In (Dead) Space, nobody can hear you scream: PETER HOSKIN reviews Dead Space ... trends now
Dead Space (PlayStation, Xbox, PC, £69.99)
Verdict: Brutally beautiful
Rating: ****
Don't make me review this game. Honestly, I don’t get on with horror. And I barely made it through the original Dead Space back in 2008 with my sanity intact — so the idea of a more realistic, updated version in 2023, slick with new terrors, doesn’t really appeal.
Except, weirdly, it also does. The reason I struggled through the game 15 years ago is that it was extremely good: a compulsive experience that wrung every bit of atmosphere it could from its spaceship setting.
So here I am again, aboard the Ishimura with a plasma-cutter in my hands. And I must say, it looks amazing.
The interplay of light and shadow, the detailing on the metallic corridors… this is clearly a remake that has received a lot of love and attention.
That extends to the gameplay, too. Rather than just prettify Dead Space, the makers of this 2023 variety have decided to improve some of the things that were previously lacking.
The interplay of light and shadow, the detailing on the metallic corridors… this is clearly a remake that has received a lot of love and attention
The tram system, for instance, is no longer a stop-start contrivance that takes you from one loading screen to another, but a real — and great — means of getting about the ship.
That said, some of the new additions are questionable: the main character, Isaac Clarke, now has a voice, which sacrifices the eerie taciturnity of the original.
Or just plain gross: you can now slough your zombie opponents apart, layer by layer.
But, still, I persisted. Through the
 Space, nobody can hear you scream: PETER HOSKIN reviews Dead Space ... trends now){kind=link}