For those that never played the 2008 original, here is a brief synopsis ofDead Space. The protagonist, Isaac Clarke, is sent on a mission to help repair the USG Ishimura. It’s a mining ship that sent out a distress call before going cold.
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When Isaac and the rest of his comrades enter the ship, they find it has been infected with some sort of disease that turns people into mutated abominations. The goal is simple: repair your ship and leave. Things aren’t that simple in theDead Spaceremake though and not everything makes sense about the plot.
There will be spoilers in this breakdown of the game’s story and mechanics.
7Only Isaac Has A Helmet
Why is Isaac the only one wearing a helmet in the game? In the original release, it made sense because Isaac didn’t talk. It makes less sense now thathe can talkfor multiple reasons like how he is muffled compared to everyone else. Isaac wearing the helmet is not the whole problem though. The bigger issue is that everyone else should be wearing a helmet for emergencies as they are aboard a fractured ship with monsters.
6Kinesis Powers
Besides the excellentarray of weaponsat Isaac’s disposal, he also gets two unique powers. He can slow down time with Stasis or use a telekinetic-like device called Kinesis to push and pull objects. Not all objects can be lifted which is where the issue comes up.
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It makes sense that this small device can only pick up so many pounds of weight. Players shouldn’t expect the power to lift a whole ship up like a Jedi Master or something. However, even some smaller objects remain stationary like tables which throws the balance off of believability.
5Isaac Reacts To Nothing
Isaac’s helmet situation is one issue but it relates further to the aforementioned big change in this remake. Giving Isaac a voice is great since he eventually got one in the sequels anyway. The problem is that Isaac only reacts and speaks during interactions with other people. He almost never speaks out loud to himself which is strange. He is onboard a ship in space filled with a horde of monsters that used to be its crew. This may be a gameset in the futurebut the situation is far from ordinary. A normal human, unlike Isaac, would have something to say.
4Door Locks
Some doors require clearance levels which is a new element for the remake. Certain doors, lockers, and chests remained lockeduntil later chaptersmade it okay for Isaac to go searching in new territory. The clearance levels in the remake make things more clear now. Other locked doors are not as hard to get into because they have circuit breakers outside of their hinges. A simple punch will open a door in a flash. Why do only some doors have this feature and not all of them?
3Can’t Climb Through Debris
Playing a horror game likeDead Spacecan elicit several reactions from the player. They may, for example, shout at Isaac to climb over something or through a window. There are several sections ofthe USG Ishimurathat are roped off to the players because of minor obstacles like barricades.
A gadget like Kinesis should be able to fix most problematic issues like this, going back to that complaint, but it’s not a magic wand. There are also some broken windows Isaac should be perfectly fine to climb through. He has an armored suit on meaning he can’t get cut up. If he is safe from Necromorphs with it on then he is safe from broken glass.
2Some Enemies Can’t Be Killed Besides The Hunters
There are a lot of games out there, especially in the horror genre, with unkillable monsters. TheResident Evilseries, for example, has Mr. X and Nemesis who can only be defeated once players meet certain requirements. The same is true forDead Spaceregarding the Hunters. One dies via cryogenic freezing and the other burns up from a ship’s engine.
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Then there are enemies the game doesn’t want you to even try to destroy because they are rendered as events and not actual monsters. For example, there’s an early sceneinvolving a Necromorphrunning ahead of the player just enough so that they can never shoot it. However, freezing it with Stasis works. No matter how much players hack away though, it never dies or even loses a limb.
1The Inventory System
It would not be a senseless list involving a horror game if an entry didn’t complain about inventory management. It’s the bane of many horror games, even some of the bests likeDead SpaceandResident Evil 4. It’s understandable that developers would want to limit how many items and weapons likethe Plasma Cutterplayers could carry in their person at one time.
A roster full of ammo and health kits would negate many challenges. However, if developers are going to limit items then they have to come up with a lore reason that makes sense. Isaac has no backpack in the game, meaning that he shouldn’t be able to carry anything at all. See how the reverse makes just as little sense? Thinking about it too much sort of breaks the illusion and this is just a video game after all.
TheDead Spaceremake was released on Jun 08, 2025, and is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
