Let me start by saying, I hate horror movies... and I hate horror games. The thought of having to play yet another Resident Evil game makes me feel sick. To me those games (atleast the ones I've played) should be labelled Anxiety games rather than horror. You spend the entire game "Killing" the main villain just for them to reappear 1 minute later and then you repeat that seemingly never ending cycle. In these games you spend more time frantically running around quickly trying to loot everything (and failing to collect absolutely everything) before the bad guy magically returns. No fear just panic and anxiety, these games just aren't for me. I've tried other not so mainstream horror games and still found them not scary in the least and just plain boring to play.
I remembered playing the original Dead Space in 2008 as a spotty 15 year old who spent way too much time on his Xbox and although I enjoyed the game I never returned to it because I was more about PvP in games like Gears of War or going for 100% in GTA IV. The game got lost in my collection until this remake. I debated a while and eventually decided to buy a key for the deluxe edition of Dead Space, and wow was I blown away with everything the game had to offer.
To start the graphics are simply amazing. It must be incredibly hard to make graphics stand out in a game that spends most of its time in almost complete darkness but Dead Space really pulls it off. From stunning sparks that pop out of malfunctioning ship parts, to the faint glow of lights that shine through the foggy hallways and rooms. Issac's heavily detailed suit also really stands out. To me the graphics are 10/10. There is two modes on consoles, performance which offers 60FPS at slightly below 4K quality and a "Quality" mode which is capped at 30FPS and offers 4K with certain Ray tracing effects turned on. I initially started the game in Quality mode but at the end of chapter 2 turned on Performance mode and found the 60FPS to be more fluid and just an overall better way to play the game without too much sacrificed in the graphics department.
The gameplay is some of the best and most captivating I've ever played, with the fear of what is around every corner and real hesitation about making sure you're prepared for the next fight with the "necromorphs." The upgrade system is really detailed and it's all about placing the correct nodes into your suit or weapon to ensure you stand the best chance at survival. I went for a full Plasma Cutter run and fully upgraded it along with stacking the rest of the nodes into my suit. Even on medium I found some very tricky parts later on and there was far more than a handful of times where I was down to red health and scrambling for my life. The stasis ability is great for slowing enemies down and also plays a part in slowing machinery down or even doors which allow you to pass. The kinesis allows you to move objects and obstacles in your way but more importantly it allows you pick up objects and launch them at your enemies meaning you can pin them or even rip dangling limbs from their bodies and use that as a weapon the throw back at them. A fantastic and well thought out ability system for sure. What I love is that I am already planning another run in New Game plus to return the USG Ishimura and take on the challenge again at a higher difficulty, maybe impossible mode but I'm pretty scared about that challenge haha. I couldn't tell you a game in recent memory where I've actually wanted to go back and play it again, normally I'm a one and done guy who does everything in one run then moves on to another game. With Dead Space that's simply not possible so it keeps me intrigued about retuning.
The story itself has a fascinating backstory and for me personally its a perfect plot for a horror game. The whole "humans return from the dead as monsters and try to kill other humans" story is something that's been used more than I've had hot meals, but the spin here is Dead Space tells the tale of a futuristic planet cracking ship that has become ravaged by these beings and now you have to fight them in an incredibly tight, claustrophobic area, all while trying to repair the ship one step at a time and somehow find a way to survive.
Overall one of, if not THE only horror game that I can say I truly enjoy. I love everything about it from its gameplay, it's story, it's mechanics, it's lore, it's atmosphere and it's characters. It's a really tense and often quite scary game that honestly had me hooked from minute one all the way through to its end. I Highly recommend Dead Space.
I remembered playing the original Dead Space in 2008 as a spotty 15 year old who spent way too much time on his Xbox and although I enjoyed the game I never returned to it because I was more about PvP in games like Gears of War or going for 100% in GTA IV. The game got lost in my collection until this remake. I debated a while and eventually decided to buy a key for the deluxe edition of Dead Space, and wow was I blown away with everything the game had to offer.
To start the graphics are simply amazing. It must be incredibly hard to make graphics stand out in a game that spends most of its time in almost complete darkness but Dead Space really pulls it off. From stunning sparks that pop out of malfunctioning ship parts, to the faint glow of lights that shine through the foggy hallways and rooms. Issac's heavily detailed suit also really stands out. To me the graphics are 10/10. There is two modes on consoles, performance which offers 60FPS at slightly below 4K quality and a "Quality" mode which is capped at 30FPS and offers 4K with certain Ray tracing effects turned on. I initially started the game in Quality mode but at the end of chapter 2 turned on Performance mode and found the 60FPS to be more fluid and just an overall better way to play the game without too much sacrificed in the graphics department.
The gameplay is some of the best and most captivating I've ever played, with the fear of what is around every corner and real hesitation about making sure you're prepared for the next fight with the "necromorphs." The upgrade system is really detailed and it's all about placing the correct nodes into your suit or weapon to ensure you stand the best chance at survival. I went for a full Plasma Cutter run and fully upgraded it along with stacking the rest of the nodes into my suit. Even on medium I found some very tricky parts later on and there was far more than a handful of times where I was down to red health and scrambling for my life. The stasis ability is great for slowing enemies down and also plays a part in slowing machinery down or even doors which allow you to pass. The kinesis allows you to move objects and obstacles in your way but more importantly it allows you pick up objects and launch them at your enemies meaning you can pin them or even rip dangling limbs from their bodies and use that as a weapon the throw back at them. A fantastic and well thought out ability system for sure. What I love is that I am already planning another run in New Game plus to return the USG Ishimura and take on the challenge again at a higher difficulty, maybe impossible mode but I'm pretty scared about that challenge haha. I couldn't tell you a game in recent memory where I've actually wanted to go back and play it again, normally I'm a one and done guy who does everything in one run then moves on to another game. With Dead Space that's simply not possible so it keeps me intrigued about retuning.
The story itself has a fascinating backstory and for me personally its a perfect plot for a horror game. The whole "humans return from the dead as monsters and try to kill other humans" story is something that's been used more than I've had hot meals, but the spin here is Dead Space tells the tale of a futuristic planet cracking ship that has become ravaged by these beings and now you have to fight them in an incredibly tight, claustrophobic area, all while trying to repair the ship one step at a time and somehow find a way to survive.
Overall one of, if not THE only horror game that I can say I truly enjoy. I love everything about it from its gameplay, it's story, it's mechanics, it's lore, it's atmosphere and it's characters. It's a really tense and often quite scary game that honestly had me hooked from minute one all the way through to its end. I Highly recommend Dead Space.