Dead Space: PS5 Review

Developed by Visceral Games, Motive Studio
Published by EA
Platform: PS5

Sometimes a classic is a classic for simple reasons.

Such as it is with the 2023 remake of Dead Space, a remake that doesn't veer too far from its original path, but feels fresh and revitalised for the new version.

For those unfamiliar with the 2008 version, Dead Space follows protagonist Isaac as he heads to doomed spaceship the USG Ishimura to try and find his girlfriend. But when his own craft crashes into the ship ahead of boarding, Isaac and his colleagues find themselves in a dire strait as disfigured vicious creatures attack them.

Suddenly, for Isaac and his crew, it's a case of survival in among the rafters of the Ishimura.

What Dead Space's remake has done is take an original and given it a polish to enhance the experience; but what's transpired is a game that builds on its basics and makes use of the next gen capabilities to deliver a truly terrifying experience.

The Ishimura's ramshackle corridors creak with uncertainty and with hidden dangers, and thanks to the use of sound, the atmospherics of this terrifying title come hauntingly to life and prove to be viscerally frightening.

From the dank darkness of the corridors to the genuinely upsetting body horror of the necromorphs which stalk your every move, Dead Space builds on the tensions you'd expect to make for an experience that's hard to shake.

While there are one or two deviations from the original game, these add to the overall feel of the game and Isaac's quest to find his better half. Minor deviations in light around the ship build atmosphere and choices where you have to decide whether to leave the lights on make for tension-filled moments.

Dead Space respects its roots but also delivers more than enough to justify its presence on the next generation platforms. It's a thrilling sci-fi ride that's blessed with sheer terror and also fits perfectly into the genre it belongs in - but this remake also elevates the original and leaves the recently released The Callisto Protocol lost in space over what a truly terrifying horror experience set within a spaceship should be.