[FLASHBACK] Primary fears in dead space – we recall “Dead Space”

The title of the game perfectly reflects its atmosphere – dead space is ubiquitous here and manifests itself in various forms. We feel lonely and tiny in a deserted ship, drifting in the abyss of space. An ominous silence and twilight reigns around us, increasing our paralyzing fear. We feel the darkness stretching its greedily claws towards us.

This is enough for many people to drown in madness, like the heroes of Lovecraft’s prose. However, that’s not all – this space is not as dead as it might seem. For we are kept company by creatures straight from the worst nightmares, created from the dead bodies of massacred people. Let’s start from the beginning.

The sum of all fears

The plot takes us many years into the future, until 2508. Civilization has developed technologically, unfortunately it makes the same mistakes all the time, inevitably bringing our species closer to extinction. There is a shortage of resources for life on Earth, so rescue is sought in the mineral wealth of foreign planets. For the extraction of raw materials, special spaceships are used, the so-called planet breakers. One of such units – USG Ishimura – sends an emergency signal.

A small, qualified team, which includes the protagonist – engineer Isaac Clarke, sets out to help. Once there, the team is quickly separated, and we discover that alien parasitic life forms are prowling there. So we try to survive and get out of the surrounding hell. Isaac has one more goal – he wants to find his love for being a medical officer on Ishimura.

The creators do not beat the bush and in the first minutes they serve a solid injection of adrenaline in the form of a close encounter with deadly aliens. Later, the tension does not diminish – we constantly feel hated and alienated as we walk through the dark corridors of the ship. This unique atmosphere is certainly also built by the sound.

In the background you can hear even the smallest murmur, including the hero’s steady breathing, and twisted sounds tearing the equally unnatural silence each time accelerate the heart rate. There is danger every step of the way, as reminded by mutated beasts popping out of the nooks and crannies. It does not keep us awake at night and causes us to instinctively keep our finger on the trigger.

Although jump scares are sometimes a bit overused, they are usually well planned – they appear at the least expected moments. The mood of horror is heightened by grotesque opponents, called necromorphs. These are parasites that human carriers are especially fond of. At the same time, they are not picky – they love to host the dead bodies of crew members. Something by John Carpenter immediately comes to mind .

The sight of humanoid and at the same time disgusting creatures attacking us makes you shiver. There is something disturbing about them, because we are aware that they were once human, but have turned into their macabre caricatures that Hieronymus Bosch would not despise. The enemies in Dead Space are not sluggish zombies – they are extremely aggressive and will do anything to tear us apart. Their stubbornness and quick and unnatural movements cause shivers all over the body.

Dead evil

Dead Space offers a relatively original approach to eliminating enemies. Well, stuffing hideous necromorphs with blind missiles usually doesn’t bring much results. Their weak points are the limbs, although it is not always enough to cut off one of the legs – sometimes they start to crawl or crawl towards us, even more motivated to turn us into lump.

And it must be admitted that the deaths of a hero can be drastic – as many as 30 different animations have been prepared to clearly illustrate the torments of a dying hero. Of course, there were also exciting clashes with more powerful monsters of extraordinary beauty and size. This is a kind of mutated cherry on a bloody cake served by Visceral Games.

So we fight for survival, as well as systematically improve equipment and solve easy but satisfying logical puzzles. The pace of the game is well-balanced and harmonizes well with the narrative. We will also leave the ship, where we will face the endless space. The view can be breathtaking, especially when the oxygen level has run out, the level of which should be carefully monitored.

Of course, these trips involve zero gravity – so we have to use special shoes to avoid accidentally flying away. A lot of fun is bouncing off the walls in a weightless state, with sudden changes in perspective. The aforementioned mechanics have been skillfully woven into the gameplay, making combat and exploration more exciting.

Isaac is a de facto unskilled engineer, but he is far from a helpless victim. As it turns out, he is quite efficient at dismembering his enemies, and because of his profession, he has specific tools of murder in his hands. They are, in fact, futuristic tools that, with minor modifications, can do a lot of harm. The inventory includes, among others, a plasma saw and a contact laser. An additional variety is an alternative fire mode for each weapon.

The game blushes when we acquire stasis and kinesis modules, which can be used both in combat and in puzzles. These powers allow you to manipulate objects from a distance and throw them at enemies or significantly slow down moving objects in a small area, which can be used ingeniously.

Lost in space

It’s time for a few words about the welder’s suit the protagonist is dressed in. Its weight limits mobility a bit, but sometimes it becomes an asset – for example, when we splash our opponent’s insides against the walls with a sweeping blow or a solid kick. Nevertheless, the most important aspect of the armor is the RIG (Resource Integration Gear) system, which offers many useful functions.

First of all, it shows the state of our health – in the form of a segmented strip running along the spine. It also serves as a messenger and enables real-time display of a holographic map or inventory management window. I would like to add that the amount of ammunition also appears with a given gun. Thanks to such a smart move, HUD and UI are integral elements of the presented world, exorbitantly influencing its coherence and credibility. So we will not see any additional information on the screen, which greatly deepens the immersion.

During the production, the creators drew inspiration from many pop culture sources, some of them are visible at first glance. For example, the name of the main character came from famous sci-fi writers – Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. In turn, the plot itself or the general setting brings to mind such images as Alien , Hidden Dimension or the previously mentioned Something . When it comes to video games, the inspiration was the cult series – Resident Evil and Silent Hill .

Despite 12 years on the back of the neck, Dead Space still bravely defends itself with the setting and the atmosphere. The gameplay is also intriguing, and the plot is intriguing – in particular, the genesis of necromorphs and the fate of Ishimura. Subsequent editions put more emphasis on the action at the expense of the atmosphere, but still provided great fun.

All parts were warmly welcomed by the players, which is reflected in the average rating of each of them. There are also spin-offs, comics and films that expand the universe. Unfortunately, Electronic Arts has been silent for years in the context of a potential sequel or reboot. The official reason for suspension was poor sales, although the series sold over 10 million copies.

To sum up – with a clear conscience I recommend Dead Space to every survival horror fan. It is a skillful combination of sci-fi and horror, which, contrary to appearances, is not very common in this genre of games. I look forward to hearing any news about the future of this IP. A shadow of hope has recently been thrown by one of the developers, revealing that he has some ideas for a new part. So we’ll see what the future holds.