A routine rescue mission goes terribly wrong from the start, and survival horror shenanigans ensue.
What Is It? Dead Space is a 2008 survival horror game. Released two generations after the modern beginnings of the genre, Dead Space is able to smartly pick from its influences to create a game that feels like a celebration of the genre with its own twists added. From the very early stages of playing this for the first time, I got “Resident Evil 4 in space” vibes, and that mostly held up throughout the entire game.
You are Isaac Clarke, a voiceless protagonist who is part of a deep space rescue mission. Isaac is accompanied by Zach Hammond and Kendra Daneils. The group’s dynamic and motivations are thrown into question from the very start of the game, which is also the precise instance where the action starts.
I made the RE4 connection quickly because Dead Space is, if we’re being specific, an action survival horror game. The game leans heavily into blasting through a lot of enemies with some really cool, powerful guns. Yes, you will get worried a bunch of times because you’re running low on ammo, but you will spend way more time slicing limbs off of crazy looking monsters than you will counting precious shotgun bullets.
The game controls in third person with an over-the-shoulder view. Isaac moves a bit slowly with his body armor. The existence of a run button helps speed you through long hallways but most of the monsters are faster than you so running will only get you so far.
The primary weapon in the game is the Plasma Cutter. It is a wonderful item which fires either vertically or horizontally. This works well as a key component of combat is taking out enemy limbs so they can’t close the gap on your and start gnawing on your face. The game heavily penalizes you for allowing a monster to attach, the damage even the smallest bug-like creature deals is heavy, so distance control is vital.
Enemies in the game come in a few different shapes and sizes. Large, human-like creatures are the first and most frequent foe you will face. These are the ones begging to be cut off at the kneecaps so they can’t run at you, but don’t think for a second that will stop them from crawling over and attacking. There are a variety of small, fast enemies which need to be controlled quickly otherwise they will overwhelm Isaac. A few enemies have ranged attacks, but most of them do need to be close to deal damage.
Isaac’s defense can be augmented beyond the Plasma Cutter through a variety of weapons. These range from a shotgun-like gun, to a flamethrower, rifle, or buzzsaw on a string. Some were quite obviously better than others for me, but most of them fell a bit short. Weapons and ammo are purchased at stores located throughout the game, typically about two per level.
The game plays out over twelve chapters, most of them having a similar setup. There are occasional boss fights that never quite wow you, but generally do the job. There are some environmental puzzles which are mostly solved using the kinesis ability which allows Isaac to remotely control and move objects. The whole thing will probably take around 10-12 hours your first time through.
The Best Part: When you press the R3 button a blue line is placed on the floor which guides you to the next location you need for your current mission. Getting lost was a bit of a rite of passage in the early survival horror days. I never liked it so I am very glad to see Dead Space abandon that by giving you the option of seeing an explicit line telling you where to go next. The game doesn’t always need it, as it often plays out linearly, but it is a great convenience for the times you get turned around or pick up a save file after a bit of a break.
The Worst Part: Almost every level is set up in the same way. You take a train offscreen and start in a train stop room. Navigate a few hallways until you get to the main hub room for the level, complete with save point and store, and then go through the unlocked door. This all works fine, it especially does the job in reducing backtracking which is often an issue in the survival horror genre, but it gets a little repetitive by the time you are doing it for the 7th or 8th time. Some rooms are fully reused as well. None of this is really much of a big deal, but it did stick out in my playthrough.
The Verdict: Dead Space is a great game. The game sets a specific mood with its style and brand of horror/jump scares. Mechanically, it takes many of the staples of the early survival horror genre and wraps them in a great setting, tosses in wonderfully annoying enemies, and ramps up the action just a bit. I love both styles of survival horror, so I am happy to play a more action-learning take on the genre that Dead Space offers. The game is a mix of a lot of influences, but the end result is something that can only be truly described as “Dead Space.” That is an impressive accomplishment for any new entry in an established genre, and Dead Space absolutely pulled this off back in 2008.
I have some nits to pick. Some of the weapons are flat-out bad. I love that the starting/default weapon remains powerful throughout the game, but it is supremely disappointing to spend a large pile of precious credits on something with a name like Ripper only to find out it is a saw on a string that takes forever to deal real damage. I like the basic level design as it does avoid a lot of the backtracking that is fairly common in the genre, but they reused so much of the same design that it was getting a bit stale by the end. My last nit, and this is my most minor nit, is that the boss fights were too infrequent and probably could have been a bit better.
Despite my list of nitpicks, I had a wonderful time playing Dead Space for the first time in 2026. It offers something truly unique and absolutely holds up in its original form nearly 20 years later. If you are a fan of the genre and have somehow found yourself missing out on the series all the years, Dead Space is worth your time.
How to Play: PlayStation 3*, Xbox 360. Remake: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PC
*console played on for this review
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