Dead Space

A definitive remake and a promising precedent

- SEAN MARTIN

"TWINKLE TWINKLE little star, how I wonder what you are?" a dying woman sings over the elevator tannoy as we climb through the decks of the doomed ship Ishimura. It's a nursery rhyme horror cliche, for sure, but it fits Dead Space. This was never a series about exploring the wonders of the universe or space as a wild frontier where the worst evil we can imagine is corporate greed dominating the stars. No, this is a game about how space is downright scary; an abyss into which we gaze and see our nightmares reflected right back. Hard to marvel at the universe with a Necromorph's blades in your gut.

This remake feels petty much like a brand-new Dead Space. Sure, it's got the same bleak atmosphere, overarching narrative, and the same familiar old Necromorphs, but it could also be the foundation for a new Dead Space moving forward proof that this survival horror formula is still as strong now as it was when the original launched back in 2008. And a big part of this remake's strength is down to the fact that it builds on what was already there, rather than trying to make something brand new, much like that Necromorph stabbing you.

DEAD MAN WALKING 

Isaac Clarke is your average space engineer, hoping to see his girlfriend Nicole after a long time apart. Instead, he finds himself working the worst shift in history. As you bounce from crisis to crisis trying to keep the dying planet-cracker, USG Ishimura, on its last legs, you also have to contend with the ship's crew, now shrieking Necromorphs of all shapes and sizes who want to make friends. Your only defense is an array of sci-fi power tools that turn out to be pretty effective at dismembering angry aliens.