Last year I had the privilege of finally diving into the Dead Space series. Playing through the first game was an experience I will never forget. Naturally, this year I wanted to continue my journey into the franchise so I picked up where I left off. With the order of a longer HDMI cord and some bluetooth antennas, I was able to play this bad boy from my computer but on my TV. That was definitely the right choice.
Necromorphs Sprawled About
Poor Isaac can’t catch a break. Lucky for me because I wasn’t quite ready to say my goodbyes to him. He isn’t the most likeable character, but you really have to consider what he has been through to judge him accordingly. That being said, he is a bit easier to like in this entry. That probably has to do with the fact that he talks in this game. Not only that, but he interacts with a few more people this time around.
Isaac finds himself, once again, face to face with countless Necromorphs. The Dead Space franchise took the zombie idea, threw it in space and gave them an inconspicuous weakness. That’s right folks, you aren’t going for their heads here but rather their limbs. Unlike the first game though, this one takes place on an entire Space Station called the Sprawl. Regardless of where Isaac is though, he just can’t shake these Necromorphs.
This game introduced a few new types into the equation which caught me off guard. I particularly hated the ones that would stalk you before completely charging at you out of nowhere. Oh, and the babies. I hated the babies. I noticed a lot of enemy types here that would present themselves in future games from other franchises so I found that interesting. I suppose like anything else, you want to pay homage to those that came before. It was a joy to experience a little more of the history within the horror genre.
Gear Up, Isaac
Much like the first Dead Space, Isaac has a good selection when it comes to weapons. However, you can only hold four at a time. And while they are all upgradable, the game doesn’t give many resources for said upgrades. I found four I really liked and stuck with them so I could benefit from all the upgrades. If you do decide you want to take back all of your Power Nodes you can but it’ll cost you Credits, the game’s currency. Of course, Credits are not easy to come by either but they are easier to obtain than Power Nodes.
The guns vary from rifles to flamethrowers but my favorite gun is the Line Gun. This bad boy shoots out a huge lasers, hopefully cutting off limbs on contact. Granted, the beefier enemies may take a few more hits, but this is definitely a heavy-hitting gun. For standard shots, I found the Plasma Cutter to work just fine. Its unique ability lets you rotate the way its short lines shoot, giving you the control to change on the fly if you need to.
Of course, we can’t forget the signature RIG. You can upgrade this separately from being able to change your suit as well. This allows you to enjoy permanent improvements to your RIG, as well as tailored perks with your choice of suits. Certain suits offer you different things like higher defense or a larger inventory capacity. Some even improve certain weapon damage so try out a few before settling on what works best for you.
The Sprawl
My time with Dead Space definitely set me up to fall in love with the franchise but Dead Space 2 solidified that love. The level design here is just top-notch. The Sprawl consists of entire living quarters, a shopping center, a church and even a school. While exploring the station, Isaac will have to navigate all of these areas and more. I found this to be much more refreshing than the first entry as the that game’s environments can begin to feel stale. Dead Space 2 offers enough diversity in set pieces to feel more fleshed out.
The constant location changes kept me on my toes as well. The first game had me revisiting a lot of old places but here I wasn’t backtracking at all. Instead, I was always moving forward. The areas were much larger, too, which allowed for more options in combat. I think the wider environments definitely allowed them to get more creative with the enemy designs as well. Larger areas meant more room for enemies to spawn, attack you or run from you.
Jump scares were still absolutely perfect just like in the first title. Certain things happened right when I expected them to but other times the game would tease me and I’d fall for it. I love a horror games that can keep you on your toes and Dead Space 2 certainly did just that. I may hate elevators even more than before after playing this game, but it was worth it.
Not Alone
As Isaac navigates the Sprawl his main objective is to find the Marker and destroy it. I won’t spoil much else here, but it is very similar to the first game. The Marker is the source of the Necromorphs. That being said, he isn’t entirely alone in this quest. During his journey he comes across Ellie, a survivor of the Sprawl’s Necromorph outbreak. Reluctantly at first, Ellie agrees to help Isaac with his mission.
Another survivor, Nolan Stross was somehow affected by the Marker and Isaac believes he is the key to helping them destroy the Marker. Unfortunately, Stross isn’t the most coherent, often talking to himself or breaking out into violent rages. Isaac insists he lives though, so the three navigate the Sprawl as best they can.
Their presence helped ease the horror a bit, but very rarely were they all together. Isaac was often on his own while Ellie and Stross helped with things from an alternate location. This meant that although Isaac had their help, they were not helping him with combat. In my opinion, that kept the game from feeling too easy and gave me some challenge.
Fan For Life
Although I cannot wait to play Dead Space 3, I will save it for next year’s horror season. I have enjoyed visiting sequels every year and this is no exception. It has been a while since I have been franchise locked and I don’t see it happening anytime soon. That being said, I absolutely adore this franchise and look forward to revisiting it in the future.
Dead Space ticks all the boxes for me when it comes to horror games. The setting is creepy, the game jump scares you just enough and the combat is so satisfying. I am very much looking forward to playing Dead Space 3 and then of course, the remake of the first game. Until then though, I’m just continuing the horror games until I feel like I’m done or the year ends. I’ll have to see which one comes first.
