Dead Space is being rebooted or revived or resurrected by EA soon. We don’t know that for definite, except we totally do. There’s a dog down the road from me, I’m not sure if it actually has somewhere to live or if it just wanders the streets like a Victorian urchin, begging for food and getting into scrapes. Anyway, I gave this dog a pat on the head when I walked past the other day, and it reared its head up at me, cocked it to the side, and said, “Here, have you heard EA’s bringing back Dead Space? Hope it’s like the first one.”
The rumour is everywhere. The idea of Dead Space coming back has floated in the aether for a while now. Reboots (I’ll stick with that as a catch-all for now) essentially rely on two factors to come into existence – demand and ease. For example, The Simpsons: Hit & Run is in high demand for a reboot, but when you consider its short runtime, dated gameplay, and the fact The Simpsons hasn’t had a console game since 2007, it doesn’t seem so easy. Conversely, a game like Heavy Rain was hugely ambitious in 2010, seems ready for a new set of paint, and could utilise advancements in the action point-and-click genre to be brought up to speed with relative ease. But does anyone want that? Didn’t think so.
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Dead Space unites both factors. People love Dead Space, and just like that dog down the street, they're especially fond of the first one. Enough time has passed that people are ready to forgive its missteps, but not so much that the name 'Dead Space' has been forgotten entirely. Improved lighting technology could make the game even more atmospheric, and the action-horror genre has stagnated. Meanwhile, after the failure of Anthem and the success of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, EA seems ready to commit to single-player experiences again. Everything has already fallen into place on the ease side, and as for demand? Fuggetaboutit.
Everyone wants a new Dead Space. Before these rumours picked up speed with winks and hints from influencers, we even wrote about how it was the natural next choice for EA to reboot once Mass Effect has had its day. As for me? Sure, I’ll take a Dead Space to go, I guess. But it wouldn’t be my first choice if I could reach my sticky little fingers into EA’s toybox.
The SSX series is another one that ticks both boxes. There’s huge demand for it, and after the success of Activision’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 Remake, surely EA is eyeing up the slopes again? As a sports title, it’s well suited to a similar combination box set too – imagine SSX, SSX Tricky, and maybe even SSX 3 all packaged together in a single reboot? Of course, I know this is not the secret reveal EA has under wraps right now. The secret has been blown, it's Dead Space. Even that dog down the street knows, and there's no point in me pretending otherwise. But what if there's a second breakfast? Luncheon? Afternoon tea?
EA decided to forgo E3 this year, opting instead to host its own event a month or so later. During E3, I wrote about why Sony was likely to do that – and why it was best for everyone concerned – but with EA, that's not so clear. EA is a huge player, but it doesn't have the best rep, it relies on sports titles that sell well but don't attract a hardcore audience, and both BioWare bombshells (Mass Effect and Dragon Age) will not be there. Dead Space is big, but it's no longer some huge surprise. Surely EA has something other than improved dribbling for Jadon Sancho, better ponytail physics for Alex Morgan, or an even sweatier Trent Alexander-Arnold planned? Although yes, if you put Sancho's little hand flick in FIFA 22 I'll be very excited – unfortunately I don't think anyone else would be.
Does that mean EA has more up its sleeve? And could that thing be another reboot of a beloved series? SSX seems like the best mix of ease and demand, especially since nothing has really taken SSX's place in the sporting pantheon. Looking at some other sports titles that could come back, FIFA Street and NFL Street have been bastardised into Volta and The Yard in FIFA and Madden, respectively, while Fight Night has essentially become UFC. Just as with Dead Space, it feels as though things are falling into place for an SSX reboot. After the cat got let out of the bag (and caught by the dog down my street) for the space horror, maybe SSX can be the surprise of the show.
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