Dead Space might just be my favourite horror game of Gen 7. Engineer Isaac Clarke finds himself aboard a derelict planet cracker ship full of horrible monsters. A horribly oppressive atmosphere permeates the USG Ishimura and despite the vast majority of the game taking place within the ship, the environments still feel fresh and varied. It plays like an over-the-shoulder TPS where you use (mostly) a selection of mining/engineering tools with unique primary/alternate fires to dismember your foes. One other iconic feature is the ability to click in the right stick, and a virtual line is drawn along the floor showing you the route for the main story path. This is especially useful as the inventory/map screen does not pause the action either, increasing the tension.
As for what's new in this Remake, it is still familiar, yet with some new differences. Of course the visuals and loading times are vastly upgraded for the new hardware capabilities, and the game truly is gorgeous. The Zero Gravity sequences from the sequels were back-ported, and as a result not only do the original Zero-G sequences feel less restrictive, but totally new sequences were introduced. Entire chapter transitions and rooms were changed to make use of the full movement. Another feature that was brought back from 2 - Isaac speaks now! They gave him a great personality and a lot of good dialogue which really, really strengthens the story and gives some much needed context to what he has been going through.
As for other new features, additional oxygen-free areas were introduced (some of them even optional) to make better use of your suit's oxygen upgrades. A handful of side quests exploring some additional lore were also introduced that encourage exploration and backtracking throughout the ship. All of it is absolutely worth doing too.
Ultimately, a lot of care clearly went into this remake. Everything was expanded upon in a meaningful way, and as a result (unlike RE4's Remake) Dead Space 2023 IS a straight up replacement for the original. If you have the means to play/run this version, there is no reason to choose the original over it. I'm not sure if Dead Space 2 would need or warrant this level of remake, but if it does end up getting one of this quality then I'll absolutely be giving it a go.
As for what's new in this Remake, it is still familiar, yet with some new differences. Of course the visuals and loading times are vastly upgraded for the new hardware capabilities, and the game truly is gorgeous. The Zero Gravity sequences from the sequels were back-ported, and as a result not only do the original Zero-G sequences feel less restrictive, but totally new sequences were introduced. Entire chapter transitions and rooms were changed to make use of the full movement. Another feature that was brought back from 2 - Isaac speaks now! They gave him a great personality and a lot of good dialogue which really, really strengthens the story and gives some much needed context to what he has been going through.
As for other new features, additional oxygen-free areas were introduced (some of them even optional) to make better use of your suit's oxygen upgrades. A handful of side quests exploring some additional lore were also introduced that encourage exploration and backtracking throughout the ship. All of it is absolutely worth doing too.
Ultimately, a lot of care clearly went into this remake. Everything was expanded upon in a meaningful way, and as a result (unlike RE4's Remake) Dead Space 2023 IS a straight up replacement for the original. If you have the means to play/run this version, there is no reason to choose the original over it. I'm not sure if Dead Space 2 would need or warrant this level of remake, but if it does end up getting one of this quality then I'll absolutely be giving it a go.