Motive Studio provided some fresh updates about its upcoming Dead Space remake during a developer livestream today. It included confirmation that the game is targeted for an early 2023 launch.
Released in 2008, Dead Space ranks among the best horror games of all time, and while much of that is attributed to its eerie environments and unsettling visuals, Motive Studio has acknowledged that audio played a major part as well. The livestream focused primarily on this, showcasing the various ways in which the team is fully embracing 3D audio and using improved technology to help sound travel more realistically through environments. Much like the studio’s choice to keep the overall aesthetic and gameplay flow nearly identical to the first outing, its goal is to “always use the existing foundation and predefined soundscape but build on it.”
The livestream finally offered the first opportunity to see and hear the game’s classic Plasma Cutter weapon in action, as well as a sneak peak at the Pulse Rifle. The team has added a lot of audio layers to both weapons to improve upon what made them so beloved in the first place, giving every shot fired a deeper and more powerful sound than could have ever been achieved on older hardware. Main character Isaac Clarke has also received a variety of upgrades to his audio design, most notably in how the sound of his breathing and heartbeat now more realistically respond to exertion, fear, and injury.
Lastly, we received a brief gameplay snippet to show off the overall progress Motive Studio has made. During the clip, Isaac explored a dark and foggy Maintenance Bay where he was ambushed by a necromorph and forced into a tense close-quarters encounter. It stopped short of showing much beyond that, but we’re sure to see even more when the next developer livestream airs at some point in May. For now, though, things appear to be shaping up rather well for the highly anticipated remake.
Dead Space has recently joined the growing list of games delayed this year. It’s now expected to release in 2023 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC. The game will get another livestream in May focusing on the remake’s art design.
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