Dead Space Remake – Everything We Know About It

Well, it's finally happening. The sudden demise of Dead Space and Visceral Games was a tough pill to swallow when it happened nearly a decade ago, and honestly, it still stings. Fans have been clamouring for a Dead Space revival, especially with the survival horror genre having enjoyed the kind of resurgence it has in the last few years- and yes, after several weeks of consistent leaks and rumours, it's been confirmed that the original Dead Space is indeed being remade by EA Motive, the studio behind Star Wars: Squadrons. Though the game's announcement trailer was brief and didn't give much away, many new details on it have emerged since then, particularly in an interview with the developers published by IGN. As such, here, we're going to go over some of the most interesting pieces of information that have emerged on the Dead Space remake.

GROUND-UP REMAKE

Dead Space is the sort of timeless game that would have been perfectly served even with a fairly conservative remaster, but the development team at EA Motive has bigger ambitions for this game. It's a ground-up remake, and based on what the developers are saying about it, it seems it's going to be reimagining the original game rather than sticking to it faithfully, similar to what Resident Evil 2 did a couple of years ago. Meanwhile, where the visuals are concerned, rather than porting in assets and animations from the original game, Motive is completely remaking all of them, while it seems level design is also going to be tweaked here and there, particularly in instances where the original game had to make changes that were forced by technological constraints.

NEXT-GEN ONLY

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Most games coming out right now – especially third party multiplatform titles – are releasing as cross-gen titles, which, of course, is generally what happens with most releases in any console generation transition. But Dead Space has been confirmed as a next-gen only title (along with a PC version, of course). Apparently, being able to reimagine the original game while leveraging the much more powerful hardware of the PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S was one of the biggest reasons for why development on this remake even started. Of course, we don't have a Dead Space release date yet, or even a release window, so it's entirely likely that by the time this comes out, cross-gen releases will have petered out anyhow.

FROSTBITE

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EA Motive has plenty of experience with the Frostbite engine at this point, thanks to their work on Star Wars: Squadrons and the single player campaign of Battlefront 2, and it's been confirmed that they're sticking with it for Dead Space. Frostbite as an engine has consistently enabled stunning visual fidelity in games, of course, so it's exciting to think what this could mean for the sci-fi horror title. And sure, when it comes to Frostbite, many people often immediately grow skeptical, seeing as the engine has been largely responsible for the troubled development of games such as Anthem and Mass Effect: Andromeda– but Dead Space, which is a linear, cinematic horror game (and definitely not an open-ended RPG), Frostbite seems like an excellent match.

GAMEPLAY IMPROVEMENTS

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Of course, being more of a reimagining than a straight remake, Dead Space isn't just going to limit its improvements and enhancements to the surface level stuff- Motive is promising plenty of gameplay improvements as well. While exact details are scant for now, one thing that the developers mentioned in the aforementioned interview with IGN was that the remake is also going to use gameplay elements from Dead Space's sequels. One example that's brought up is the zero gravity sections of Dead Space 2, and how those could be potentially be improved upon and implemented in a remake of the first game.

DISMEMBERMENTS

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When it comes to Dead Space's gameplay, the thing that stands out most (and is pretty much the biggest selling point of the series) is the dismemberment- not only is it incredibly cool to pull off and look at, it's also a crucial gameplay mechanic that your survival often hinges on. That, incidentally, is another area where the Dead Space remake is going to make improvements. Again, there aren't a lot of details on exactly what those improvements are going to be, but according to the IGN interview, on top of being gorier, dismemberment in the remake is also going to be an even more crucial part of the game's combat mechanics.

STORY IMPROVEMENTS

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Dead Space's story is fondly looked back on to this day (that ending is still legendary), but EA Motive isn't bringing it over as is in the remake. Of course, you can expect the larger story beats to remain the same- but they're also fleshing it out in a way that connects to the sequels and other cross-media spinoffs and adaptations better. Essentially, they're putting more meat on the story's bones, rather than reworking the entire skeleton. Speaking to IGN, creative director Roman Campos-Oriola provided a brief explanation of how EA Motive is approaching story improvements. He said: "There are some improvements that we want to make to that story. And not necessarily improvements because those things were not really working in the original, more improvements because of what came after, and we're like, 'Aw man, that's interesting if we could reference that, or if we could make a link to that."

BETTER AUDIO

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Audio design is important in any game, but in particular, it can be a make or break feature in horror games- and to this day, the Dead Space series has some of the best audio design ever in a game. It's crucial to the experience, and heightens the atmosphere drastically. It follows, then, that this is an area where EA Motive is putting a great deal of its focus on. On top of staying true to the very distinct aural identity of the first game even with the improvements they're making on top of those classic sound design and effects that Dead Space fans will be very familiar with, the remake is also going to make use of 3D audio.

IMMERSION

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Again, immersion and horror games go hand-in-hand, and again, Dead Space is one of the best examples of that. Unsurprisingly, EA Motive is well aware of that fact, and the developers have said they're going to emphasize immersion in Dead Space as much as they possibly can. How exactly, on top of the visual and audio improvements? Well, for starters, thanks to the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S' SSDs, the game is going to have zero loading screens, and the developers are saying that the entire game is going to be a completely seamless experience from beginning to end. Meanwhile, the original Dead Space was also known for its diegetic UI, and how everything from the map to the upgrades to your health and ammo were all displayed in-universe rather than through menus or meters or what have you- and the remake is going to do that as well.

ACCESSIBILITY

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This is one area where the Dead Space remake is hoping to make significant improvements over the original, rather than taking the excellent foundations of the original and continuing to build on them. Accessibility options often went ignored in games back when Dead Space first came out, but that, thankfully, is no longer the case in the industry- and Motive is determined to put plenty of accessibility options in the remake. Speaking to IGN, Campos-Oriola said, "Something that is also really important for us that was not there 12 years ago is all those options or different ways to play the game if you need it. All those elements of accessibility will definitely be something important for us in terms of opening the Dead Space experience to a broader set of people that didn't necessarily have the opportunity or could play the game when it came out."

NO MICROTRANSACTIONS

Remember when EA put microtransactions in Dead Space 3? Yeah, that sucked. Fortunately, it seems like the folks at EA Motive know that. It's been confirmed that there are going to be no microtransactions in the Dead Space remake. And apparently, it's also not going to be one of those games that don't have microtransactions at launch but sneakily add them in later anyway. No, senior producer Phil Ducharme has adamantly told IGN that microtransactions will "never" be added into the game. We've seen EA cut out microtransactions entirely from a couple of games in recent years, including Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Motive's own Star Wars: Squadrons, so it's good to see that they have the sense to not use that monetization model in a game where it just doesn't belong.

Xbox Series S Is "An Ambivalent Piece of Hardware," Says Blacktail Developer

In an interview with Gamingbolt – CEO and creative director at THE PARASIGHT, the developer behind Blacktail, gave some great insights about Microsoft's next-gen budget offering, the Xbox Series S. Kapron believes that the Series S is an ambivalent piece of hardware.

The Xbox Series S is a drastically weaker console when compared to its bigger brothers such as the PS5 and Xbox Series X. In terms of raw TFLOPs, the Series S just has a third of the graphical grunt of the Series X. Thus, many seem to have doubts regarding its future, and whether it would be able to hold it's own in next-gen titles. Kapron shares the sentiment to some extent, but also seems grateful that budget gamers can now get into next-gen gaming with the Series S.

"I think Series S is a very ambivalent piece of hardware. On the one hand, it makes the new generation much more affordable. On the other hand, everyone has doubts as to whether it won't be a ball and chain, especially when the next gen will kick off for good. Personally, I think that despite the obvious difference in the target resolution in the future, we may also witness setting scaling between series X and S."

While Microsoft's claims of providing 1440p/60fps next-gen gaming looks to be an outstretched one, but the giant seems to be doubling down on making Series S as affordable as possible. In addition to providing gamers in select countries the option to purchase the console at a monthly payment with the Xbox All Access program, Xbox Game Pass ensures gamers get a healthy chunk of fresh offerings on a regular basis.

Battlefield 2042's Season Contents Potentially Leaked – Rumor

Later this year will come the next installment in EA and DICE's iconic action series, Battlefield 2042. The multiplayer-only title will take you to the near future, where conflict brews over a environmentally devastated world. It's looking to be one of the grimmest entries in the series from a pure speculative fiction standpoint, but will no doubt be a good time. And today, a new leak shows what could be with the game's season set up.

Known leaker Tom Henderson took to Twitter to reveal what he knew about the game's seasons. According to him, the free seasons will include a specialist, multiple maps for both regular modes and the recently revealed Portal mode, new weapons, new vehicles and ultimately 100 season tiers. Keep in mind, this is the free seasons that will come roughly every three months, which is separate than the paid battle pass the game will also have.

As always with leaks, take them with a grain of salt, but Henderson has been one of the primary leakers for the game and has largely gotten information on 2042 right so far. So, it won't be too surprising if this looks pretty close to what we ultimate get.

Battlefield 2042 will release on October 22nd for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC. An Open Beta is set to also come, starting September 6th.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla Will Introduce Level Scaling On July 27

The Assassin's Creed series took its open world, historic setting concept to the full RPG level a few years back with Origins. That has since continued with last year's Assassin's Creed Valhalla, with many of these elements being refined as time has gone on. While the series future is looking to go in a very different direction once again, Valhalla is still getting regular updates, and now we have one for those who are wanting a new challenge.

On the official Twitter, it was revealed that level scaling with be part of a new update coming next week. The scaling with allow you five different options, ranging from completely off and all the way up to Nightmarish, which will give you the ultimate challenge as your foes stay a large step ahead. You can see the options below.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is available now on most major platforms. Level scaling will come on July 27 across those platforms. 1 handed swords were also hinted to be coming in an update soon, but it's unclear if these will be bundled as part of the same title update.

Sniper Elite 4 Enhanced is Now Available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5

Rebellion Developments' Sniper Elite 4 has received a free upgrade for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S players. It allows for the third person stealth shooter to run in 4K resolution and 60 FPS with better load times. Of course, PS4 and Xbox One owners receive the upgrade for free.

To see the current-gen update in action, check out the trailer below. Set in the Italian peninsula during World War 2, Sniper Elite 4 follows marksman Karl Fairburne as he allies with the resistance to take down the Nazi regime. Much of the same elements from previous titles like the X-Ray kill cam and realistic sniping carry over, though the sequel offers more freedom when playing a mission.

Along with traps and missions at night, Karl is also more adept at climbing, which opens up more vantage points for sniping. Sniper Elite 4 is currently available for Xbox One, PS4, PC, Nintendo Switch and Google Stadia. For more details, check out our official review here.

Death's Door Trailer Highlights Critical Acclaim

Having launched earlier this week for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC, Acid Nerve's Death's Door has racked up quite a bit of critical acclaim. To celebrate its positive reception, a new trailer has been released by publisher Devolver Digital. It highlights the praise while showcasing a mix of gameplay and cutscenes.

Death's Door is the story of a crow, except this one reaps the souls of the dead. Everything is business as usual until one particular soul is stolen by a thief. It's the crow's job to retrieve it, even if it means traveling to a strange world where things never die.

Taking inspiration from old-school titles in The Legend of Zelda series, Death's Door offers an isometric perspective with hack and slash combat. For more details on what makes the game so much fun, check out our official review here. It now remains to be seen whether it will release for other platforms like PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch.

Multiple Top Borderlands 3 Developers Have Reportedly Left Gearbox

A recent report from Axios suggests that Gearbox has just lost some of its top brass that worked on Borderlands 3 – including creative director Paul Sage, senior producer Christopher Brock, lead mission designer Keith Schuler, art director Scott Kester, Game feel director Chris Strasz, and lead character artist Kevin Penrod.

In a statement issued to Axios, Gearbox has confirmed the same. Some of these employees were given leadership roles for a project which was reportedly in the very early stages of pre-production, so the departures shouldn't have much of an impact. Gearbox has stated that they departed on the best of terms, and the company wishes them the best of luck for their future ventures.

This comes shortly after the announcement of Dan Houser's newly-opened studio, Absurd Ventures in Games. Many industry veterans seem to be starting their own ventures now, which resonates strongly with Jason Schreier's claims about an abundance of VC money being an integral factor in the influx of new studios.

Human: Fall Flat Reaches 30 Million Sales, Reveals New Level

Human: Fall Flat recently celebrated its 5th anniversary, wherein developer No Brakes Games and publisher Curve Digital revealed that the game has now shipped 30 million copies of the game. The developer released a new YouTube video celebrating the game with a number of players and influencers from all over the world.

CEO of No Brakes Games expressed his gratitude by stating that the game originally shipped by 8 levels on a single platform, and now it will soon have 18 levels across a multitude of supported platforms. Of course, the 18th level is the recently unveiled Laboratory – which was built by Buler and won a $10,000 award for his efforts in a level making competition.

Human: Fall Flat is a physics-based puzzle platformers, where players must control their wobbly avatars to clear a multitude of increasingly difficult challenge courses. The game skyrocketed in popularity last year, and is available across PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia, and mobile.

PS4 Mining Farm Raided In Ukraine, Used To Mine Rare FIFA 21 FUT Cards

An undercover mining operation was recently raided by the Ukranian police, which was previously alleged to be using 3,800 PS4s to mine cryptocurrency. As it turns out, the PS4s in question were instead being used to mine FIFA 21 FUT cards.

As featured on PushSquare and originally reported by Delo, the warehouse was full of consoles all grinding out FIFA 21's Ultimate Team to farm FUT coins and rare cards. The investigation is reportedly being continued, as EA's terms of use prohibit the sale of accounts and cards. However, as is the case with any rare collectibles – virtual or otherwise – trading seems to be a regular occurence regardless.

Some of EA's employees were also previously accosed of selling out rare FUT cards. The latest annual iteration of the soccer simulator, FIFA 22 has recently been revealed and is due out on 1st October for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Nintendo Switch(legacy edition).

Jurassic World Evolution 2 Dev Diary Talks About New Biomes, Dinos, Gameplay Improvements, and More

Jurassic World Evolution 2 is going to release later this year and bring some pretty major improvements to the formula of its excellent predecessor. Since its announcement, Frontier Developments has spoken about some of the biggest improvements coming to the game, such as larger maps, improved dinosaur interactions, new biomes, and more, and in a recently released developer diary, they provided more details on that front.

Many new improvements are detailed, such as new biomes, one of which will be set in a desert environment (which, in turn, will bring new weather patterns, such as sandstorms). New dinosaurs are also going to be included, of course, and some avian animals are shown in the video. Meanwhile, details are also provided on the four separate modes that will be available in the game- Campaign, Challenge, Sandbox, and the new Chaos Theory mode (a mode full of what-if scenarios from the movies).

Improved dinosaur interactions are also detailed, while one new mechanic that is revealed is that dinosaur incubating and hatching is now done by scientists, whom you have to recruit and manage. Territories are also a thing now, and this will change dynamically based on the dinosaurs occupying the enclosures, and in turn, will impact dinosaur interactions and behaviours as well. Improved guest features, scenery items, and much more are also detailed. Take a look at the video below for more details.

Jurassic World Evolution 2 launches later this year for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. A release date hasn't yet been announced.