We are years in the future, existing past the heyday of the famous USG Ishimura. It was built as an extractor ship that took resources from other planets. The ship was so huge and winding, that it needed a tram tunnel for conveyance between different departments. It was a success for the most part, or so we learn, till the outbreak. Spreading through the decks of the ship were the necromorphs. Humans turned into a distorted, hungry-drooling biomutant, storming towards nothing in specific, breaking and eating everything in sight. Legend has it that the iconic Isaac Clarke stopped them by cutting off their limbs.
I love the story of Dead Space. It was a pioneer in the sci-fi zombie format of games. The publishers, EA, tried to replicate this success in the recent Callisto Protocol, but it fell short. Since the Dead Space remake was released a few weeks back, I now know why. The remake is more than just a high-definition, more expensive version of the original game that was released in 2008. For example, the protagonist Isaac Clarke, now has a voice. I don’t really care for his unnecessarily thrilling life- choices, but it’s nice that we get to hear his part of the story this time. The game also adds interesting plotlines to NPCs that didn’t exist before.
Ishimura, while a big spaceship by most standards, is a contained space. The shorter game objectives involve Isaac making his way through this space to fix things. The game makes the best of the limited map by making it winding in spots, locking the doors when it’s most inconvenient, dimming the lights, and allowing necromorphs to break through flimsy vents. But it isn’t always this terrifying.
We get breaks in the form of video conversations with helpful NPCs. Isaac sometimes finds helpful new weapons—I particularly favour the flamethrower. He also levels up and unlocks shortcuts that help escape the scarier routes. It also helps that we eventually dismember the zombies—the satisfaction of stomping on them for loot more than compensates for the failed attempts that preceded it. The game is currently available for the PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.