En mi opinión, uno de los mejores de género. Sin embargo, ahora que lo volví a jugar años después de la última vez, no puedo evitar notar ciertos detalles que hicieron que partes del juego fueran algo tediosas para mí, en especial el uso excesivo de los "raptores" en varios niveles cuando realmente no eran necesarios. También el problema del Ubermorph (el inmortal) al que le pasa lo mismo que al Tyrant de RE2make: después de un rato, ya es un puto fastidio estar lidiando con él. Eso sí, la historia y los pocos personajes son una joya y el hecho de que la idea es Isaac tratando de dejar ir a Nicole mientras que la Marker usa eso para controlarlo y hacer lo que quiera, deja un twist fantástico.

Não é um jogo muito ligado ao terror do primeiro, mas ainda assim tematiza uma história de forma que o horror, sobretudo corporal e ambiental, é circunscrito na ação - com direito com setpieces a la Uncharted. Mas nunca perde a experiência de terror psíquico do Isaac de vista, sempre centralizando a narrativa ao seu trauma.

Uma consequência interessante do jogo ter essa relação mais íntima com a ação são as hordas de inimigos, principalmente no terço final, que extraem tudo que o Isaac possibilita (telecinese, desacelerar o tempo, explorar os usos secundários de todas as armas), o que não acontecia muito no primeiro. Mas, ainda houve algumas sessões que os recursos estavam escassos e tive que pensar no manejo da munição naquele curso. Dessa forma, as dois lados da laranja coexistem aqui.

O level design é o que mais se sente prejudicado de um jogo para o outro. O jogo é uma experiência linear que te tira do seu lugar o tempo todo, nunca alcançando aquele sentimento de familiaridade que Ishimura promovia no primeiro jogo. A noção de completude, e até de solidão são atingidas. Mas ainda assim, aqui tem um das partes mais legais da trilogia até aqui, que é a Igreja da Unitologia e passar pela cidade de Titã em um caos, que o jogador vai descobrindo sua origem durante a jogatina.

must've been pretty fucking embarassing to be capcom when this dropped, they were trying so hard to innovate on RE's new gameplay style and hitting walls at every step putting out the worst games in the series, meanwhile DS2 is out here effortlessly expanding on the survival action horror format in so many fun ways. Pretty much every aspect of the first game has been improved on massively, it looks better, plays better, sounds better, the story is better, it's far more tense and exciting and every mechanic feels smoother and more polished. Full of unique and distinct environments with fun gimmicks, from the claustrophobic intro scenes to the beautifully designed Unitology Church to the trap-filled ANTI section to the relentless tension of the last chapter that barely leaves room to breathe. It's easy to see why this is is considered such a classic. I do still have my issues with this game; I think the core combat, progression and enemy designs are almost identical to Dead Space 1, and I never really felt the need to experiment with the different weapons. Tiedemann and Dana also continue the series trend of extremely unmemorable human villains, which lets down the plot in places (although Nicole's presence is consistently creepy and enjoyable). Still, this was a blast to play, it's a shame I've heard only bad things about Dead Space 3 because this was clearly a franchise with a lot of potential.

It pains me to say this, but I like it less than the first one. I think the shift and greater focus on action elements make this game worse than the first.

Yes, controlling Isaac is more enjoyable overall than the first game, and the game has good narrative construction (Isaac is such a sick fuck in this game, I love it), but I think the focus on action ultimately makes this game a less special and memorable final product than the first game. I also don't like the supporting characters in general; I think they take away some of the feeling of isolation from the first game.

The first game handled moments of horror so well, and maybe because Isaac is harder to control, the tension was much higher overall in the first game compared to this one.

When these games take on this idea of being more action-oriented, they often repeat various "generic" gauntlet scenarios like other games of this type. In the first game, the experience felt more unique to me, while in the second game, these moments always ended up reminding me of a gauntlet in one game or another. This makes the game feel a bit dragged out. I even thought that in the last third would be more horror oriented because of the place Isaac was going to explore, but the game practically doubled down on combat and action, unfortunately.

And this loss of identity compared to the first one is my biggest criticism of Dead Space 2. That said, it's still a good sequel; the game still executes the UI brilliantly like the first one, the weapons are enjoyable to use, and the game as a whole is still worthy of some playthroughs. And of course, pukers and stalkers will always be the bane of my existence.

Having just played the entirety of Dead Space 2 in a single sitting, I'm willing to admit that it was a fantastic game. Also the fact that I beat it in about 7 hours might have helped that. It's a short game to be sure, even compared to the original which clocked in closer to 12 hours if memory serves. It's 7 hours of pure quality though, so I can forgive the brevity.

It's basically the exact same gameplay loop that made the original so strong. I never actually played the 2008 release, only the 2023 remake, but Dead Space 2 holds up so well that I barely noticed that the game is nearing thirteen years old. It's a good thing that the original had such fun gameplay, because honestly there really is nothing new added. There may have been some new weapons in there but the saw blade gun is just as powerful as ever and therefore I never found any reason to clog up my inventory space with anything else. Whoever was in charge of the gun balancing may have had a little oversight when it came to that weapon...

The environments are beautiful and much more diverse than the original. You even revisit the Ishimura, which was a fun surprise. The narrative is very simple, but it works. Again, just like the original, the plot is mostly that Isaac's plan to escape / destroy the marker is constantly hindered in every way imaginable to comical degrees - making a simple plot last an entire games length. I personally don't mind. What little there was had me invested enough.

I could gush much further about just how great Dead Space 2 is, but I don't feel the need to. PLAY THESE GAMES (if you can). Maybe skip the third one but the original two are such great experiences I cannot recommend them highly enough to anyone who plays videogames and can handle a bit of horror.