Recent reviews by Medieval Lute

Great writing, great art, amazing ost, phenomenal catharsis. All it costs is your love
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Gave sony my money for a good, I am then banned from said good. Refund and negative review, simple as :)

This game is really one the largest grand strategy games out there, while Hearts of Iron 4 can be finished within a night, Victoria 2 within a few days, and modded total war and Xcom in a week, a single campaign of Terra Invicta falls within xcom/total war (About the length of Xcom... I wonder why...) depending on your goals, priorities, and efficiency. As many others have said, its learning curve is probably one of the highest games I (and maybe you) have ever played. I've had this game since release but after trying it for 2 hours at release, I've never had the courage to play it until now.

I don't think there is really a comparable game out there that matches the scale of this game. I'm REALLY DUMBING IT DOWN but in terms of the overall game type, I'd say it is similar to total war in which you manage your resources to build armies and expand************* (lots of caveats in how this works, but again thats almost the general principle. Though I've never played it, the scale of the game reminds me of The Campaign for North Africa (search it up on wikipedia). And thats what the game feels like when you first launch it.

Now while the learning curve is indeed really high and does indeed look terrifying, I don't recommend reading or watching guides first since you'll get lost trying to understand the terms/content said guides. I recommend just jumping right in, reading the pop up tips, and once in a while opening the codex. This will give you a general idea of how to play. From there on you slowly learn as you play and enjoy the game until you realize you've been hilariously outmatched when the aliens arrive since you didnt know much besides managing your councilors, nations and bases.

This is where you expand your learning further and can start reading/watching guides. This is because jumping straight into the game forces you to learn a somewhat basic understanding of game mechanics and thus allows you to actually learn better from the guides.

I definitely think this game is worth it so long as you put the time into it and are somewhat patient. It being an early access there are a few things I'd like them to improve upon, some being
- Better way to manage/view outposts you own (there may be a way, but I havent found it yet)
- Game performance, being such a grand game im surprised it runs fairly well but there are times when loading an asteroid or moving back to earth will freeze up the game for a few seconds.

Besides those of the top of my head, I really do recommend this game, if you have a handful of hours in games like HoI4, Victoria 2, EU4, give it a try and support the developers, they really have made such a unique game .

I've played this game since 2013. Its always been a fun game, but over the years, its just been constantly ruined by a terrible predatory company focused on profit.

TL;DR Some improvements in the gameplay department, make it feel like a "modern game" however, steps back in the atmosphere department which overall makes the original a better experience.

No this isn't a negative review focusing on the optimization issues. No this isn't a negative review on Denuvo, this is negative review of the remake. I've seen a lot of positive reviews praising how this game is a better experience in every way to the original, though I don't concur with that statement. Of course graphically, it is better in every way, and there are some game play improvements. I'd like to add that in preparation for this remake, I've played the original just a week before release and thus I think the comparisons I make below are fair considering I have both games fresh in memory.

Of the top of my head, I like the new node system (in which it locks you out of future node slots initially). Furthermore, finding weapons instead of buying them has better encouraged me to use other weapons besides just sticking with the plasma cutter. This in conjunction with the game giving more varied ammo, forces you to use more varied guns. Zero Gravity gameplay is also changed to DS2 mechanics, which is for the better. Another improvement that I can think of is the power management system, which in some sections makes you choose cutting out power or air, which add some variety. Furthermore, the removal of loading times making it one seamless experience, and lastly the AI director for spawning enemies. Regarding enemies themselves, in the original, enemies would essentially stagger everytime they were shot, in the remake, enemies dont stagger pretty much at all, which makes things much more intense as you have less time to before they come at you. Overall there are some minor improvements which can make the game play more enjoyable.

While there are more improvements that I have not listed, those are the ones I can think of the top of my head, of which most are in the graphical and game play department. Where the most of the negative aspect of this review comes down to main reason why everyone loves dead space, the atmosphere. The remake is significantly reduced in this department. While there's no denying you are stuck on a spaceship alone in the middle of nowhere, the remake is almost worse in every aspect and not that close to the original in regards to making a survival horror experience. What I'll list below are very slight changes that may seem insignificant, but on aggregate, really take away from the atmosphere.
Story - For one, while the remake does include more background story, it kills the mystery of what is going on in the ishimura, the VERY FIRST data board you read mentions the untiology and paints them in a bad picture right away, and soon enough you learn about the marker. While this information was fed at about the same rate as the original, in the original, we we're left wondering what the unitology was and where these aliens came from, etc, compared this to the remake which gives way too much info too early.
Music - Another big change is the inclusion music in some sections where it doesn't need to be. Of the top of my head, when flying in space in zero-g they've added some background music which slightly reminds you are just playing a game. The original had no music, and all you could hear was the muffled sounds of footsteps and isaac's breathing/choking as he started to run out of air. I've also noticed this music addition in some sections without zero-g, where I think switching the music with more atmospheric diegetic sounds would fair better.
Sound - Honestly, the sound is great in most parts, as they just took the one from the original, but some areas such as the head banging scene and the introduction scene to the baby necromorphs were much more visceral in the original, the original was more powerful sounding, while in the latter, the terror in the guys voice was much more present.
Animation - Again, animation so far is overall better, or the same. Yet a minor detail is isaac's movement, in the original, his movement and stance were visually much more careful and tense whereas remake is less. This extend to running as well, in zero-g, running looked more hefty and had more weight to it, which really drives home the idea that you are this one man against the elements of space in this bulky hard to maneuver piece of equipment.
Overall Direction? - I guess the main point i'm coming down here is that the game feels like its pandering more to you the player which once again detracts it from reaching that realistic atmosphere the original achieved so well. It feels like a present day dramatized piece of media, whereas the original feels like a more realistic representation of what would happen and while it still panders to the player, the remake does so more. I'm quickly reminded of the intro where you get this gore filled stabbing of your crew mate all the while being shoved onto the window, compared the original where its just him being stabbed. Another example being or the cinematic introduction of the necromoorph that transforms dead bodies instead of watching it helplessly.

(Spoiler ahead regarding one scene)
Or how about when Doctor Mercy puts stasis on you, I loved the idea and thought it really added to the experience, however the stasis actually freezes you, which would contradict that our stasis merely slows down things. It also just so happens you are in stasis for the right amount of time Dr. Mercer can monologue and leave. Wouldn't it have been great if perhaps they could make you move while in stasis, and mercer takes your gun and walks around so you cant do anything but slowly chase after him.
(Spoiler end)

Overall, the modernization makes it feel less unique... less dead space? I'm not sure what to call it, but if you play both games, I'm almost certain the original Dead Space will feel much more like a unique game rather than the remake which feels like a modern title.

Perhaps i'm too harsh on the game, given that I'm making a lot of nitpicks. Overtime, as I put more runs into the game, my perspective may change. Though the game is a well done re-imagining, and certainly, if this game were released today as a new IP, I would love it more. However, the original does exist and there's a reason its one of the greatest games of all time, which is why I nitpick. My point of contention focuses on the survival horror experience, which does not stand on par to the original Dead Space.

Review was updated to fix typos and flow* and added the Spoiler example

Great game, great fun with friends, if you dont have anyone to play with, then id recommend not buying it,

Reviewed because steam summer sale told me to