Dead Space – Test / Review (PC).
Contents
Most gamers among you who like to play sci-fi titles or horror titles should still remember the Dead Space series. Quite a few players are still waiting for a fourth part of this series, which we can certainly understand. A few weeks ago, Electronic Arts released the remake of Dead Space, which we took a closer look at!
What is DeadSpace?
Of course, for those of you who don’t know Dead Space, we have a small summary ready. Here you take on the role of Isaac Clark, who receives an emergency mission that takes him to the mining spaceship “USG Ishimura”. This starship is in orbit around planet Aegis VII, but is no longer performing its intended work. Isaac is a systems engineer/technician by trade, so he’s a natural fit for the job.
Once there, however, a horror scenario awaits you. Instead of other people or creatures, there are only corpses or zombies who want leather. However, we can’t go back the same way we got to the spaceship either. So our goal is to find out the reason for these dead bodies and find a way to escape from the spaceship!
Huge, spooky ship
One thing we can say right away: Playing Dead Space in the dark, even with soundproof headphones, could be too much of a good thing for one or the other player, because the atmosphere between the fights is extremely spooky. One of the reasons for this is that a Necromorph could be hiding everywhere, which wants to attack us. Nowhere is one safe, neither in rooms nor ventilation shafts… nowhere! Exactly this paranoid thinking you want to evoke with the game.
Since you should be able to visit areas you have already visited with Isaac, the different areas have now been connected with the monorail. This is one of the biggest changes compared to the original game, as other new side missions have been integrated into the game at the same time. These side missions bring you quite a lot of benefits such as being able to open all the chests and doors. However, you cannot do this immediately, but must return to an old area later through such a mission.
However, if you think that this would be a simple game, you are wrong. One notices quickly that a lot of effort has been made to provide variety. Suddenly there are other enemies here, objects are different, the light is off and you quickly realize that it’s not as easy as you thought it would be.
blood, limbs and intestines
Dead Space has one thing in abundance: the depiction of blood, intestines and limbs flying around. How else could it be? Something like that is really fun. To target the creatures that send shivers down your spine with all sorts of weapons, and there are quite a few of these creatures. Some with bone spikes, others have tentacles, others have giant limbs, and still others have sickle arms for slicing our heads off our shoulders.
And this is where Isaac’s weapons come into play. Each weapon is actually also a tool and has certain functions. For example, the first weapon is a plasma cutter, which can fire 3 shots at a time and has an orientation that can be rotated. This is great for shooting certain limbs off enemies. And that’s where the splatter element comes in!
Isaac can use it to break bones, flamethrower other enemies to coal, shoot/rip off limbs, cause them to explode, and more. Of course, this also looks extremely brutal. You can also combine certain weapons with each other, set nasty traps for enemies and make life hell for enemies. Due to the brutality, the game is still only suitable for those over 18.
Upgrading Weapons? Yes, please!
Of course you can also improve the weapons. For this you need so-called nodes and these can be used at the workbench in the skill tree. These improvements are well done, because you notice them immediately and you don’t have to have several upgrades to feel a difference.
Another plus point is that you can also buy ammunition, oxygen and other objects, but this is normally not necessary because you get them automatically as the game progresses. Also, you usually only get ammo for the weapons you carry with you, which is a huge advantage compared to other games of this type.
Which mode should it be?
Of course, the game gives the player several levels of difficulty in which to experience the game. 15-20 hours are quite realistic for the first run and we don’t necessarily recommend selecting the most difficult mode, especially for newcomers. In addition, it is also worth not only following the main story, but also finding all objects and completing tasks that you are given. However, there is another possibility.
You have the option to quickly beat the game and then replay in a New Game + with higher difficulty, different items, and stronger enemies if you feel like it!
Spectator instead of actor?
It was already clear beforehand that Dead Space would undergo a few more changes in the remake. Some of these changes are of a good nature, but we would have left others in their place. First of all the negative changes: In some places you can no longer determine the actions yourself, but only experience them using video sequences, which means that you are no longer the center of attention, but rather are communicated as uninteresting information. Of course, this also has the disadvantage that the action from before is immediately destroyed and you may lose focus on the gameplay. However, you get used to it after a while!
However, the advantage, even if only of a cosmetic nature, is the depiction of Isaac, his face and the fact that he has now been given a voice and he no longer has to be mute! Another “upgrade” is that there is now a real weightlessness in certain places and this is not only possible as a jump between floor and wall like before.
Beautifully spooky atmosphere, problematic performance
As already mentioned, the atmosphere in Dead Space is very well done and gave us goosebumps from time to time. You also notice how much effort has been put into developing and designing this remake. Enormous graphical progress can be seen without any problems, the game is very detailed and the animations are extremely smooth and realistic.
It’s just a pity in some places that there are enormous FPS drops down to a low 2-digit or even single-digit range, which will hopefully be improved with a patch! We noticed this especially when many effects or things happened at the same time.
