Based on the handful of glimpses EA Motive has shared with the public, it looks like the upcoming Dead Space remake is shaping up to be worthy of the series. During a livestreamed development update, the studio revealed Gunner Wright would be reprising his role as Isaac Clarke, and it showed a side-by-side comparison of the original game with early test footage of the remake. EA Motive's insistence that it will dive deeper into the greater lore of the series has many fans excited.
When the series was at its peak, there was a lot of lore for fans to dig into surrounding Dead Space. Between the three main games, spin-off titles, comic books, novels, and animated movies, there was plenty that ended up turning a large percentage of the Dead Space community into diehard fans. Now that EA Motive is positioned to remake the first game and add more Dead Space lore into it, the game is shaping up to potentially be one of the best entries yet.
Understanding the Role of Humanity in Dead Space
Although it's covered in the extended lore of the franchise, the original Dead Space didn't do much to build a solid look at what humanity is up to in 2508. They're able to mine precious resources from planets given the game is set on the isolated USG Ishimura, a planet cracker-class space ship, but it doesn't paint a full picture of what life is like for average people. The cold and metallic hallways inside the Ishimura don't feel particularly lived-in, as they lack a lot of the personal touches people often bring.
This isn't to say there should be couches everywhere aboard the Ishimura in the Dead Space remake, but if the game is going to dig deeper into the franchise's lore and universe, providing more humanity to its locations and characters might be a simple way of enhancing the original story. What's more, as the necromorph outbreak that's portrayed in Dead Space is essentially the start of a wider occurance, it might be worth the game's time to address humanity's history with non-human life.
There's plenty of lore surrounding the history of the necromorphs, but the games never made it particularly clear if extraterrestrial encounters were something commonplace in the world of Dead Space. There doesn't need to be a ton of dialogue or collectible documents that address these topics, but hopefully the remake can expand the world more to give context to its characters and setting.
Expanding Unitology
One of Dead Space's most compelling elements is the story surrounding a fictional religion called the Church of Unitology. The Unitologist church serves as one of the main antagonistic bodies throughout the series, as it worships the Markers that are seen throughout all three main Dead Space games. Unitologists believe humanity was created by an all-knowing race of aliens, and that they'll rejoin them once they've died by way of the Markers. Unfortunately for Isaac and the rest of the non-Unitologists in the universe, the Markers transform people into the horrific alien zombies.
There's plenty of background given to Unitology in the original Dead Space trilogy through main story beats as well as the many documents and audio logs scattered throughout the world, however things don't really start ramping up until Dead Space 2. Hopefully, the Dead Space remake can get the ball rolling by telling the Unitology story sooner, and expanding upon the church's history more. There's already a lot of Unitology lore for Dead Space fans to sink their teeth into, but the community craves to know more about the inner workings of the church and its history.
The Origins and Inner Workings of the Necromorphs
Because necromorphs are inherently tied to Unitology and the Markers, there's already a lot of lore surrounding their origins and biology. That said, there isn't a great explanation in the main games as to why dismemberment is essential for killing them.
The original executive producer on Dead Space, Glen Schofield, explained this in interviews, but there isn't a succinct explanation provided in the games. The "cut off their limbs" phrase is one of gaming's most iconic, but never gets the explanation it deserves. Hopefully, the remake is able to explain it by diving deeper into the lore surrounding the necromorphs and their biology.
Getting to Know Isaac Clarke Before Dead Space 2
One of the easiest places for EA Motive to expand Dead Space's lore is with the game's protagonist Isaac Clarke. Isaac was a silent protagonist for the first game, and with the announcement that Gunner Wright is returning to voice Isaac for the remake, EA Motive can give fans more background for Isaac that wasn't there in the original. The entire Dead Space series recons with the trauma Isaac experiences aboard the Ishimura in the first game, so actually being able to hear from him as it's happening could expand the character and the world around him.
By hearing from Isaac before the second game, EA Motive has so much potential to expand Dead Space's lore. Each of Isaac's lines don't need to add major pieces to the overall universe, but hopefully by the end of the experience, the game will have scattered enough bits and pieces to meaningfully flesh out the lore and universe.
Dead Space releases in late 2022 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.