Thanks to a number of changes the remake has made, a vocal minority in the Dead Space community believe that Motive Studio's release has been engaging in "wokeness." Considered to be one of the most well-known body horror games, the original 2008 survival horror title arrived at a time when the genre wasn't really sure about itself. Dead Space may not have had the psychological intellect of Silent Hill 2, but it more than made up for that with its terrifying creature designs and claustrophobic atmosphere.With reviews for the remake of Dead Space looking pretty good so far, many agree that this iteration of the iconic horror game is not just a modern take on an older release, but actually improves on the original formula created by Visceral Games. That's not to say the game is perfect. Some will still find fault with it as with any other title, but there have been a few who have voiced their concerns about how the remake has leaned too much into political awareness.As spotted by The Gamer, some have accused Dead Space of being "woke," with particular notes on how the remake has switched things up in the name of representation. One example of this is in the intro, when Kendra Daniels talks about her girlfriend, something that wasn't mentioned in the original. There's also a discussion on the Steam forums in which one user gives the game a "hard pass," posting a link to an image that highlights some of the changes they seem to take umbrage with, including Johnston being replaced by a black woman and how some of the characters look physically older now.
Twitter user ChrisRGun posted a response to a clip from one streamer who, when asked in their chat what they thought of the game, they reply that the developer added some "gay woke s**t." There are differences between the Dead Space remake and the original, such as Isaac Clarke now having a voice, but there is evidently a small segment of gamers who have been angered by some additional changes related to representation, accusing the game of political correctness.
Despite these negative comments, the remake continues to wow fans. The OG Dead Space is due to turn 15 this year, along with its contemporaries like Fallout 3 and Grand Theft Auto 4. And while the landscape of the games industry has changed over the years, most would agree that progression has been largely positive. Fortunately, complaining about women aging or characters being black hasn't stopped studios from continuing to implement fairer representation in this modern era.
Dead Space is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.