Dead Space

About Dead Space

Dead Space is the 2023 remake of the 2008 science-fiction survival horror game, rebuilt by EA's Motive studio for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Isaac Clarke, an engineer, arrives with the crew of the repair ship USG Kellion to fix the USG Ishimura, a vast Planet Cracker-class mining ship that has gone silent above the planet Aegis VII. His partner Nicole serves aboard. The Kellion crash-lands inside the ship, and the team soon finds the crew slaughtered and something using their bodies.

Those things are the Necromorphs, creatures made from mutated human corpses. You bring them down by severing their limbs, and the remake adds a peeling system that tears their flesh away as you hit them. Some weapons are better at cutting off limbs, others at destroying whole bodies. Isaac's weapons are repurposed engineering tools, found as the story goes on rather than bought, and you upgrade them and his suit with Power Nodes and with parts and blueprints hidden around the ship.

There are no loading screens or camera cuts. The Ishimura is one connected ship in six sections, among them Engineering, Hydroponics, Medical and the Bridge, which open up as the story goes on. You can walk back through it, and the tram between sections unlocks once you have crossed each one on foot. Isaac now has a voice and talks with the rest of the crew, zero-gravity areas let him fly with thrusters built into his suit, and an intensity director keeps moments unpredictable as you move around the ship.

The story runs over 12 chapters, with optional side missions that open up as you progress. GamesRadar puts the story at about 11 to 13 hours, and up to about 20 with every side mission done. There are difficulty options, simplified quick-time events and manual saving.

It is bloodier and more combat-heavy than hide-and-run horror like Alien: Isolation, and closer to Resident Evil 4. It suits players who want tense, gory science-fiction horror with weapons in hand.

How to play Dead Space

1. Explore the connected decks of the Ishimura; new sections open as the story moves on.
2. Aim for the limbs: severing a Necromorph's arms and legs is how you bring it down.
3. Pick up new weapons as the story goes on, and spend Power Nodes to upgrade them and Isaac's suit.
4. Use the thrusters in Isaac's suit to fly through zero-gravity areas.
5. Read the crew's logs and talk to the few survivors to piece together what happened aboard.

Tips

• Look for weapon parts and suit blueprints around the ship; Power Nodes alone will not fully upgrade your gear.
• Match the weapon to the enemy: some are better at cutting off limbs, others at destroying whole bodies.
• Check back on side missions as the story moves on, since many stay locked until you reach a certain point.
• If it is too hard, lower the difficulty; you can also simplify quick-time events and save manually.

Questions