Dead Space 2
Dead Space, that is, the original, is one of my favourite games of all time. The atmospheric and iconic Ishimura as well as the struggles of our engineer, Isaac Clarke was amongst the best of horror games for me. So much so that I'd finished the game 3 or 4 times in I was always remiss that I hadn't played the sequel, even if the demo I played left a poor impression on me with its big blockbuster gunship sequence. When I decided the time had finally come, I had to go back and play the original so the experience was fresh in my mind leading into the sequel.
The feeling of being just a guy was the first thing that returned to me. You feel vulnerable and enemies can cut you to pieces, especially on harder difficulties. I also forgot just how immersive the menus are. Everything is presented via hologram, whether it be a small ammo counter on the gun, a menu displaying inventory, a projection so you can talk to your team, or the health bar on your suit it all feels integrated and grounded in the world. The added immersion not only serves the purpose of elevating the horror by absorbing you, but it also provides added stress to gameplay in that you cannot heal or recharge stasis without opening a menu. As for the weapons I love how most of them are engineering related. I can't remember what I liked before but I can say for sure that the line gun is OP, as it severs multiple limbs at once and the ripper goes hard with stasis, carving off the limbs of multiple enemies with a hovering saw blade. The force gun is okay in certain scenarios where there are death vents you can push enemies into. The flamethrower sucks. Not only does it take too long to kill enemies but it defies a major appeal unique to Dead Space off "cut off their limbs!". Contact laser hits hard but its fairly boring and the upgrade path sucks. The pulse rifle is overrated, but cool thematically as the only military weapon. The zero g and no air sections are a big part of what makes this game so awesome; all the puzzles are fantastic. The lore and details are great. Seeing the lives lived or the struggles as you piece together what happened on Ishimura. A lot of major world building can be found in them too; like how Unitology (great name) is a religion based on the Markers and Government is aware of the Marker and want it for research purposes. It reminds me of BioShock in that sense. There's a lot of small attention to detail in the environment, whether it be messages written in blood, warning or all the fat Necromorphs in the penthouse, luxurious fat gats and gluttons, profiting from being high ranking Unitology members. I forgot just how sneaky the Necromorphs are, making even the most basic types deadly. They'll flank, play dead, jump into vents and reappear, keeping you on your toes. I also forgot about the Necromorphs that have been imbued with stasis, making them very quick. It always catches you off guard as you go from groups of slow lumbering Necromorphs to one jittering corpses dash at you. The marine shuttle that crashes into the Ishimura is an awesome section, full of propaganda to "Service Earth Gov!". The haywire laser and stasis Necromorphs made for a cool enemy/puzzle. The story is subtle and doesn't get in the way of the atmosphere and true character of the game, Ishimura. Chloe will appear to you in visions, on screens and eventually in person. Slowly she will talk to you but the cracks begin to show as she consistently says "Make us whole again". Clearly she is a messenger for the hive mind, wanting us to return the government. Kendra Daniels and the government have other ideas however and betray to take the Marker for yourself. In a struggle with the hive mind she dies, you slay it and destroy the Marker, and escape. Only for a final jump scare from a grotesque morphed Chloe. All in all I think this game is a perfect 10/10. Everything a survival game should be, even if the tail end begins to lack surprises in its enemies and AI. The game is criticized for having outdated clunky controls, but I always argue that this aids it in its pacing and horror.
Dead Space 2 reintroduced me to Isaac as a new character; reinvented and full voice. I thought it was an interesting choice and perhaps necessary to explore the effects Ishimura had on him. But I do think it had an impact on the atmosphere and how we perceive the game. Instead of the events happening to us Isaac. We were witnessing the events happen to Isaac. I don't disagree with either approach, but one does lend itself more to horror and there's a reason why the best horror games have either silent protagonists or long levels with minimal chatter and then cutscenes in between, not mixing the two. This game gets a lot of things right and a lot of things wrong. Let's start with all the major things the game improved. The kinesis immediately feels better. The game had a brilliant stroke showing us kinesis first as we break shelves to use the metal rods and pierce Necromorphs to walls, it demonstrated it as not only viable but a necessary weapon compare to the first game. Something about the rag dolling and enemies hitting the wall or spearing a head off its body feels infinitely more satisfying in this game. So it's no surprise my favourite gun of the game was the Javelin gun. This bad boy is build for large industrial construction and piercing two objects together, and that's exactly what it does. It however has my favourite alternate fire mode which electrifies it and stuns nearby Necromorphs. If you upgrade it all the way it adds a special effect that detonates it at the electrification, absolutely destroying anything you stick it to including even the regenerator. The ripper is the runner up as my favourite game from the first. Except now the blade is larger and closer to home, making it easier to wild and perfect for taking two or three frozen Necromorphs. Plasma cutter and line gun of course round out my kit. No major changes there but the plasma cutter does have a nice upgrade that sets enemies on fire. The pulse rifle is its same old reliable self. The contact beam has an epic special ability when upgraded that puts an AOE stasis on its alternative file. Actual game changer in a game where you're often overwhelmed by numerous hyper aggressive enemies. I didn't try the flamethrower and force guns, the former for the same reasons as the first game, the latter because there wasn't much opportunity where it was useful. Detonator is cool especially for charging enemies but a little too situational and the seeker rifle is a little too vanilla for me as a militaristic sniper rifle. I can see why people love this game for its replayability. There's a lot of potential for different builds and run throughs. In general the gunplay feels much smoother and better to play than Dead Space, but as mentioned previously I do wonder if this has a negative effect on the horror experience. Limiting a players controls slows everything down and makes slowly approaching enemies more foreboading. The Zero G is a massive improvement. The jumping wall to wall is gone replaced by a floating and thrusters that feels effortless and easier to use; every section with this as with the air lock ones from the first game feel great. The presentation and variety in levels as move through a dozen unique locations is great and holds up really well, even if its at the cost of the isolated claustrophobic decks of the Ishimura. The Necromorph designs are awesome, highlights being all the new enemies. Bloated babies that roll towards you and explode, children who swarm you with razor sharp talons, slenderman like enemies that drop spiderlings that leap at you, and the stalkers that ambush.
The gameplay is not without its flaws and even though all the Necromorphs are improved, overall they feel like a step down. This is in major part due to the pacing and AI. In first game Necromorphs were sneaky, they would flank you, dissapear and reappear through vents and play dead. This often made even the most basic Necromorphs deadly to the unitiated. In the second game this is all gone, in favour of super aggresive enemies that swarm and overwhelgm you. The slow lumbering group of enemies building dread as they close in on you has been replaced by frantic panic and often frustration as groups of enemies dash at you. The pacing does not lend itself to a horror game, but rather an action game. There's nothing wrong with that in theory but when you're considering what makes a succesful sequel, that's evolving what made the first game great. Dead Space 2 fails in this regard, the atmosphere, horror and enemy AI is a step down. The mine enemies deserve a special mention as an annoying hindrance. Hard to spot as you go in a treasure hunt in the dark to waste your ammo on these things that just slow you down unnecessarily. The leapers got my ire early on in the game and I might have fast tracked upgrading the line gun just for them. There speed is ridiculous and if there's two it's pretty much game over without stasis; as they can dash or leap at you quicker than you can even aim... Chapter 7's elevator scene also deserves a hateful mention. This encounter is so bad as enemies jump on the elevator, whipping their tentacles through the window and killing you in a few hits. The section goes for 2 minutes and is painful as all hell. I read online if you stand in the middle only one can hit you. Not exactly how I'd want to beat it but cheap sections deserve cheap solutions. There are some additional design choices that also don't make sense to me. Stomping for loot gets old and enemies often despawn, robbing you of an opportunity to get your loot. This will leave you often stomping enemies between shots in a comical fashion.
Deciding to roll all the DLC weapons into the base game is a neat choice, but displaying them in the first store you come across is baffling. In ruins the immersion and pacing as well as the intent to reveal new weapons organically through the game. In the first store all you can buy is an engineering suit and you get that "I'm back baby" after struggling to survive in a straight jacket. Instead you're shown every possible set of armour you'll get in the game; also ruining the reveal of new suits. In the end I acquired it all and put it in a safe, pretending like it never existed. Only for this to bug the game causing infinite loading screens... what the hell. When I try to reinstall to fix the issue my saves get wiped, 8 hours into the game. This is due to the Steam deck not having cloud saves, a flaw with the device no doubt, but it wouldn't have happened if not for this bug. Unfortunately I Had to waste another 4 hours speed running back to where I was.
As mentioned about the presentation and levels all have a phenomenal level of detail. Whether it be the Unitology church with its indoctrination rooms and bizarre cult like iconography and wall carvings. The nursery with its creepy baby Necromorphs, the apartment with its foreboding rituals, or the government sector, untainted by Necromorph activity (until Isaac arrives and lets them in). The gun line in the opening area was cool, and Isaac disappearing into the dark only to show down the power and let the Necromorphs is absolutely brutal, and a clever way to avoid human combat. Some of the set pieces are pretty awesome, such leaping from the train and using your thrusters to boost to the next cart; having it crash, hanging from the edge and killing Necromorphs as the approach, only to be knocked down by a brute and fight it. Or the gunship firing and pulling everyone into space, as Isaac narrowly escapes into a section with a hulking beast, runs from it and is pulled into space with the gun ship. The beast leaps for them and Isaac shoots the missile, knocking him back through a window. They're awesome when they happen but they do feel out of place. For example being shot from a cannon in space; dodging space rubble, crashing through a tower window, slowing descent via thrusters before landing in Avengers style pose feels badass no doubt, but out of place and comical in a Dead Space game. It certainly adds to the the action hero feeling of this game, but also tarnishes it as a sequel to the first game. I would much prefer set pieces like the encounter with the military gun line. There is also far less environmental storytelling overall, which may be due to voice acting. But could also be because of level design. Ishimura gave you the opportunity to get intimate with the game and multiple opportunities to uncover stories written in blood (figuratively and literally). Returning to sections you had been in also added dread, at first with "oh I've cleared this room before it must be sa... oh shit oh no..." and then eventually, "what new guys are going to be in this room". Forcing you back into rooms you already shit your pants in gives a lot of opportunity for environmental storytelling and subverting expectations. A great example of this is in the first game you have to learn then cutting off Necrmorphs limbs is the way to kill them. This is either from experience or you can see it written in blood on the walls. A very ominous and helpful tip. In Dead Space 2 you find an audiolog of a desperate fight with a guy screaming "it's the only way you can kill them". Then Daina literally mentions it to you. Then you find it written in the blood. Like how many times is this game can force this on me and think I can't figure it out for myself. As good as the levels themselves are overall, unfortunately none of them are scary except for one that is. Ironically when we return to Ishimura it is the best part of the game. The slow descent into madness, with nothing but haunted objects moving around and audio logs to reinforce this feeling, tracing your original path, as something in the walls whispers "Isaac" to you deeper you get. All the while you don't encounter a single Necromorph. Then eventually you reach a long hallway; and they all come at once, to many to handle and so you run, driving you deeper into the abyss. As you explore you retreat old ground, old wounds. A giant tentacle whips around the corner, dragging you. Then it flashes back to reality, a hallucination. There are several of these and they're all great. Demonstrating the sheer PTSD Isaac is going through in this moment. Then there's the decontamination sequence where the doors lock down in a tight room.... but it doesn't come? The game is messing with us. I especially love the last sections, the dark mines full of way too many Necromorphs, moving the giant mining truck with Ellie in an on rails fight. The government sector with the return of the Regenerator, and finally the Marker. This thing is huuuuuuuuge. I love this section, as you fight you way towards Marker and Convergence happens all around you.
Lastly is the story. I'm conflict on this one. On one hand I think giving Isaac his own voice is a great way to evolve the events of the first game. On the other hand it makes you feel less isolated and alone, as mentioned previously. The actors is a short list but they're all great. Ellie is a standout favourite as she represents what Isaac went through in the first game; and we quickly become allies. Daina, Tiedemann and Stross all play their part very well. Daina betrays as as Unitology rep. A twist I didn't actually see coming. We find out Unitology wants us to create Convergence, as we made the Markers with the code in our head. While Earth Gov wants us for the same reason, but to harness its energy with Earth's resources dwindling. Stross is our anchor to the story. They suppressed our memory via induced dementia, so they could unlock the could in our brain without us going insane. Stross as far more developed than Isaac and remembers more. So we need him to destroy the Marker before we too go insane. It's all very cosmic horror and I'm all here for it. As Ellie protects him he becomes more unwieldy and it's clear this isn't going to end well. To no-one's surprise he takes her eye. In the end he couldn't beat "Step 3" and goes insane. The game tries to throw a red herring, when Chloe says the fourth step is acceptance, implying that it was our grief, Stross's grief that we were holding on to all along. Throughout the game we're faced with hallucinations and haunted by Chloe as she tells us how good we had it together and how guilty Isaac should fell. So when we accept her death and that we couldn't save her she changes from her haunting image into Chloe, and then finally a glowing warm image of her. The final twist would have worked except for in the first game she lets slip a "Make us whole", clearly a messenger for the Marker, manipulating us and does not have our best intentions in mind. Once we reach the Marker we find Tiedemann who shoots a few Javelins into Isaacs shoulder and hand, before we disarm and execute him in an absolutely brutal fashion. Now appears Chloe's glowing warm image, as we embrace her she thanks and says "Now you die". We play witness to a final fight with "Chloe", her children and the heart of the Marker. It's a thoroughly lacklustre boss fight even if fits the story. After destroying the gargantuan Marker the game ends with a clever little sequence as Isaac sits down, ready to end it all and the credits begin rolling. This is cut short as Ellie breaks through the roof, creating a vacuum as the ship and Isaac ascend, thrusting towards the gun ship, catching Ellies hand and making it away from Titan Station just before the reactor detonates, destroying the Marker and everything aboard. I really like the story, Isaac story and his relations with the characters. Especially the cosmic horror direction it took with the Marker feeling like some kind of "relay device" like the Reapers. I just wish it didn't come at the cost of atmosphere and horror from the first game.
Read below. Proof. Add screens. Anything missed below?
stomp to loot but despawn. church is awesome (almost beats Ishimura for sheer uniquness). religion venerate death,ascendensd. also resi callback
line gun limb destroyer beast. quik heal less tac survival. horror gud hallucinations.
DS1 - absolutely nails atmosphere and isolation. Ishimura is the star of this game.
The horror is better simple by nature of psychological horror being better.
For example "twinkle twinkle little star" undecipherable at first and being sung in the background and increase in volume as the game goes on.
Chloe talking to you and occasionally injecting "Make us Whole" as foreshadowing. Wish might go undetected at first but becomes increasingly aparent as you move into
DS2 - Faster paced. Enemies move quicker, kinesis and weapons are better. Shooting is tighter and smoother.
You move from area to area, often interacting with NPCs and seeing others. You don't feel alone.
A lot of the horror is enemies dashing at you or hallucinatory jump scares.
The game doesn't shut up; Isaac by all means should be traumatized which the game makes a poor attempt to demonstrate and yet he acts like a badass war veteran most the time. Where is the panic? Where is the "oh no not this again, please no".
The game doesn't subvert your expectations. Here basic necromorphs are basically zombie filler. In the first game they were always a threat. They would hide amongst bodies. After a while you'd be paranoid every time you see a body worried it was going to jump at you. Then there were the ones were you cut off a limb and they go down; only to jump back at you when you near them.
Issac is an engineer, not a soldier. The second game forgot this and you lost vunerability. Even something as simple as the quick shortcuts to health and stasis eroded this. I would compare Dead Space 1 to Resident Evil 2. The zombies are slow but can be hard to miss and in groups after a few missed shots you can quickly panic as the slow lumbering enemies move ever closer. The reduce pacing is missed, and you don't have time to "get scared" in these frantic scrambles to survive. It's really just an action game.
In DS1 for example there might be 4 or 5 enemies in a stage area. A stage will often have ramps and pathways with vertiaclity and obstacles to line of sight. Not just one big arena. They'll come at you from different angles, dividing your attention, requiring consideration of positioning and using kinesis (if you're lucky enough to have it) to divide and conquer. Enemies will often jump through vents and reappear behind you.
In DS2 for the most part this is thrown out the window. You find yourself in a large open areas. Queue the music and enemies run directly at you, with such speed they can quickly (and often frustatingly) overwhelmn you.
