Fans of Dead Space have gotten their first look at the upcoming remake in action thanks to a new developer stream from EA Motive. The early look at Dead Space's development has given a taste of the many changes players can expect to see from the remake, which aims to revamp the classic horror for new-generation consoles without the development limitations faced by the original.
The Dead Space remake was announced earlier this summer during EA Play Live. The announcement consisted of just a short cinematic trailer, leaving players hungry for more details on the upcoming release. While the original Dead Space was developed by Visceral Games, the remake is being made by EA Motive, the studio behind games such as Star Wars: Squadrons. Dead Space fans have been curious to see how the studio would approach the remake, especially after EA announced the new Dead Space would improve gameplay, characters, and story.
During the EA Motive Twitch livestream, the developers of Dead Space shared some side-by-side screenshots of the original game and the remake, highlighting some of the environmental differences places can expect to see. Motive has used legacy assets from the 2008 game for a more authentic Dead Space experience, with the studio's goal to be presenting Dead Space like never before. While the new environments should look familiar to fans of the series, they also show many differences. Screenshot comparisons give the USG Ishimura's corridors more depth, adding extra jumpscare potential for enemies lurking just around the corner. Concept art was also revealed during the stream, offering a look at the ship's abandoned equipment and blood-stained corridors in chilling detail.
Watch the video on YouTube here.
Thanks to technological improvements in game development, the team is targeting a more realistic and immersive version of the Ishimura, with new details, shaders, and higher fidelity giving the ship more realism. The livestream highlighted the metallic finish of the ship, unobtainable on older consoles. Meanwhile, evolutions in game lighting have seemingly allowed the developers to create an even more tense and atmospheric experience than the original, playing with shadows in a way that should make the horror feel even more real. It's worth noting that footage shown in the livestream was from an early build of the remake, and could look even more impressive once development is complete.
The new Dead Space footage may have only given fans an early look at the game, but it's already shaping up to be an impressive remake. Motive's aim is to make players feel like they're on board the ship with Clarke, improving rather than replacing the original Dead Space experience. The studio's goal of making a more immersive and terrifying game is something that should be helped by the power of new-generation consoles and PC. The stream confirmed that the new Dead Space will use EA's Frostbite engine, which has been used for games like Battlefield and NHL 22.
With improved environments, lighting, audio, and gameplay, the Dead Space remake is already impressing fans of the original game. While a release date hasn't yet been announced, the title will only be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, likely due to the hardware limitations of older consoles. Industry insider Jeff Grubb has previously shared that Dead Space is targeting a late-2022 release, though this has not yet been confirmed.
Source: EA Motive/Twitch