User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1937 Ratings

User score distribution:
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
  1. Koo
    Mar 16, 2012
    6
    A good game overall, Dead Space is hampered by its clunky controls. When moving the character you play, he moves faster when looking along the horizontal (X) axis than the vertical (Y) axis. Also, you look around in a lurching or reeling way rather than smoothly as in other third person shooter (TPS) or first person shooters (FPS). If you're worried (as I was) that if you play this gameA good game overall, Dead Space is hampered by its clunky controls. When moving the character you play, he moves faster when looking along the horizontal (X) axis than the vertical (Y) axis. Also, you look around in a lurching or reeling way rather than smoothly as in other third person shooter (TPS) or first person shooters (FPS). If you're worried (as I was) that if you play this game you won't be able to sleep at night, put your fears to bed (pun intended - ha!). I would describe Dead Space as an atmospheric game, not a scary one (Amnesia: The Dark Descent, on the other hand, IS a scary game). While I like this game overall, I can't rate it better than a 7 due to the motion sickness I experience from the camera movements. The feeling of nausea it produces prevents me from rating the game higher than a 6. Try the demo. If you don't feel sick (literally) playing it, this game could be a 9 for you. For me, it's a 6. Expand
  2. Mikep
    Jan 19, 2010
    7
    Underwhelming. It started out with a lot of potential and slowly leveled out in mediocrity. The way the controls operate is different but highly functional. The angle at which the camera is set above the right shoulder makes it extremely difficult to accurately orient yourself behind objects and usually had me moving about a foot too far to the left. Now usually this isn't a problem, Underwhelming. It started out with a lot of potential and slowly leveled out in mediocrity. The way the controls operate is different but highly functional. The angle at which the camera is set above the right shoulder makes it extremely difficult to accurately orient yourself behind objects and usually had me moving about a foot too far to the left. Now usually this isn't a problem, but when that one foot is say...in front of a meteor shower that kills you instantly or in front of the exhaust from a spaceships main thrusters; it gets to be annoying reloading the game two or three times because the insight that maybe you need perspective to gauge distance effectively to not die didn't occur to the developers. The visuals are very good in this game, it offers some very unique and tense environments you'd be hard pressed to see recreated elsewhere; the Zero-G segments are very cool and very accurate as is the vacuum segments. The sound is stellar in this game, I bring this up next because the vacuum segments are almost completely soundless, you can only hear your own breathing and some of the vibrations from your weapons on the outside of the suit. the rest of the sound production is extremely well done; from the horror orchestration to the scratching of claws behind double thick bulkheads it'll test your surround sound very well. Unfortunately, the worst part of the game is probably the storyline; it consists of a reason to bring you to the "big scary space ship" and the rest is composed of what awful place you have to go to find a computer component to open the next door. Any character development is split between the two bookends on either side of the actual game. I actually forgot why the main character was in this situation by the time I got to the end because it's never mentioned again until practically before the credits roll...and I beat the game in slightly less than eight hours on medium. The one furiously aggravating part about this game is that you are continuously separated from catching the "bad guy" by various windows throughout the game, CONSTANTLY. You will exit a room you just fixed only to the have the door lock and the "bad guy" appear on the inside of the room destroying everything you just did and belittling you while he does it and you just have to play along, criminally annoying. Expand
  3. Jul 5, 2011
    7
    this game scared the **** out of me and I don't scare easily it really reminded my of the alien anomaly in the movie Thing. The story in this game is short though i still enjoyed it, Graphics are great, Weapons are nothing like I have ever seen, mechanics are simply and did i mention i almost crapped my pants playing this game, its really freaky really, don't play this game if you havethis game scared the **** out of me and I don't scare easily it really reminded my of the alien anomaly in the movie Thing. The story in this game is short though i still enjoyed it, Graphics are great, Weapons are nothing like I have ever seen, mechanics are simply and did i mention i almost crapped my pants playing this game, its really freaky really, don't play this game if you have heart conditions. Expand
  4. Aug 7, 2017
    7
    First of all I have to comment on the KB+M controls which are just terrible by default, honestly unusable, luckily they can be mostly fixed with config tweaks or you can just use a gamepad which works fine out of the box.

    The game is not so much scary as atmospheric and that's fine, although parts definitely were scary and there were a bunch of jump scares thrown in for good measure. It
    First of all I have to comment on the KB+M controls which are just terrible by default, honestly unusable, luckily they can be mostly fixed with config tweaks or you can just use a gamepad which works fine out of the box.

    The game is not so much scary as atmospheric and that's fine, although parts definitely were scary and there were a bunch of jump scares thrown in for good measure. It was just the right level of creepy for me, it kept me on my toes without giving me a heart attack.

    Dead Space is a very linear game, the wrong way is often blocked and it's impossible to get lost with the breadcrumb system which points you in the right direction, this is a scripted experience above all else, and a good one at that. When playing on normal or above ammo is quite scarce and enemies are tough, often killing you in a few hits, however there is an easy difficulty which is very easy, you're basically the Terminator so if you just want to tag along for the ride then there's an option for you.

    The story is interesting and told well, and unlike a lot of games it ends well too. The main character isn't voiced which hurts immersion IMO, this is often a developer choice, just not one I agree with. All the other NPCs you encounter are voiced very well though, no poor performances to speak of.

    Overall it's a well made, story-driven experience with solid gameplay and mechanics that I definitely recommend. EA Access is currently £3.99/month and the entire trilogy is available to you, that's how I played them and you also get access to a bunch of other great games like Titanfall 2 so it's a no brainer if you wish to start the series.
    Expand
  5. Aug 10, 2014
    7
    Bought this from Steam Sale. I had no expectations really.

    At first I was very disappointed with the PC version. It was a horrible port with game breaking bugs; like **** up physics when your FPS is unlocked. Or the Vsync locking the FPS at just 30. I needed a 3rd party software to get the FPS stay at 60 just to make the game playable. That also fixed the issues with mouse, which alone
    Bought this from Steam Sale. I had no expectations really.

    At first I was very disappointed with the PC version. It was a horrible port with game breaking bugs; like **** up physics when your FPS is unlocked. Or the Vsync locking the FPS at just 30. I needed a 3rd party software to get the FPS stay at 60 just to make the game playable. That also fixed the issues with mouse, which alone were making the game unplayable.

    Once I got actually started with the game I was hooked instantly. Every step felt dangerous and enemies couldn't be stopped with a single bullet to the head. Overall the game play was decent, but controls were a bit clunky. While I kinda dislike quick-time events and **** something could have been done about stomping enemies or punching them, it felt pretty random and frustrating at times.. the lack of control.

    There were some puzzles in this game. Some them were fun, but challenging and some were just bad; simple, but with annoying mechanics. Overall they added some nice variation to the game.

    The game looked decent for a 360 port...there were times though where I wished they would have allowed PC to have much higher shadow resolution for example, but it wasn't too annoying except in a couple of scenes.

    I really liked the Ishimura as a location. It was dark and industrial. I didn't really like how scripted everything was though. There were times you see enemies lurking, but they're flagged as invulnerable. They also always come from the same spot with the same timing, so if you died you just get frustrated to repeat the same scripted stuff.

    I'm not a huge lore-geek, but I thought the writing was of good quality. There were also tapes and notes from the NPCs to be found to add into that, for those who like to find more about the world.

    With all the issues in the rushed PC version I can't really give it more than 7. It was still worth the 4€ or whatever it costed, but at 50€ this game would have been very disappointing.
    Expand
  6. May 28, 2014
    7
    I am not a big shooter fan but every now and then I like to take a detour and play a shooter when I don't want to use my brain. Note 1st that I only play the campaign so my review does not cover PvP. Dead Space is a good shooter although somewhat limited in design but then again almost every new shooter is in its first incarnation. I played the game on the PC and had no issues with theI am not a big shooter fan but every now and then I like to take a detour and play a shooter when I don't want to use my brain. Note 1st that I only play the campaign so my review does not cover PvP. Dead Space is a good shooter although somewhat limited in design but then again almost every new shooter is in its first incarnation. I played the game on the PC and had no issues with the install. I didnt even bother to update the game since it was working fine out of the box. Controls are intuitive except for the slow turn speed while aiming your gun. A few in game mouse adjustments and the problem was solved within acceptable tolerance. The only other issue I ran into is when you grab an item with telekinesis and run up to a wall with the item floating in front of you. This causes the camera to spin 90 to 180 degrees, and if you are in combat it can be disorienting. This however, was a very minor issue because once you realize that it only happens on wall collisions you simply stop running into walls... why you would run into a wall during combat is beyond my understanding but as long you stop doing that it is no longer an issue. I played the entire game without the camera spin being a problem after the 1st time I experienced and analyzed the issue. This problem is insanely over dramatized by reviewers here (grow up people).

    The Good :: The game does a lot of basic FPS stuff well like area specific damage, dismemberment as a part of strategy rather than just aesthetics, very interesting weapons each with their own unique advantage and disadvantage, an actual inventory system (not used to seeing this in FPS and I like it), an upgrade system for your guns, armor and abilities (almost like an RPG lite), and decent graphics and sound.

    The Bad :: Game design is good but its repetitive. Then again, shooters are basically all very repetitive and that is why it is not my favorite genre of games. You will quickly note that graphics are re-used in every chapter of the game and the enemy variety is actually fairly low with only about 6 different enemy types and a few bosses. Guns and abilities are also limited to only about 8 total (6 guns and two abilities) and although they are interesting, I would like to have seen even more but then again I am an RPG guy so anything less than 20 would probably be boring to me.

    The So So :: The story is cheesy and has been done to death and back but again, this is coming from a RPG gamer who puts a lot more weight into story than others. The game is supposed to be a horror survival... I personally did not find it scary in the least. They do include a lot of sudden attacks that just surprise you and enemies are designed and animated in a way that makes them awkward (like a horror movie) but at no time was I scared of an enemy once I noticed it. In fact, I found myself running towards enemies fairly often especially the baby aliens. The only time I ran away from enemies is when the small swarming things attacked in large numbers and that is only because I couldnt shoot them fast enough. The game is not that scary. I remember being more on edge playing FEAR although even that was not really all that scary. Then again I think movies like The Grudge are comedies...

    Overall a good game.
    Expand
  7. May 8, 2011
    6
    This game is neither good nor is it bad. It has some fun elements but allot of flaws. For being a Survival Horror TPS game it's not hard to survive (even on the hardest difficulty) and it's far from a Horror. Today's standard of horror is doom 3 and that is why all horror game suck in that matter. When playing through it I constantly ran and never got surprised since a game with brightThis game is neither good nor is it bad. It has some fun elements but allot of flaws. For being a Survival Horror TPS game it's not hard to survive (even on the hardest difficulty) and it's far from a Horror. Today's standard of horror is doom 3 and that is why all horror game suck in that matter. When playing through it I constantly ran and never got surprised since a game with bright lighted rooms and a BFG and monsters who can't take **** for beeting kinda takes away all horror. See it like this, I would be scared ****less if I was put in a cage with a starving lion without any means of defence. But if you put me in the same cage, put me in a Metal armor suit, hand me a mini-gun and heavily sedate the lion it's suddenly not scary anymore.... Dead space is the later example. The transition from Console to PC when it comes to controls are HORRID. Worst mouse movement I have ever encountered in a TPS game, apart from that it's a rather nice game in it's own way. I would not say it's a waste playing it. But borrow it from a friend of buy it cheap cause anything more then 5-10 $ and it's a bad deal. Expand
  8. Mar 31, 2014
    7
    Let’s get straight to the point, Dead Space is NOT a good PC port. It suffers from all the symptoms: Low rez textures, Low FOV, frame cap at 30 fps (with v-sync on) and terrible….TERRIBLE controls.
    The Mouse and keyboard controls are half broken: The mouse in particular, if you enable v-sync the mouse will become extremely unresponsive and laggy. However, If you disable v-sync, and crank
    Let’s get straight to the point, Dead Space is NOT a good PC port. It suffers from all the symptoms: Low rez textures, Low FOV, frame cap at 30 fps (with v-sync on) and terrible….TERRIBLE controls.
    The Mouse and keyboard controls are half broken: The mouse in particular, if you enable v-sync the mouse will become extremely unresponsive and laggy. However, If you disable v-sync, and crank up the mouse sensitivity and mouse DPI to the max, you might end up with half usable controls, but the caveat is, a bit of screen tearing. But even if you do that, the mouse will still behave in a sluggish manner, especially when switching to aim mode.
    The keyboard controls aren’t better also, sometimes the game will dismiss key inputs for no apparent reason, and the keymaping is also badly conceived.
    In resume, if you don’t have a gamepad, prepare to die… a lot, especially on the Boss fights, or when the game decides to throw hordes of necromorfs, at you, from all sides!
    Don’t get me wrong, this game is NOT difficult, not even on hard mode, what makes it difficult is the terrible controls.
    The other thing about this game is that it’s not a real survival/horror game, It tries to, really hard actually, but the problem is, survival horror is not about jump scares, but about building tension, and playing with your expectation. And this game rarely does that successfully; it overuses jumps scares too much, it’s too predictable at times and a bit cheesy in the gore department, and in the survival department, let’s just say you will rarely die from lack of ammo or med packs.
    However, Visceral did one thing really well: the sound design.
    The Story, is a Cross between Aliens and Resident Evil, in other words, a System Shock clone but without SHODAN :-(. The Story is not bad, but it’s a bit too cliché for my taste.
    The game is also a bit buggy, for example if you play on hard mode and reload a save by pressing continue on the main menu, the game will reset the difficulty to medium.
    So, is it a bad game? In my opinion, If you approach it like an Action/Horror third person shooter game, HELL NO, just don’t play it with mouse and keyboard.
    Expand
  9. Nov 11, 2011
    5
    Well..."Dead Space" is a game that is just scary as hell; you can't expect what's coming next. Since the PC version has better resolution, it adds up to the scare-hype, which I didn't typically enjoy. But what was worse was the horrible controls and linear gameplay. During the whole time, my eyes were mainly focused on the keyboard rather than the game itself. The gameplay is also veryWell..."Dead Space" is a game that is just scary as hell; you can't expect what's coming next. Since the PC version has better resolution, it adds up to the scare-hype, which I didn't typically enjoy. But what was worse was the horrible controls and linear gameplay. During the whole time, my eyes were mainly focused on the keyboard rather than the game itself. The gameplay is also very linear; it is scarier than knott's scary farm but that can't cover up how sparse the options you have during the game. You want some thrills? By all means buy it, but after the price decreases. Expand
  10. Jan 4, 2011
    5
    I gotta say, the atmosphere in this game is off the charts. The dialog is a little wooden, but It doesn't really get in the way. The game is VERY hard to control though, it feels less like I'm controlling a guy and more like I'm driving a tank. The mushy controls however are half the reason the game is so intense since it's so hard to keep a good sense of situational awareness.
  11. Oct 21, 2011
    7
    A triumph of style and gimmicks over substance. There is not much going on here except for shooting monsters repeatedly. An overly generous person would call both the setting and the storyline minimal, that same person would call it predictable and sometimes a little bit scary. Having said that, some of the weapons are good, some of the gimmicks keep you interested and you do actually wantA triumph of style and gimmicks over substance. There is not much going on here except for shooting monsters repeatedly. An overly generous person would call both the setting and the storyline minimal, that same person would call it predictable and sometimes a little bit scary. Having said that, some of the weapons are good, some of the gimmicks keep you interested and you do actually want to escape the damn place. So I managed to finish it and just about got my money's worth. I cannot envisage a scenario whereby I'd ever play it again and would only recommend it to horror maniacs who have no more than £10 to spare and nothing better to do. Expand
  12. Jan 20, 2012
    7
    I enjoyed this game but not all the gore - too much graphic violence. There were no nice rest periods much to contrast with sudden terror and so wasn't actually as scary as it could have been. Given almost constant terror and you get almost used to it...not as good as System Shock 2 which it copied many ideas from, from the level names, to limited ammo, sci abilities, purchase booths,I enjoyed this game but not all the gore - too much graphic violence. There were no nice rest periods much to contrast with sudden terror and so wasn't actually as scary as it could have been. Given almost constant terror and you get almost used to it...not as good as System Shock 2 which it copied many ideas from, from the level names, to limited ammo, sci abilities, purchase booths, weapon slots and upgrade choices etc etc. They should have had more normal looking areas to contrast with other places covered with blood and guts. Come on, we are not all bloodthirsty animals here..bit over the top for violence but nonetheless well designed and still entertaining. The biggest flaw I felt was the total linear gameplay when given a choice of open tasks and ability to travel freely around levels would have been far better. That bird crumb direction indicator made it too easy actually and should have been some level of respawning to keep it interesting - ie like System Shock 2. Also I didnt appreciate the crap controls with PC on the keyboard - really sucked but with saying all that was worth 75% in my mind. If you dont like too much violence or gore then give it a miss. Expand
  13. Jul 17, 2020
    6
    Bottom line:
    +Good horror title
    +Good level and sound design +The aliens are gross +OK story +- Mostly a generic third person shooter horror gameplay +- Combat-driven -BAD controls -Unfixed clunkiness or bugs on certain modern systems -The aliens are gross Dead Space is a good game. If you're into violent alien horrors, then you got it. It's all in there, and it even aged
    Bottom line:
    +Good horror title
    +Good level and sound design
    +The aliens are gross
    +OK story
    +- Mostly a generic third person shooter horror gameplay
    +- Combat-driven
    -BAD controls
    -Unfixed clunkiness or bugs on certain modern systems
    -The aliens are gross

    Dead Space is a good game. If you're into violent alien horrors, then you got it. It's all in there, and it even aged relatively well, I'd say the game still looks nice even more than 10 years(!) after release. The atmosphere is truly creepy, level design is claustrophobic, sound effect are just right and there are chilly soundtrack cues to run along with it.
    And it's very violent, if that's your kind of thing. But like other games of this type - that means it fundamentally relies on jump scares.
    And those aliens are gross!

    Why the low score then?
    Well, those aliens are gross!

    But to be serious, I didn't enjoy much Dead Space.
    I guess this is largely because I'm more into story-driven titles and this was much of a combat-driven.
    The story is there, alright, and it's even original, BUT there's very little emphasis on it, and towards the ending it turned towards the cliche-side.
    Sure, for a truly good game - that's not enough to give a 6 out of 10.

    Well, unfortunately, I found the controls to be clunky and uncomfortable. Not sure if this was intentional or not, since horror-wise it did help a lot - I kept hearing my enemies and had a very hard time to aim at them or even find them. Creepy, yeah, but at some point it felt more like a nuisance.
    The controls are simply not good.
    The entire movement felt a bit clunky as well. I've found out this is a known issue, and seems the fix only partially fixes it.
    Also, that annoying bug where your difficulty setting changes and there's NO WAY within the game to change it back, was absolutely annoying and didn't add much to the experience.

    So, unfortunately, no.
    Expand
  14. ChrisS
    Mar 21, 2009
    5
    This game has potential, but i hate EA for 2 things. Stupid DRM (which dead space has) and obvious console ports (which dead space is) It's stupid things like save points are an in-game object (like typewriters in resident evil), simplified inventory systems and unintuitive commands to control things, like you have to lift your hand off the mouse and use the arrow keys (not wsad) to This game has potential, but i hate EA for 2 things. Stupid DRM (which dead space has) and obvious console ports (which dead space is) It's stupid things like save points are an in-game object (like typewriters in resident evil), simplified inventory systems and unintuitive commands to control things, like you have to lift your hand off the mouse and use the arrow keys (not wsad) to select items from the inventory (??? DUMB). Things like that just piss me off WHEN THE MOUSE IS THERE. Other severe gameplay problems i encountered are camera angles are not adjustable, so viewing area is very poor, it may be because im playing on a 4:3 screen and its designed for 16:10, and mouse sensitivity is very frustrating, the sensitivity changes in game as in if you are close up looking at a wall, it will become very unsensitive ie you have to lift and move the mouse over at least once, whereas once you move away from the wall it becomes quite sensitive (roughly how i like it) and then in the menus it is way too sensitive. this is on full sensitivity, it is basically not sensitive enough, how i like it and too sensitive all in one. I play computer games because for a long time a lot of the best games wouldn't work on a console, not necessarily because of hardware limitations, but also because keyboard and mouse is hard to beat. Thats been blurred these days and not because consoles are getting better, but rather publishers want omniplatform releases so i think the games are getting dumbed down to work on consoles and unfortunately PC gets the short end because of that. Otherwise the game is good because it follows the tried and true plot formula seen in so many other successful games such as bioshock and system shock 2, of which it almost appears to be system shock 2 in a new 3d engine, its that similar. The graphics are very good. Basically if you can get over the DRM first and then the ported aspects of the game, its maybe worth playing if you havn't got some other well respected computer rpg's. So basically i gave it 5 because its worth playing, but it doesn't stand out as original, intuitive controls. Expand
  15. JoeK.
    Apr 8, 2010
    6
    GREAT GAME!
  16. NiclasG.
    Nov 16, 2008
    6
    The game has a severe lack of atmosphere. I really enjoyed the first two to three hours of Dead Space but after that, the game hardly came up with something new. Even the audiologs - unlike in System Shock 2 - neither added something to the atmosphere nor explained what happened exactly on that Spaceship. In fact, the "Animated Comics" have more atmosphere than the game itself. There are The game has a severe lack of atmosphere. I really enjoyed the first two to three hours of Dead Space but after that, the game hardly came up with something new. Even the audiologs - unlike in System Shock 2 - neither added something to the atmosphere nor explained what happened exactly on that Spaceship. In fact, the "Animated Comics" have more atmosphere than the game itself. There are a few nice moments throughout the game but the most time it's more like "Isaac do this", "Isaac fetch that", "Isaac rescue our butt.". The game has some - quite good - startling moments but it isn't scary at all. And even this startling moments stop to be startling, after they happen to you the third time. You are just running from A to B, following that blue Line which shows you where to go and kill stuff along the way and that's it. The game can be described as "What comes out, when you put 'Resident Evil' and 'System Shock 2' in a mixer while watching John Carpenters' 'The Thing'... without being scary and having much less story." Oh yeah, and with its 10 hours of gameplay it's quite short in my opinion. Expand
  17. Karl
    Nov 7, 2008
    6
    Nice art, its all very cliche though. I would give this game a better rateing but it has terrible controls, The mouse, everthing actually, lags behind delaying your actions half a second. And the 3rd person camera angle combined with the field of view and offset pivot is nauseating. I would recommend you play a demo first, except that there doesnt seem to be one. So perhaps skip it for Nice art, its all very cliche though. I would give this game a better rateing but it has terrible controls, The mouse, everthing actually, lags behind delaying your actions half a second. And the 3rd person camera angle combined with the field of view and offset pivot is nauseating. I would recommend you play a demo first, except that there doesnt seem to be one. So perhaps skip it for now, maybe pick it up when its in the second hand bin. Expand
  18. Terrman
    Oct 23, 2008
    5
    Great ingredients in an otherwise burned cake. Imaginative story, environment, and foes, but an overly complicated control system and a 3rd person perspective that made me motion sick. To bad, it had great promise.
  19. judas
    Oct 26, 2008
    5
    A good, but not great, game hampered by the usual half-arsed conversion. If I wanted a 'console controls' feel I'd buy a console. Mouse + keyboard are the de-facto standard for PC games and to release the game with such a poor control implementation just shows the contempt with which PC gamers are viewed by the likes of EA. Story-wise I was expecting better - it's A good, but not great, game hampered by the usual half-arsed conversion. If I wanted a 'console controls' feel I'd buy a console. Mouse + keyboard are the de-facto standard for PC games and to release the game with such a poor control implementation just shows the contempt with which PC gamers are viewed by the likes of EA. Story-wise I was expecting better - it's little more than a mish-mash of standard sf/horror tropes. Expand
  20. PatrickG
    Dec 25, 2009
    5
    It is scary so that is a plus. The graphics are good. Terrible controls of a pure console port. VERY repetitive gameplay. Overall not something I would recommend unless you have played EVERYTHING else and can get this for $10 or less. An entirely forgettable game.
  21. ChristopherW
    Oct 25, 2009
    5
    Nice graphics. Very clean looking. I like idea of no HUD and how the character responds to the environment, but at least make the view better. The character should have been centered in the screen so the player can see what attacks from either side. It's the equivalent of playing with one eye closed. Some people like that RE4 view,(which is crazy to me) so there should be a view like Nice graphics. Very clean looking. I like idea of no HUD and how the character responds to the environment, but at least make the view better. The character should have been centered in the screen so the player can see what attacks from either side. It's the equivalent of playing with one eye closed. Some people like that RE4 view,(which is crazy to me) so there should be a view like that only when you aim down the sights of the gun. Controls were bad as well. Couldn't move and look around too well. Camera and control ruined a potentially awesome game. Expand
  22. RichardDenton
    Aug 15, 2009
    5
    Console damaged. Control configuration on the PC is too limited. No one seem to have notice that there are people who use the left hand for the mouse. Save points. I'm now bored to run trough some ventilation system for the n'th time only to be eaten by little creeps in the end. Aim mode. *sigh*. Ok. The game is scary, but in a DOOM3 kind of way.
  23. Mar 24, 2014
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It'd been awhile since I'd re-visited the Ishimura and its (sadly) mostly dead crew. We landed, their were spooky scripted things and then the game lurched into a slow pattern of repeated onslaughts, puzzles, and a fairly in-cohesive, but functional storyline. You see, old Isaac our main character, is a bit of a fifth wheel on board this scifi-search'n'rescue-aliens-ripoff. In fact I was starting to think he was made as a joke by the development team as he's always running about killing hoards of zombie alien converted crew members, or repairing things that will conveniently only help you (or your mystery guests) for very short periods of time before possibly breaking again. Meanwhile I assume the folks that came with him are up telling ghost stories and drinking hot cocoa in a control room somewhere. Occasionally monitoring you on the cameras aboard the ship to check to see if you're actually still alive and continuing to fix things. Isaac's buddies are rather shifty from the get-go and its handled quite poorly throughout and rather disappointingly around the last hour or so of the game. Isaac's emotional love-interest is on board supposedly and is meant to tug at the heart strings of players, but even when most people didn't care about her existence. It provides very little pull for players and when we have no real connection to the world Isaac lives in, a frankly terrifying futuristic nightmare space land full of massive ships that punch entire holes into planets, it makes it even harder to care about what we're actually doing on this poorly designed and rather cramped ship. Of course something has gone wrong, yet they only send one engineer, a black guy and an incredibly suspicious and seemingly useless woman to go and check out this massive ship? Ridiculous plot aside, their is a lot missing from our adventure throughout the ship. Its probably actual suspense, tension or build up and payoff, since the only horrifying thing about the game is that you'll never run out of ammunition. It would seem the entire team forgot to make the game "actually" scary as well. Featuring jump scares such as: arrival in seemingly empty room with a few items inside or a particularly useful switch needed to progress, upon entry or press of said control panel, "ambush by aliens." It started to become irksome, and you were already buried in ammunition, credits, armor, and guns that could blow away just about any threat. Of course their are two portions of the game that are absolutely loathsome and almost stopped my replay when I remembered them. "The asteroid shoot out." Their is a portion that is so unintentionally difficult early on that almost makes me want to shut off the game and go find a nice woman to marry. I have no idea why its so difficult, only that it has something to do with patterns of rocks coming your way, the very little damage you can take before you lose, and the difficulty in actually aiming at the damn things. Of course who could forget the death sequences? I mean wow, just utterly disgusting and time consuming. "I get it. I died." I like how a game like Dead Space actually rubs it into your face when you die at any point. Obviously someone with actual humor must have been able to sneak this idea in. I'm sure no other game has ever done this ever. Dead Space is the culmination of a lot of things, ideas, generic science fiction writing, and dialogue as well. It is not original in many ways at all, save for the fact that it "functions" and at the end of the day that's what a lot of people liked about it. Was it scary? No. Was it challenging? Not particularly. Were the characters memorable? Nope. What about the plot was it worth holding out till the end of the game? If I was expecting EA to completely ruin an installment I would've waited for a few more games, which I did, and they did end up ruining the entire franchise incidentally. The plot is open and shut at the end of the first game. It hardly even needed a sequel, but one was made anyway. Their are far better games out there in the same vein as Dead Space. Like Resident Evil 4 and that was pretty good. Go play that again if you're bored. Expand
  24. Sep 8, 2012
    5
    Horrible port. When you start up the game you are immidiately greeted by a clunky main menu that is clearly not designed with PC players in mind. The controls and camera are just awful and the graphics are very average. The saving grace of this title is its superb story and unique gameplay elements. Dismembering enemies in order to kill them is a very fresh experience and the story kept meHorrible port. When you start up the game you are immidiately greeted by a clunky main menu that is clearly not designed with PC players in mind. The controls and camera are just awful and the graphics are very average. The saving grace of this title is its superb story and unique gameplay elements. Dismembering enemies in order to kill them is a very fresh experience and the story kept me wanting to play to find out what happened next. Overall it's not very scary and the port job is quite bad, but if you're a fan of video game stories, then you should take a look at this game. Expand
  25. May 9, 2012
    6
    For me, although I got used to the controls (they are bad, I could not even change bindings), for me the more glaring problem is the tediousness in the middle section of the game as you go over the same route (or very very similar route) again and again after solving one plot objective, only to be told, oh no, now blah blah is broken so go back and fix that. It is redeemed by goodFor me, although I got used to the controls (they are bad, I could not even change bindings), for me the more glaring problem is the tediousness in the middle section of the game as you go over the same route (or very very similar route) again and again after solving one plot objective, only to be told, oh no, now blah blah is broken so go back and fix that. It is redeemed by good graphics, nice feel, and I quite liked the end as well, so the story at the top level holds up well, just the detailed stories as objectives does not. Buy it for $10 or less, it's worth it for about 10 hours of play, similar to the first DOOM3 and RE games. Was enjoyable enough for me to want to play DS2 at any rate. Expand
  26. Dec 11, 2012
    7
    Plays out like Resident Evil 4 in space but with more focus on horror and less QTEs. Scarce ammo, fantastic atmosphere from the amazing sound design & environmental effects, and the isolation & vastness of space fuel this modern survival horror adventure. The most impressive immersion element for me was how they handled the "HUD"; instead of on-screen indicators, your health bar and energyPlays out like Resident Evil 4 in space but with more focus on horror and less QTEs. Scarce ammo, fantastic atmosphere from the amazing sound design & environmental effects, and the isolation & vastness of space fuel this modern survival horror adventure. The most impressive immersion element for me was how they handled the "HUD"; instead of on-screen indicators, your health bar and energy are on your back with ammo on your gun. The only problems with it are port issues (you need to disable v-sync to use a mouse properly), the funneled levels, and a general lack of difficulty. Expand
  27. sft
    May 22, 2013
    7
    Dead frustrating

    Okay, let’s get the bad out of the way first. The controls for the PC version of this otherwise good game are the worst I have ever encountered. I won’t go into detail but they’re so awkward they almost spoiled the game for me. Almost. (There are also some truly annoying problems with camera and viewpoint angles, but don’t get me started on that!) But what about the
    Dead frustrating

    Okay, let’s get the bad out of the way first. The controls for the PC version of this otherwise good game are the worst I have ever encountered. I won’t go into detail but they’re so awkward they almost spoiled the game for me. Almost. (There are also some truly annoying problems with camera and viewpoint angles, but don’t get me started on that!) But what about the good? DEAD SPACE succeeds, despite the aforementioned problems, mainly because it oozes atmosphere. This is a very claustrophobic game that sucks you in and really does induce anxiety. You will jump many times, trust me. The story is okay, within the usual limitations of such games, the voice acting is uniformly convincing, and the graphics are good but not outstanding. Where this game excels is in the way it draws you in; immerses you in it’s dark atmosphere. This is a game that makes your palms sweat, which is exactly what it’s supposed to do.
    Expand
  28. Nov 5, 2013
    6
    Did you enjoy the System Shock series? Were you upset because they never continued it due to EA owning the rights to the series? Well fret not they finally did something with it-oh I just stepped in what I believe is dog shi-nope, just a complete rip-off of the System Shock series!

    However, as disappointed a I was with this waste of time, I'll give it a nice ugly score of 5 (just
    Did you enjoy the System Shock series? Were you upset because they never continued it due to EA owning the rights to the series? Well fret not they finally did something with it-oh I just stepped in what I believe is dog shi-nope, just a complete rip-off of the System Shock series!

    However, as disappointed a I was with this waste of time, I'll give it a nice ugly score of 5 (just because I only believe in three grades, those being A, C, and F, but I'll use a 5 to substitute a 70-79 score on a 100-point scale) because it was playable and although (some) of the employees from Visceral games seems to think they discovered atmosphere and immersion techniques they are comparable to a teenager discovering internet porn for the first time and going on to brag about it-they ripped off a good game and with that said, I found the pacing to be adequate at best. But its not worth its' full retail price. Feel free to skip this game if you see it during the next sale (or on Origin, IF Origin has it and IF Origin ever has sales), you won't miss out on anything but a 6-to-8-hour story campaign with unlovable characters, decent pacing, and a complete 3rd-person rip-off of System Shock/Doom.

    Buuuuut,if all you care about is "graphix and gunZ!!!11!one!", break a leg.
    Expand
  29. Jan 5, 2014
    7
    Beware: this is a great game but it is a bare bones PC port, the graphics are barley improved over the Xbox 360 version and is only playable with a controller. This is a solid third person action-horror game that has its own unique gameplay features that are memorable and fun. If you enjoyed Resident Evil 4 you will most definitely love this and I can give you a definite recommendation ifBeware: this is a great game but it is a bare bones PC port, the graphics are barley improved over the Xbox 360 version and is only playable with a controller. This is a solid third person action-horror game that has its own unique gameplay features that are memorable and fun. If you enjoyed Resident Evil 4 you will most definitely love this and I can give you a definite recommendation if so and that is the best comparison I can draw. This isn't really a survival horror game but it certainly has the atmosphere and enemies of one. If you like third person shooters this is a unique one that is worth your interest. I played this game and its sequel from beginning to end and after completion I was ready to go back through it again on a harder difficulty. If you are concerned that this may be too hard for you don't be it has a decent set of difficulty modes and checkpoint system so will be able to get into it and enjoy it all the way through. However the checkpoint system is also a complaint for me on the harder settings as you never really feel punished for failure which is what a good horror game does.
    It's rare that I start and do not stop playing a game and this was one of them, if you think this game may be for you go for it, it is cheaply available by now and will not disappoint.
    Expand
  30. Sep 19, 2018
    7
    Dead Space was scary for me in first 4-5 missions (mostly just jump scares), then it was "just" a good shooter. Graphics is nice, HUD elements are displayed on protagonist's suit which sucked me more inside the game. Enemies are truly repulsive, agressive and smart. It took me a couple of minutes before I learned how to properly immobilize (not kill) them. Shoot away it's limbs, let itDead Space was scary for me in first 4-5 missions (mostly just jump scares), then it was "just" a good shooter. Graphics is nice, HUD elements are displayed on protagonist's suit which sucked me more inside the game. Enemies are truly repulsive, agressive and smart. It took me a couple of minutes before I learned how to properly immobilize (not kill) them. Shoot away it's limbs, let it crawl and move forward. Customizations of suit and weapons also came in handy. Great game. Expand
  31. May 15, 2020
    7
    All the ideas which make this up are good. The thing is it didn't click that well for me, as I am not a big fan of shooters. I prefer the horror games where you are unarmed. It got kind of monotonous.
  32. Nov 20, 2020
    7
    The gameplay is very good and different, it’s not just headshot everyone. Really bad that the game does not have HUD (and it is not needed). The Plasma Cutter (the 'main' pistol) is really cool. Very cool skill tree, it reminds me of FF X, but less deep.

    The story is below average overall but has 2 twists near the end. For the time that came out the graphics were absurd, nowadays
    The gameplay is very good and different, it’s not just headshot everyone. Really bad that the game does not have HUD (and it is not needed). The Plasma Cutter (the 'main' pistol) is really cool. Very cool skill tree, it reminds me of FF X, but less deep.

    The story is below average overall but has 2 twists near the end.

    For the time that came out the graphics were absurd, nowadays it's okay. Some scenarios are repeated.

    The soundtrack adds a lot to the experience, due to the ambience and jumpscares (light by the way), but it's not a big deal.

    I had a very serious bug, which the elevator does not reach and you are obliged to close the game and load your last saved save.
    Expand
  33. Jul 5, 2021
    6
    The story is good. also gameplay is good. but in 3 last chapter, there was some bad bugs that player cant aim and move or move and rotate at the same time. also some music bugs that instantly an audio stop playing while in boss fight or other fights. after all, I like story and gameplay but ost and music, not much. also with some bugs, I cant give higher score.
  34. ArshadS
    Dec 11, 2009
    7
    Scary at first since you will learn what to expect later on during the game. The game is way too short. Would be worth buying it on budget.
  35. Mar 26, 2015
    5
    The controls and camera views in this game are just sloppy and slow. The rooms are dark and disorienting. The mission goals are ill defined and you just slog through to new areas. "Wall thingies" light up on the walls and doors and its hard to tell what does what. You start out in the suit, so its hard to tell who you really are. Basically, you stumble around and monsters come from theThe controls and camera views in this game are just sloppy and slow. The rooms are dark and disorienting. The mission goals are ill defined and you just slog through to new areas. "Wall thingies" light up on the walls and doors and its hard to tell what does what. You start out in the suit, so its hard to tell who you really are. Basically, you stumble around and monsters come from the side, where its difficult to sway the camera around and you get attacked. If you are lucky enough to have stumbled into the right room and touch the right wall thing the game seems to advance. There is no real skill involved to play this game. Its not as good as RE4 or RE5. The graphics are impressive I guess, but the levels and controls are bad. This is not a classic at all. I'm willing to bet this series will die out eventually. Expand
  36. May 12, 2012
    7
    I'd start off by saying that Dead Space is nowhere near as scary as Penumbra or Amnesia, and neither is it as good of a third-person shooter as the likes of Mass Effect 2, but it's a pretty fun game nevertheless. The game takes place in outer space, on a derelict spaceship, where savage monsters have overrun it completely. The game definitely has some unexpected moments popping up everyI'd start off by saying that Dead Space is nowhere near as scary as Penumbra or Amnesia, and neither is it as good of a third-person shooter as the likes of Mass Effect 2, but it's a pretty fun game nevertheless. The game takes place in outer space, on a derelict spaceship, where savage monsters have overrun it completely. The game definitely has some unexpected moments popping up every now and again and there is an intense atmosphere present, but I won't say that the game is over the top terrifying or anything. In fact it feels more like an action shooter than a horror game. Perhaps the thing that I liked the most about Dead Space is its very unique weapons which you use to kill the monsters with, weapons such as the Line Gun, that shoots a thin slice of energy to cut monsters' limbs off; the Ripper, that brings out a rapidly spinning saw disk to propel through anyone who comes too close; the Force Gun, that shoots a powerful close-ranged shockwave that knocks everything out of its way, and some others. The game also utilises some RPG elements, in that you get to pick up special power nodes throughout the missions and then you get to use the futuristic work bench to use these nodes to make your weapons and armor suit stronger. So I'd say these are the major strengths of the game - unique guns, some RPG elements, intense atmosphere. There is a bit of a story as well, but it sort of always stays on the background. Lastly I'll just mention that I came across two in-game bugs which forced me to have to reload from a previous save point, and that was only in a single playthrough and was sort of annoying. And another slightly annoying thing was that some of the puzzles were a bit too bland. From what I've heard, Dead Space 2 is supposed to be better, so I hope they've fixed some of this game's shortcomings. Expand
  37. Jul 25, 2012
    7
    I remember once saying that Amnesia The Dark Descent is probably the scariest horror game ever made; although I do admit that I hadn't actually played any other horror game before. Unfortunately for Dead Space fans, this game hasn't changed my mind. The game takes place in space and follows yet another emotion-less mute Issac Clarke. On a positive note, the game is very well put togetherI remember once saying that Amnesia The Dark Descent is probably the scariest horror game ever made; although I do admit that I hadn't actually played any other horror game before. Unfortunately for Dead Space fans, this game hasn't changed my mind. The game takes place in space and follows yet another emotion-less mute Issac Clarke. On a positive note, the game is very well put together and I'm sure gore-hounds will probably love the frequent dismemberment and violence. The combat is quite satisfying and the upgrade system feels fluid. However, being a console port, Dead Space is not well-optimised for the mouse & keyboard, with a weirdly floaty mouse and disjointed sensitivity. The biggest problem I have with Dead Space though, besides the controls, is that it's not even that scary: gory yes, plenty of it, but only the first 10 minutes were genuinely terrifying for me. Once you get your mittens on the weapons though, the game just becomes a series of action sequences with occasional padding and tedious repetition. The game just lacks any form of subtlety; the monsters will eagerly display themselves at every opportunity, bringing an orchestral jump every time they appear. Even after a glitch making the difficulty to jump from Easy (don't judge me) to Medium, the weapons are quite overpowered and the levels start to stretch themselves. So in conclusion, Dead Space is a Survival Horror game that slipped up over the whole horror aspect, so it's essentially just a survival action game. Just to be clear though, Dead Space is not a bad game at all; it looks great, sounds great and is still quite entertaining. A popcorn game I'd say, if you're looking for proper survival horror then Google "Slender"; if that doesn't scare you, nothing will. Expand
  38. Dec 1, 2011
    5
    Bought this on special from Steam, the graphics are really good, and the atmosphere and immersion are unreal, but unfortunately the otherwise decent gameplay is let let down by awkward controls as a result of a fairly average console port.

    My other major gripe is the game mechanic of using the same resource for upgrades as you use for health and ammo, since every time you play out an
    Bought this on special from Steam, the graphics are really good, and the atmosphere and immersion are unreal, but unfortunately the otherwise decent gameplay is let let down by awkward controls as a result of a fairly average console port.

    My other major gripe is the game mechanic of using the same resource for upgrades as you use for health and ammo, since every time you play out an engagement less than perfectly it pretty much gimps your character for the future, and with the clunky controls this happens quite a bit. Add to this the fact that the savepoints are fairly far apart and it can make for a very frustrating experience. I'm just over halfway through it and the story seems very cliché and unoriginal so far. If you've already played through any of the Doom or Half Life series (or a dozen other games for that matter) there's nothing really new or interesting that this offers story wise.

    If you see this on special for XBOX or PS3 it might be worth a look at but I wouldn't recommend it for PC.
    Expand
  39. Jan 7, 2012
    7
    At first I hated it, but then I read on some forums to disable V-sync. Wow, that made a massive difference. Goodbye mouse lag. Overall was a fun game. Was satisfied with the length of it. The story was extremely linear and predictable. I didnt find it scary either. It was mostly just the music blaring when stuffed popped out. No real terror like Silent Hill or Amnesia. I really enjoyed theAt first I hated it, but then I read on some forums to disable V-sync. Wow, that made a massive difference. Goodbye mouse lag. Overall was a fun game. Was satisfied with the length of it. The story was extremely linear and predictable. I didnt find it scary either. It was mostly just the music blaring when stuffed popped out. No real terror like Silent Hill or Amnesia. I really enjoyed the weapons. I would have liked Isaac, the main dude, to have a bit more of a character. He didnt really talk...like....ever. Overall: weak story, not scary, slightly clunky controls, awesome weapons and action, good graphics. Overall, above average, but not amazing. Oh, and would it have killed them to put in a quick turn ability! I hope Im not just a noob and never figured out how to do it. Expand
  40. Mar 4, 2014
    5
    I can understand that the purpose of the 3rd person view is to make the game scarier. But to me it's a bad design decision because it badly affects the controls / vision and spoiles my whole experience of the game. That would be my number one problem with the game. Monsters are really scary and creepy. If you like scare jumps games you might like this one.
  41. May 20, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. 'This is not the best FPS horror game ever, but it does have nice atmosphere, weapons and shooting model and graphics. I probably won't forget the moment, when the first corpse surprisingly jumped at me. Sadly enough the scary moments get stereotypical and soon enough you will find yourself expecting most of them before they actually happen. Still, overall feeling of the game is nice and I had a pleasure playing it, which doesn't happen too often lately, at least not with new production.

    Just a note for people, who didn't play yet. You can actually destroy the green boxes on the ground, I have added new level of difficulty to my game by not knowing that leaving me short on ammo most of the game. I found it out pretty close to the end of game when I accidentally shot into one of those. =)
    Expand
  42. May 28, 2014
    5
    The game itself has a good storyline, but is all in all badly executed.
    Pro:
    + Good and interesting storyline + Interesting upgrade system Cons: - Game is not dreading (like e.g. Outlast or Amnesia: The Dark Descent) and feeds off jumpscares entirely - Very linear and no options to explore - Save stations instead of "save wherever you want" - Clumsy controls - Third-person view
    The game itself has a good storyline, but is all in all badly executed.
    Pro:
    + Good and interesting storyline
    + Interesting upgrade system

    Cons:
    - Game is not dreading (like e.g. Outlast or Amnesia: The Dark Descent) and feeds off jumpscares entirely
    - Very linear and no options to explore
    - Save stations instead of "save wherever you want"
    - Clumsy controls
    - Third-person view is hindering instead of helpful

    Aside from that, the technical execution is a joke. My rig can run Crysis 3 on max settings, but starts choking on this thing as soon as lights start flashing. Come on!
    The bad controls are especially gamebreaking. It was impossible to play with mouse and keyboard, as the sensitivity is so extremely low, you can barely aim at an enemy. To be fair, it feels fairly playable with a gamepad, but still needs vast improvement.

    The clumsy controls really throw you out of the "feeling" of the game and you never really get into that scary mood like you may know from other horror titles like mentioned above. In addition, the whole game seemed to be more focused on being grotesque and "bloody" (e.g. baby aliens with tentacles cutting peoples heads off), than to induce a feeling of insecurity and dread. All in all is the scare-factor of Dead Space comparable to the "The Walking Dead"-game series.

    My recommendation: Play this game if you plan on playing the rest of the series (which are hopefully better), otherwise go for Outlast or Amnesia
    Expand
  43. Jun 28, 2014
    5
    Can't believe how much love this game gets. Controls are phenomenally bad, even with the well-known vsync and other fixes. It's just such a chore to play with such awful controls. I played it for an hour, tried all the fixes, uninstalled. Too many good games to play rather than fight with this one.
  44. Jan 2, 2022
    7
    The biggest problem of this game is the controlling, sometimes this game made me even sick while looking around. And sometimes I ran to some walls, so this game cant hide their console origin and there are still technical problems, that EA didnt solve, because they dont care. There is a widescreen fixer, that changes the FOV and a mouse fix, they improve the game a lot. So download it.The biggest problem of this game is the controlling, sometimes this game made me even sick while looking around. And sometimes I ran to some walls, so this game cant hide their console origin and there are still technical problems, that EA didnt solve, because they dont care. There is a widescreen fixer, that changes the FOV and a mouse fix, they improve the game a lot. So download it.
    The dialogues are political correct, made to build up suspense and for teens, so dont expect intelligent characters or difficult gameplay, they even implement a idiot safe navigation system xD. Of course the game is very straight forward also "to avoid,that no one get lost". This game is so political correct, they implement even a female character who is bossing you around all the time and seldom put her life in danger. Do they think I will adapt my opinions to this "reality"?

    But other than that the game is not bad: The introduction into the story is perfect. The graphics still looks great.
    In addition I like that this game is more horror than another shooter, but maybe the ego perspective would have been better. And after few hours the effects are not so impressive anymore.
    Expand
  45. Sep 21, 2013
    5
    Ok, so. Let's start from the beginning. This game is AMAZING. The BEST game EVER! Oh my gosh this gun is SO cool. Then you get to the near-end. I've seen this bloody enemy for fiftieth time! Can't I get a break? Nope. Your dead. Trying to skip 30 second overly gory death scenes (which you can't). Now start the WHOLE sequence again. This is the first Dead Space in the nut shell.
  46. Nov 1, 2018
    6
    Repetitive rinse and repeat way to advance and a few enemy models, but nice experience and atmosphere overall.
  47. Apr 6, 2014
    7
    It's a pretty good game. Why'd I give it a 7? If you're like me, then i guess you like games that center your character, or have a feature here there's a quick turn. Through out the WHOLE game I struggled with trying to see the enemy. And in the elevators? That was absolutely hell trying to just LOOK OUT THE DOOR.
  48. Jun 24, 2015
    5
    Would give it an 8 or 9, except like most games that are ported, the graphics take a hit for the worse, no matter your setup. And never use a keyboard to play them. Lets be honest console games just don't port well, unless they had a huge makeover.
  49. Jun 10, 2014
    6
    Interesante propuesta de Hub, con la vida a la espalda de tu personaje, además la atmósfera es muy interesante y los personajes también. Lo malo es que la jugabilidad llega a ser un poco repetitiva y bastante correcalles, pero las armas son también una genialidad. Para jugar prestado o comprar en grandes rebajas.
  50. Jul 3, 2014
    7
    Pretty good game that screams bad console port. The controls for this game are really bad as many of the reviews here indicate. The issue is that the developers mapped analog stick controls for pc play so when you are moving your mouse it's like using a poorly optimized analog stick. Precise movements are impossible with the mouse. A solution to this is disabling v-sync in game and forcingPretty good game that screams bad console port. The controls for this game are really bad as many of the reviews here indicate. The issue is that the developers mapped analog stick controls for pc play so when you are moving your mouse it's like using a poorly optimized analog stick. Precise movements are impossible with the mouse. A solution to this is disabling v-sync in game and forcing it via your graphics card and jacking up mouse sensitivity. I don't know how effective this is because I gave up on the mouse and decided to use a gamepad. Anyway, with a controller this game functions fine. I recommend anyone who gets this game for the PC to first consider using a controller instead of a mouse and keyboard. Honestly, using the mouse ruined the experience I had in the earlier chapters.

    Now for the game itself. It's pretty good with an interesting story. You play an engineer named Isaac who is trying to escape an infested ship called Ishimura. The atmosphere of the game is great. It's the best aspect of the game. Everything from the music, sound effects, and setting creates this dark and isolated atmosphere. While the game isn't necessarily piss your pants scary it does create some very tense moments. I think people need to keep this in mind before playing the game. Highly recommend if you are into these types of games. 7.5/10
    Expand
  51. Jul 9, 2014
    7
    I really dont understand why critics like this game so much, its not that good. Controls are awkward until you dont get used to it, shooting is alright but what I really hate is that Isac is moving like a slug when aiming! Storyline is alright, linear, and the graphics are nice. Killing those thins is allot of fun, but the game is not scary for a horror game, its predictable, oh and IfI really dont understand why critics like this game so much, its not that good. Controls are awkward until you dont get used to it, shooting is alright but what I really hate is that Isac is moving like a slug when aiming! Storyline is alright, linear, and the graphics are nice. Killing those thins is allot of fun, but the game is not scary for a horror game, its predictable, oh and If that thing appears behind your back, you are **** you need a century to turn around and scan the area! Expand
  52. Sep 14, 2014
    5
    dead space on my harddrive.

    I played it got it free off origin it was on the house decided give it a try this is hard to review because to me it felt like just a generic fps its ok I played some of it got bored never touched it again it didn't have that pull back that made me want to start it up again I don't have much else to say if you like fps and like some mild jump scare once in a
    dead space on my harddrive.

    I played it got it free off origin it was on the house decided give it a try this is hard to review because to me it felt like just a generic fps its ok I played some of it got bored never touched it again it didn't have that pull back that made me want to start it up again I don't have much else to say if you like fps and like some mild jump scare once in a while you will probably like this title but fps market seems so flooded and most of whats here you seen before.

    just average middle of the road game in my eyes.
    Expand
  53. Mar 16, 2020
    7
    Великолепная графика и физика. Игра атмосферная и разнообразная, но под конец превращается в обыкновенную стрелялку, становится скучно. Сюжет интересный. В целом советую.
  54. Jun 22, 2020
    7
    Оочень тяжело далось мне прохождение этой игры на ПК из за ужасного управления, которое я смог наладить, ковыряясь в настройках панели управления NVIDIA, но даже после этого управление было тугое, целиться было очень тяжело.
    Проходил ее впервые, в целом игра средняя, но тут стоит учитывать дату ее выхода. Противники не пугали, а к концу игры стали вызывать лишь раздражение своими резкими
    Оочень тяжело далось мне прохождение этой игры на ПК из за ужасного управления, которое я смог наладить, ковыряясь в настройках панели управления NVIDIA, но даже после этого управление было тугое, целиться было очень тяжело.
    Проходил ее впервые, в целом игра средняя, но тут стоит учитывать дату ее выхода. Противники не пугали, а к концу игры стали вызывать лишь раздражение своими резкими и громкими выпрыгиваниями из очередной дыры в стене и напряженной музыкой в время их появления.
    Графически, на удивление, даже сейчас, спустя 12 лет, выглядит достойно.
    Expand
  55. Jun 4, 2019
    7
    Good Horror shooter set in a Sci-Fi enviroment in Space. Combat mechanics take time to get used too but don't hamper gameplay too much.
  56. Apr 17, 2020
    7
    Геймплей напоминает таковой в Resident Evil. Страшно, интересно, хочу еще.
  57. Apr 1, 2021
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Графика - 7/10
    Игровой процесс - 7/10
    Сюжет - 6/10
    Музыка - 4/10
    Expand
  58. Jun 28, 2020
    7
    This game isn't scary. It's reasonably intense, startling, and unnerving, but scary it is not. The aim is stiff but okay enough, the atmosphere is completely unoriginal but well done, the chapters are repetitive but decent enough. It's not a bad game, not a great game, I wouldn't recommend it.
  59. Dec 19, 2020
    6
    Podría generalizar en que todo el juego es mediocre, pero no sería justo ya que tiene cosas muy buenas y cosas muy malas que hacen que lo bueno luzca menos.
    Empezando por lo malo tengo que decir que los controles en pc son lo peor que he visto en un juego actual (aunque el juego es de 2008, hay títulos anteriores que dan buena cuenta de ello), los gráficos no son nada del otro mundo (
    Podría generalizar en que todo el juego es mediocre, pero no sería justo ya que tiene cosas muy buenas y cosas muy malas que hacen que lo bueno luzca menos.
    Empezando por lo malo tengo que decir que los controles en pc son lo peor que he visto en un juego actual (aunque el juego es de 2008, hay títulos anteriores que dan buena cuenta de ello), los gráficos no son nada del otro mundo ( aquí también hay que tener en cuenta que aunque sea un juego de 2008, hay cosas que se podían haber echo mucho mejor), y por ultimo y para concluir lo malo que tiene este título, es que peca de ser demasiado action game por momentos. Esto no es malo si el título es un juego de acción y no un survival horror (véase DOOM), pero no puedes crear una atmosfera opresiva (que dead space hace esto a las mil maravillas), y dar al jugador INFINITOS recursos a lo largo del juego, es muy difícil hacer que el juego no sea injusto y que a la vez te prive de ir tirando balas por el camino, pero de ahí a literalmente tener que descartar munición por que no cabe más...
    Aunque la parte negativa, en mi opinión, opaca demasiado a la buena, es cierto que este juego lleva a cabo diferentes acciones a la maravilla, la atmosfera oscura y claustrofóbica es simplemente deliciosa para el público que busca en dead space la sensación de agobio propias del survival horror; el juego es DIVERTIDO, algo fundamental, y la historia es probablemente la mejor que he jugado en un survival horror fuera de los titanes del género como pueden ser RE y Silent Hill.
    Si la jugabilidad fuera mejor mi nota subiría hasta el 8, ya que no es así y como me parece un gran trabajo a pesar de los errores, si buscas un juego divertido y que sea capaz de hacerte pegar grititos de niña taiwanesa cuando ve a mike tyson, te recomiendo este juego!
    Expand
  60. Sep 17, 2021
    5
    The clanky noises of your boot heels on the hull of the ship, the distant revving of malfunctioning engines, the primal shrieking of devilish creatures echoing throughout the ship, the dissonant shrills of stringed instruments: the sound design of Dead Space is one of the greatest strengths of the experience, greatly enhancing the immersion and atmosphere. Immersion and atmosphere are theThe clanky noises of your boot heels on the hull of the ship, the distant revving of malfunctioning engines, the primal shrieking of devilish creatures echoing throughout the ship, the dissonant shrills of stringed instruments: the sound design of Dead Space is one of the greatest strengths of the experience, greatly enhancing the immersion and atmosphere. Immersion and atmosphere are the main selling points of the whole game, really, whereas other aspects may be suffering and lacking.
    For example, the story of Dead Space is nothing impressive, really, with a pretty linear plot that doesn't get creative in any significant way, a fair amount of clichés and plot-twists that do nothing other than shock-value. And yet, this boring script is given so much life and soul thanks to the presentation: the claustrophobic narrow hallways of the ship, the aforementioned stellar sound design, the diegetic menus perfectly contextualized within the game keeping you immersed in the setting, or the dark rooms immersed in shadows with only some strobing faint lights hanging from the ceiling. All these tiny details compose an atmospheric symphony that truly captivates the player and drives them onward, making issues such as the pretty basic level design less noticeable.
    But still, Dead Space is far from being all style and no substance, and the Combat is actually quite addicting: hitting enemies in the head or the torso is extremely ineffective, since their main weakness is their limbs. This adds an exciting layer of tension to battles, since simply shooting your way onward is not possible (or at least not the fastest and safest option): the player needs to carefully target the enemy's limbs, and those are not always easy to shoot, as some enemies might require you to wait for a good chance or to take them on from behind. Furthermore, the good variety of enemies, aside from keeping the player alert, makes late-game battles a real treat as you have to take on many different types of foes, remembering their strength and weaknesses to find the optimal strategy to face them, using the many different weapons that the game offers you, carefully managing your resources. That's right: ammo is limited and quite scarce, so the player is almost constantly kept in a state of anxiety, fearing they might not have enough ammo to take on the next room, in a deliciously unnerving journey. Speaking of ammo and weapons: as I said, the game offers many different weapons to use in your fight against the creatures, but it's really disappointing how little difference it makes in battle which weapon you're using. So many weapons, and yet they all feel samey, or the differences are so minimal that they don't feel worthy of the resouces needed to upgrade them. There are only 2 weapons that feel significantly different from the base one, but the number of situations in the game where you'll actually feel like you should use them instead of the base one can be counted on one hand.
    And yet, Combat has an even bigger flaw, which is that everything nice that I said up to this point only really applies to Hard Mode: Normal Mode is just too easy, annoyingly so. The player takes too little damage and enemies go down way too easily, leaving you with so much ammo that you literally don't know what to do with it, killing almost all sense of tension and anxiety, leaving only atmosphere to do the job. A huge letdown in every mode are the Bosses, the only real stain in this otherwise really solid Enemy Roster. With the exception of the decent final boss, they are mostly glorified puzzles.
    Anyhow, Gameplay has also a pretty surprising good variety. Without doing any spoiler, just know that sometimes you'll be doing something other than shooting at monsters: these sections offer a really nice change of pace or a pretty unexpected breather, making the whole experience feel a bit more heterogeneous.
    The Level Design is decent, it does exactly what it needs to do, without any exceptionally creative or fun situation, 90% of the fun in this experience is due to the Combat and the atmosphere.
    When the level design isn't just decent, though, it can get actually bad, specifically in the "Zero-Gravity" sections, where we are greeted with awkward controls and often unfair enemy placements.
    Or, in other words: Dead Space is an excellent horror in the sense that it traps you in a dying spaceship, in its creepy claustrophobic hallways, truly making you feel the psychological weight of the situation thanks to the impeccable atmosphere crafted, even if the story miserably fails at giving this great atmosphere an interesting context. The core of the Gameplay, the Combat, is extremely solid and fun, but suffers from a lot of useless and pointless weapons and an excessively low difficulty, truly shining only on the harder modes, while other disappointing aspects, like the basic (sometimes straight-up bad) level design cannot be saved by changing difficulty setting.
    Expand
  61. Oct 24, 2021
    7
    I've played this game for about 11 hours now and I don't really understand the hype that the critics gave this game. The controls are clunky, the story is mediocre. To be fair, the graphics are decent for their time, but what bugs me most about this game is its linear gameplay and awful clunky gunplay.
  62. Jul 26, 2022
    7
    I almost didn't like this one, and I only stayed in the game because it had good physics and ran on my PC at the time. felt like playing mass effect mobile and i don't like mass effect
  63. Jan 17, 2023
    7
    О игре узнал впервые от своего друга в 2022 году, ранее о ней ничего не слышал (такие тоже существуют), так что проходил игру впервые, без чувства ностальгии, как у многих других людей.
    Плюсы:
    1. Графика для 2008 года топовая, даже в нынешних реалиях выглядит вполне неплохо; 2. Крутая оптимизация: на слабом железе игра идет без вылетов, фризов, лагов и т.д.; 3. Невероятная атмосфера;
    О игре узнал впервые от своего друга в 2022 году, ранее о ней ничего не слышал (такие тоже существуют), так что проходил игру впервые, без чувства ностальгии, как у многих других людей.
    Плюсы:
    1. Графика для 2008 года топовая, даже в нынешних реалиях выглядит вполне неплохо;
    2. Крутая оптимизация: на слабом железе игра идет без вылетов, фризов, лагов и т.д.;
    3. Невероятная атмосфера;
    4. Незамысловатый, добротный геймплей;
    Минусы:
    1. Полностью вырезали русский язык;
    2. Различные баги (мобы в текстурах, кривая сенса и т.д.), но справедливости ради игра всё таки 2008 года.
    Expand
  64. Feb 10, 2023
    7
    I didn't really enjoy the game, but what the developers tried I respect, they put alot of mechanics that make this game replayble for a bunch of times cus of the mechanics, but the problem I had with the mechanics was that it was alot of times frustating to deal with like the fly mechanics, wich they made way better in Dead Space 2.

    Story is pretty damn weak, it's only at the end they
    I didn't really enjoy the game, but what the developers tried I respect, they put alot of mechanics that make this game replayble for a bunch of times cus of the mechanics, but the problem I had with the mechanics was that it was alot of times frustating to deal with like the fly mechanics, wich they made way better in Dead Space 2.

    Story is pretty damn weak, it's only at the end they came with a good plot
    like story is just not great, it's just the plot that made the ending great, that's my opinion though.
    Expand
  65. Apr 30, 2023
    7
    Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 28
  2. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. This is a highly recommended game for science fiction and survival horror fans, with its claustrophobic atmosphere and horrible creatures.
  2. Overall, Dead Space is an extraordinary game with tons of shock value and action to whet any fan's appetite for some time, and with a campaign that lasts a steady 10-12 hours, that’s plenty of time to get lost aboard the Ishimura.
  3. PC Zone UK
    81
    Dead Space is a potentially great game that's hamstrung by an attempt to completely ape a console controller with a mouse and keyboard. [Dec 2008, p.58]