly won’t go away anytime soon. The stakes are infinitely higher in Dead Space’s upcoming remake, as it has one shot to retain fans and gain a new audience while potentially rebooting and even reworking what was lost in space all those years ago.
Last year, Black Forest Games released Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed, a remake of the second entry in Destroy All Humans! It was a relatively good product, and while the gameplay saw improvements, most of the game’s story stayed the same, except for the ending and some plot points shuffling around to make for a more cohesive experience. Motive Studio faces the same opportunity to rework the Dead Space story into a mold that the studio likes, recreating what I call the “Dead Space Cinematic Universe.”
From what we’ve seen, it seems like this game will be a faithful recreation from a narrative point of view. However, Motive Studio has mentioned that the game’s lore will receive some tweaking and expansion through reworked audio logs and ideas.
To what extent remains is unknown, but given Issac is fully voiced over, which wasn’t present in the original title, it seems that liberties have been taken to redo some of the original’s dated concepts. Performance aside, what’s to say Motive Studio isn’t already envisioning a world where the studio can rework the entire series and deliver the coveted fourth entry that gamers never got?
That’s thinking way too far ahead, so let’s slow down. One thing I won’t omit is, again, provided this does numbers, fellow studios and developers should take this as a sign to bring back similarly beloved classics. Sony’s sitting on a treasure trove of titles many grew up with; what’s the hold-up?
Again, possibly a little too ambitious, but it might inspire the return of familiar faces powered by fresh ideas. There’s always a team hungry to prove itself in this industry, so why not give the “young guns” a chance to show what they’re capable of?
Finally, we have Iron Man. Yes, Motive Studio is tied up for quite some time as the studio is at work on the upcoming Iron Man game. Isaac’s suit design looks incredible, and given suits are a core part of Iron Man, it feels safe to say Motive Studio will knock the visual design out of the park.
The remake seems to be opening up doors for many, and my bullishly optimistic levels of hope and excitement are at an all-time high. We’ll find out if I was justified when the Dead Space Remake launches on Jan. 27, 2023, for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
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