Dead Space

 PlayStation 3
User Score
8.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 790 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 717 out of 790
  2. Mixed: 51 out of 790
  3. Negative: 22 out of 790
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  1. MARKOWAYYY
    Jul 29, 2020
    9
    This gane is just amazing!
    The graphics still hold up in 2020 and the atmosphere is crazy, you feel alone during the whole experience and the horror aspect makes ypu scare so much!
    This game is a classic.
  2. chrisdan23
    Jun 9, 2022
    9
    Man nehme ein SciFi Setting e la Alien, einen Third Person Shooter e la Mass Effect und das Feel eines Resident Evil 2 und voila - man hat das Survial Horror Genre erfolgreich wiederbelebt. Nachdem Resident Evil spätestens mit Teil Fünf kaum noch Angstgefühle hervorzurufen wusste, und Silent Hill von Konami leider tot produziert wurde, dachte man eigentlich, das Genre sei endgültigMan nehme ein SciFi Setting e la Alien, einen Third Person Shooter e la Mass Effect und das Feel eines Resident Evil 2 und voila - man hat das Survial Horror Genre erfolgreich wiederbelebt. Nachdem Resident Evil spätestens mit Teil Fünf kaum noch Angstgefühle hervorzurufen wusste, und Silent Hill von Konami leider tot produziert wurde, dachte man eigentlich, das Genre sei endgültig gestorben. Mit Dead Space hat Visceral Games es aber geschafft, uns ernsthaft wieder das Fürchten zu lehren. Denn Dead Space macht auf sehr unterschiedlichen Ebenen so einiges richtig, was in der Mischung eben genau jenen, subtilen Horror Cocktail ergibt, den wir gerne als "Survival Horror" wahrnehmen und beschreiben.

    So ist es zu aller erst einmal das "Outer Space" Setting, das uns einen solchen Modus vorgibt. Denn Dead Space bedient sich hier stark an Ridley Scotts Alien Filmen. Hier wird Weltraum nämlich als lebensfeindlicher Raum darstellt, der uns als Spieler immer wieder zeigt, wie klein und verletzbar wir eigentlich sind. Ohne unsere starke Rüstung wären wir direkt verloren. Daraus resultiert auch, dass wir an den engen Lebensraum des Raumfrachters Ishimura gebunden sind, dass heißt auch, an dessen klaustrophobische, "Alien"-verseuchten Gänge und Räume, die wir nun erkunden müssen. Und diese ballern wir nicht einfach frei, sondern Dead Space schafft es hier gekonnt, uns wirklich Angst zu machen. Was ist hinter der nächsten Tür? Was ist am Ende dieser Treppe? Schaff ich es ohne zu ersticken durch diesen luftleeren Korridor? Vor allem durch seine großartige Soundcollage baut Dead Space eine bedrohliche Atmosphäre auf, die uns jede Konfrontation mit den alienartigen Monstern, oder dem offenen All, als Kampf auf Leben und Tod empfinden lässt.

    Gut, im letzten Drittel der Kampagne wird Dead Space dann schon etwas actionreicher und nicht mehr jeder Feindkontakt lässt uns gleich das Blut in den Adern gefrieren. Nervenaufreibende Bossbattles halten uns dennoch bei der Stange. Die Dinger werden am Ende einfach größer und fieser. Gut gelungen ist zudem auch die Hintergrundgeschichte um Parasiten und Necromorphe, die vor allem mit Motiven um Wahnsinn und Irreführung spielt, also die menschliche Dimension von Horror mit einzubinden vermag. Das, teils ganz Resident Evil like, in Textlogs erzählte Setting des Spiels, wie auch die verschiedenen NPCs, denen wir auf der Station begegnen, verstärken die verstörende Atmosphäre dieses Horror Shooters nochmal ungemein.

    Mechanisch spielt sich das Game zudem äußerst flüssig, wird nie unfair, und präsentiert sich auch technisch wie grafisch von seiner besten Seite. Cool ist auch, dass wir unsere Ausrüstung in den vorhandenen "Save Rooms" im Laufe des Spiels immer weiter upgraden können, was auch dringend nötig ist, da die Kämpfe immer härter und fordernder werden mit der Zeit. Was Dead Space so auch gut schafft, ist das, was die ersten Resident Evil Teile damals so ausgezeichnet hat. Nämlich diese klare Differenz zwischen "Save Rooms" und gefährlichem, noch nicht erkundetem Territorium. Allerdings wird bei Dead Space mit diesem Motiv auch geschickt gespielt. Dieser Schock-Moment, wenn in das vermeintlich sichere Gebiet dann doch plötzlich eins dieser Zombieviecher einbricht - das funktioniert natürlich auch heute immer noch hervorragend.    … Expand
  3. JoseManuel10_
    Dec 21, 2021
    9
    Dead Space is a survival horror video game developed by Visceral Games and published by EA
  4. 8tonystark8
    May 26, 2021
    9
    Played it for the first time in 2018, got stuck at one part...played it again in 2020 and this time finished it. One of the best shooter/horror/action games out there. Hopefully one day will get a remaster.
  5. Greenherb
    May 15, 2023
    9
    This was one of the best games of the PS3 and still enjoyable to play! It even has better voice overs than the remake I think.
  6. BrutaltruthCritic
    May 15, 2009
    8
    Let me start off first with the simple and yet original locator system. More time concentrating then trying to find the right path for each mission. The only thing that didnt get this game a ten was that it was a little frustrating trying to conserve your ammo while trying to take out a room of aliens. Nothings worse than running out of ammo in the middle of a fight. Graphics are great as Let me start off first with the simple and yet original locator system. More time concentrating then trying to find the right path for each mission. The only thing that didnt get this game a ten was that it was a little frustrating trying to conserve your ammo while trying to take out a room of aliens. Nothings worse than running out of ammo in the middle of a fight. Graphics are great as they should be, being that it is a next gen console. Controls are tight and precise. If your looking for a scare dont look here so much. The music is more frightening then the actual game play. Dont get me wrong there are moments that will own you but nothing that will make you have nightmares, darn!… Expand
  7. TomBullen
    Mar 25, 2009
    8
    Was initially put off by the demo, which threw the player in at the deep end. However, was given the game as a present and decided to give it a shot, and was pleasantly surprised. Visually it is a treat, esp. on a 46" HiDEF LCD. The sound effects and music is also chilling. The game play is nicely paced, slowly easing you into the horror of it all. I actually find the game quite drainingWas initially put off by the demo, which threw the player in at the deep end. However, was given the game as a present and decided to give it a shot, and was pleasantly surprised. Visually it is a treat, esp. on a 46" HiDEF LCD. The sound effects and music is also chilling. The game play is nicely paced, slowly easing you into the horror of it all. I actually find the game quite draining to play, and can only do so in 30min sessions, and never in the middle of the night, lovely!… Expand
  8. WilliamM.
    Oct 16, 2008
    8
    The writing in this game is frighteningly insipid. The only thing that keeps it together is the artwork. "Get the thermite from the medical supply" is my favorite retarded quote from this game. It's great that most people can see past this and just be scared by the constant "boo" factor of body parts flying at them. Don't believe the hype if you're looking for good sci-fi.
  9. [Anonymous]
    Oct 25, 2008
    8
    Great game! I finished it in 3 sittings though,so it felt shorter then it should have. Only complaint is that it´s not as scary as I thought it would be, sadly not on the top 3 scariest games for me (RE remake, silent hill 2 and fear tops that) and the the hard should have been "normal" difficulty. Even my friends that have no prior experience with these kind of games thinks Great game! I finished it in 3 sittings though,so it felt shorter then it should have. Only complaint is that it´s not as scary as I thought it would be, sadly not on the top 3 scariest games for me (RE remake, silent hill 2 and fear tops that) and the the hard should have been "normal" difficulty. Even my friends that have no prior experience with these kind of games thinks it´s as hard as it should be (not saying that it should be brutally hard but having a lot of items, ammunition and healthpacks kind of ruins the "feel" of survival horrors for me). Still, the game was satisfying and felt really well made. It´s probably one of the best survival horror games I´ve played though, only a few things that bug me (larges concernes listed above) , but what game is perfect anyway? It´s a shining example of quality in this age of graphical fireworks without real depth.… Expand
  10. magcakpro
    Mar 13, 2011
    8
    SO CLOSE to System Shock 2, but just one thing is off. I never felt in danger of running out of ammo at any point (except for on Hard, and while on that topic, when can we learn that Hard is not fin when you simply have to hit an enemy more times?). Why is plentiful ammo a bad thing? Survival horror is supposed to draw tension from the aspect that you are helpless and hopeless, and theSO CLOSE to System Shock 2, but just one thing is off. I never felt in danger of running out of ammo at any point (except for on Hard, and while on that topic, when can we learn that Hard is not fin when you simply have to hit an enemy more times?). Why is plentiful ammo a bad thing? Survival horror is supposed to draw tension from the aspect that you are helpless and hopeless, and the true reward of the game comes from when you fall into a room of 50 monsters, you got our alive to the next area with only firing off a couple of well placed shots. Aside from this, the story and atmosphere were very compelling, and it was still a very good game.… Expand
  11. Inuit_Dude
    Mar 17, 2011
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. i found this was an alright game and in the begining i was so scared that i could only play this game for about 30 mins at a time but eventually it became repetitive and i stopped getting scared and was able to look at it like a normal gameinstead of a horror movie that i could pause whenever i want and start back up again later. i liked the endidng of the game but i am unsure if it his dead wife was actually on board with him as he escaped or if it was part of his insanity. either way i loved this game in the begining then that waned to contempt for the game and i liked how it is not that comlicated to figure every thing out sure you will die loads but you will eventually get it right. this is a must play but i am not sure if it is a must own but i liked it so ill hang onto it… Expand
  12. beheadedchicken
    Aug 5, 2012
    8
    Dead Space is a rare game. It's a game that does a lot of things so well, but also has those detractors that hold it back from becoming one of the all time greats. In terms of presentation, it's magnificent. The great story unravels and increases in complexity as you go on, it's atmosphere is frightening and tense, and the graphics and artistic design are phenomenal. It may not be theDead Space is a rare game. It's a game that does a lot of things so well, but also has those detractors that hold it back from becoming one of the all time greats. In terms of presentation, it's magnificent. The great story unravels and increases in complexity as you go on, it's atmosphere is frightening and tense, and the graphics and artistic design are phenomenal. It may not be the scariest game out there, as it loses its fright factor nearing the end, but it maintains a psychological element that makes you think sometimes whats real, and how you yourself would keep composed in that environment. However when it comes to the gameplay, it offers a unique, innovative mechanic but doesn't expand on it. The gameplay ultimately becomes repetitive (though not necessarily boring) and leaves you wishing you could do more. This is what holds the game back from the podium. As scary as it is, you still want to be on that ship with things wanting to kill you, you wish that the terror could have gone on longer, and that killing creatures and putting things here and fixing that weren't the only objectives you had to do. You may argue that there may not have been that much else to do, yet you still wonder. Dead Space may be lacking in the interactive department, but it comes out as a remarkable experience that you'll be thinking about for awhile.… Expand
  13. Thegamingstar
    Feb 24, 2012
    8
    This game is awesome but not the best. I don't have Dead Space 2 so i cant say which one is better this game is a game to get and you will love it is a horror and the first time i played it i got pretty scared from the aliens popping out of the walls at the most random times.
  14. sityoazzdown
    Jul 16, 2016
    8
    Probably one of the better, if not the best survival horror games out there today. Dead Space is split between trying to escape, with the backstory of trying to find out what happened. It has a few puzzles, but mostly requires you to shoot things to advance. Dead Space nails the atmosphere of a horror game perfectly, it adds a little bit of everything (pop-scares, flickering lights, scaryProbably one of the better, if not the best survival horror games out there today. Dead Space is split between trying to escape, with the backstory of trying to find out what happened. It has a few puzzles, but mostly requires you to shoot things to advance. Dead Space nails the atmosphere of a horror game perfectly, it adds a little bit of everything (pop-scares, flickering lights, scary music, background noise, enemies coming from nowhere, etc). Horror/atmosphere-wise it's an 9/10 imo. The gameplay is basic, but there's nothing wrong with it, aim and shoot, with limited ammo (especially if you don't scavenge). The scavenging is one of the best parts of the game imo, and it does greatly reward you. The audio logs and text logs are all mostly interesting, also. The only downside to gameplay is limited weapon variety and linear mission design (you basically spend the majority of the game trying to fix something to escape). Gameplay is 8/10. Now the story was decent, but the ending didn't do anything for me, and I actually left with more questions than answers; so the story aspect is an 8/10. To end, an satisfying survival horror experience for me, would definitely recommend. If I would to give it a score probably an 8.8..The good: horror atmosphere, good game-play, scavenging. The Bad: Linear mission design, little variety of guns. The in-between: so-so cast and decent story.… Expand
  15. chrisjones914
    May 5, 2013
    8
    One of the scariest games that i have ever played! I am a huge fan of sci-fi and a huge fan of horror so i thought this game was absolutely awesome! With a great story and great bloody combat this is definitely one you need to pick up if you're a fan of either of those two genre's
  16. Strike2
    Nov 22, 2013
    8
    Playing this game was a strange experience for me. I borrowed it from a friend and slowly completed it over a very long time span due to a whole heap of distractions but I have finally completed it. One of the first things you'll notice about the story is just how bad your luck is on this mission. In true horror fashion, anything that can go wrong will. This creates a lot of interestingPlaying this game was a strange experience for me. I borrowed it from a friend and slowly completed it over a very long time span due to a whole heap of distractions but I have finally completed it. One of the first things you'll notice about the story is just how bad your luck is on this mission. In true horror fashion, anything that can go wrong will. This creates a lot of interesting situations that you'll get thrown into. Granted they are all similar, basically get to a location to retrieve or activate something but the thrill comes from the atmosphere this game has and the journey to completing these objectives. The thing that makes this game great is its true horror feel. The atmosphere and tension play out like a good movie and the science fiction setting reminds me of the film Aliens, which is a good thing.
    A gripe I have with the game is just the older, clunkier controls. This game was older when I played it and this shows in the game's mechanics. Melee is clunky and hard to use and aiming and movement are slow compared to modern games. I also feel that some deaths were cheap. There were instances when I would get knocked over and an enemy would kill me as I was in the standing up animation and defenceless. I know an alien in real life wouldn't wait but I want to feel like that I can still survive in a survival horror game. Speaking of horror, this game nails it by introducing varied enemies at a near perfect pace. Just when you seemed to be fighting the same things, the game goes back to something that hasn't appeared in this level yet that you forgot about, or it shows you something entirely new. The game is also good at adding in a new plot point when things start to feel stale. In the midst of the very standard objective types, it is good that the game reminds you why your doing it and adds something new to keep you interested. The weapons are also interesting and using the good upgrade feature, most weapons will stay useful until the final boss with a few power nodes invested.

    I think I've covered everything now. The game has a truly great survival horror atmosphere as you play it and is paced very well with a story that starts well,slows a bit in the middle before ramping back up near the end. The game is let down by the basic and clunky feeling combat and backtracking to the same areas but for the most part I can definitely recommend it for someone who likes games with a great atmosphere like this.    … Expand
  17. fateappointed
    Feb 3, 2014
    8
    Story: 8 out of 10, Graphics: 9 out of 10, Fun: 8 out of 10, Controls: 8 out of 10, Ease to Learn: 8 out of 10, Length: 8 out of 10, Re-play: 5 out of 10, Value: 8 out of 10
  18. Karimchii
    Mar 31, 2014
    8
    Not normally a fan of horror games, but this game pulled me in. The story line is a little generic, however that is well made up for in the experience. This game came with the warning of scaring you and it did, I have never jumped so much in a game in all my life. This is the crème de la crème of horror games !
  19. SuperkenGaming
    Oct 17, 2015
    8
    Dead Space
    Beginning, end, and a bunch of dead space.
    Dead Space is a 3rd person shooter, survival horror game. You start the game out on a rescue mission, and you crash on a giant ship, you quickly find out that some crazy stuff is going on, and by quickly, I mean like, 3 minutes in and you’re ready to go home. Dead space is absolutely terrifying. The game is dark, takes place in    Dead Space
    Beginning, end, and a bunch of dead space.
    Dead Space is a 3rd person shooter, survival horror game.
    You start the game out on a rescue mission, and you crash on a giant ship, you quickly find out that some crazy stuff is going on, and by quickly, I mean like, 3 minutes in and you’re ready to go home.
    Dead space is absolutely terrifying.
    The game is dark, takes place in this massive ship you crash landed on and this ship is crawling with creepy alien creatures.
    They come out of nowhere, it’s almost impossible to tell when or when they aren’t going to come after you.
    They crawl out of vents, you’ll see them and think great time for a showdown, and nothing happens, or you’ll completely miss the vents on the ceiling and one will hop down on top of you.
    You never get used them.
    Maybe eventually you do... but as soon as you do, they fix that.
    The terror is nonstop from beginning til end.
    These encounters are so terrifying because they are spread out perfectly.
    You spend more time relaxed running through dark halls than you do actually fighting.
    You can fight off these creatures with guns or stomp them to death.
    There are a variety of schematics you’ll find on the ship that you can take back to the store to purchase a new suit upgrade or a new weapon.
    You can carry up to 4 weapons at a time, and more ammo and med packs as you level up your suit.
    You can also collect power nodes to level up your weapons.
    Dead Space does a great job of giving you plenty of ammo while at the same time making you feel like you hardly have any, always keeping you tense.
    The downside though is that Dead Space is insanely repetitive.
    It’s hard to notice for the first 4 chapters of the game because the world feels so fresh, and you can’t help but smile at the influence modern games have borrowed from dead space, but all 12 chapters is nonstop follow the line, shoot things in your way, press the button, come back, do this about 3 or 4 times, get to the train, repeat chapter after chapter after chapter.
    Then they add in 0 gravity sections which can be pretty cool, but it quickly becomes boring and seems far too gimmicky as it was way over used.
    1 or 2 awesome 0 gravity sections would’ve been plenty enough.
    The ability to slow time and use telekinesis does make some sections a tiny bit more interesting and there are a handful of bosses in dead space, but none of them really stuck out of felt special to me.
    Dead Space is a horror game classic way ahead of its time and a must play for horror fans.
    I found the game insanely addictive at times, even though it tends to drag things out just a little too long.
    For what it is
    3rd Person Shooter/Survival Horror
    8/10

    Overall:
    8/10    … Expand
  20. AnimeKing
    Mar 23, 2017
    8
    This is a very late review but still a good game.

    Graphics, it's a PS3 style graphic game you can look it up it's not impressive but I will say it's like the old Resident evil games but in space. Sound, The sound is in the back don't really recall it. Gameplay, As I said before It's like Resident Evil but in space. your an engineer sent to a mining ship that lost connection, you    This is a very late review but still a good game.

    Graphics, it's a PS3 style graphic game you can look it up it's not impressive but I will say it's like the old Resident evil games but in space.

    Sound, The sound is in the back don't really recall it.

    Gameplay, As I said before It's like Resident Evil but in space. your an engineer sent to a mining ship that lost connection, you and a team are there to investigate. From the start you run into trouble then get attacked by monsters called Necromorphs. they attack you like Zombies but they can actually run and crawl. to take them out this game takes the head shot idea out of the game and introduces the dismember idea where you shoot the legs and/or arms to kill. the normal enemies just take more to kill if you hit the head or body while other enemies, like the fat mother one, if you shoot the body it dies letting out the little ones inside out to attack.

    Overall, It's really not that bad and well worth at least 1 play through. I told my friend to play it, he wasn't interested in it but when I told him that I'd let him borrow my copy to give it a try he thoroughly enjoyed it and bought his own copy.
    You can always buy it at gamestop used and if you don't like it then return it and get your money back.    … Expand
  21. KayVen17
    Jan 4, 2017
    8
    Deutsche Review - Kritik

    Der folgende Test ist in 5 Kategorien zusammengefasst. Diese 5 Kartegorien ergeben die Gesamtpunktzahl von 0 - 100 Punkten. Um einen passenden Userscore zu geben wird auf oder abgerundet. Bei 84 Punkten ergibt das einen User Score von 8. Bei 86 einen von Userscore von 9. Falls eine 85 kommt entscheide ich ob ich es eher positiv oder negativ nehme. Regeln    Deutsche Review - Kritik

    Der folgende Test ist in 5 Kategorien zusammengefasst. Diese 5 Kartegorien ergeben die Gesamtpunktzahl von 0 - 100 Punkten. Um einen passenden Userscore zu geben wird auf oder abgerundet. Bei 84 Punkten ergibt das einen User Score von 8. Bei 86 einen von Userscore von 9. Falls eine 85 kommt entscheide ich ob ich es eher positiv oder negativ nehme. Regeln verstanden?
    Dann sind hier meine Punkte.

    Mein persönlicher Score = 84/100
    Mein User Score = 8/10    … Expand
  22. GenuineBruv2021
    Oct 29, 2018
    8
    Dead Space is an incredibly fun and gory game, the story is pretty decent as well. I had a lot of fun playing this game but it doesn't have much replay value. The gun play is very satisfying and gory, the upgrade system is also pretty good. Dead Space is a ton fun, definitely recommend it!
  23. FidelGastro
    May 29, 2021
    8
    Dead Space from 2008, who would have thought that the "horror" game from that time would still be fun and, above all, scary. The game is not crowded with jumscares like modern horror games, but it scares with its environment and atmosphere (if I omit jumpscare in the last cutscene, I was honestly so frightened that I had to go calm down by playing Civilization).

    Gameplay is so weird at    Dead Space from 2008, who would have thought that the "horror" game from that time would still be fun and, above all, scary. The game is not crowded with jumscares like modern horror games, but it scares with its environment and atmosphere (if I omit jumpscare in the last cutscene, I was honestly so frightened that I had to go calm down by playing Civilization).

    Gameplay is so weird at first, but after a while you get used to it. I liked the creative HUD Health bar and the "stasis". However, what was not so well resolved was the "hunting" of items from the inventory. For example, such an attempt to pull the first aid kit in the middle of a fight was adrenaline in itself.

    The range of weapons is not very varied, but it doesn't matter. I actively used only three weapons until the end of the game. The weapon upgrading system is well designed. The game motivates the player to deserve a lot of new weapon upgrades.

    However, the variety of enemies is larger and some of them are really annoying.
    Boss fights are interesting, but not very complicated. Honestly, the final boss quite disappointed me, but it was acceptable for the 2008 game.

    As for the thing, it was intense and exciting, full of betrayal, love, adrenaline and, above all, fear.

    I give a rating of 8/10.    … Expand
  24. ewenr
    Jun 29, 2020
    8
    Best Horror video game I have ever played. I played it many years after its release but some of the gameplay and UI elements are still top-notch even by today;'s standards (e.g Health-bars built into Isaac's suit, dismembering enemies versus soaking them in bullets). Dead Space 2 is now on my short list.
  25. tharikleo
    Apr 19, 2021
    8
    Verdadeiramente assustador, com muita violência e um clima extremamente sombrio. Amei.
  26. jonjohn048
    Feb 9, 2023
    8
    Even nowadays this game is still an instant survival horror classic. After hearing about both The Callisto Protocol and the Dead Space Remake get announced, I decided to dust off my PS3 and I bought all of the Dead Space games I could just so I could see what the big deal of this franchise was. The first thing I will say is that I'm shocked on how good this game looks graphically evenEven nowadays this game is still an instant survival horror classic. After hearing about both The Callisto Protocol and the Dead Space Remake get announced, I decided to dust off my PS3 and I bought all of the Dead Space games I could just so I could see what the big deal of this franchise was. The first thing I will say is that I'm shocked on how good this game looks graphically even nowadays, sure it's not shockingly beautiful like most AAA games are nowadays, but the game's art style and level design do more than enough justice in my opinion and I can't give Visceral Games enough praise for accomplishing that on a PS3. Another thing I'm shocked at is how there's legitimately ZERO UI on screen, like no joke, the fact that these developers smartly placed your main character's HP and Stasis module on his back to allow for no UI on screen while also giving the whole "watch each other's backs" a whole new meaning pretty much something to bow down to the developers for. Plus when you're scrolling around the menus, the fact that you can see Isaac's head move according to the direction is one small yet huge way to make this game more alive than it already is. The characters are pretty good with all of them being different and unique, the level design is great with it blending wonderfully with the combat. Speaking of the combat, the combat in this game is so remarkable I'm shocked that the same developers made some of worst combat I've had to deal with in The Callisto Protocol, one small thing I love is how you can still move while you're aiming allowing combat to age better than most horror classics and to prevent it from feeling unfair, basically your weapons are iconic because your main character Isaac Clarke is not a super solider, he's just an every day engineer in a tight suit with no fire-arms and just his mining tools, speaking of those, these tools are iconic because they're generally not the first thing you think of when you're preparing to defend yourself but using them as weapons does make sense like the ripper blades, flamethrower, contact beam, stasis to freeze your enemies temporarily, and probably my favorite weapon: the plasma cutter. The enemies in this game are also iconic since their design is terrifying plus the developers came up with a genius idea to aim for the enemies limbs to cut them off because shooting them in the head just makes them angrier so shooting their limbs off will kill them causing the combat to be more stressful and unique compared to other horror classics. The story and lore for this game is simply brilliant since it showcases what could potentially happen in humanity's future if Earth ran out of resources and the reason it all works is because everything that goes on here makes sense and sounds exactly like something humans would do if they were desperate to survive. But easily without a doubt the best thing about this game is what it tried to excel at: horror; so the main thing to understand on what makes it scary is that it prioritized something that's pretty much the last thing developers usually go to: sound. Because of this, it isn't excessive on jump-scares like The Callisto Protocol is, instead it has a few ones and when they happen, they take you by surprise because the game was never building them up and you're initially scared and confused what's going on and that's ensures you're always on your toes to prepare yourself for another jump-scare that won't happen for a while, sometimes when you're working on something, you'll hear "Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star" softly in your head to make you feel like you're going mad alongside the main character, and the atmosphere is easily the best in the franchise with how dark it is and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Now while this game is remarkable, this game definitely has some flaws. Like I understand the developers wanted to make Isaac silent is so you can see him as an avatar and you're supposed to be in his shoes allowing you to form your own memories on what Isaac's thinking but this in turn causes him to seem braver than he actually is when scary stuff happens yet he never says anything causing the whole thing to feel stupid, the cannon mini-game is hard for all the wrong reasons since it doesn't move quickly enough to destroy them all, the frame-rate is alright but can fluctuate especially on my PS3, and the zero gravity sections involving you to do a Superman jump to one place to get to another is pretty janky and stiff, and some specific story beats didn't make sense when I thought about them some more. Overall, this game is still remarkable and a brilliant survival horror classic even if I don't think it's the best one in the franchise and if you're planning on picking up this game, firstly: DON'T. The remake is astonishing enough to the point where there's legitimately no reason to pick this up, but if your nostalgia is just that craving for it, it's still decent enough.… Expand
  27. Mastereed
    Jan 24, 2023
    8
    A NORMAL JOURNEY INTO THE SPACE

    BEFORE WE BEGIN: The game has been played on Xbox 360 and completed in every mode it offers, eventually achieving platinum trophy. QUARANTINE PROTOCOL ACTIVATED: The game starts by introducing, thanks to a cutscene, the game world setting. Immediately the player finds himself on the giant planet cracker USG Ishimura, a large spaceship used to dig    A NORMAL JOURNEY INTO THE SPACE

    BEFORE WE BEGIN:
    The game has been played on Xbox 360 and completed in every mode it offers, eventually achieving platinum trophy.

    QUARANTINE PROTOCOL ACTIVATED:
    The game starts by introducing, thanks to a cutscene, the game world setting. Immediately the player finds himself on the giant planet cracker USG Ishimura, a large spaceship used to dig into unknown planets' ground. Apparently no life forms are visible on the ship; this leads shortly thereafter to the player's discovery of the game's main encounter, the Necromorphs, deformed and repulsive creatures that would appear to be generated from the corpses of the former inhabitants of this ship. From there on, the adventure will be divided between uncovering the mystery of these absurd entities and managing to escape this spaceship safely.

    DISMEMBERING NECROMORPHS:
    The gameplay of the first Dead Space is that of a true Horror action, and I place the word horror first intentionally, since the focus of the game is on the horror part, as opposed to the third chapter of the trilogy; the gloomy atmosphere of the environment, the noises and cries produced by the Necromorphs rumbling through the hollowness of the spaceship, the rivers of blood flowing through the floors and those horrific scenes of death that Isaac will unfortunately have to endure in the adventure make the definition of the game genre clear. Right from the start, the player is launched in a chasing sequence, running from these monstrosities and then trying to find a way to succeed in counter attacking them, using various weapons unlockable as the game progresses through collectible schemes. The variety of weapons is quite decent for a game of this genre, and gives a lot of freedom to different styles of play. The game difficulty is neither too exaggerated to make it too horror, nor too easy to make it pure action. There are some environmental puzzles present, but they are quite simple and intuitive enough to become a feature of the game; there are also some rather interesting zero-gravity sections for a 2008 game.

    HOME IS FAR:
    Graphically Dead Space is a gem of the horror genre. This setting in space turns out to be one of the most beautiful seen so far, as well as one of the most inspired. The use of lights and shadows, Necromorphs passing through walls, dislodging cables and walls, and the proper use of color gradations make the game extremely immersive and scary. Let us be clear, this is not a horror game dedicated to jumpscare as it relies heavily on atmosphere, as already pointed out. The aesthetics of the various enemies and corpses also make it more gore and not very reassuring. Finally, there are a lot of death animations present; almost anything in the game that can kill you will delight the player with customized and very distinctive death scenes at times.

    HEARING NOISES:
    Dead Space excels here as well, using sound to add the excitement that the visual side cannot; the fear of approaching footsteps or behind a door, the frightening noises heard in the background, and even the frightening silence of the void give an essential addition to the final composition. The very accuracy of the resonant audio in space is also excellent. Little gem is the use of a very apt song in the game intro and trailer.

    Achievements:
    The achievements point turns out to be rather simple in this chapter of the trilogy, complete the game on normal difficulty, then do it in hardcore (with saves fortunately) and only with the gun. At least personally I found it extremely fun as an achievement. If this is frustrating for you, avoid thinking of getting the platinum trophy for the two sequels, because those will turn out to be hell on earth.

    BUT WHY 8?

    PROS:
    The game boasts numerous merits that defined a branch of the horror genre and in some ways are unmatched to this day; the sublime aesthetics combined with excellent level and audio design creates a near perfect symbiosis. The game is also really long for the genre and provides many diverse hours of gameplay.

    CONS:
    A couple of cons of the game are certainly the absence of special modes besides mere difficulty differences, something added later in the sequels, rightly so. Also, the clunkiness of the game's movements could be a small problem, which, however, is justifiable being the first title. Finally, the extreme difficulty in upgrading the various weapons, several playthroughs being required to complete them, leads to fatigue for those who want to upgrade them all.

    RATING
    Gameplay: 8
    Music:8
    Story: 7
    Horror: 9
    _    … Expand
  28. FrankCreeper
    Jul 4, 2023
    8
    An Old Classic game of the genre horror...beatiful gameplay and beatiful atmosphere such a good experience....I hope the remake gave me the same vibe
  29. RodJ.
    Jan 1, 2009
    7
    Its good ill give it that but i've played a lot of horror games in the past and this is not the greatest Good: 1: Suspense, unlike some other games out there that virtually tell you when something is going to happen i.e. Monster is going to jump out, this game is some what unpredictable, monsters just appear with and without warning 2: Good AI, it waits and hides and wont follow the Its good ill give it that but i've played a lot of horror games in the past and this is not the greatest Good: 1: Suspense, unlike some other games out there that virtually tell you when something is going to happen i.e. Monster is going to jump out, this game is some what unpredictable, monsters just appear with and without warning 2: Good AI, it waits and hides and wont follow the same path 3: Nice Twist at the end and some other little things that make you appreciate the developers efforts 4: You need to strategically blow parts off a enemy, shoot it in the head and it'll just get angry Bad: 1: Boring at times (probably just me, like i said played heaps of scary games in the past) 2: Relies on the "Boo" factor a little too much 3: Considering that the developers said that the Ammo reserve would be quite dry, i found plenty of it and, at times, had far too much, even on extreme 4: No real re playability Ive given the game a rating of 7 - Souly based on that it didn't scare me too much and i found it a bit too easy and repetitive. Having said that, its worth the $90 (aus) that i payed for it, if you enjoy RE series and really like gore then this is perfect. If you have a heart condition and get scared when you see a small spider, then don't, you'll probably end up dieing.… Expand
  30. FredB.
    Jan 2, 2009
    7
    I was surprised to see this game get such a low review in official XBOX magazine, but only because every other review across the web was so high... So what is it about this game that caused one high profile magazine to conclude that the game was poor? My review will shed light on that answer. Dead Space is one of those games that pulls you in at the beginning, becomes repetetive, and then I was surprised to see this game get such a low review in official XBOX magazine, but only because every other review across the web was so high... So what is it about this game that caused one high profile magazine to conclude that the game was poor? My review will shed light on that answer. Dead Space is one of those games that pulls you in at the beginning, becomes repetetive, and then leaves you often stuck wondering how to beat certain a boss creatures, or wondering where to go next... in spite of the fact that there is a glowing path to show you where to go next if you click int the right thumbstick, but that doesn't always help. Good luck using the real map feature, just as is in the case with Fable, the map is useless, forcing you to rely upon the aforementioned breadcrumb path, I mean glowing path. This leads to alot of frustration, with you getting lost or trying to solve a bunk sliding puzzle while fighting enemies that respawn at times. DS is one of those games where ammo must be conserved, and you are forced to backtrack looking for precious ammo, health, and even oxygen, and power kits for some abilities. The whole time you are viewing the game from a zoomed in third person position (alot like Dark Sector) If you like that kind of game, then this is for you. If the psychology of finding your way out of a maze with all the above conditions then you will love this. I on the other hand was wowed by the graphics, and just wanted to explore, for some reason the genetic makeup of the game makes that kind of an experience an afterthought. When I was able to explore, I did enjoy the different decks on the ship, complete with believable living quarters complete with bunks, toilets, mess hall, hydroponically grown fruit, and indoor sports and shooting range. The antigravity sections and scenes that occur outside the ship where you must conserve oxygen were my favorite. If I am talking you into getting this game, then by all means pick up a used copy- there are probably some out there by now! I would have given an 8 but there is no coop, multiplayer ,or online anything. Like Bio Shock, the game might not work as a coop, however I can only imagine how cool it would be to take over each area of the ship with teams online. Imagine hiding in the bedbunks or a toilet stall and waiting for the right moment to blast an unsuspecting visctim. Or better yet, why not give the control of all the monsters to online gamers who respawn endlessly as one man tries to complete all the missions!… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

7
#7 Best PS3 Game of 2008
9
#9 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2008
10
#10 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 67 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 65 out of 67
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 67
  3. Negative: 0 out of 67
  1. Destructoid
    90
    Dead Space is a beautiful videogame, showing incredible polish and detail in both the visuals and the control. The amount of love and attention packed into this title is apparent, as scares and action are perfectly blended. What an incredibly impressive way for a new survival horror franchise to debut!
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  2. MEGamers
    92
    A spectacular game which shows vividly that "Resident Evil" is not the king of survival horrors anymore.
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  3. Worth Playing
    83
    The combat is fast and frantic, the interface excellent, the controls responsive, and it provides an overall satisfying experience. While it's fun, though, there isn't much that's memorable about Dead Space. It feels like patchwork that's been slapped together from other franchises, and it lacks a spirit of its own to make it stand out from the pack.
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