Insider and journalist Tom Henderson recently reported that new gameplay and details for Motive Studio’s remake of Dead Space would be coming in October. However, the development team has already begun detailing the process of remaking the classic and confirmed some new features.
As senior producer Philippe Ducharme notes in part one of “Inside Dead Space“, “We look at the original game with the utmost respect. So the core foundations will remain the same. However, we are making several enhancements to the experience to make it enticing for both new players and returning ones.” The first step was speaking with community members identified as “diehard fans” and meeting them every six weeks, providing full access to the project.
“Because we have our opinions, but that doesn’t mean we’re right!” he adds. “There were several polarizing topics we wanted to get a gut-check on, so we gathered feedback from these groups to make informed decisions. A focus on community is one of the key pillars of this project, so we also took feedback from our live streams, and read through user reviews and Twitch comments – there was a lot of intake of information. It was all to understand who we’re addressing with this game, and what made Dead Space spectacular for them.”
So the remake is sticking to the original, but what’s new? Philippe notes that while the main beats and events will be present, “We looked at the lore of the whole franchise, which is a lot wider than the original game. There was Dead Space 2, Dead Space 3, the comic books – these all added additional lore that we re-injected into the game.”
Creative director Roman Campos-Oriola adds, “Right, we wanted to make it fit better in the overall story and lore of the Dead Space universe that evolved after the first one. As an example, Isaac has a voice here, just like in Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3.”
Secondary characters who only appeared in audio logs, like Dr Cross, are now getting proper screen time. Important characters like Nicole will also have a “bit more” background and agency. “So, we’re creating a whole layer of narrative side-quests that will allow you to see, for example, what happened to Nicole during the outbreak.”
The Dead Space remake launches on January 27th, 2023 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.
