“Everything good about Dead Space comes from its underlying cohesion,”

February 15, 2018 6:44 PM

Dead Space Is My Favorite Horror Game [Odyssey] “The moment I saw my first necromorph in Dead Space is when I I fell in love with the franchise. I first stumbled upon Dead Space when I was looking through my cheat code book glossary. My mom was going to be taking me to the movie store where they also rented out video games and I wanted something new to play. I had an Xbox 360 at the time and didn't have too many games so I was looking to expand. I saw the words "Dead Space" and was instantly hooked. I flipped the pages to that section and scanned over all the black and white pictures. I loved the look of it. So when my mom took me to the movie store, I bolted for their game section looking for this game. I was scanning the shelves until my eyes rested on the title "Dead Space." The cover made me want the game even more. It was a severed arm floating in space. The entire cover encapsulated the title perfectly. I knew I was going to love this game.”

• God Damn, Dead Space Was Good [Waypoint]

“When Electronic Arts announced it was closing down Visceral Games, it was understandable most lamented the death of the studio's Star Wars game. But for me, Visceral has always been associated with another series: Dead Space. While there's been no indication EA had any plans to revive the horror franchise, that we were blessed with three Dead Space games already felt like a reason to be thankful. First, Dead Space remains my favorite. As with Mass Effect, I acknowledge Dead Space 2 is the better game, but it moved the series in an action-heavy direction that left me lamenting the quieter moments in the original. It's a bit like Alien and Aliens. They're both excellent, but when I'm asked to pick one or the other, Dead Space wins out. (It's no surprise, then, my favorite moment from Dead Space 2 is re-boarding the Ishimura. The mixture of excitement and terror is a feeling I'll never forget.)”

• How Dead Space Defined Visceral Games [Kotaku]

“What remains, long after you’ve moved on from Dead Space, is the intensity of the experience. A truth of game development is that players are delicate creatures, and high-tension moments should be buffered by breathing room and more relaxing elements. To an extent this is common sense, but it’s also possible to feel that many titles take this a little far — and end up almost too smooth. Dead Space’s structure keeps ‘downtime’ to an absolute minimum. The Ishimura has rooms containing save points and upgrade stations, but outside of these the atmosphere is always one of encroaching dread. The sound design can make the barest of corridors terrifying, as the dull thumps of limbs grow louder, and the designers took especial care to replace enemies in sections you revisit. Every creak of the Ishimura puts you on high alert. It never feels safe. And when they burst out of the walls, or the roof, or from somewhere behind me, the nervousness scales into outright fear. It’s the kind of game that should have been the start of an amazing series, and its sheer quality and commercial success saw EA Redwood Shores renamed as Visceral Games.”

• The Perspective Terror of Dead Space [Hardcore Gamer]

“It’s easy to forget just how much space Mr. Clark occupies in the original game. Look at him: he’s hogging almost a full third of the screen! Seeing one’s character on screen is normally more comfortable than playing from the character’s own perspective. They’re right there in front of the player, their position in the environment is apparent and their surroundings are easily observed. Dead Space’s camera has the opposite effect. It’s decidedly uncomfortable. Isaac’s domination of the screen prevents the player from easily surveying his surroundings. He obscures the space directly in front of him and the areas to his left and immediately behind him are out of view by default. It’s all the limitations of a first-person perspective with the addition of a permanent obstruction. It’s annoying and even frustrating at times, but also happens to be brilliant and a big part of why Dead Space works as well as it does.”

• Dead Space is the sequel Resident Evil 4 deserved [Eurogamer]

“Dead Space is Resident Evil 4 in space. There's no point trying to deny it, even the developers happily acknowledge it. In a recent interview with PC Gamer, Visceral Games (then EA Redwood) explain that they initially intended to make System Shock 3. Then they played Resident Evil 4 and immediately reimagined the game as a third-person action horror. It was an entirely deliberate decision. But the change in approach also meant they had to sell a new IP to EA, and to do that they had to make Resident Evil 4 in space excellent. Consequently, what you get is a catalogue of smart ideas thrown at you in quick succession. The game's HUD is baked into the game world, making it a core part of the experience rather than a thing that pulls you out of it. The dismemberment mechanic turns gratuitous violence into simple pragmatism, while also setting Dead Space apart from Resident Evil 4 where headshots remain king. Even the stasis and kinesis abilities, mechanics obviously borrowed from other games, are intelligently worked into Dead Space's fiction.”

• Dead Space's toolbox of horrors is what makes the game great [Games Radar+]

“The best thing about all this is that Clarke doesn’t care. Instead, he has his rusty suit and a long job sheet of things to fix and do, which expands to include cutting the arms and legs off most of what used to crew the Ishimura. The thematic consistency of Dead Space is really clinched by its weaponry and enemies, and the combat that brings them together. Clarke’s inventory is a toolbox of sharp, hot things jury-rigged for survival, and key among these sharp, hot things is the Plasma Cutter. In one sense, Dead Space is an iteration of Resident Evil 4, and the Plasma Cutter is a natural successor to Capcom’s laser-sighted pistol, now with three blue lasers rather than a single red one. But it’s more than that, too – it’s a potent symbol of Clarke’s unfussy heroism, a small, effective tool (upgraded properly, it’s the only gun you’ll need) with a simple, practical embellishment of a revolving head that turns the strip of blue lasers from vertical to horizontal and back again with a satisfying bleep. The practicality of this revolving head only becomes truly obvious once Clarke encounters the necromorphs. ”

posted by Fizz (38 comments total)

And a reminder: original 'Dead Space' is currently free on EA Origin. It still holds up, and it's worth your time. Such a brilliant game.
posted by Fizz at 6:45 PM on February 15, 2018 [8 favorites]

God, Dead Space. Easily my favorite horror game as well (and likely in my top 10 favorites games of all time), along with being one of the media experiences that's terrified me the most. Everything about the game was perfect. My old roommates at the time I bought the first one will still joke about the screams that would come out of my room when I played it late at night.

Such a well-thought-out game. The sense of isolation, the mix of foreboding stillness set against rushes of panic and violence, the repurposed engineer-tools-cum-weapons that only-kinda-worked against the well-crafted (but grotesque and horrifying) enemies, the use of sound as a way to shape your mood and expectations... just a tour de force.

Dead Space 2 was great as well, if not as singular an experience. I was a bit put-off by the microtransaction stuff in the third one, but more than anything it just bored me. Not the same. I really hope we haven't seen the last of this series in some form or another.
posted by kryptondog at 7:23 PM on February 15, 2018 [3 favorites]

And the amazing use of shadows and lighting, coupled with the (always makes me shudder) excellent sound design. Have finished 1 and 3 (3 with no microtransaction, although a friend bought me the 3 DLC I gave up on after a showstopper bug). I need to finish 2. (Then reinstall 1, I think. My bandwidth is low enough that I have to plan these things). Also liked the prize cookies they give you for having the previous games.
posted by Samizdata at 7:33 PM on February 15, 2018 [2 favorites]

Something else Fizz's links are bringing back to me about why this game series was so special: The intentional use of a limited field of vision to heighten the intensity of fighting the enemies. I can't count the number of times I'd be focused on a necromorph in front of me, only to turn the camera slightly and see another one that'd crept up close, just as it was preparing to swing at me (cue loud startled yelps and rapid-fire explicatives from me). To this day, I don't think I've played a game that leveraged camera angles to be such an important component of gameplay.
posted by kryptondog at 7:43 PM on February 15, 2018 [2 favorites]

I should reinstall 2 and finish it...

What I remember about this game is the dread. Outside the save points, nothing is safe, and inching down a corridor was terrifying, and that was before the monsters jumped out at you.
posted by zompist at 8:10 PM on February 15, 2018 [3 favorites]

> zompist:
"I should reinstall 2 and finish it...

What I remember about this game is the dread. Outside the save points, nothing is safe, and inching down a corridor was terrifying, and that was before the monsters jumped out at you."

Or dropped on you or...

And that FUCKING REGENERATOR! Talk about implacable dread!
posted by Samizdata at 8:16 PM on February 15, 2018 [2 favorites]

Also, with a friend of mine, we use the term "Isaac Clarke moment" to describe those times in movies and life when it goes from shitty, to shitty AND on fire.
posted by Samizdata at 8:21 PM on February 15, 2018 [4 favorites]

I was a level designer on Dead Space. I'm so happy that it's held up for all of you guys.
posted by GameDesignerBen at 8:26 PM on February 15, 2018 [63 favorites]

While I didn't find DS to be super scary, I thought the ambiance was fantastic. When you first head up to the Ishimura's bridge, or when you enter the medical wing -- those were some fantastic moments. It brought back strong memories of the Von Braun from System Shock 2. The part in DS2 where, SPOILER, you return to the Ishimura, END SPOILER, was one of the best parts of that game.
posted by miguelcervantes at 8:38 PM on February 15, 2018 [1 favorite]

> GameDesignerBen:
"I was a level designer on Dead Space. I'm so happy that it's held up for all of you guys."

You guys did an amazing job. Having to redownload and reinstall 2 as it didn't take too well to being moved around in some recent drive changes. Doing so as we speak. Also, you guys got a raw deal from EA.
posted by Samizdata at 8:53 PM on February 15, 2018 [3 favorites]

All I remember about Dead Space was that the controls on the PC were so horribly broken that I couldn't play it, and despite having a decent PC for it's era, the graphics were incredibly slow.

It's the same story for many games of that period that were designed for x360 and ps3. Poorly mapped over to mouse and keyboard controls and poorly ported graphics ruined it. I only picked it up because my console friend recommended it.

This was the same guy who insisted I must buy Halo when it came out for PC.
posted by adept256 at 9:50 PM on February 15, 2018

Really, Adept? I had no issues with it. And I am a spaz monkey.
posted by Samizdata at 10:02 PM on February 15, 2018

Yeah I made the mistake of trying to play it on the PC as well. Not a big deal, I can't blame the developers for making it fit perfectly into the console mold.
posted by Brocktoon at 10:55 PM on February 15, 2018

Dead Space 2 was one of the most compelling gaming experiences of my life. I didn't make all the way through the first one because I had a terrible computer at the time, but I had a better computer when the second one came out and it blew my socks off in so many ways. It terrified me but it also moved me in ways I didn't expect. I'm still haunted by the atmosphere and set design of a couple of levels, and how they worked so well with the unfolding story . . . kind of like how I'm haunted by similar things from Bioshock. 3 didn't quite live up to the incredibly high bar that 2 set, IMO, but it was still compelling and fascinating and scary.
posted by treepour at 11:03 PM on February 15, 2018 [1 favorite]

In the dark, headphones on, I cut off a leg but it keeps coming...ducts, why is it always ducts? A bloated baby climbs the walls. Oh god it has tentacles.
posted by sexyrobot at 11:05 PM on February 15, 2018 [1 favorite]

One of those games that (as I just found out) has been in my Steam library for close to four years, unplayed.

I guess I'll give it a shot now!
posted by bigendian at 11:23 PM on February 15, 2018

Game Designers Toolkit has a short video series on Dead Space and its sequels on YouTube. Start here.
posted by pharm at 12:14 AM on February 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

I really loved DS1 and DS2. DS3 had moments of great, but fucking EA just couldn't resist rubbing their EAness everywhere and the game suffered for it.

Really though, the most striking difference for me between DS1 and DS2/3 is that in the first game, I felt much more... vulnerable? I guess? It's a lot like the difference between 1979's Alien and 1986's Aliens -- the first time around it's pure wtf terror, nobody expected this, nobody's ready for this. The second time around there's scares, but there's also a score to settle and Ripley is ready to fuck shit up. That's Isaac in DS2 and 3.

DS2 also gave Isaac a voice and perhaps the best stomp in the history of video games, and while I think Visceral nailed the updates, they both served to tone down the terror a bit.
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 1:05 AM on February 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

Gotta admit I was disappointed when you got to see Isaac for the first time. One of the immersive elements about the first one I dug SO much was that I could be Isaac, you could be Isaac, any of us could be Isaac. OTOH, I dug the more actiony play of 2 and 3.
posted by Samizdata at 2:21 AM on February 16, 2018

i agree with most posters here - DS1 was great, DS2 was more action-y . (the "Alien" and "Aliens" comparison was very apt).

I'm in the minority here that I thought DS3 was good too - I don't feel the micro-transactions impacted my enjoyment of the game because there was just no need to ever USE them - crafting supplies were plentiful enough without them.

And the "Build your own weapon" system was FANTASTIC.

(not an EA shill, I think they are a cancer on gaming, I just don't think they messed up DS3 as bas as people claim)
posted by Paladin1138 at 4:07 AM on February 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

Dead Space did have that bit of weirdness where the very first gun you get, the plasma cutter, is so unusually good compared to normal FPS starting pea-shooters that it has entire articles written about it. It's so popular that it almost has it's own fan club complete with DIY cosplayers (though you could also just outright buy one)
posted by Eleven at 5:13 AM on February 16, 2018

Adept246: That was my first impression as well. But then I found out that the PC version of Dead Space has a bug that makes the mouse move really slowly if you use an ATI video card. There's a tweak you can do to make it work properly and make the game playable. Details here. Once I did this, the game was much more fun.

Note: you also have to keep V-sync turned on in the in-game menu or you'll hit an invisible wall bug part way through the first chapter.

Ah, PC gaming.
posted by JDHarper at 5:38 AM on February 16, 2018 [3 favorites]

the PC version of Dead Space has a bug that makes the mouse move really slowly if you use an ATI video card. There's a tweak you can do to make it work properly and make the game playable.

I'm glad you posted that. The only workaround I had was using my controller, which isn't a terrible way to play but on PC it's much better (and my personal preference) to use mouse/keyboard over the controller, at least for a game like this. I'll definitely apply this fix later this afternoon. Cheers.
posted by Fizz at 5:44 AM on February 16, 2018

All I remember about Dead Space was that the controls on the PC were so horribly broken that I couldn't play it, and despite having a decent PC for it's era, the graphics were incredibly slow.

the PC version of Dead Space has a bug that makes the mouse move really slowly if you use an ATI video card. There's a tweak you can do to make it work properly and make the game playable.

I'm extremely sensitive to mouse lag, it gets under my skin in a horrible, visceral, this-feels-like-a-body-part-is-responding-wrong sort of way, and I managed to play way more Dead Space than I thought possible despite how bad actually playing the game felt because of how amazing it was. Knowing that this was due to the graphics card makes me want to install it on my current (non-ATI card-having) computer and replay.

Speaking of replaying, I played some Doom 3 last year and it really felt to me, especially having played Doom 2016, that what Doom 3 wanted to be (but didn't really accomplish) was what Dead Space would do a few years later.
posted by Pope Guilty at 5:53 AM on February 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I was doing Dead Space bits on Metafilter before it got all... cool.
posted by Naberius at 6:09 AM on February 16, 2018

I loved Dead Space but there was a puzzle some ways into the game that I could never get past. I was at a point in my life where I knew no longer had friends who could come over, do that one thing for me, and let me go on with the game. So i never finished it.
posted by crush at 6:43 AM on February 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

I loved Dead Space but there was a puzzle some ways into the game that I could never get past. I was at a point in my life where I knew no longer had friends who could come over, do that one thing for me, and let me go on with the game. So i never finished it.

Dark Souls did this to many people as well. Not me [serious] but lots of people.

Was it a logic puzzle or a hard action sequence? I mean why not Google that sucker and be done with it if it was the former? It's been a while since I played Dead Space but damn I can't imagine stopping midway through.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:10 AM on February 16, 2018

It was a matter of timing, if I remember correctly. I had the solution--I just could not execute it. I had a similar problem with a room in one of the Resident Evil games--I had looked up the walkthru and understood the steps/sequence, but could never make it happen!

But I probably will pull out the gamer and try again. Though it's been so long now since I've played anything on the PS3 that I probably won't be able to walk and chew gum at the same time!
posted by crush at 7:33 AM on February 16, 2018

Dark Souls did this to many people as well. Not me [serious] but lots of people.

I was really getting into Dark Souls and then I got to the Capra Demon fight and hmm my Dark Souls disk has a lot of dust on it now.
posted by murphy slaw at 7:39 AM on February 16, 2018

Dead Space still has the most incredible sound design I've ever heard in a video game. Play it in 5.1 surround if you can.

Note: you also have to keep V-sync turned on in the in-game menu or you'll hit an invisible wall bug part way through the first chapter.

I don't think I encountered this, and I know I turned VSync off because the lag is horrible otherwise. YMMV.

Capra Demon

fuck that guy.
posted by neckro23 at 8:16 AM on February 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

Man this sounds right up my alley but I haven't played a commercial game in so long I don't think I have any way to do it.
posted by atoxyl at 9:10 AM on February 16, 2018

I loved Dead Space, but what I remember most about it is that I played the first hour or so WITHOUT REALIZING I COULD RUN OR STOMP THINGS.
posted by joelhunt at 9:34 AM on February 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

Man this sounds right up my alley but I haven't played a commercial game in so long I don't think I have any way to do it.

By today's graphical standards, it's not too intensive, but it would depend on how current a machine you're wanting to play it on. Origin is a free gaming platform, similar to Steam only it's EA's shop.

What type of laptop/computer are you on? It might be able to handle it. Here are the requirements.

For Windows XP (SP2) or Vista
2.8 GHz processor or equivalent
1 GB RAM (XP), 2 GB RAM (Vista)
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 or better (7300, 7600 GS, and 8500 are below minimum system requirements)
ATI X1600 Pro or better (X1300, X1300 Pro and HD2400 are below minimum system requirements)
256MB Video Card and Shader Model 3.0 required
The latest version of DirectX 9.0c
At least 7.5GB of hard drive space for installation, plus additional space for saved games.

posted by Fizz at 10:12 AM on February 16, 2018 [2 favorites]

What type of laptop/computer are you on? It might be able to handle it. Here are the requirements.

Okay I guess the good thing about being out of this vidya thing is that games that look quite nice to me can actually still be pretty damn old in reality. If I wanted to be a little sneaky and play it on my work laptop I'm sure it would be fine (though I'd have to start dual-booting Windows). Even my other one is actually newer than the original game, I'm just dubious that the integrated graphics would handle it.
posted by atoxyl at 11:41 AM on February 16, 2018

(though also the good laptop has an ATI mobile something if that's still an issue)
posted by atoxyl at 11:43 AM on February 16, 2018

And a reminder: original 'Dead Space' is currently free on EA Origin. It still holds up, and it's worth your time. Such a brilliant game.

Thanks for the heads up! Downloading now...
posted by homunculus at 4:27 PM on February 16, 2018

Just finished 2. Had to die ONE more time during the "ending" apparently.
posted by Samizdata at 9:58 PM on February 16, 2018

Fond memories of cracking Dead Space 1 open and playing it on Halloween with the lights off while trick-or-treaters occasionally knocked on the door located behind me.
posted by strange chain at 1:38 PM on February 18, 2018 [1 favorite]