The upcoming remake of the 2008 sci-fi horror classicDead Spaceis following in the footsteps of some other wildly popular titles that got the facelift treatment in recent years, likeResident Evil 2andResident Evil 3. Remaking older games not only lets developers bring titles to new audiences, but it also allows for some much-needed updates and overhauls. Motive Studios’Dead Spaceremake will be making some changes to the older game, improving combat, animations, and other details to verify the new version holds its own in a more modern video game landscape.
While Motive Studios has assured fans that the newDead Spacewill retain a lot of the same plot and basic featuresas the original, there are plenty of aspects that will be updated. One aspect of the originalDead Spacethat the remake is changing is the chattiness of its protagonist, Isaac Clarke. In the first game, Isaac never uttered a word and remained the classic silent main character whom players experience the world through.Dead Space 2andDead Space 3changed this up, and the nextDead Spacerelease will be following suit since Gunner Wright is returning to reprise his role as Isaac. However, fans had some mixed feelings about the news.
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Pros For Giving Isaac A Voice
There will always be those fans who can be categorized as purists, who want remakes to retain almost everything of the original game while simply giving them a shiny new coat to improve the visuals. There are some remasters that essentially fit that description, but sometimes, change is good and can help fix issues from the original game that were overlooked. Giving Isaac a voice as he is forced to fix andfight his way through the USG Ishimurais seen by many as a step in the right direction, and will help to humanize the beleaguered protagonist.
In the originalDead Space, it was actuallya little offputting when Isaac didn’t make a peepwhen there was a particularly harrowing, emotional, or downright terrifying scene. It felt unnatural to remain silent when confronted with so many of the atrocities and heartbreaking events that Isaac witnesses during the game, and giving him a voice so that he can at least comment and react will help with player immersion. This is particularly important in survival horror, as creating a certain atmosphere and making sure players are absorbed by it helps with the whole experience of the game.
On the officialDead SpaceTwitter account,EA Motivewas keen to point out that Isaac will “primarily only speak when spoken to” and “will sometimes speak in a situation where it would feel weird if he remained silent.” This should allay any fan fears that Isaac will suddenly transform into an uncharacteristically loquacious individual, and shows that the voice acting will be minimal and used to enhance the gameplay rather than distract from it.
Cons For Changing The Silent Protagonist
Many games have made use of a silent protagonist in the past, especially RPGs that give players the chance to create their own character, as it lets them project their own personality onto their protagonist without the distraction of some potentially awkward voice acting. WhileIsaac is a pre-formed character in the originalDead Space, he occupies a similar space as an “Everyman” figure that players can project onto. He worked so well in the original game not only because his engineering background was a tonic for the overused soldier protagonist archetype, but also because he wasn’t a distraction for players experiencing the story.
Isaac’s silencehelped with the horror aspects ofDead Space, letting gamers focus on the environmental noises and the unadulterated fear factor of exploring the USG Ishimura all alone while they tried to avoid the grotesque mutated enemies. Isaac was the perfect conduit, and his blank slate characteristics helped to convey the feeling that players were actually the ones experiencing the game, adding toDead Space’s horror.
Dead Spacewill release on June 10, 2025, on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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