One Avocadoan’s journey delving into the realm of survival horror.

For the past several months, I’ve kept delaying my plans to cover Dead Space. Probably the biggest reason for that is its association with survival horror’s Resident Evil 4-inspired shift toward action in the mid- and late-2000s. As evidenced by my review of RE4, this significant change in the genre was not something that I particularly enjoyed, and as such I’ve been kind of avoiding games from that era as much as possible. It was only when I decided to drop Darkwood and needed to choose a replacement fast that I resolved to give Dead Space a try. In doing so, I realized just what I had been missing all those months: Dead Space is pretty close to a masterpiece.

Developed by EA Redwood Shores, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts that would eventually be renamed to Visceral Games, Dead Space started life as an intended third entry in Looking Glass Technologies’ seminal science fiction series System Shock. Not long into development, however, RE4 released and captured the hearts of the EA Redwood Shores team. Believing RE4 to be the future of gaming, and that they could fix some of the flaws in that game’s gameplay (such as Leon’s inability to move while aiming and shooting), the team decided to switch development from System Shock 3 to an original survival/action horror game with a sci fi flair. While this was very much not in EA’s wheelhouse at the time (and almost certainly less so these days), the developers were able to put together strong enough demos of their ideas that EA executives agreed to greenlight the project. Eventually releasing in late 2008, Dead Space received critical acclaim and sold two million copies, ultimately leading to two more entries (the third of which was much less well-received) and a 2023 next-gen remake of the first game.¹ Despite the remake also being praised by critics and selling roughly two million copies, it apparently failed to reach EA’s infamously lofty sales targets and the series has unfortunately appeared dead in the water ever since.²

Dead Space puts players in the shoes – or, rather, boots – of Isaac Clarke, a ship engineer in the 26th century. A massive ‘Planetcracker’ named the USG Ishimura, a ship designed to tear apart planets and strip them of their resources, has gone mysteriously silent above the planet Aegis VII and Isaac and a small crew are sent to help them get back online. In addition to being a job, this mission is also personal for Isaac as his girlfriend, Nicole, is a medic aboard the Ishimura. After crash landing in the Ishimura’s shuttle bay, Isaac and the others find the enormous vessel in bad shape and seemingly abandoned – abandoned, that is, until they are suddenly attacked by horrific, fleshy monsters called Necromorphs. Racing against time, Isaac must get the Ishimura back in working order and get to the bottom of what is going on, all while hoping against hope that Nicole is alive and safe.

One thing that most intrigued me about this game is how much it incorporates Isaac’s background as an engineer. In most of the survival horror games I’ve played so far, the protagonists come from a law enforcement/military background (Jill, Leon, and Chris from Resident Evil), don’t have a job (Hinako from Silent Hill f, the girls from Mask of the Lunar Eclipse), or have a profession fully unrelated to what is going on around them (James and Henry from Silent Hill 2 Remake and Silent Hill 4). Isaac is different. His engineering skills are the driving force for much of the story. He’s not solely trying to escape or take out threats; rather, the bulk of the plot progression is Isaac going from one part of the ship to another, attempting to get its sputtering systems back online. Even his weapons aren’t actually weapons – most of them are engineering tools first and foremost. His starting weapon, and most iconic, is a plasma cutter meant to slice through rock and other debris. The special suit modules that Isaac acquires that allow him to manipulate and slow down objects have clear industrial applications as well. All of this has both character benefits (demonstrating Isaac’s competence and improvisational abilities) while also giving the game a unique flavor that sets it apart from others in the genre.

Speaking of unique flavor, the USG Ishimura has to be one of my favorite survival horror settings so far. The developers do a fantastic job of capturing the ship’s scale, from the cavernous cargo bays to the labyrinthine hallways to the exterior spacewalk sections along the hull, and it really helps to emphasize Isaac and the player’s isolation throughout the experience. Beyond just the scale, though, there is so much detail on display. Every place you’d expect on a ship with a real, breathing crew is present and accounted for. Bathrooms, crew quarters, mess halls, recreation areas, it’s all there. It feels like deliberate thought went into designing the environment in a way that (mostly) made sense rather than just focusing on making video game-y levels. Signs of life (magazines, soda cans, tools, etc.) coexist alongside signs of death and destruction (debris, overturned furniture, corpses, blood splatters). It all combines to make the Ishimura come across as both lived-in and a complete ruin. 

That uncanny juxtaposition is a factor in another of the game’s key elements – it is incredibly terror-inducing. I would even go so far as to call Dead Space one of the scariest games I’ve played, alongside Silent Hill 2 Remake and the Grace sections of Resident Evil: Requiem. Outside of the aforementioned environmental design, with the Ishimura’s dark, claustrophobic halls and constant tableaus of death, the sound design is some of the best I’ve encountered to date. There is always some kind of background noise – the clanking of machinery, for example, or the creak of the ship settling – that keeps you on your toes, constantly feeling like something is moving around you. And more unsettling are the voices you can hear at times whispering or even singing, sometimes just barely audible. On a ship where everyone you run into is either dead or dying, this is especially disturbing. Then, of course, are the screams and screeches of the Necromorphs as they charge you, frequently from multiple angles, leaving the player disoriented and terrified. It’s all a masterclass in creating an atmosphere of intense and unending dread.

The Necromorphs themselves are fantastic horror monsters, bringing to mind the traditional zombie while being grotesque and twisted enough to appear truly alien. Unlike in most other survival horror games, which seem to focus on headshots and bodyshots, combat with the Necromorphs is based around removing their limbs. Not only does this help Dead Space stand out as unique mechanically, but it also adds elements of precision and strategy to every fight. The developers make sure to consistently introduce new types of Necromorph throughout the game as well, and each kind is different enough that it keeps combat from becoming too stale. Some have exploding limbs that can damage both Isaac and other Necromorphs. Some are absurdly fast and erratic. Some release swarms of tiny enemies if hit in the wrong spot. There is a great level of variety on display. The way the game uses the monsters outside of combat is pretty great, too; there were many times when I entered a hallway just in time to see a Necromorph skitter around a corner or climb into a vent and disappear, and it always left me on edge wondering when they would return.

Gameplay-wise, Dead Space does clearly derive a lot from RE4. The over-the-shoulder camera angle, the way the enemies drop resources upon death, and the shops where you can buy items or upgrade your weapons  were all clearly inspired by Leon’s adventure in Spain. At the same time, there are a number of ways in which Dead Space sets itself apart from its inspiration. As mentioned previously, combat is more focused on destroying enemy limbs and Isaac is able to move while aiming and firing, something that wasn’t possible in RE4. 

One of its most notable changes to the survival and action horror formula, though, and its most unique to this day, is its diegetic UI. Dead Space makes the most of its sci fi setting to remove the need for overlays or menus that force you to pause the game. Instead of a health bar, Isaac’s health is illustrated by a row of glowing lights on the back of his suit. Instead of an ammo counter in the corner of the screen, the amount of ammo is projected holographically above the weapon while aiming. Even the inventory and map screens are projected as a hologram from Isaac’s wrist when opened, moving with him when he walks but remaining stationary when just the camera is moved around. This is something I’d never seen before in a game, and at first I was worried about how difficult it might be to navigate. Luckily it was implemented pretty seamlessly and I had few issues. On the contrary, I found that this way of incorporating the UI greatly enhanced the game’s immersion. 

I’ve been pretty universal with my praise for Dead Space so far, but it certainly isn’t without flaws. One common complaint I’ve seen, and one that I agree with, is that each major area of the ship is too cordoned off and separated from each other. At the beginning of each chapter you are dropped off in the part of the ship you need to be which, while convenient given the Ishimura’s size, reduces the chance for exploration. It would have been nice for the areas to be more connected (like, say, the Spencer Mansion from RE1). The bosses (except for the Hunter Necromorph stalker) are also kind of underwhelming. There are only three of them and they are annoying (the first boss), incredibly easy (the second boss), or both (the final boss). The PC port struggles with some issues as well, at least on modern hardware, with the mouse sensitivity being difficult to get feeling right and higher than intended frame rates breaking certain animation cycles (and soft locking me once). Ultimately, though, these flaws didn’t detract from the experience too much.

Given that one of my goals for Afraid and Alone is to discover how various survival horror games influence and inspire each other, it makes sense to discuss Cronos: The New Dawn here. Back in my review of that game, I mentioned that there seemed to be disagreement as to whether or not Cronos is a Dead Space clone/ripoff and to what extent. Having now played both games, I can say that there are a few definite gameplay and aesthetic similarities. Both games feature main protagonists who wear power suits and can punch and stomp enemies, sci fi settings brimming with advanced yet rundown technology, zero G sections utilizing magnet boots, and cosmic horror monstrosities of distorted and merged flesh. On the other hand, Cronos has much less of a focus on removing enemy limbs, lacks Dead Space’s diegetic UI, takes place on Earth and involves time travel rather than space, and is much more of a classic survival horror when it comes to inventory and resource management. Dead Space is certainly a lot closer to Cronos than I was anticipating, but I don’t know that I can quite call Cronos a Dead Space clone as it draws just as much inspiration from Resident Evil.

Ultimately, Dead Space is an incredibly tense game with a fantastic setting and is a blast to play. While I’m still not fully sold on the genre-wide shift toward action during the mid- and late-2000s, this game has shown me that I can’t just generalize about that era like I’ve done before. I regret that I didn’t give Dead Space a shot earlier and am very glad that I got the chance to play it now. I’ll definitely have to play the sequel soon. (Although I doubt that I’ll ever get around to the much more maligned Dead Space 3, if nothing else because I don’t want to have to make an EA account.)

Survival horror and adjacent games I hope to cover (in no particular order) – Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil (OG), Resident Evil 2 (OG), Resident Evil 3 Remake, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Resident Evil Revelations, Resident Evil Revelations 2, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Resident Evil: Village, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Amnesia: Rebirth, Amnesia: The Bunker, Tormented Souls, Alien Isolation, Yomawari: Midnight Shadows, The Evil Within, The Evil Within 2, Alisa, Dead Space 2, Alone in the Dark 2, Alone in the Dark 3, Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, Alone in the Dark (2024), Curse: Eye of Isis, Dino Crisis, Dino Crisis 2, Darkwood, ObsCure, Cold Fear, Lempo, Stasis, Stasis Bone Totem, System Shock 1 and 2, Metro 2033, Look Outside, Fear the Spotlight, Heartworm, Little Goody Two-Shoes, SOMA, Empty Shell, Bendy and the Ink Machine, Clock Tower: Rewind, White Day: A Labyrinth Called School, Condemned: Criminal Origins, Sorry We’re Closed, Fragile Reflection, Bioshock 1, Bioshock 2, You Will Die Here Tonight, My Friendly Neighborhood, Conscript, The Callisto Protocol, Fatal Frame II Remake, Penumbra: Overture, Penumbra: Black Plague, Penumbra: Requiem, Lamentum, Outlast, Routine, Carnival Massacre, Late Homework, Subversive Memories

My Current Survival Horror Ranking:

1. Resident Evil Remake (9.5/10)
2. Silent Hill 2 Remake (9.5/10)
3. Signalis (9/10)
4. Dead Space (2008) (9/10)
5. Resident Evil Requiem (9/10)
6. Cronos: The New Dawn (9/10)
7. Resident Evil 2 Remake (9/10)
8. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (8.5/10)
9. Crow Country (8.5/10)
10. Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (8/10)
11. Silent Hill 4: The Room (8/10)
12. Silent Hill f (8/10)
13. Resident Evil 4 (7/10)
14. Amnesia: The Dark Descent (7/10)
15. Alone in the Dark (1992) (7/10)

Up Next: Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake

Header image courtesy of TheGamer.