The Dead Space remake is a faithful recreation of the 2008 original — the story is basically the same, but there’s more depth here thanks to new side-missions. In addition to the main narrative, now you can quest back to previous locations to learn more about the characters and watch their interactions through recorded holographic messages. Completing these side-quests can give you huge bonus rewards, including a special stasis module that slows enemies down just for pointing your reticule at them. All of the side-missions are worth checking out on your first playthrough. You’ll need all the upgrades you can get for NG+.
But that has us all wondering. If you’re on the fence and curious how long the remake will last, we’ll break it down fully in the guide below. While the game is very close to the original game’s general length, there’s more to experience here. If you’re a fan, there’s even more content to check out after you’ve completed the story once. And if you’re brave enough to attempt the hardest difficulty, then you’ll get some of the most fun rewards out there. Here’s an in-depth look at this game’s length.
More Dead Space guides:
Secret Ending Guide | Hidden Unlockables | All Weapon Locations | All RIG Upgrades | Whole Again Side-Mission Guide | Chapter 1 Collectibles | ‘Wishbone’ Achievement Guide | Infinite Cash Trick
How Long Is The Dead Space Remake?
The 2023 Dead Space remake recreates every location from the original game in beautiful detail with only minor changes to layout for gameplay purposes. For the most part, the areas look structurally identical, with encounters and exploration areas following the same basic beats that were found in the original game. For that reason, playing through the story on Normal or Hard will take most players about 1-2 hours longer to complete than the original game.
- How Many Chapters: There are 12 Chapters in the Dead Space remake — exactly as many as the original version of the game.
- For players on Normal and Hard, the remake will take about 12~ hours to complete.
In addition to the normal playthrough, New Game+ unlocks after finishing the story once. NG+ includes the Tier 6 Advanced Suit and remixes the campaign, including new powerful enemies. For playing on the hardest difficulty, Impossible, you’ll earn brand new bonuses — the Burnished Suit and the Hand Cannon Foam Finger Easter egg weapon.
- How Has The Story Expanded?: The story has been slightly expanded. There are three side-quests you can complete while exploring the derelict ship.
- The side-quests mostly only add a few minutes to the gameplay experience, giving you a reason to return to previous areas. The longest side-quest involves tracking down lost rigs to create the Master Override Key. This key allows you to access Master locked doors.
Tracking down the lost rigs and unlocking the Master Access code will add the most time to your game. Going back to previous areas to open Master Lock doors is essential. The Master Access code is required to open special weapon crates that contain Level 3 Weapon Upgrades. These can be found all over the ship. They’re marked on your map, so you can scan areas you’ve visited and return to loot these special rooms.
The chapters of Dead Space infamously spell out a story spoiler that we won’t get into here. Needless to say, all of those story beats are essentially the same. There’s a lot more reason to fully explore the Ishimura this time around, so your 12~ hour playtime can easily reach 20+ hours if you want to accomplish everything.
