Dead Space just hit its 14-year anniversary and Motive Studio celebrated by throwing a hefty livestream. This stream contained an edited walkthrough of one of the remake’s levels and revealed its collector’s edition, which comes with a wearable version of Isaac Clarke’s helmet.
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The walkthrough took players through its third level. In it, players can get a look at the improvements Motive Studio has made, as it cuts back and forth between the 2008 original and 2023 remake. It has the same foundation, but with added improvements like expanded and more intuitive level design. For example, the fuel management office players need to get into now has a cable that leads to it from the refueling station, as it likely would in real life. The environments also just generally have more detail and debris and the centrifuge was also called out specifically, as the team wants it to be “imposing and tell a story at the same time.” The mission in the video also gives users the choice between lights or oxygen, which changes the type of tension they will experience.
The tram is no longer the sole way to move between chapters, too, making for a more seamless experience. This change also means that the ship itself had to be slightly reimagined. According to the PlayStation Blog, there are also new locked doors that incentivize players to revisit earlier areas, which wasn’t possible in the original.
The team also spoke of the intensity director, which tries to provide players with better pacing, especially if they are exploring or revisiting those areas away from the critical path. It’ll analyze highs and lows and dish out more subtle scares like whispers and flickering lights after big fights and then possibly add in enemies after quieter periods. The Dead Space remake will still have scripted scares, but these are meant to keep players on their toes and seems designed to work with its more open nature.
The stream capped off with a video describing its collector’s edition. Limited Run Games is selling an expensive package that comes with the physical version of the game, a steelbook, its soundtrack, four small posters, a Marker pin, a Marker statue, lithographs, patches, and Isaac’s helmet. The helmet is adjustable, meaning it should fit on most people. It will be $274.99 on Limited Run Games’ store and pre-orders are now live. The limited edition contents will not make it in time for the game’s January 27 launch, but the physical version of the game will ship separately on that release date.
Motive Studio is also setting up a store for Dead Space merchandise. However, the link is not yet live and will go up at some undisclosed point in the future.
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Motive Studio’s future is also full of mystery, as the developer is making an Iron Man game in addition to the Dead Space remake, which EA officially announced in September. Video Games Chronicle asked Creative Director Roman Campos-Oriola about that Marvel title and he said that, while he “cannot speak for the other project,” it isn’t uncommon for big teams to have multiple games in production. The outlet also asked him about if that Iron Man game would possibly impact a Dead Space 2 remake, which Campos-Oriola replied by pointing to the PR person and saying, “Do you want him to shoot me in the face?”