Dead Space

Dead Space is a complete remake of the classic 2008 survival horror that brings to Xbox Series X/S the story of engineer Isaac Clarke, trapped on the mining ship USG Ishimura, which has been overrun by mutated corpses called Necromorphs. The game builds on the well-thought-out system of strategic dismemberment, where instead of aiming for the head the player shoots off individual limbs using improvised mining tools, and on the claustrophobic atmosphere of the ship's narrow corridors, where every sound can be a warning of an incoming attack. The remake also connected the entire ship into one continuous whole without hidden loading screens, and it expanded the side content and character work, including new crew conversations and additional logs fleshing out the ship's fate before the main hero's arrival.

On Xbox Series X/S the game uses the fast SSD for perfectly smooth transitions between decks without breaking the atmosphere, and it offers high resolution and improved volumetric lighting, which heightens the feeling of claustrophobia and constant threat in the dark corridors. The sound design, built on the ship's metallic creaking, the main character's heavy breathing, and unexpected audio ambushes from around a corner, ranks among the most elaborate in the genre and is one of the reasons the game works best with headphones and the lights off.

The remake was received by fans and critics alike as a model example of how to sensitively approach reviving an older classic – it preserves the core of the original game while also modernizing it on both the gameplay and technical side, including the previously silent main character, who speaks for the first time in the remake. On Xbox Series X/S, where the game was released as an exclusively next-gen title with no version for older consoles, the remake fully demonstrated what the new generation of hardware can do with atmospheric horror, and it reminded everyone why the original Dead Space is considered one of the best horror games of its generation.

Why play it: For survival horror fans who will appreciate a sensitively modernized remake with a main character who finally speaks, it's one of the best reasons to give the original classic a chance.