Mercer and the Church of Unitology are expanded upon brilliantly. Isaac’s relationship with his partner Nicole (missing on the Ishimura) is explored in more detail and the backstories of the relentless Necromorphs, antagonist figures like Dr. The wider cast including Chen, Johnson, Hammond and Daniels are all fleshed out more than the original afforded them. Isaac isn’t the only story thread to be reworked for the better. He delivers some excellent one-liners worthy of a true action hero and the writing gives him space to explore grief, heroism and blunt defiance of his odds. Hearing Isaac actually react to the horrendous carnage occurring around him is great. Gunnar Wright, who voiced Isaac in Dead Space 2 & 3, is brought back to reprise the role and he handles it with aplomb. It’s a bold choice, one which certainly won’t sit well with everyone.

In the original, the creative decision to have Isaac be mute was intended to allow the player to fill the avatar’s role themselves, deepening their connection to the fear. It’s about time we don our engineer suit, take up the plasma cutter once again and see if Isaac Clarke’s harrowing space venture is as brilliant as we remember.Īside from the expected graphical overhaul and updated gameplay systems, the biggest gamble Dead Space remake takes is making Isaac fully voiced.

But the real question is have the development team done the terrifying original justice? How do you take a title which is held in such high esteem and reimagine it for modern audiences almost 15 years later? Should it even be done? EA and Motive Studio certainly thought so. It’s a ridiculously highly acclaimed, revered and fantastic game, encapsulating a wonderful new approach to immersion, in-game storytelling and action mechanics. Amongst all the heavy hitters, massive sequels and established IPs, was Dead Space.Īn action-horror game released in a time when survival horror as a genre was all but dormant, it took gaming audiences by storm. Hell, even LittleBigPlanet, all made their triumphant entrances to the era. GTA IV, Metal Gear Solid 4, Gears of War 2.

The year 2008 was a phenomenal time for video games. Isaac Clarke, the USG Ishimura, Necromorphs and Dead Space return, shinier and scarier than ever.

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