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.
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.