EA finally announced the long-running Dead Space remake during its EA Play Live 2021 showcase on July 22, revealing the return of the sci-fi horror classic with an atmospheric (but brief) trailer. This revival will see the first Dead Space completely rebuilt from the ground up. Using the original game as a foundation, Dead Space Remake is designed to harness both the power of the latest Frostbite game engine and the next generation of consoles to deliver "stunning visual fidelity" and gameplay enhancements. It's an exciting prospect, and for one, I can't wait to see what developer EA Motive has up its sleeve. After all, now is the perfect time for a Dead Space remake.
The biggest horror dive
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(Image credit: EA) Game development technology has come a long way since the first Dead Space game released in 2008. The sci-fi horror classic is still holding its own - I can attest to having jumped into series last year - but it's certainly suffering from feeling a bit overwhelmed with its occasional clunky controls and wacky creatures.
“Imagine if EA Motive chose to use volumetric lighting or ray tracing, adding depth to those dark hallways and casting the lighting so that the feeling of space is smaller than before, more cramped, making you feel more vulnerable. The thought of the two of them fills me with dread and impatience."
With Dead Space Remake slated to hit only PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, EA Motive has an opportunity to not only address these age-old issues, but to create a more immersive experience than the original game would have. offer, and modern technology is the key.
The cornerstone of Dead Space's fear factor is its atmosphere. The corridors of USG Ishimura are often dreary and claustrophobic, with necromorphs hiding in dark crevices, ready to leap out of the inky darkness. But imagine if EA Motive chooses to use volumetric lighting or ray tracing, adding depth to those dark hallways and casting lighting so that the feeling of space is smaller than before, tighter, making you feel more vulnerable. The idea fills me with dread and impatience.
It becomes an even scarier prospect when I consider the possibility of higher-resolution necromorphs, upgrading the quasi-mutant opponents of the original Dead Space to more visually realistic nightmare fuel. After all, the latest Frostbite engine allows EA to create its most realistic faces yet. Imagine the Dead-Eyed Stalker corralling with its skinless, muscular tentacles.
But the visuals are only part of a brilliant modern horror experience. The latest console hardware has opened up the possibilities for an element even stronger than that: audio. Both the Xbox Series X and PS5 have their own spatial audio support, should a developer choose to use it, and, when it comes to a horror game, it would be ridiculous not to. Spatial audio in a horror game can be a truly immersive feature, and when used correctly, can tap into your heightened awareness to ensure you're in a constant state of uneasiness. Fear is what the audio you might be seeing is suggesting, rather than what's in front of you.
Resident Evil Village made brilliant use of the PS5's audio support, particularly in its Welcoming sequence, providing players with a plethora of unidentifiable sounds that added unpredictability to the atmosphere and sometimes distracted them from what was happening.
Hopefully the Dead Space remake will do something similar, allowing players to hear every moan and creak of USG Ishimura's dying frame, and the Swarm's hasty dash as they chase you through a color.
A smoother experience
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(Image credit: Visceral Games / EA) While I (reluctantly) hope EA Motive uses the power of the latest console hardware to add to the overall immersion, I'm also looking forward to general gameplay improvements. At times, Dead Space's weapon wheel navigation and controls can feel awkward and awkwardly mapped, making it difficult to quickly switch between weapons in the middle of a fight. I hope smoother gameplay is high on EA Motive's to-do list, taking the overall gameplay of Dead Space to a modern level that avoids an immersion break when trying to switch from your plasma cutter to your pulse rifle. But while the possibility of an updated gun wheel system remains to be seen, we know that Dead Space Remake's performance will naturally benefit from the super-fast SSDs built into the PS5 and Xbox Series X, allowing for much faster load times. rapid. which is especially useful when using the shuttle to travel between areas of Ishimura. According to the game's creative director, Roman Campos-Oriola, the idea is to create a game that is completely transparent, never takes you out of the experience, and can be played without interruption. This is something that couldn't be done on consoles before Xbox Series X and PS5, and could play a key role in keeping you immersed in the action from start to finish.
a disgusting revival
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(Image credit: EA) The Dead Space revival appears to be inspired by the book by Capcom, which has had great success remaking both Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 in recent years. Capcom has proven that bringing a veteran franchise to life with modern technology works and has kept the Resident Evil series a mammoth in the gaming world. Capcom's success even fueled hopes of a Silent Hill reboot in the same vein. EA Motive is offered a similar opportunity, but the technological leap from last generation to this generation means that it has created incredibly fertile ground for a truly immersive and modern horror experience; it would not have been possible before now. It's the confluence of new technology, better gameplay mechanics, and a renewed interest in the horror genre that could really take Dead Space remake to new levels with a new generation of gamers. Let's hope the Dead Space remake lives up to the hype.