4.5/5 ★ – FoofDeckman's review of Dead Space.

Dead Space, one of my favorite survival horror games of all time, fully remastered for newer hardware. Now if you've played the original, the "remake" title that this has been branded as probably won't hold true to you, this isn't a Resident Evil 2 style remake where the entire philosophy of the game is changed from the ground up. Outside of a few quality of life differences and some areas switched around, It's still Dead Space, with a pretty coat of paint, but in all honestly that's all it needed to be. This game is gorgeous, that probably goes without saying if you've seen any of the promotional material or gameplay, I can't emphasize how beautiful this game truly is. While the original still has that rustic aesthetic, this remake takes it to the extreme. It's clear the developers wanted to take full advantage of modern hardware, while at the same time, not ruin the aesthetic of the original. They've managed to create a perfect balance of grotesque horror and grimy metal as every bit of the Ishimura looks fantastic. The new visual upgrade adds to the eerie atmosphere that the original is known for and continues to expand upon it throughout each chapter. The complete overhaul to the combat system was very welcomed. A lot of the weapons and their respective alternate fire types were buffed/nerfed to create more incentive for players to use all kinds of weapons throughout the campaign, instead of just sticking to a select few. Were as beforehand the Pulse Rifle and Flamethrower were almost un useable in the original, they're actually worth while now, which is something I'd never thought would happen. On top of that hit registration feels a lot more precise in the remake, Instead of just aiming for enemies limbs and watching them fall over, the more detailed models allow you to see exactly where you hit. It's not a game changer, but it definitely adds to the immersion and atmosphere. Speaking of immersion, another big change they made was the choice to make our main character Isaac talk. In the original game he was a silent protagonist, which was completely forgotten in the later entries as he was voiced in both Dead Space 2 & 3. For what I'd imagine would be for consistency sake, Isaac has a shiny new voice in this game, and it's weird. Something I loved about the original was how you as the player weren't just watching Isaac, you were Isaac. There wasn't some prewritten script on how you're supposed to feel when characters do things around you, you were able to come up with that on your own, and that is completely removed from the remake. Now I'm not saying that Isaac can't be voiced, but almost every line of dialogue Isaac says in this is extremely corny or delivered in such a way that it actually ruins my immersion at points. This isn't a Resident Evil game, where corny dialogue is basically a selling point, this is a horror game played completely straight. I'm no longer tense because some guy got ripped apart in front of me, I'm watching Isaac tense up after he watched some guy get ripped in front of him. The Dead Space remake is really good, don't let my nitpicky takes on Isaac's voice convince you that this isn't a good game. If you're never played Dead Space before, I highly recommend playing this as soon as you can, it is without a doubt one of my favorite horror games of all time, and to see it look this good is a dream come true. Even if you've played Dead Space before, checking the game out with a new set of eyes still makes this worth it.