Dead Space remake dev: "I can't play it with headphones at night – it's too f***ing scary"

Dead Space
(Image credit: EA)

The Dead Space remake is in good shape. Officially unveiled in 2021, originally planned for 2022, and delayed to this year – January 27, to be precise – it's now set to become one of biggest new games for 2023, as well as one of the scariest. Not that its 2008 source material wasn't absolutely terrifying when it graced our screens some 15 years ago, but the reimagining, helmed by Motiv Studios and EA, channels the original's terror beautifully. That's according to our own Leon Hurley, who, having gone hands-on towards the end of last year, firmly believes this modern incarnation "recaptures what made the original an essential horror experience."

That spine-chilling sentiment appears to be shared behind the scenes too. So much so that the Dead Space remake's technical director, David Robillard, admits he isn't as comfortable playing the game after dark as he is during daylight hours. "When I'm playing it at night, I can't play it with headphones. It's just too fucking scary," Robillard tells PLAY magazine's issue #22. "Just the amount of realism and, again, atmosphere. Not just visually, right? In the way we handle sound, ambience, effects, having systems that will try to spook you. These things, you know, could have been done [on PS4], but not to the level we're doing them today. And they really add a lot to this sort of genre and make the whole kind of experience come together even more."

Deep cuts

Dead Space Remake screenshot

(Image credit: EA)
SUBSCIRBE TO PLAY

PLAY Magazine

(Image credit: Future, EA)

The interview quotes here first features in PLAY magazine –You can subscribe to the print edition, digital version, or save even more with the print/digital bundle. Receive an unprecedented trove of dedicated PlayStation coverage every month!

Not to the level we're doing them today, is a line that strikes at the heart of why the Dead Space remake exists in 2023. We're in the middle of an old school horror revival of sorts at the moment – kick-started by Capcom's superb Resident Evil 2 reimagining of 2019, and followed by its Resident Evil 3 remake the year after; with the likes of the Resident Evil 4, System Shock, Silent Hill 2 and, of course, Dead Space all in-line for similar treatment in the coming weeks, months and years.  

The original Dead Space was masterminded by developer and artist Glen Schofield, whose latest survival horror venture, The Callisto Protocol, launched last year. Comparisons between the two games were somewhat inevitable, and while our own Leon Hurley loved the stunning world of The Callisto Protocol, he struggled with its immersion-breaking combat – and, given how engaging combat was in OG Dead Space, The Callisto Protocol's pivot in this space was indeed a strange decision. Elsewhere, while never comparing its Dead Space remake to Schofield's latest game, Motiv is set on pushing immersion as far as it possibly can on today's high-powered hardware.  

"Even when we started this project, I did several walkthroughs of the original game to make sure that I had it really mapped out in my mind – and immersion was one of the strongest selling points," explains senior producer Phillipe Ducharme. "For us, anything that we could do to try to enhance that immersion was an automatic yes." 

"If we're able to get the player with the pad in their hands at the start and play throughout the entire game without putting their pad down, like to have them play for 12, 14, 15 hours straight, because they're so immersed, and they just don't even want to go to the bathroom," Ducharme continues, before laughing and interjecting, "Well, it's not healthy." But it's all about keeping the player well and truly gripped. "Otherwise, like, that's because they jumped in and they don't want to leave, they don't want to put it down – then job done, we've achieved that, like we were able to deliver that immersion."

Dead Space

(Image credit: EA)

"We wanted to make sure that if we were making a change, it was actually to reflect on one of our key pillars […] not just make changes because we thought we knew better than the original team, because they did an amazing job".

Part of that commitment to immersion on Motiv's part is framed by familiarity. As you might expect, the devs are keen to welcome back players of the original game who may seek nostalgia, while also introducing new generations to a retold classic, or satisfying those who missed the original the first time around. If you fall into the former category, you may enter the remake assured that you know the lay of the land. You might recall the locations of its most deadly enemies, and from which corners its most startling jump scares appear from. Motiv, however, is determined to keep even the most seasoned Dead Space players guessing.  

Ducharme says: "The initial part of the game, like, if you play them side by side, they're extremely similar. But then as you go through some of the chapters, there's some objectives that were not as popular. We wanted to make sure that if we were making a change, it was actually to reflect on one of our key pillars […] not just make changes because we thought we knew better than the original team, because they did an amazing job."

Robillard adds: "We needed to find a way to fill those gaps, so that the player doesn't feel like 'Oh, I've been here, it's fine, I'm safe'. No, you're never safe. Like, you will get jumped. Somebody wants your lunch money, and they're not friendly."

If you fancy that, you can offer your own lunch money willingly in exchange for Dead Space on PS5, Xbox Series X and PC on Friday, January 27, 2023. Good luck to you! 


Big in 2023

(Image credit: Big in 2023)

All throughout January, GamesRadar+ is exploring the biggest games of the new year with exclusive interviews, hands-on impressions, and in-depth editorials. For more, be sure to follow along with Big in 2023

Joe Donnelly
Contributor

Joe Donnelly is a sports editor from Glasgow and former features editor at GamesRadar+. A mental health advocate, Joe has written about video games and mental health for The Guardian, New Statesman, VICE, PC Gamer and many more, and believes the interactive nature of video games makes them uniquely placed to educate and inform. His book Checkpoint considers the complex intersections of video games and mental health, and was shortlisted for Scotland's National Book of the Year for non-fiction in 2021. As familiar with the streets of Los Santos as he is the west of Scotland, Joe can often be found living his best and worst lives in GTA Online and its PC role-playing scene.

Read more
Slitterhead screenshot of Julee attacking a Slitterhead with her blood claws
The cinematic and survival horror games of 2024 prove that taking risks is keeping the genre alive
Games like Resident Evil - Dying Light
10 years later, Dying Light's night time psychological warfare is still one of the strongest hooks in horror gaming history
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2 Remake finally put Bloober Team on the map for horror fans, but in 2025 Cronos: The New Dawn will decide whether it stays there
Upcoming horror games - A zombie jumping at a player during the upcoming game, Dying Light: The Beast.
Upcoming horror games for 2025 and beyond
Little Nightmares 3 Big In 2025
With two not-so secret weapons up its sleeve, Little Nightmares 3 is shaping up to be the "charming horror" event of 2025
Dead Space
"We're not interested right now": Original Dead Space creators say their pitch for a fourth game was turned down by EA
Latest in Dead Space
Dead Space
"We're not interested right now": Original Dead Space creators say their pitch for a fourth game was turned down by EA
Dead Space 2
Dead Space 2 and 3 Remakes may be on the way if we all respond positively to this EA survey
Dead Space
Turns out Dead Space players have been upgrading the worst weapon
Dead Space
Like the original, the Dead Space remake gave its devs a major headache over one particular scene
Dead Space Line Gun
The Dead Space Line Gun location
Dead Space
Dead Space devs already have "ideas" for the next game in the series
Latest in News
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip
A misty, forested mountainside in Prologue: Go Wayback!
PUBG creator's wilderness survival game actually draws inspiration from an unexpected place - a whole raft of zombie games like DayZ, Project Zomboid, and Left 4 Dead
The Blood of Dawnwalker: A screenshot of the vampire Brencis holding up a crown during the trailer for the upcoming game.
The Witcher 3 devs created a Jekyll & Hyde-style character for their new vampire RPG "because nobody yet has done that"
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil fans are wondering if Born Again season 2 will set up a darker comic book arc for Matt Murdock
Theo James as Hal in Osgood Perkins' The Monkey
It might only be March, but Stephen King adaptation The Monkey is now the highest grossing horror movie of 2025
Balatro screenshot showing an assortment of card packs
Balatro creator initially considered a Steam release in part to help "get a game developer job somewhere," and after 5 million sales I'd say he found one