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Cult horror classic Dead Space is reportedly being revived by EA

By Otto Kratky Published June 22, 2021

After rumors that EA would be reviving one of its older IPs and revealing it at the EA Play Live event on July 22, Gematsu has reported that the mystery franchise would be Dead Space. According to Gematsu, the game will be developed by Motive Studio, which has exclusively developed Star Wars games in the past, including Star Wars Battlefront 2 and Star Wars: Squadrons.

The rumor originally began after journalist Jeff Grubb first made the claim in the most recent GamesBeat Decides podcast, with the story then being picked up by VGC.

Dead Space has turned into a cult horror classic since its last entry, Dead Space 3, released in 2013. The franchise’s first two entries focused on a dark, horrifying atmosphere with heaps of body horror for good measure. The third, however, is classically seen as a black sheep by fans for its inclusion of co-op, which many chalked up to EA’s involvement at the time. Dead Space’s original developer, Visceral Games, shut down in 2017.

https://twitter.com/therealcliffyb/status/1406738183312887812

In all, it’s not too surprising for EA to bring back Dead Space, considering that the company has been reviving old franchises with success. Star Wars Battlefront‘s return in 2015 saw a renewed interest in Star Wars titles, and BioWare’s recent remaster of the first three Mass Effect games with Mass Effect: Legendary Edition has been universally welcomed by fans.

Online, fans have been growing excited over the possibility of Dead Space making a return, although with a hint of caution. Mat Piscatella, an executive director at the NPD Group, wrote, “I’m sick of my emotions being treated as though they are simple playthings” in response to the report. Similarly, Gears of War developer Cliff Bleszinski expressed his excitement on Twitter, saying, “Lordy I hope there’s a new Dead Space coming out. Loved that franchise.”

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Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…

Gaming

I played the original Dead Space before the remake — and I regret it

Issac stands tall in the Dead Space remake.

After skipping out on The Callisto Protocol once it became clear it wasn't going to become the next sci-fi horror classic, my eyes became fixed on the rapidly approaching Dead Space remake. While not made by the 2008 version's original team, developer Motive had been extremely transparent about how it was approaching the project through the entirety of its development. This was going to be a faithful remake, sticking true to what the original was, and only modernizing the look and making key changes here and there. This was meant to be a replacement for the original, not a companion piece.

Perhaps my expectations of Dead Space being closer to a spiritual successor came from the sort of marketing cold war going on with The Callisto Protocol. Both were heavily advertised and had high expectations; Callisto because it had Dead Space's original creators working on it, and Dead Space for being, well, a remake of Dead Space. While the former game turned out to be a major departure from what I was looking for in the genre, I decided instead to bide my time waiting for Dead Space by going back and replaying the old version one last time.

Gaming

The best video game remakes reinvent the classics, they don’t just revisit them

Isaac Clarke stands in a dark room in Dead Space.

The video game industry has remake fever. While the idea of redoing a classic game is nothing new (see something as old as 1993’s Super Mario All-Stars), we’re currently experiencing a wave of remakes as developers revisit some of the best games of the 2000s and beyond. Last year we got The Last of Us Part I and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy Reunion, while 2023 will see games like Resident Evil 4 getting a full redo hot on the heels of Dead Space. Like a Dragon: Ishin, Advance Wars 1+2: Re-boot Camp, Silent Hill 2, System Shock … the list seemingly grows with every passing month.

With so many remakes filling up 2023’s game release calendar, I find myself asking a simple question: Why? That’s not a cynical question directed at the overall concept of remakes, but rather one that’s worth asking on an individual project level. Why is 2023 the right moment to reboot a series? What will this remake do to deepen my understanding of the original game? Are more modern graphics enough to justify a retread into a 15-year-old game that still plays well by today’s standards, or would that time and money have been better spent moving forward?

Gaming

The best guns in Dead Space

Isaac Clarke aims at a necromorph in Dead Space.

If there's one thing Dead Space is best known for, it's got to be using its unique selection of mining tools and guns to dismember the disgusting mutated corpses roaming around the USG Ishimura. Luckily, the team at EA Motive has only improved upon this experience in its remake of the popular survival horror title, implementing a helping of updates to protagonist Isaac Clarke's makeshift weaponry to ensure that even returning players may want to rethink their favorite loadout. Read on to see what we consider the best guns in Dead Space and where you should focus your upgrades.
Equip these guns
These four guns tend to be useful in a variety of scenarios and are worth keeping equipped in a weapon slot throughout the entirety of the game.
Plasma Gun
The Plasma Gun is the first weapon you'll come across in the game, and in many ways, it's also the best. While some other guns may be better at specific things – especially in regards to crowd control or brute force – the fast firing rate and ability to rotate the Plasma Gun's beam help to make it an immensely powerful all-arounder that is ideal for dismembering necromorphs. When upgrading this gun, focus on hitting nodes that increase your damage and capacity so that you can hit hard while reloading less often.

Pulse Rifle
The Pulse Rifle is another gun found fairly early, and it may initially seem like a weak option compared to the Plasma Gun, but it can be quite a beast once you've invested in some upgrades. Perhaps most exciting about this automatic gun is its secondary fire, though, which can unleash a proximity mine, allowing you to set up some dastardly traps for those nasty necromorphs. Your upgrades for this one should focus on moving directly upward on the track so that you can toss a node in the Kinect Autoloader (SP1) and greatly increase your fire rate.
Contact Beam
The Contact Beam is found in the first few hours and is the most powerful weapon in the game in terms of raw damage output, but it doesn't do much for you in terms of dismemberment. Use it against enemies that you just need to burst down quickly with its overpowering beam, then make use of its secondary fire (a strong laser shot) to pummel bosses. In terms of upgrades, just prioritize capacity so that you can use it longer – though bear in mind that you'll burn through ammo quickly, and buying it at the store can get pricey.
Line Gun
The Line Gun is somewhat similar to the Plasma Gun, but it's much more focused on crowd control due to its wide attack. It'll make quick work of the legs on a pack of standard necromorphs or take out all three of a Lurker's projectile-firing tentacles with one shot, so once you get this weapon, you should keep it on you at all times. Due to needing it for handling groups of enemies, prioritize the upgrade path that grants it additional capacity and damage.
Store these guns
These three weapons have situational uses and can be fun to use, but they just aren't as versatile as the choices above. You're probably better off keeping them in your storage and only bringing them out on rare occasions, if at all.