Ahead of the game’s release next month, the development team at EA Motive have been discussing all things Dead Space. The Dead Space remake is due to be released at the end of January, and it’s fair to say that there’s a lot of excitement building from the gaming community. Luckily, the team at EA Motive have been sharing some new insights with IGN about the upcoming title to help keep us entertained while we wait for January 27.
Most recently, the designers behind protagonist Isaac Clarke’s space suit have spoken to IGN about how the new version of the iconic outfit differs from that of the original. The upcoming version of Clarke’s suit has been given a “grimy upgrade,” which seems fitting given that the entire game has been rebuilt and upgraded for the modern console generation. You can check out the IGN First video in full right here if you want to learn more about how the design of Isaac Clarke’s suit was originally crafted and how the Dead Space remake will build on from that with its new design.
The space suit’s original designer, concept artist Chi-Wai Lao, features in the video largely discussing how the original concept for the suit was created back in the early 2000s alongside Dead Space creator Glen Schofield. It turns out that the design of the original suit was heavily inspired by a popular anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion. This artwork and mech design helped contribute to the resulting spine and entry plug that feature on Clarke’s original Eva space suit.
It’s also revealed that the horizontal ribbing design of the original suit later formed the basis for the overall design style of the game. It was implemented in hallways, vehicles and the exterior of the Ishimura itself, which led to a coherent and cohesive feel across the entire original Dead Space game.
The video goes into deeper detail on the design of the original suit, before moving into a segment where the designers of the Dead Space remake discuss how they’ve used the original as the basis for their own redesign of the iconic outfit. Despite having the chance to redesign the suit from scratch, the team at EA Motive didn’t feel that this was the right option. Instead, they took the original suit and updated and upgraded it to be more consistent with the game’s body-horror overall aesthetic. In this way, the team explain that they felt like they were able to honour the legacy of the original Dead Space yet bring a more modern and slightly different feel to things for the remake.
The Dead Space remake will release on January 27, 2023. It’ll be available on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC.
