Fifteen years following its first journey, the USG Ishimura is once once more going into orbit. And this time, it’s powered by the Montreal studio Motive that Dead Space sets out to conquer a new generation of followers.
Horror enthusiasts, like gamers fond of thrills and thrills, are well familiar with Dead Space. Many of them even know the saga by heart, having invested countless hours in its three main chapters, launched between 2008 and 2013.
Because both his hero, Isaac Clarke, and his vile Necromorphs marked their era and their industry with a hot iron. As soon as it arrived in stores – and in the video clubs of yesteryear –, Dead Space came to reinvigorate a genre hitherto dominated by Resident Evil. This kind, the survival horror in gaming jargon, was never going to be the same once more.
“The first Dead Space was a breath of fresh air for the genre, attests Philippe Ducharme, senior producer at Motive. Back then, in 2008, the audio experience alone was mind-blowing. The music, the sound environment, it clashed a lot with what was done in the survival horror.»
Photo courtesy of Electronic Arts
Its impact was as strong as it was lasting. Roman Campos-Oriola, creative director for the remake of Dead Space, still notices and appreciates the legacy in some immersive horror games today.
“In the beginning, in the survival horror, players were scared because of the premise of the game, horrible things that might happen to the on-screen character. But with Dead Space, the player became Isaac Clark; so he was afraid for himself. I felt this legacy in Resident Evil 7, a few years ago, for example,” he says.
Completely revised
A new generation can now learn regarding the world of Dead Space thanks to this proofreading on which the Motive studio has been working for a little over two years. Launched a few days ago, his work takes players back into space to explore the mythical mining vessel that is the USG Ishimura… and its hordes of bloodthirsty creatures that swarm the corridors and dark corners. .
Photo courtesy of Electronic Arts
It is however much more than a simple cure of aesthetic youth that we offer today to the classic. Certainly, the premise and the plot often take the same detours, but the universe that we are rediscovering today is intended to be updated and improved, attenuating any feeling of deja vu anticipated by the followers of the first hour. In fact, there was never any question of delivering a carbon copy of the Dead Space original by simply giving it back some of its faded luster following all these years.
“Our goal was not to redo the game as it was, confirms Roman Campos-Oriola. Everyone has a different memory Dead Space depending on whether they played it 6 months ago or 14 years ago. The idea was to pay homage to the original, to redo it in the image of what remains in our memory. We wanted to deliver an idealized and enriched version, by injecting elements that arrived later in the franchise, for example.
One of these examples? The entire ship has been completely overhauled, its decks redesigned and refurbished one by one. The player can now explore the USG Ishimura at will, free to initiate various side quests alongside the main plot. The experience is, of course, less linear and more flexible.
“We wanted to make it a more real, more coherent place,” sums up Roman Campos-Oriola.
Photo courtesy of Electronic Arts
Back in space?
Now that Dead Space was launched into orbit, a question remains on everyone’s lips: will Motive seek to continue to explore the confines of space and submit Isaac Clarke to new tests, new or reconstructed?
Met before the release, Philippe Ducharme preferred to be vague … but still fueling the hopes of fans. “We’re going to sit down and see how the game is received, both from critics and fans and the community. From there, we can think regarding what’s next. We have a great team that really enjoyed working on Dead Space and who has a real passion for this game. So it is certain that we would like to build on it, ”he says.
Dead Space is currently available on PS5 and Xbox Series.
A horrifying masterpiece
Photo courtesy of Electronic Arts
We thought we knew all the secrets of USG Ishimura. Well, we were wrong. Because it’s an entirely new – and absolutely terrifying – experience! – which awaits players on board this new Dead Space.
We admit it from the outset: we spent a staggering number of hours – and sleepless nights – exploring the confines of USG Ishimura thanks to the Dead Space original. All its recesses and its Necromorphs, like the upheavals of its plot, were extremely familiar to us even before starting any part of the remake, launched a few days ago.
We therefore dreaded this new visit to a familiar universe. The Montreal studio Motive, a subsidiary of EA Games, was it really going to be able to surprise us? Terrorize us, even? The answers were quick to come: yes and yes.
Anxiety inducing
Because, let’s face it, if the original work still holds up today, the weight of the years is felt when we revisit it. What its new version offers us is not only a refreshing and completely current experience, but it even manages to raise several notches the factor of tension and the anxiety-provoking climate that made the reputation of the saga.
Ce Dead Space 2.0 has actually struck the perfect balance between tradition and innovation, perfectly balancing its improvements to the original game to keep its essence. So we find the original premise, but in a darker, more nuanced and richer form. The result: a visually and sonically flawless masterpiece that surpasses its predecessor in many ways. The immersion is now complete, hermetic and suffocating, even more than that of any other horror game launched in recent years. In short, a new must-have for fans of the genre.
★★★★1⁄2
Available on PS5 and Xbox Series
