Dead Space is not for the faint of heart by any means. The space survival horror game began in 2008 with the release of the original Dead Space game. Now the franchise includes several games and movies as well. Coming soon to the franchise is the remake of the first game. While the Motive team gears up to release the new game, they are keeping fans in the loop for all of the changes they will be making. Recently in a post on the EA website, several improvements were discussed in detail, including the peeling system.
The peeling system is as horrifying as it sounds. Though the games never held back on the gore, when you shot an alien in the previous games, their skin didn’t peel back to reveal the tendons and bones. Well, it will in the remake. This feature was added for more than just the graphics though. Now you can see the damage you’re inflicting. When you see muscle and bone, you’ll know where to shoot again to tear the limb off. Plus, the graphic nature of it was enticing.
“Right, when you start shooting, you see the skin and the flesh getting ripped from the enemy’s body,” says Roman, “and then you start to see the bones underneath, and then you can cut the bones and it cuts the limb, and so on. It looks amazing—but it also gives direct feedback to the player about the amount of damage they’re doing.”
Roman Campos-Oriola, Creative Director
The so-called peeling system is just one of many improvements to the remake. The introduction of the zero-gravity movement is new as well. While players will enjoy the 360-degree movement that one would enjoy in space, they will also get to move uninterrupted throughout the ship in a single shot. No scene breaks or camera switches in this game unless you die!
The developing team is also working on things like improving the look and feel of all of the hardware and tech. This graphic comparing the two flamethrowers illustrates this beautifully. Campos-Oriola says that “every asset—every animation, every texture, every effect or piece of enemy behavior—has been rebuilt in the new engine.” This new engine is called Frostbite, and the results speak for themselves. The amount of detail that is being added makes this remake absolutely gorgeous. Even the lighting is drastically improved to create more realistic depth and shading. Now imagine that detail in the Necromorphs.
The Dead Space remake will have the same plot as the original, so Isaac Clarke will return as the repair crewman stuck on a planetary mining ship that has just been overrun with mutated human corpses. As he tries to survive, the mystery of what has caused the mutation will be revealed. The game will be released on January 27, 2023 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
