Last week, Electronic Arts and Motive Studio gave the world another look at the upcoming Dead Space remake's gameplay. The Dead Space extended gameplay walkthrough showed Isaac Clarke navigating the iconic U.S.G. Ishimura, assessing the ship's damage, and of course, fighting off hordes of the series' grotesque Necromorphs. Though a lot of locations are pulled directly from the original Dead Space, the power of the Frostbite engine and the vision of the developers seek to make the remake fresh for players old and new.
Two points that were touched upon during the extended gameplay walkthrough were the seamless load times and the brand-new Intensity Director. The Dead Space franchise is already well-known for its ability to immerse players, but thanks to the advancements in technology and the innovative minds at Motive Studio, the remake is looking to up the ante even further. These two features will hopefully increase the tension, dread, and overall replayability for people when they play Dead Space next year.
A Fully Explorable U.S.G. Ishimura
Seamless load times are nothing new in modern video games. Thanks to the extra processing power provided by the current-gen consoles, load times are faster bordering on nonexistence (some games like Horizon Forbidden West even have developers slowing down their load times). This not only reduces the downtime players undergo when starting and playing games, but it also keeps players immersed in the experience.
The original Dead Space had players exclusively use the tram to progress through the game's many chapters - each of which would take players to different parts of the U.S.G. Ishimura. While some areas like the Medical Deck were revisited later on, most of the ships' locales were one-and-done settings that players couldn't go back to afterward. This made the experience feel very linear and certain parts of the U.S.G. Ishimura seem disconnected from the rest of the ship.
The Dead Space remake will not only have seamless load times, but it will also allow players to fully explore the U.S.G. Ishimura in more ways. Players can still use the tram to ferry themselves across the ship's various decks, but they might also be able to exit the ship and access different locations using their RIG's built-in oxygen tanks and zero gravity capabilities. Since the ship was meant to be interconnected in the first place, there is a high possibility that Isaac can also just walk from one deck of the U.S.G. Ishimura to the next.
The Scares Are Never The Same
Exploring the U.S.G. Ishimura would quickly get boring if players experienced the same things over and over again. This is where the Intensity Director supposedly comes in. New to the Dead Space remake, the Intensity Director is said to adapt to the events of the game as well as the player's location. Using this information, it changes things in the ship like the lighting, sounds, and most importantly, the enemy variants and spawn locations. If the Intesity Director does what the developers say it will, then it will make going through old locations feel scary and new every time.
One of the biggest problems with the original Dead Space was how players could easily memorize the scares and spawn locations of enemies. With enough experience and play time, exploring the U.S.G. Ishimura would feel like running through a backyard where the element of surprise is almost nonexistent. With the implementation of the Intensity Director, however, the Dead Space remake's U.S.G.Ishimura could always feel routinely scary thanks to the unpredictability of the ship. When combined, the seamless nature of the Dead Space remake and the adaptive capabilities of the Intensity Director could make it a constantly scary experience.
Dead Space will release on January 27, 2023, on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.