It’s official, a remake of Dead Space 1 is happening. Announced at EA Play Live, Dead Space is going to be brought back once again, though it’s not going to be a new entry into the survival horror juggernaut. Rather, it’s a remake of the first game, in which the player will once again take control of the engineer Isaac Clarke aboard the USG Ishimura. With Visceral Games shut down, the series is being taken over by the developers Motive Studios, who recently worked on Star Wars Squadrons. With a tenure like this at EA, the developers certainly know what they’re doing to make a polished game, but one question remains: does Motive have what it takes to recapture what made the 2008 original so horrifying? According to some interviews with IGN, they seem to have it all under control.

With the remake of Dead Space being announced, it comes with a lot of skepticism, though for a good reason, as remaking games can mean drastically changing them, sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse. Consider something like the Resident Evil 2 remake, a game that took the Resident Evil 2 story and remade it to play like the more contemporary Resident Evil 4 and 5, changing the controls to play like a regular third-person shooter rather than an over-the-shoulder tank controls style of game. While this works to keep modern audiences entertained, a lot of disdain from fans was heard due to the fact that Resident Evil 2 was more like the original Resident Evil, with the game playing from a fixed camera angle, rather than over the shoulder. While this isn’t something that Dead Space has to deal with, there’s more to the game that is going to be changed. However, it seems that Motive knows what they’re doing, and is making sure that this game is going to be the best it can be.

According to an interview with the project leads at Motive, EA has given the developers full access to all the data related to the original Dead Space. However, Dead Space’s remake isn’t going to be a polished version of the 2008 title, as Motive has stated that the game is going to be made from the ground up in the Frostbite engine. The game is also going to be made with the new hardware in mind, as the game isn’t going to be on last-generation consoles, focusing on Xbox Series X, PS5, and PC instead.

On top of this, every asset is being made from scratch, while still referencing the previous work done by the developers. “In terms of visuals, sound, gameplay, everything, we are rebuilding all of these assets. We are not porting them, it’s not uprezzing the texture or adding more polygons to the model. It’s really rebuilding all these elements, shooting all the animations, et cetera.”

Aside from rebuilding, the game is also going to include a lot of content that didn’t make it into the 2008 original. As mentioned by the developers, “We started with the original level design of the original Dead Space. What’s funny is that you can see some of the iterations that were made before shipping by the team. In the first chapter, you can see some corridors that they wanted to do first in a certain way, and then you can understand why they changed it…”

This means that players can expect some changes to the story and level design of the original game since, with the addition of new technology, players are going to be able to experience the immense amount of content that never made it to the original game. With content that was left on the cutting room floor, there’s bound to be some mechanics or enemies that Isaac encountered on his first adventure that didn’t make it into the final version of the title.

One of the crowning achievements for the original Dead Space was immersion. Having the player immersed into the world of the game, and being terrified at what lurked on the other side of the doors is something that made Dead Space what it is. This is something that Motive seems to understand about the title, and they’re aiming to crank the immersion on the game up a couple of notches by removing any form of loading screen in the game. During the original Dead Space, Isaac traversed through chapters by taking the in-game tram to different locations around the Ishimura, however, according to Motive, the game’s remake can be played from the start screen to the credits seamlessly.

Motive also mentioned that the game is going to be faithful to the look and feel of the original, specifically with the diegetic UI in the game, with the player being able to see Isaac’s health and other stats on his Rig, which fit perfectly for the third person camera. This means that the game is going to retain the same third-person style that the original game had and is also going to be updated to fit the new technology, while still maintaining the immersion of the original. Motive wanted to set the stage for the way that the world looked as well and called the trailer for Dead Space an “atmospheric benchmark” for the title, wanting to make sure that this trailer expressed the look and feel of the original game. “What was important was to be able to capture the unique look of Dead Space. That unique sci-fi look, but it’s gritty and dirty and you feel that everything has been used for a long time, Capturing that dirty, industrial look, but with the level of detail that we can afford now, was something important during the production of that atmospheric benchmark.”

Motive is aiming to keep the DNA of Dead Space intact, as they stated while making the trailer for the game they referenced the concept art of original, as well as other assets from the title, wanting to make sure that the trailer stayed true to the original vision. Motive also cited volumetric lighting for the trailer as one of the key features for the remake, wanting to make sure that the horror mood of the game is intact.

However, lighting isn’t the only thing that Motive wants to focus on to bring back the horror to this horror classic, as sound is another key feature they want to improve in the game. 3D audio is making an entrance in the gaming world, as the concept of 3D audio is being used in virtual reality. however, this doesn’t mean that players aren’t going to be able to experience it on a normal screen, as Motive wants to include it in Dead Space’s remake. “We wanted to use the sounds you’re used to as well and improve those sounds, and improve this immersion so the sounds of the door that you’re hearing, the sound of the health bar, the sound of the creatures… we’re building on top of the original and recreating it, but make sure it is true to the original and that we are honoring the legacy of the original game, 3D audio will also add the understanding of where the sound comes from, having the right propagation, in the corridors, making it come from the vents above you, or behind you. These are all things that we’ll be able to expand on to increase the level of immersion.”

Since the original Dead Space is going to be remade, keeping the story of Dead Space 1 is something that’s key to Motive, as the story of Dead Space is not the only canon to the game, but also the foundation for the remake. Many remakes go the route where the game’s story is completely different from the original, due to the fact that the company wants to change the series, and make it more friendly to new audiences.

However, since this game is a remake of the first title, the story comes first for Dead Space, and being a more detailed and fleshed out version of the story is what Motive is planning for the remake. “For us, the foundation is the Dead Space 1 story. So, by default, that’s what is canon. But then there are some improvements that we want to make to that story, and not necessarily improvements because those things were not really working in the original, more improvements because of what came after, and we’re like, ‘Aw man, that’s interesting if we could reference that, or if we could make a link to that”

They’ve also mentioned that they’re looking at the vast library of other Dead Space media, like the two animated films, as well as the novels to help flesh out the story, making every extra piece of Dead Space Media part of the canon of the remake’s story.

This doesn’t mean that just the story of the game is going to get fleshed out, though, as features and mechanics in the series are going to make some returns to the remake, fixing some of the issues that the original had, and making the gameplay more polished than it’s original. One of the worst features in the original game was the Zero-G Jumps, which were subsequently fixed in the sequel with the thrusters on Isaac’s Suit, and this is also something that Motive is looking into while making the remake of the game.

Dismemberment is also going to get an upgrade in the remake as well, aiming to make the game not only gorier but also making the single most important pillar of combat feel better and more tuned, as it’s the only way in the game to defeat the many creatures lurking down the halls of the Ishimura.

When games are developed, it’s hard to get a second opinion from the demographic developers are trying to reach, and when it comes to remaking a classic title like Dead Space, not having a second opinion can be detrimental to the launch of the game. Consider Dead Space 3, which was panned by the fans for integrating too much action into the game, turning the series from a survival horror game into an action-shooter game. However, Motive knows that this isn’t the way to go, and when it comes to the remake of Dead Space, they’re making sure that some fans are going to get front row seats to the development of the game.

Motive is bringing in members from the Dead Space community to check out some of the early parts of development, as the game isn’t far along. This has let the fans give their input on the game itself, and showing Motive whether or not what they’re doing is working for the project.

This also shows the dedication that Motive has for the project, as they wanting to make the best version of the game that die-hard fans of the title are going to enjoy. “There’s always that element of being a little scared of showing your work, what’s really cool is you discover a thing that otherwise you might have discovered reading Reddit two weeks after launching the game, But also it’s really energizing for the team… because when you show something and you get feedback and good reactions on what you’re doing, it gives you that energy to go”

Dead Space seems to be in the right hands, with Motive bending over backward to ensure that this series is done justice. However, there are still some other things that should be done with the game that is up for debate.

As the game is in early development, it’s pivotal that the remake embraces some of the finer points of the original game, while still being fresh for the new age. One such point is that Isaac shouldn’t speak in the remake of the game. With Motive’s intention to make a completely immersive game, continuing to have a character that doesn’t talk is pivotal to keeping said immersion in the game. While Isaac did have an inner monologue in the game, it was relegated to the descriptions of the main objectives.

While references to other stories from the canon series will appear in the title, The remake has all the ingredients to provide a fun and exciting retelling of the story, while still keeping everything that made the original game horrifying, and with the Frostbite engine being used for the visuals, the creatures and environments will be more visceral than ever.