[game 659]
Dead Space
Horror
Playstation 5
Electronic Arts (2023)
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I never played the original but I can see how people have a soft spot for this dark and squishy space horror shooter.
Entering this world without nostalgia, you can still tell that some ideas are form a different time. Like, why can't this guy jump? However, it is a joy to observe when you can see what's going on. The suit UI is excellent with health and stasis meters on the back of the character in this 3rd person shooter/survival game you get excellent data about when you're going to die. Ammo numbers are also right in the center so you know when you're going to run out of ammo and then die while reloading. The suit head's-up display is also excellent for watching communications form your team during "cutscenes" or browsing inventory, checking on mission data, or looking at the map just before a necromorph falls out of the ceiling and... you die. I had fun on medium difficulty until about chapter 10 when I started feeling like I just wanted to see the end without having to conserve the limited ammo and healing items, so I swapped into an easier difficulty and blasted right to the end no problem.
You see, while a horror game (which I usually am not that fond of), this particular thriller has a solid story to keep you pressing on. It is full, maybe a little too full, of twists and turns that lead you to want to know how our hero will get out of this mess. The voice acting is good, the pacing is pretty decent, and it all serves to underpin a pretty solid gameplay design. So, why can I only rate this 3 stars? Well, when I was on medium difficulty I found it annoying to run out of ammo for my preferred weapon and then have to learn a new one. The scarcity of resources doesn't allow for specialization, which I get based on the scenario but it took some of the fun out. On easy mode, I stacked up resources much quicker, so I'd probably be happy in between the two. Apart from the difficulty tuning, I was also annoyed at the overuse of jump scare to throw new enemies at you, the slowness of our main character, not having an easy way to use oxygen tanks in a pinch, and how damn dark this game was. I bumped the brightness all the way up and still struggled to see it if my room was too bright, like if the sun was out or something.
If you're a fan of survival-based, horror-ish, spacey, and/or shooty games, this is worth picking up, particularly if you have blackout curtains, a good sound system, and a lot of patience for dying.
Entering this world without nostalgia, you can still tell that some ideas are form a different time. Like, why can't this guy jump? However, it is a joy to observe when you can see what's going on. The suit UI is excellent with health and stasis meters on the back of the character in this 3rd person shooter/survival game you get excellent data about when you're going to die. Ammo numbers are also right in the center so you know when you're going to run out of ammo and then die while reloading. The suit head's-up display is also excellent for watching communications form your team during "cutscenes" or browsing inventory, checking on mission data, or looking at the map just before a necromorph falls out of the ceiling and... you die. I had fun on medium difficulty until about chapter 10 when I started feeling like I just wanted to see the end without having to conserve the limited ammo and healing items, so I swapped into an easier difficulty and blasted right to the end no problem.
You see, while a horror game (which I usually am not that fond of), this particular thriller has a solid story to keep you pressing on. It is full, maybe a little too full, of twists and turns that lead you to want to know how our hero will get out of this mess. The voice acting is good, the pacing is pretty decent, and it all serves to underpin a pretty solid gameplay design. So, why can I only rate this 3 stars? Well, when I was on medium difficulty I found it annoying to run out of ammo for my preferred weapon and then have to learn a new one. The scarcity of resources doesn't allow for specialization, which I get based on the scenario but it took some of the fun out. On easy mode, I stacked up resources much quicker, so I'd probably be happy in between the two. Apart from the difficulty tuning, I was also annoyed at the overuse of jump scare to throw new enemies at you, the slowness of our main character, not having an easy way to use oxygen tanks in a pinch, and how damn dark this game was. I bumped the brightness all the way up and still struggled to see it if my room was too bright, like if the sun was out or something.
If you're a fan of survival-based, horror-ish, spacey, and/or shooty games, this is worth picking up, particularly if you have blackout curtains, a good sound system, and a lot of patience for dying.