If you watched The Game Awards at the start of December (and, lord knows, many of us did), you’d be forgiven for thinking that there was only one stellar horror remake this year: Resident Evil 4.
Don’t get me wrong — the Resi remake is a stunner, a fantastic thrill ride that pares away some of the campier moments from the original and hones it into a leaner and tighter affair.
Still, as 2023 trickles away I’ve been left feeling mighty sorry for the team at Motive Studio, because Dead Space has been overlooked by way too many awards shows and publications — thankfully the Push Square Game of the Year list did the smart thing and included it.
It’s not just overall honours that I think Dead Space merits — this was a crazy year for gaming releases, so it’s no disgrace for it to fall lower in some people’s estimations, but from a presentation point of view I’m surprised by its snubs.
The game’s audio is superlative, for one thing. I play pretty much every PS5 game I touch with a headset, and I can’t think of many gaming atmospheres this year that chilled me more or were more consistently evocative than Dead Space’s hulking, echoing, and clanking USG Ishimura.
Before its release Motive shared behind-the-scenes looks at how it was working on audio so that doors and corridors authentically bent sound so that you could just hear scratching and stumbling enemies early enough to ratchet up the tension. I can attest to their success — I was scared witless at multiple points.
It’s not just sound, though; this is a stunner of a current-gen title in a year that has finally seen the PS4 drop out of the running on most releases. Its updated Ishimura is full of detail and horrific gore, but it’s the lighting that truly shines.
From the lone blue-green sheen of Isaac Clarke’s helmet lights to the yawning and spinning yellow beams of emergency lights, every time you enter a new part of the ship you’ll be greeted by a new wave of dread over what awaits you. That might mean yawning hangars full of floating tools or tight crew quarters, each bunk threatening a Necromorph.
It might have stuck a lot closer to the source material than Resident Evil 4, but Dead Space also made at least one major, bold choice, by giving a voice to Isaac Clarke and having him far more actively participate in the story.
It paid off, too, with a more human anchor in the middle of the maelstrom of blood and bone that starts to overcome you as the game goes on, and actor Gunner Wright putting in some sterling performance work to make Isaac less of a blank space than in the original game.
With shooting that feels at its heart the same as it did when the original came out (that is to say, chunky and memorable), it’s a hell of a package, so it’s been a little sad to see it run out of oxygen in such a packed year.
Widespread awards recognition isn’t everything, though — Dead Space’s 2023 remake has effectively resuscitated a series that was on life support before. The team at Motive Studio has made it clear it'd like to work on a similar update to Dead Space 2, and everything about its effort this year suggests it should absolutely get that chance.
There’s no shame in being just a hair’s breadth less beloved than a game as wildly successful and iconic as Resident Evil 4 — so if you’re looking for another horror fix to round out the year, don’t sleep on Dead Space, whatever you do.
Are you too disappointed to see Dead Space be a little forgotten about when it comes to Game of the Year accolades? Let us know in the comments below.
Comments 32
Just a hairs breath below Resi 4? With VR mode it’s not even close. This would be an instant buy with a VR mode (well, most AAA games would be).
Dead Space underrated? That doesn’t sound right. Dead Space has been been getting its flowers
The remake only adds to the original and takes nothing away. From zero gravity improvements to Isaac Clark having dialog. I’ve never been so happy to be scared! 😜
My favorite release of the year.
In addition to the sound design, it probably has the best haptics on ps5 from a 3rd party dev, right up beside returnal and Astro Playroom. Honestly, I loved the resi 4 remake amd enjoyed it more but it's not really horror in the way Dead Space Remake is. I never felt anywhere near the levels of dread about entering a new area in RE4 than I did in Dead Space.
Such a good game and it’s great it’s not longer stranded on the PS3 (ditto Demons Souls), another reason I pay no attention to awards shows (I know nothing about The Game Awards, but I guess it could be pay to win like a lot of TV/movie awards)
Fantastic game that kept the ground work and added quality of life features with a shiny coat of paint, one of the best remakes this gen along with RE4 and Demon's Souls
It’s just so good. Can’t wait for them to do number 2.
I feel the Dead Space Remake was overshadowed by the RE4 Remake this year but it was still a good game.
An incredible remake of an amazing game. 10/10
I forgot this game too I have it in my collection, and I already completed it, I don't think the game was very rememberiable
I enjoy dead space remake over resident evil 4 remake.dead space is a masterpiece.a horror masterpiece.and easily one of the best games ever made.now bring dead space 2.word up son
I showed my support with a day one purchase, and hopefully that’s what’ll count most at the end of the day. Loved this game when it came out on the PS3, and the remake brought all that love back in a terrifyingly beautiful new way. Great article. 👍🏼
I wish I could play it, but it was never released in my country
Weird article. I don’t think anybody said it was bad.
It certainly upstaged Callisto Protocol.
Just remakes will always find it harder at awards shows. Because they aren’t new or unnoticed really.
Plus what would have been left off to accomodate it?!
I love Dead Space and am glad to see the series still breathing. I skipped the remake though. There just isn't enough time to play remakes unless I never experienced the original. I was playing Trails to Azure if I remember correctly around the time this released.
It's nothing personal. Again I love the original Dead Space. But that's just it. I already played it and improved presentation just isn't enough to get me to double dip most of the time.
The greatest thing about this remake was the developer's idea to be working with the fans as much as possible. Same thing happened with Demon's Souls when people called out an issue with the Flame Lurker. If you're making a remake that is trying to be as close to the original as possible, listening to fans is so unbelievably important. This is why I have no care for the SH2 remake because the devs are being as silent as possible with it.
@LazyLombax The remake giving Isaac proper dialogue was one of the best changes they could have done and they didnt manage to ruin it by having him talk constantly like other games such as Gow and Horizon.
Remake dead space 2 and remove the rooms that you need to play dead space ignition to enter.
@Camlambelot That's part of Isaac's charm and especially for the sequel so I'm glad they stuck with it. Also it is a remake no ***** it's going to be mostly the same. That doesn't mean that they didnt make significant changes though as there is redone voice acting, next gen graphics, 360° movement, reworking certain areas such as the annoying meteor section, fully explorable USG Ishimura, side quests, etc., etc. To say that isn't worth 70$ when the devs have not only put this much effort but also listening to the fans for feedback to make other changes is pure crazy talk.
Just because a game is great doesn't mean its GOTY great. Dead Space isn't getting awards because the likes of BG3, TotK and Alan Wake 2 are on a whole other level and while DS is a great remake RE4R is a far better remake. Dead Space can just settle with being one of the best horror games of the year and one of the better remakes out there.
it’s a game that came out in 2008 and got re-released in 2023 , it’s definitely not forgotten
do you know how many games people really want for a remaster ??
MGS4 is still only playable on a ps3
I still prefer the original. I don't bother with much made recently games are suffering with them infuriating box ticking.
Amazing game!!!
My personal Game of the Year, it's my most played game from January to April on Playstation, completed it 7 times, platinum, etc etc... It truly made a mark on me, I hope it sold well enough to warrant a sequel or even better I'd buy a Dead Space Extraction VR remake in a heartbeat.
I cannot recommnd the game enough !
A victim of releasing in a stacked 2023. Had it released in the last couple of years, I have no doubt it would be getting far more recognition during awards season.
@PsBoxSwitchOwner Not bad, just overshadowed. It's a very packed year. It's fallen off top 20 sellers pretty quickly I think.
@Kyushutrail Ebay import there has to be a option.
@Flaming_Kaiser Thanks, unfortunately I only have a digital ps5
I played the original up to getting to the bridge of the Ishimura, but it wasn't clicking for me, so I bounced off and never came back. I wasn't super interested in the remake, but EA Play is included in Game Pass, so I decided to give it a shot again last week.
I did end up playing through the whole thing, and while I do think the visual and audio design, atmosphere, and general gameplay are great (except the boss fights, those are straight up awful)...holy hell did the "narrative" all but ruin it for me and absolutely turn me off of ever dipping into the sequels (even if they get remade).
I'm not a hard man to please with schlock horror, but Dead Space is beyond the pale stupid. It's the exact kind of writing I hate the most in media, just a barrage of proper-noun nonsense the game has zero interest in explaining in a vain attempt to force some kind of mystery. And, to add insult to injury, the performances are abysmal. Every single character in this game reacts to their friends turning into grotesque murderous corpses as if it were a minor inconvenience. I keep going back to one audio log of one of the crew who saw someone turn into a necromorph, then murder someone else, then shrugs it off...and recounts this with all of fear and intensity of reading off his grocery list. He essentially goes "Huh, that sure was weird...oh well, back to work".
Which could and SHOULD be campy and fun, but the tone of the game is so self-serious that it thinks itself better than camp...and it's not, at all. It's single brain cell dumb, and can't even be bothered to have fun with how dumb it is.
I can absolutely see how it hooked people in 2008, but in 2023...we can do so, so much better.
@Kyushutrail Oh yeah that sucks another reason for me not to ever want a digital only console. I see with streaming movies and series how much of a hassle it to find everything.
@Flaming_Kaiser I do regret not getting a disc version, but at the time it was what I could afford and I never thought I’d get into gaming as much as I have (it’s my first console since the N64). The plan was just to play games from the ps plus extra catalog
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