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| System Name | My second and third PCs are Intel + Nvidia |
|---|---|
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| Power Supply | 750 W Seasonic Prime GX |
| Mouse | Logitech MX Master 2S |
| Keyboard | Logitech G413 SE |
| Software | Bazzite (Fedora Linux) KDE Plasma |
Dead Space. The original (2008), not the remake.
I'm almost at the end. It's an okay game, but I don't understand why it's hyped so much. Here's a long-ish, but not complete review, as I'm only in Chapter 10 so far:
All in all, I'm enjoying the game, but I don't see it as the revolutionary thing that many people do. It's a simple, but nice enough survival sci-fi horror shooter with physics elements. 7/10.
I'll definitely pick up the remake once it gets a discount. I'm curious how they improved on the already excellent atmosphere.
I'm almost at the end. It's an okay game, but I don't understand why it's hyped so much. Here's a long-ish, but not complete review, as I'm only in Chapter 10 so far:
The story is quite dull and predictable (so far). Spaceship sends an SOS, a small team responds, the ship is infested with monsters made out of dead people and hell breaks loose. Oh and there's some sort of religious cult involved. Nothing we hadn't seen as of 2008 (Alien? Doom?). Then, all you have to do as a repair technician is fix various parts of the ship to be able to escape. Go here, switch that button, go there, pick up that thing, bring it back here to fix something else with it. Not very complex and engaging, to say the least. It's not a bad thing, I like simplicity, I just don't get the hype around it. What really keeps it alive, though, is the text and audio logs that you pick up along the way. If you're not a lore gamer, fair enough, but you really have to listen to and read these here to understand what happened, and I think that's great!
Then comes the gameplay. It's a TPS shooter (edited) with gear levelling and an inventory system that works on-the-fly, that is, the game doesn't pause when you're looking at your stuff, you can still die. It's nice, and it adds to the immersion. Then, your weapons: most of them are improvised tools designed to cut off the enemies' limbs, because that's how they die. This is the game's main selling point, and it's truly revolutionary for 2008 levels. It's just not enough to build a whole game around, imo.
The controls are clunky and forced. Your character moves slowly which is understandable considering the heavy space suit and repair gear he's carrying. The problem lies elsewhere, though. For example, when you right-click to aim, you can shoot. That's fine. But if you forget to to do that, or you get attacked from behind (which happens an awful lot, by the way) and you just click, your character goes into a very slow arm swing to hit the enemy which mostly doesn't do anything. You can't even interrupt it, which can lead to your death if you're not careful. WHY!? Also, there's the space key which is a stomp that's only used to open resource crates. Why did we need a separate key just for this when we don't have one to shoot without aiming? These tiny bits don't make sense to me.
Edit: And speaking of enemies attacking from behind, that happens a lot! And I mean A LOT! They come out of vents that are everywhere, and there's a jump scare around every single corner. It's more annoying than scary, imo. I've never liked jump scares, and the overuse of them gets old and tired after half an hour of gameplay here, too.
Speaking of shooting, some weapons are great, some are overkill, while some others are completely useless. Considering that your money and resources are limited, it would be better not to waste hard-earned cash on a gun that pushes monsters back but does nothing else at all and then sell it for half the price. An upgrade on one of my other guns, or a new space suit would have been more useful, and I had to play another level with sub-par gear just because of the money I wasted on that useless gun. Annoying.
Then there's the level design. On the one hand, the atmosphere is great! The various parts of the ship look distinct enough to be interesting, but still make you feel like you're on the same ship. There's an overuse of blood, corpses and destroyed equipment, which is a bit overwhelming, but that seems to be the intention here. The whole system just looks organic and real... but that's it... looks... it doesn't feel that way, though. There's lots of dark, twisty hallways which add to the horror element, but don't make any sense from a practical point of view, however. Why would you have to walk through the hallway for 2 minutes just to get to the hospital wing, when it could be right in front of you? Why would anyone design a spaceship with large, open chasms that don't lead anywhere? Why is the ceiling about 10 metres tall on the bridge? Why is the engineering deck composed of several levels when the only things that do anything are on the bottom level? It doesn't make sense.
Speaking about the atmosphere, that's the main positive point about the game, imo (not the physics engine - which is also great, but not enough to build a whole game around without the other elements). The environment, the sounds, the lighting, everything makes you feel the way you have to feel in a triple-A horror sci-fi game. The random voices you hear in empty rooms, the way everything's arranged, the flickering lights, the slowly decaying artificial environment of a space ship designed for planet mining... it all sends small shivers down your spine, and it's all just excellent! This is why I recommend playing the game even today.
Then comes the gameplay. It's a TPS shooter (edited) with gear levelling and an inventory system that works on-the-fly, that is, the game doesn't pause when you're looking at your stuff, you can still die. It's nice, and it adds to the immersion. Then, your weapons: most of them are improvised tools designed to cut off the enemies' limbs, because that's how they die. This is the game's main selling point, and it's truly revolutionary for 2008 levels. It's just not enough to build a whole game around, imo.
The controls are clunky and forced. Your character moves slowly which is understandable considering the heavy space suit and repair gear he's carrying. The problem lies elsewhere, though. For example, when you right-click to aim, you can shoot. That's fine. But if you forget to to do that, or you get attacked from behind (which happens an awful lot, by the way) and you just click, your character goes into a very slow arm swing to hit the enemy which mostly doesn't do anything. You can't even interrupt it, which can lead to your death if you're not careful. WHY!? Also, there's the space key which is a stomp that's only used to open resource crates. Why did we need a separate key just for this when we don't have one to shoot without aiming? These tiny bits don't make sense to me.
Edit: And speaking of enemies attacking from behind, that happens a lot! And I mean A LOT! They come out of vents that are everywhere, and there's a jump scare around every single corner. It's more annoying than scary, imo. I've never liked jump scares, and the overuse of them gets old and tired after half an hour of gameplay here, too.
Speaking of shooting, some weapons are great, some are overkill, while some others are completely useless. Considering that your money and resources are limited, it would be better not to waste hard-earned cash on a gun that pushes monsters back but does nothing else at all and then sell it for half the price. An upgrade on one of my other guns, or a new space suit would have been more useful, and I had to play another level with sub-par gear just because of the money I wasted on that useless gun. Annoying.
Then there's the level design. On the one hand, the atmosphere is great! The various parts of the ship look distinct enough to be interesting, but still make you feel like you're on the same ship. There's an overuse of blood, corpses and destroyed equipment, which is a bit overwhelming, but that seems to be the intention here. The whole system just looks organic and real... but that's it... looks... it doesn't feel that way, though. There's lots of dark, twisty hallways which add to the horror element, but don't make any sense from a practical point of view, however. Why would you have to walk through the hallway for 2 minutes just to get to the hospital wing, when it could be right in front of you? Why would anyone design a spaceship with large, open chasms that don't lead anywhere? Why is the ceiling about 10 metres tall on the bridge? Why is the engineering deck composed of several levels when the only things that do anything are on the bottom level? It doesn't make sense.
Speaking about the atmosphere, that's the main positive point about the game, imo (not the physics engine - which is also great, but not enough to build a whole game around without the other elements). The environment, the sounds, the lighting, everything makes you feel the way you have to feel in a triple-A horror sci-fi game. The random voices you hear in empty rooms, the way everything's arranged, the flickering lights, the slowly decaying artificial environment of a space ship designed for planet mining... it all sends small shivers down your spine, and it's all just excellent! This is why I recommend playing the game even today.
All in all, I'm enjoying the game, but I don't see it as the revolutionary thing that many people do. It's a simple, but nice enough survival sci-fi horror shooter with physics elements. 7/10.
I'll definitely pick up the remake once it gets a discount. I'm curious how they improved on the already excellent atmosphere.
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a boss fight by me from that game:
Dismembering gets a whole new meaning with this puppy - it'll literally cleave stuff if you're close, just max out that damage. Also, you can store your excess weapons instead.
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