Isaac Clarke will have a voice in the Dead Space Remake. The original experience from Visceral Games depicted the unlucky engineer as little more than a spectre for the player, a man with a tragic backstory who expressed himself with a series of desperate screams, grunts, and shouts. He didn’t have much of a personality, and it wasn’t until the sequels arrived that he would be morphed into a fully-fledged protagonist with a voice, motivations, and people around him to communicate with.
Dead Space lost something when it abandoned this aura of mystique, something it would never retain as the series evolved into an action shooter with spooky elements instead of the survival horror it came into this world as. It was a shame, so learning that the upcoming remake will feature a vocal protagonist came as somewhat of a surprise. But hear me out – I think it’s a good thing.
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Yesterday saw the studio behind this upcoming remake hold a livestream that provided a behind-the-scenes look at early development footage, showcasing how the game will maintain the third-person perspective and sense of isolation that the original expressed so immaculately. Combat will once again focus on cutting off their limbs, but it’s being expanded upon with a nuanced flesh system and weapons that react to the human body in a number of distinct ways.
It feels like a remake that is fully aware of what made the first game such a masterpiece, yet also wants to modernise it, making it cohesive to the sequels while wiping away the dust that has formed since 2008. Having replayed Dead Space just last year, it still holds up wonderfully, so EA Motive has a rather interesting task ahead of itself. I have faith it will nail it, especially if this early glimpse is any indication. We rarely see triple-A games provide such an honest look at proceedings, and this camaraderie with its audience is why Isaac’s sudden adoption of a voice feels like a positive step forward.
Isaac will primarily only speak when spoken to, remaining silent as you explore the confines of USG Ishimura in a desperate bid to escape and survive amidst the Necromorphs. A large amount of dialogue in the original game takes place over wireless communication, with faces and voices being displayed on your RIG system while roaming the ship in search of objectives. I imagine this will remain, and Isaac will now be in a position to respond in these conversations instead of just blindly accepting new missions and witnessing the death and betrayal of key characters throughout the campaign.
From a narrative perspective this makes perfect sense, with EA Motive also stating that Isaac will speak up in situations where it would be strange to remain silent. His silence in Dead Space was a requirement for the survival horror atmosphere, and the addition of a voice in the sequel is likely why we consider it to be so sacred. Visceral Games’ added something that felt unnecessary, toying with a survival horror experience that at the time felt scorchingly innovative. In reality it was really just Resident Evil 4 in space, but Capcom’s classic remains terrifying even with Leon Kennedy’s cheesy one-liners, so it can be done.
Silent Hill 2 is the same. James Sunderland is a real chatterbox, but his speech is always dictated by the context of each scene. He’ll express himself vocally in cutscenes or when the environment dictates that he must, otherwise we’re free to inhabit his avatar and tackle our fears alongside him as we stumble through the foggy streets of this forgotten town. Dead Space should take the same approach, and with the original voice actor returning to voice Isaac Clarke, his personality and delivery will likely remain untouched. If I was waltzing around a spooky town or a spaceship invested with aliens I would likely mutter to myself in paranoia to maintain a semblance of sanity, and I wouldn’t blame a protagonist like Isaac for doing the very same.
Some games have a habit of making characters speak in unnatural ways purely to communicate information to us. Aloy in Horizon Zero Dawn is a recent example that really took me out of the experience, with the heroine making reference to nearby enemies, objectives, and secrets in a way that hindered immersion. Horror can afford to bend this rule a little bit, and I hope it does while leaning into the psychological aspect of Isaac’s plight as he experiences visions of his deceased partner and falls victim to the Marker. While a voiced hero might seem like a step backward, when you consider how it might be utilised, it starts to brim with potential. Knowing that this reboot will expand on the Dead Space universe while incorporating elements from the entire trilogy suggests it could even be the start of a new series in itself, although the mythos is woefully convoluted, so I’d rather EA Motive recognises the strength of subtly and leaves just enough to our imagination.
The Dead Space remake is still in the very early stages of production, with EA Motive admitting that work on the project began roughly a year ago and full development is finally getting started. With this knowledge on our hands, it’s safe to assume that a number of things shown this week will shift and change in the coming years, although the foundations of a voiced protagonist and combat that remains true to the original will not waver. Shake things up, I’d much rather have an expanded vision of the horror classic instead of a faithful to a fault remake, and with games like Final Fantasy 7 Remake setting the benchmark for such things, I have very high hopes indeed.
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