Dead Space

When the Dead Space remake launched earlier this year to glowing reviews I was once again reminded of the fact that I still haven't played most of those games. I played the original a few years back (it even made the top of one of my GOTY lists) but for some reason I can't quite remember I bounced off of Dead Space 2 pretty early on and never got around to giving it or any of the other sequels another chance.

Anyway, now that Dead Space is back in the cultural zeitgeist I thought it'd be a good opportunity to revisit the series and finally give it a proper shake. 

I had initially drafted a long drawn out spiel about why the Plasma Cutter is a rad primary weapon (and why I actually kind of preferred my playthrough where it was the only weapon I used) but there's a lot to love about this game and I don't want to get too in the weeds here. That's a rant for another day. Suffice it to say, as the combat is largely focused on removing enemy limbs a weapon that is specifically designed to make precise cuts is a fantastic tool.

Hallway in Chapter 4

To shift gears a bit, I found the game's structure fascinating. In some ways it's not too dissimilar to any other third-person shooter of that time but it has the surface-level aesthetics of a Metroidvania. Throughout the (linear) narrative you'll be tasked with visiting different parts of the ship (one chapter in engineering, another in hydroponics, another at the bridge, etc.) but many of these locations will have some doors you can't bypass or places you simply can't go. You'll end the chapter by leaving and heading off to another location, but later in the game you might revisit that section of the ship to find it's been altered.

Same Hallway in Chapter 8

Doors that were once locked are now open and areas that you explored previously might have been destroyed or infested with new monsters Again, there's a predefined order as to when you'll visit any one part of the ship but this facet of the game where it might have you revisiting somewhere only to find out it's been changed was incredibly cool to me. Maybe this spawned out of some cost-cutting measure to reuse assets but watching the ship's condition worsen over the course of the game was pretty neat.

As an aside, I've heard that remake is effectively a seamless, continuous area that has you manually traveling to different sections of the ship and that seems real neat. I don't know if I'd say that's necessarily "better" (linear games are great because they'll generally have better pacing) but I am all for remakes that alter the experience in ways that don't defy the spirit of the original.

I also feel like I have to talk about the UI. The menus and somewhat diegetic nature of things that would typically be relegated to the corners of the screen is, even now, refreshing. There have been a lot of games in the years since that have attempted to imitate some of what this game pulls off (with varying degrees of success) but it's hard to overstate how effective it is at building an atmosphere and keeping you in its world.

While there is a pause menu, most things that would typically be associated with that (your inventory, map, objectives, etc.) are instead things Isaac pulls up in front of himself and interacts with in realtime. Accessing your menu becomes a risk you need to weigh because you're putting down your weapon and blocking a majority of your screen with this floating display. That, combined with the save stations being located in busy hallways (rather than, say, the saferooms of the early Resident Evil games) means that you almost never feel truly safe. You can't ever let your guard down.

The objective line is also just incredibly useful. While you have a map, I like the fact that this game has a dedicated button that effectively just points you where you need to go. Holding the player's hand isn't always a bad thing.

I could probably go on and on about why I like this game but I feel I've covered most of the bullet points. This game rules.