Dead Space Remake Vs Original [Detailed Comparison]

There has been a constant debate as of late between video game remakes with their differences from the original release. Although the developers do a pretty good job of stating the major changes, most players won’t even notice the finer details or at times, understand them at all. So similarly, the Original Dead Space Vs the remake is a topic that most veteran players will want to explore before jumping into the latter for the first time. The game has several different changes made to it, which makes it a cut above the original in almost every way.

Narrative And Storytelling

It goes without saying that the original Dead Space in 2008 failed to provide any meaningful context to the objectives of the game as well as your motives as Isaac Clarke. While the side characters and the whole ordeal of Isaac trying to reunite with his wife, Nicole was certainly intriguing, the entire storytelling as a whole was fairly decent or fell flat to the point where the only real appeal was the ultra-satisfying gameplay of Dead Space.

However, with the inclusion of the Remake, things are definitely changed for the better here. First things first, the original Dead Space didn’t offer much at all, especially in terms of world-building, but that contrasts with the remake here as right from the early going, you begin to notice the bigger change; Isaac having actual voice acting now, which we will go over separately in a latter section of the guide.

Characters such as Hailey Johnston and Aiden Chen, which are your crew members on the Kellion during the early hours of the game, have much more fleshed-out characterization to offer here than in the original title. The surprising details also emerge, which will be more apparent to veteran fans as a couple of text log events will be showcased to you during your first playthrough instead of NG+, even making Isaac remark on them.

Furthermore, key story details such as the Convergence event in the Necromorph process are brought earlier to the player’s attention by your first visit to Dr. Challus Mercer. These new story elements bring finer detail to the overarching storytelling as it is evident that the developers did this to ensure that the player base has an easier time transitioning to Dead Space 2’s storytelling if they so wish to play it after experiencing the remake.

Even characters such as Elizabeth Cross are entirely different from their original installment counterpart. The storytelling doesn’t seem to get much interesting until you reach Chapter 9 or 10 of the original game, but thankfully with the remake, it seems like both new and old players will appreciate Isaac’s riveting journey across the USG Ishimura as well as learn more in-depth about the ongoing events with a broader perspective in mind.

Weapon & Combat Changes

There are a total of seven different weapons that you can use in Dead Space Remake, each retaining its individuality that made them stand out from each one in the original installment. The combat generally follows the same style with, of course, a fresh new coat of paint on it which mainly involve enhancing the properties of the arsenal in the game.

However, this time in Dead Space Remake, obtaining these same weapons is quite different as you will need to hunt them down during your exploration in the USG Ishimura and its forsaken territories.

Almost every single weapon has been significantly tweaked and redesigned for the gameplay in the remake. Moreover, they have received much-deserved quality-of-life improvements, such as new alternative fire modes and damage output adjustments, which genuinely make them more fun to use against the Necromorphs.

Furthermore, in addition to their regular stat upgrading using nodes, you can also attach each weapon with modifications that can further boost their properties during combat. Some notable changes for a few of the weapons in the game include:

• Plasma Cutter: The Plasma Cutter is easily one of the Best Weapons in Dead Space Remake, and although it didn’t receive any major changes, the developers added unique twists to the weapon, such as making it so that hitting the limb or weakened areas of Necromorphs will deal extra damage to them.
• Force Gun: Unlike the original, where the Force Gun simply pushed back enemies using a gravitational force, with the remake, you can now use an alternative mode of the weapon to create a gravity well that pulls nearby enemies into its grasp and thus making crowd-control fights a breeze.
• Pulse Rifle: The following weapon has received a fantastic new alternative mode where it makes it a grenade launcher, capable of demolishing enemies immediately.

Aside from the weapons, there are a few new renditions of suit skins that you can equip on Isaac to alter his appearance visually. Locating the weapons whilst exploring along with their scattered upgrade parts can certainly incentivize players to closely survey every hidden part of the environment or even backtrack to hunt them, a feature which is especially admirable for survival horror games such as Dead Space.

Zero Gravity Sections

During one of the earliest chapters of the game, you will encounter your first moments of using Zero gravity in Dead Space, but there is a couple of changes here in the original vs the 2023 remake. In the former, whilst in these sections, players had restricted movement of traversing either forward or backward.

Even more so was the fact that you could only travel from surface to surface by aiming with your weapon at the desired place to land and then launching Isaac to that area. It felt tedious, to say the least, but with how technology was back then, it wasn’t anything that frustrated players too much, needless to say.

However, with the remake of the game, you are now able to use a free-flow-like state of movement as the game provides Isaac with the RIG’s dedicated thrusters that can make him hover during these zero-gravity sections.

Instead of restricted maneuverability, you can pretty much move in a 360-degree manner; plus, with features such as readjusting your orientation and the suit’s boosters, they can make these certain sequences of the game seem rather enjoyable than a headache.

Isaac Clarke Is Fully Voiced

One of the more welcoming changes with the remake of Dead Space vs the original is easily the fact that our protagonist of the game, Isaac Clarke is voiced from start to end, allowing his character to flesh out with a denser personality than the original installment. Gunner Wright returns to voice him for the remake, as he also did the voiceover for him in both Dead Space 2 and 3.

This feature of Isaac having a proper voice acting role adds a much-needed layer to his whole character and persona as we can get to experience a much deeper connection of him with his wife, Nicole, along with other NPCs that he meets throughout the main campaign.

Isaac practically had zero voiced lines in the original game, literally making him feel emotionless about the surrounding events of the game aside from the final moments. Voice-acted lines in the remake allow him to react accordingly to the scenarios unfolding in front of him, especially now that players can get to experience a realistic portrayal of his character rather than a monotonous one who feels clueless half the time.

So with the addition of a coherent voice role, the developers of the remake adjusted the plot to accommodate Isaac’s voice lines, going as far as to feature a brand-new script, overhauling it so that each finer detail of the narrative coincides with Isaac’s involvement in the story.

Secret Ending

Without delving too much into spoiler territory, the Secret ending in Dead Space Remake is absent in the original game and allows provides more insight into Isaac and his story moving forward into the rest of the sequel titles. The only real tricky part will be to acquire the secret ending itself, as there are some prerequisites that you need to fulfill in order to trigger it in order to experience it in all its glory.

First things first, it is worth stating that the secret ending can only be obtained in a New Game+ playthrough, so you will have to complete your first playthrough before you tackle another for the ending. Now comes the fun part, as throughout almost every chapter of the game in NG+, you will need to locate Marker Fragments, which are essentially collectibles that only appear in this unique playthrough of the game.

However, keep in mind that you will soon need to deposit all twelve of these fragments in your Captain’s Quarters which will have a shrine where you submit these fragments in a summoning circle-like manner. The game will indicate via an eerie whispering audio cue once you have completed that part, after which you simply need to finish the game as normal but make sure to do all these steps before you engage in Chapter 12.

The new secret ending isn’t totally different from the original’s intended climax as the former essentially offers a hidden cut scene that adds a few connections to the events of Dead Space 2 and its beginning so that it doesn’t feel too random or sudden at first glance when experiencing it after playing the first game.

Level Design And Interconnectivity

The entire interior layout of the USG Ishimura has been drastically overhauled, allowing for seamless connectivity between its various different corridors and locations. These translate so vividly for players who have played the original Dead Space, where the game had a complex level design, even at times making you frustrated on where you had to go to progress the story.

Thankfully, that does not seem to be the case anymore in the remake as while most of the interior layout remains the same, a large number of the pathways and corridors can be seamlessly accessed altogether thanks to the battery packs and mechanical switches that can alternate your paths between locked doors. These can create shortcuts, too, making backtracking to certain areas much easier, which you’ll do in this game quite a bit.

Other minor details here may also include the fact that the main objectives during chapters have much more complexity or, at times, flexibility in comparison to their original version. These won’t feel too noticeable unless you’re really familiar with the first game, as instead of simple fetch-quest or Point A to B scenarios, there are more puzzles here as well as lore fluff here to make each chapter’s goal feel rewarding or worthwhile.

Non-Existent Loading Screens

While on the subject of seamless transitions within the game, half of it is done not only with the brand-new engine of the game but also the fact that there are hardly loading screens in the remake. To put it into better perspective, the original Dead Space often put you into situations where the game needed to load the next section and so forth, making getting through the campaign rather tediously, especially in modern times.

Thankfully, from the moment the remake is played from the title screen, the main menu is essentially like an in-game pause menu. You will hardly notice any differences whether you’re on an SSD or HDD.

What we mean by that is whenever you hit Continue from the main menu, the game will seamlessly transfer you right into the game without any prolonged loading screen. Furthermore, due to the USG Ishimura being one giant interconnected level, players can freely visit any location without any hindrances or roadblocks.

Side Missions

The newest feature of the remake, as compared to the original, is the addition of Side Missions, which consist of different types of tasks, from backtracking to certain parts of the Ishimura to completing odd requests of NPCs. You can earn a hefty chunk of credits and other useful items in the form of rewards through these side missions.

Furthermore, you may have another incentive to undertake them as not only do they focus on a few bits of gameplay, but they also offer another layer on the existing foundation of Dead Space’s fascinating lore and superb world-building. While doing these side missions can certainly spice up the overall pacing of the game, some may argue that backtracking in a few of them can feel repetitive at times. 

Visuals And Performance

The Dead Space Remake is powered in stunning next-gen graphical fidelity thanks to the might of the Frostbite Engine from EA, which (albeit with some minor hiccups in the past) can deliver a stunning display of visuals. Almost every single detail of the environment in the game from the original has been altered and remade in this new engine’s jaw-dropping visuals.

Isaac’s RIG Suits feature several prominent details right off the bat instead of the mellowed-out version of the original, as each armor plating on his suit has a detailed mesh quality. The Necromorphs also receive a makeover with the remake, as their intense and gory models are further enhanced by the Frostbite engine’s complexity in visuals, making them more intimidating than ever to fight.

The new lighting also manages to cast a twilight over certain areas and locations that, honestly, it truly feels like one of the best remakes to come out this year. Aside from the visual upgrades, players can expect a fairly smooth optimization here, just as in the original, despite an overhaul in the graphics engine, as we were personally able to run it with ease on our GTX 1660Ti at Medium to high settings at a stable 60FPS framerate.

The original Dead Space also had a great optimization which wasn’t anything too bothersome to even worry about, but it’s actually comforting to know that EA and Motive retained the tradition and didn’t disappoint fans with a lackluster experience for the remake, especially from its launch day.

The Wrap-Up

Dead Space Remake has been off to an amazing start, which is all evident by the reception from various players upon release and as shown in this recent Subreddit Post. Hardcore fans were eagerly anticipating the release of the game and how EA and Motive would do justice to it.

But it’s rather fitting to admit it has all been smooth sailing, and right now, veteran players just can’t seem to get enough of the game, going as far as taking on the Impossible Mode, which can truly test your skills and prowess with the game. Hunting down all of the Weapon Locations in Dead Space Remake is surely something that you wouldn’t want to miss, as they can all be beneficial to aid you in future playthroughs on greater difficulties.

Among the Best Upgrades that you min max for Isaac’s equipment, be sure not to miss out on grabbing the powerful Level 6 Suit, which can be found in the NG+ playthrough. If you are looking to maximize your exploration, then make sure to hunt down each and every one of the Schematics in the game.

However, for now, this concludes our guide in which we discussed Dead Space Remake vs the original and how each of the major changes makes it a step above the latter in every single way possible. If you have any other questions related to the guide or the game in general, then be sure to let us know about them in the comments section below! We truly hope you enjoy playing the game, whether as a newcomer or a veteran fan of the series!

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