Highlights

  • Camera and perspective design play a crucial role in survival horror games, affecting the intensity of the experience and the emotional response of players.
  • The shift to a first-person perspective in Resident Evil 7 and Village resulted in a more terrifying and immersive gameplay experience.
  • If a new Dead Space game were to be made, offering both first-person and third-person camera options would enhance immersion and allow players to choose their preferred way of experiencing the game's terrors.

The original Dead Space from 2008 has earned its place among some of survival horror's best and most beloved entries. Arriving on the scene in a slightly earlier era where the genre's presence wasn't quite as visible as it is within the present landscape, Dead Space, originally developed by Visceral Games, put its stamp on the world of horror and arguably started the ball rolling for its rise in popularity and quantity of releases seen currently. However, the series later veered away from its initial focus to become more action-oriented, especially with Dead Space 3's mixed to negative reception for this, and other disliked changes.

Following a decade-long hiatus after the third title in 2013, the Dead Space remake started off 2023's stellar year of horror games strongly. Meanwhile, Capcom continued its streak of well-received Resident Evil titles with the RE4 remake. While it, as well as the prior remakes, were closer adaptations and updates of the originals, the franchise's previous two releases, RE7 and Village, marked a huge shift in a series standard, namely their move from the longtime fixed angle/third-person viewpoints to first-person. Village specifically later offered players the option between either view and a possible new Dead Space could make excellent and terrifying use of a first-person POV, too.

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A New Dead Space Could Be Even Scarier by Taking a Page Out of Resident Evil Village's Playbook

Camera/Perspectives in Survival Horror Games

Naturally, camera and perspective design are important for any game, depending on the genres and artistic angles that gel best with the style and tone a title is going for. With survival horror, though, this choice can be said to impact the intensity of the experience and desired emotional response and reactions more directly than some others. When executed aptly, a well-directed use of these elements will elevate the terror and gameplay to another level, leaving that much more of an impression on players.

Resident Evil's Switch to First-Person

Upon its reveal in 2016, Resident Evil 7's biggest surprise was probably its shift to first-person, something never before seen in RE. It was part of Capcom's attempt to reboot and inject a fresh turn on the series that had, with its previous few titles, been thought to be growing stale among fans. RE7 is often rated as the most terrifying Resident Evil title to date, in no small part due to this change along with other design choices that made it a standout survival horror experience. RE Village continued in this vein, and later, its Shadows of Rose DLC allowed players to choose between either first or third-person view, providing both options in one convenient package.

Why a New Dead Space Should Offer First and Third-Person Camera Options

Dead Space is already an intense survival horror title as-is in third-person, with the dim cramped corridors and foggy vents of the USG Ishimura mining ship providing a nerve-wracking setting along with the Necromorph's grotesque abominations stalking and assaulting players around every turn. Protagonist Isaac Clarke was also fully voiced in the remake, giving him more of a personality to latch onto.

Dead Space offering a first-person view would also increase this immersion factor, planting players even more firmly in his shoes, in addition to making combat encounters exponentially more viscerally up-close and personal. If more Dead Space remakes or another new entry might be coming down the line, it would be a great and fitting feature for them to include both first and third-person settings, letting fans decide their preferred way of viewing and playing through its terrors.

Some intrepid modders have actually produced a first-person mod for the Dead Space remake's PC version.