Motive has recently taken the gaming industry by storm with the launch of its Dead Space remake. Indeed, remakes have a certain connotation now with fans’ expectations being either underplayed or overplayed, but it seems as though Motive has carved itself a unique path. Earning early comparisons to the impact that Resident Evil 2 remake had, Dead Space is refurbished and molded into a fresh experience for new and old fans alike. Motive’s Dead Space remains greatly faithful to the original, but where it takes creative liberties is where it becomes truly impressive.
Now that Motive has demonstrated its abundant passion and respect toward EA’s Dead Space IP, it is interesting to look ahead at what the studio will be up to. It has already been announced that Motive will take on a new Iron Man game in collaboration between EA and Marvel Games, and there are already some exciting comparisons that can be made between Isaac Clarke and Tony Stark that could carry over from one to the other. However, once Motive has finished development on its Iron Man game, it would be incredible if Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3 were given their own remake treatments.
Dead Space 2 Cinematics Would Look Phenomenal in a Remake
The response to Dead Space receiving a remake was mixed, with a lot of fans enjoying the rarity of the franchise’s original entry and fearing that its nostalgia would be tempered with. But if a Dead Space 2 remake was announced, the response would likely be even more oppositional due to many fans preferring the sequel to the original. Dead Space 2 is easily a fan-favorite due to how it improved upon the original’s mechanics.
Remarkable improvements in the sequel included Kinesis being able to impale and skewer enemies with their own body parts, zero-gravity movement allowing Isaac to fly slowly in predetermined areas, and the iconic stomp being how players retrieve loot drops from enemies’ corpses. In that way, Motive would not have as much to interpret for the sequel as it did for the original game.
That said, it would be incredible to see key sequences rendered with the same graphical fidelity as Motive’s Dead Space, including moments like the man mutating into a necromorph right in front of Isaac in the beginning of the game, or the memorable eye surgery mini-game. Further, some encounters could probably be improved or reworked like how the turret sections were reworked in the Dead Space remake.
Dead Space 3 Could Become a Completely Different Experience
Dead Space 3 is the straw that broke the camel’s back in many ways, and is commonly cited as being what hobbled the franchise. In a franchise that cemented itself in the survival-horror genre with terrifying monsters to dismember, it was a sharp and alarming change of pace to suddenly be fighting ordinary humans who could shoot back at the player.
This, along with the fact that Dead Space 3 is much more action-oriented and abandons a lot of what makes the franchise unique, is why a remake could improve upon it most. Dead Space and Dead Space 2 are already highly regarded, but Dead Space 3 could potentially be a household name alongside them if Motive was able to get in there and work its magic to create a completely different experience.
Motive has now demonstrated that it can put faithful attention to detail in reimagining a beloved classic, but tweak what needs to be improved and also make additive expansions onto mechanics and level design. This formula could ensure that Dead Space 3 is more in-line with its predecessors and is actually billed as a survival-horror game in the same vein.
Dead Space is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.