It felt like it'd fall to monotony by the 2nd hour, but I'm pleased that I was wrong. For it's technical limitations it was able to create atmosphere and manage it's cocktail of tribulations being thrown at you.
The coarse combat reflects the MC's position as an average joe being tossed into mayhem.

The story was good with all it's cliches, and that's not a bad thing. Isaac was a good vessel for the player to fill his boots.
To be brief, Dead Space doesn't have striking elements individually. Instead it's a choir of design choices that plays harmoniously.

Footnote: I used the mouse & controls fix to eliminate the internal mouse acceleration and Viledeth's reshade to add a slight contrast for the game's blue filter. both are recommended