my debut into the dead space series, i can see why it has bred an entire sub-genre of horror content. i enjoyed how aspects of survival, exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat all intertwined, as it felt as though each significant aspect of this game's identity had its time to shine.

hitting crits with the pistol felt gritty and satisfying. i had a great time during the first few parts of the game when i was experimenting with each weapon & excitedly sprinting back to old locations to unlock previously blocked off lockers/rooms the moment i could. i did notice that, toward the end, i started to find my niche with the blade shooter where i'd just spam blades at enemies and frantically look all around their weakpoints to easily dispatch them. also, as the game came to its conclusion, the story took an understandable stance, asserting itself as significant for the first time (at least beyond the notion of 1. look for x, 2. get clue, 3. run into obstacle, 4. explore, 5. fight big guy, 6. something happened to x, 7. go fix/find something/one else). the story was fine. the twist was fun in the moment, and the resulting boss fight was very enjoyable, however, the exposition that set it up wasn't anything CRAZY, in my opinion. it was certianly fun, don't get me wrong! i think i was burned out by the end by the way the mc was lead on and on and on by his gf.

nevertheless, good game! grateful they remade this in such a beautiful and atompsheric way!