* This article is compiled from IGN US related content, original author Tristan Ogilvie, translated by tonkotsu ramen, edited by Tony, unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
Forget about the large number of corpse variants and wall limb fragments, or the giant "space sphincter" - before opening Dead Space Remake, my biggest fear was that the experience of the remake was not as good as I remembered from the 2008 original. And after 12 hours on the remastered Ishimura, I'm happy to tell you that there are many very scary things on this huge spaceship, but the concern about the quality of the game is not one of them.
The new "Dead Space" has been improved almost in all directions from the original, cutting the waste with a plasma cutter, retaining the essence of its shooting gameplay that focuses on severed limbs, and adding gratifying character details, telling a spooky sci-fi horror story through excellent light and shadow.
If you haven't played the original, let me briefly introduce that Dead Space adopts the survival horror gameplay of Resident Evil 4 that focuses on action elements, and further upgrades the combat system by combining gunplay with "dynamic abilities" that can be teleported and "static abilities" that slow down enemies, and also forces players to forget their previous experience of fighting zombies - the restless, hordes of mutants in "Dead Space" can not be solved with a headshot, It is only reassuring to remove all their limbs.
Dead Space emphasizes the killing strategy of the combat experience taking place on a disaster-stricken spaceship. (The ship's setting is reminiscent of the movie "Black Hole Surface.") The game focuses on the predicament of engineer Isaac Clark and his increasingly disturbing encounter in finding his wife, Nicole. While Dead Space spawned sequels, comics, and spiritual sequels like The Callisto Protocol, none of them surpassed Isaac's first step on the Ishimura – at least until the remake.
Developer Motive Studio has done a lot of renovations to Dead Space's "Horror House" and I really like the results. First of all, the remastered version looks fantastic: a lot of detail on the Isaac engineering suit makes the original engineering suit look like a random bargain bought in the store. The aging effect of the metal surface is extremely real, and the pus on the wall is deplorable, which makes this ominous spaceship even more chilling. Atmospheric lighting accentuates the details of the surrounding environment, while also shrouding most of the corners in shadow, making it impossible to know what lurks in the darkness.
Not only does the Ishimura look more polished, its interior has also been redesigned to encourage players to explore more. While Isaac's initial arrival on the flight deck and hangar is much the same as the original, you'll soon notice substantial differences.
For example, you can now move freely between tram stops that connect different areas of the Ishimura (you need to unlock the station first), and you can walk between certain areas via some newly added corridors, such as the corridor connecting the flight deck to the medical deck, and some areas can float forward. A newly added zero-gravity zone connects the hangar to the engine room, one of the areas with new flight controls, and you can now manually control Isaac to fly freely instead of shooting from one surface to another in a straight line.
These new passages bring two benefits, the first is that the structure of the original version is more fragmented, and the current Ishimura has a more holistic feel, making it feel more like a real spaceship. In addition, it also allows Isaac to return to his previous area to unlock the door after increasing his security level, giving you the opportunity to discover weapon upgrade blueprints and other treasures, making the push process a bit like killing more Mitrod. Happily, the remastered removes the design of the original that requires valuable "nodes" to open the storage room, and instead opens the door through some fun environmental puzzles, such as finding the right angle in front of a broken window, and then breaking the door lock with a precise shot.
Ghoul spaceship
Dead Space Remastered combat also requires precision, with an emphasis on severed limbs and players needing to unload hideous flesh and blood puppets instead of wasting bullets on mutilated, brainless heads or super-bloody torsos. The enemy is still that ghoul-like design, very much like a B-grade film directed by John Carpenter.
However, there are some nice adjustments in terms of enemy types. For example, the acid-spitting version of the corpse slasher (a common enemy with long shoulder thorns) is more common than in the original. Even if I cut off their limbs at a seemingly safe distance, they were still no small threat – and fortunately Isaac was more nimble than the original. And the extremely powerful "Twitcher" is also faster than in the past, especially testing my accuracy and the timing of my static ability.
Enemies are constantly flowing with realistic slime and guts, but these things are more than disgusting visual effects. Each corpse variant now has "layered" muscles and bones that "peel off" layer by layer after taking damage. This not only increases the gore of the graphics, but also provides feedback to the player, letting players know how much damage the corpse variant has taken and how far away they are from being able to cut off limbs, which is a very useful visual cue when facing a group of corpse variants and need to determine which enemy to attack first.
Dead Space Remastered also uses many innovative ways to maintain tension, usually through the clever use of the newly added "circuit breaker". These circuit breakers force players to allocate limited power to facilities such as elevators, gravity control systems, and more to achieve mission objectives.
At a circuit breaker early in the game, I split the power to the door of a storage room... But then I had to sacrifice the power of the lighting system, which meant that I had to rely on the flashlight on the plasma cutter to illuminate me when I went out, and every time a corpse variant suddenly appeared in the limited field of view, I would panic, making the journey much more thrilling.
However, there are more elements to use in the surrounding environment, which balances the difficulty a bit. In addition to throwing explosive canisters or spikes with their cool dynamics, there's the AOE Static Tank, which slows down enemies within range when detonated, giving players valuable time to decide whether to stay and shoot their thighs or run away. (These jars first appeared in Dead Space 2, the original did not.) ）
Our review of the original Dead Space
Although Dead Space is a "sci-fi" survival horror game, with a compelling story, exciting fast-paced violent combat, and a creepy, terrifying atmosphere, this game can definitely make the entire survival horror genre proud. Although it is still a rising star, it already has the possibility of giving birth to an excellent series, and EA also has a good opportunity to harvest a phenomenal horror game IP. If you're into survival horror, action, or sci-fi, don't ignore Dead Space.
8.7 points
——Jeff Haynes, October 28, 2008
In the midst of this intense adventure, Motive largely retains the best moments of the original Dead Space, while significantly revising and scaling down the weaker parts. The "hunter" who can be reborn with severed limbs for the first time in the cryogenic room is still the same as the original, still in a small space, still dangerous, and this terrifying encounter is still wonderful 15 years later.
In contrast, the much-maligned asteroid fight in the first half of the original was completely redone: in the original, the player had to sit in the gunner's seat all the time and destroy the asteroid with two rapid-fire naval guns that were easy to overheat; Now, we're going to step into space, fly back and forth between the guns as the rubble passes and smashes into the ship, calibrate the Ishimura's defenses, and then manually call for shelling. This turns an otherwise daunting chore into an exciting challenge, and this is just one example of how a remake can save and turn waste into treasure.
There are also a number of less obtrusive but equally welcome optimizations — such as activating the task marker that turns the camera in the direction of the target instead of pointing unhelpfully at your feet; Now you can also buy multiple items at once in the store instead of buying them one by one; You can use your dynamic abilities to lift objects while opening doors or operating control panels — so I can carry explosive canisters into other rooms for possible ambushes.
What I especially like is that we can now pick up weapons directly (usually in story events) instead of having to spend a lot of credits to buy them from the store. This allows you to try out the seven weapons in Dead Space without spending money, which is a great change, especially for new players, but I still use my old three - the enhanced plasma cutter, the linear gun, and the cohesion gun, which helped me beat several levels back then.
In the remastered, upgrading your weapon pays off even more. The interface of the weapon upgrade tree is largely similar to the original, but all meaningless empty slots have been removed, meaning that whether it's upgrading magazine capacity, reloading speed, or increasing the rate of fire or damage, you can earn a decent reward for every node you invest.
In addition, you can unlock special features at the end, such as the incendiary ammunition of the plasma cutter or increasing the range of the cohesion gun's secondary fire mode, which brings much-needed enhancements that allow you to be more confident in the face of the corpse variant frenzy in the later stages. By the time I hit the final boss, I had enhanced my beloved mining tools to the point where people could cry with joy.
Get to the root of
Not only did the monsters grow more flesh in the Dead Space remake, Isaac's story became fuller. There's a new multi-step side quest that takes the protagonist chasing down a series of holographic logs that reveal Nicole's movements before the infection broke out, as well as audio and documentation explaining why the couple's relationship is strained and what role the mysterious Unification Church played in Isaac's upbringing.
Ultimately, the remake gave me a better understanding of Isaac's wobbling mental and emotional state, and while the overall storyline is essentially the same as the original, these new contexts (and some wonderful character changes) mean that the surprising reversal of the ending makes more sense.
In addition, our protagonist can speak in the remake, which makes him more human and no longer the command-only tool man in the original. Gunnar Wright, who voiced Isaac in Dead Space 2, 3, once again reworked his character and showed just the right amount of stoicism. Now Isaac will actively discuss the battle plan with security captain Hammond, which makes his status more important, rather than silently performing tasks like a space dogleg.
Thankfully, Isaac didn't suddenly become a talker, he only responded when others spoke, and wouldn't amputate space zombies while saying witticism like Nathan Drake. In the silence of the man, only heavy breathing and a rapid heartbeat can let us know his state – and that's right.
summary
Motive Studio has managed to breathe new life into Dead Space's groundbreaking sci-fi horror universe with redesigned spaceships, a clever and slightly optimized story, and spectacular redesigned combat. Although I've replayed the 2008 original several times over the years, and I think it's still ageless, the experience of returning to USG Ishimura in the remake still surprises me, makes me more attracted to Isaac's plight, and satisfies my comfort in killing zombie astronauts with a lot of unsafe mining equipment at my disposal.
It's clear that the remake of Dead Space is a work of love by the Motive Studios members, who carefully balance innovation and tradition to brilliantly deliver an experience — or a re-experience — that isn't the best way to survive a horror shooter by Capcom.
merit
Very high level of visual, sound and gameplay
Excellent restoration and upgrade of the horror atmosphere of the original game
The world view and character image of the original work have been supplemented
Connect the entire ship as a whole
shortcoming
Bloody scenes may cause discomfort for some players