Dead Space (2008)

So I missed Dead Space when it first came out. While everyone else was screaming at Necromorphs back in 2008, I was probably busy playing Fallout 3 and trying to convince myself that it was a good game. But recently, I finally sat down to see what the fuss was about—and you know what? Even late to the party, Dead Space still knows how to mess you up in the dark. The first thing that hits you is the atmosphere. It’s not just spooky—it’s clinical, sterile, wrong. The USG Ishimura is basically a haunted hospital in space, and I mean that in the worst/best way possible. The lighting is oppressive. The sound design is black magic. Half the time I was turning around because I thought I heard breathing behind me. The other half, I was getting stabbed by a space skeleton. So... fair. You play as Isaac Clarke, space engineer and man of few words, whose idea of problem-solving is mostly “cut off their limbs.” Which is brilliant, by the way. The game doesn’t go for the usual "shoot the head" rule—you have to dismember these things. And it’s nasty. In a good way. The combat holds up surprisingly well. There’s a satisfying weight to the weapons, especially that Plasma Cutter—absolute king. The zero-gravity segments are cool, even if the controls occasionally feel like a baby giraffe trying to do cartwheels. Inventory management gave me PTSD flashbacks to Resident Evil 4, and yes, I ran out of ammo and cried a little. It was great. If I had a gripe, it’s that some parts feel very 2008 in design—objectives marked “GO HERE” with a glowing line, some enemy types reused a little too much—but nothing that ruins the experience. The story is creepy, cryptic, and filled with "who thought that was a good idea?" moments. Classic space horror nonsense. Loved it.

Just beat this for the first time ever after finding it in my backlog where it's probably been sitting for close to a decade. Now I have a strong infatuation with Peng and I can't stop thinking about about her! Don't let anyone tell you she's like any other easter egg! Moving onto the second game, wish me luck.

ABSOLUTE CINEMA. PEAK 2000'S HORROR. 9/10. CLICHE AS FUCK BUT I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT.

I played this initially on PS3 upon release a few times. It’s been sitting on Steam here for years. I recently played Callisto Protocol and woof, after that I wanted to play its spiritual predecessor again. I considered getting the remake but I remembered the original looking really great. Well, it holds up. It’s a looker, it plays stunningly well, its story is awesome, monsters and setting are freaky, and it’s just a really amazing game. It’s like a marriage of Alien and The Thing. Actually its story really reminds me of this awesome PS2 game called Run Like Hell. Anyway, Dead Space (OG) is an easy recommend. Thing runs like a champ, especially on Steam Deck, and is as amazing as it was all these years later. A fine wine, this one.

Dead Space (2008) – The Best Sci-Fi Horror Classic

★★★★★ (5/5)

This game set the gold standard for sci-fi horror. From the moment you step onto the USG Ishimura, the tension never lets up. The atmosphere is thick with dread, the sound design is brilliant, and every Necromorph encounter is a heart-pounding fight for survival.

The story is gripping, the controls are tight, and the dismemberment mechanics feel fresh and satisfying—even after all these years. It’s scary, it’s brutal, and it knows exactly how to keep you on the edge of your seat.

If you want the purest, most intense Dead Space experience, this is it. Nothing has topped it for me.

Great game, and for me it's better than the remake: better sound design, more coherent artstyle, and most importantly, the plot is served better - what they did to Hammond in remake is a travesty.

Somewhere between System Shock and Silent hill, as this is an older game it will run well on an i3 laptop with integrated graphics

Been wanting to play this game for years and i am not dissapointed! Bought the original intead of the remake and tbh imglad i did. 1) because my pc is old and cant hands shit and 2) the original is much scarier and immersive than the remake (Ive watched a playthrough of the remake) anyway i love this game. ive had it for like 5 days and ive already wasted 20 hours on it lol. Love the bossfights, tho the ending was a bit predictable but thats ok

The "I miss my wife, why the fuck is there eldritch horrors beyond my comprehension" game.
Absolute Kino.

This is a classic
It's have lot of scary moments based on great game design
Go give this lots of love!

I don't think this game holds up as great compared to the sequel, but it's still just a great game. It's clunky, and for some reason the camera more sensitive when you're walking in goop, but I think that it holds up well.

Currently 4 hours in, and I must say that this game is peak. It nails being a survival horror game, from its creepy atmosphere to its immersion. The ambient noises keep you on alert; just putting your guard down makes you jump. Even the environment has little details that tell you right away what the game is, from the voice logs or wall markings. The seamless integration of the UI in the game is very smooth, and it doesn't cut the immersion but rather it helps more with the immersion. From the health being the light on the back of Isaac to the ammo count shown as a hologram-ish thing at the back of the weapon makes it seem like you're seeing what Isaac would be seeing. I love the mechanic of cutting off the enemies' limbs in order to kill them as opposed to just aiming at their head or body; it is unique. So far the lore is pretty good, but I haven't paid much attention to the lore as of now, but still, I'll rate it 10/10 game.

Perfect game, it shaped my personality for a long time

I really tried to run this game but it's just broken. Only way to make it anywhere close to responsive is to turn off vsync but then that causes a bunch of other gamebreaking bugs. I wasn't ever able to make it to the first save point. Very disappointing.

Good game overall, but if you have a AMD card, there are some few like fps freezes or whatever and sometimes my mouse will freeze.

Highly recommended over the re-master version. The graphic from 2008 is not bad, lighting is better and some horror aspects look better from not being as clean. Characters look worse in the remaster, they manage to make the characters ugly for some reason.

That aside, the advantage is that the 2008 version plays extremely well on Steam Deck. Takes a lot less space, 7.5gb vs 50gb and consumes far less battery. The graphic difference for playing it on deck is even less noticeable then on PC. It is incredible how much more the remake consumes in term of resources compared to the 2008 version for what it is a glorified graphic patch.

Ignore the remake and play this on Deck instead on highest settings.
Camera with right stick is sub par on default (game's vertical cam axis has a higher sensitivity and higher dead zone than horizontal, and I just remembered this being critiqued already when it was released back in the days), but setting right stick to joystick mouse with a 100% sensitivity works much better, since the game treats mouse input linear on both axes. You'll lose right stick push for the objective guide line then, but that functionality is still available by pushing right track pad, which I personally find to be even more comfortable.
Seems to be capped to 60FPS internally even though there's a 90Hz resolution setting, but that's fine.
Deck's (OLED) brightness set to 50% and brightness in game set to lowest recreates the original dark experience.

Very good game, highly recommend but the only issue is, is that Austin Buckell is not in it

My laptop for babies couldn't run the remake so I "settled" on the original, but WOW I really do think it still holds up well. I personally didn't mind that this entire game is one large fetch quest, and while some of the twists were pretty predictable, the impact was still there and I was definitely even a little emotional near the end. It's such a unique experience, and even though I generally don't do well with horror games, this one was special enough for me to have stuck all the way through, and I'm glad I did. I hope Isaac is okay

"There can be but one Emperor, one God, one Saviour, one Deliverer. Without Him, a billion billion souls are nought but fodder for the ever-thirsting evils of the Warp."

"The galaxy is the Emperor's, and anyone or anything who challenges that claim is an enemy who must be destroyed."

Masterpiece. Really they nailed the game, its so advanced and ahead of its time. Graphics is excellent, the way user interface is integrated in in-game world... Overall horror atmosphere and inspiration from older sci-fi horror movies like Event Horizon, Pandorum, Pitch Black, they really did great job. Level design, and design & variety of enemies is also on another level. Combat and weapons are very innovative and fun, also bench and ability to upgrade firearm and stuff is really cool feature that has impact on gameplay.

Goated Survival Horror Game (Or Action Horror depending on who you ask). This game heavily influenced my art and game design ideas, especially for gore & horror.

Still worth to buy and try on sale even after the remake's changes. Although I would say to play NG+ on the remake over this version as there's more unlockables other than the Level 6 suit.

a decade later this game is the most fun I had espically on hard mode, try & error it was enjoying to go through this once more. truly a 10/10 game to experience in your life

Before you buy: This port takes a LOT of tweaking to get right, especially if you have newer hardware—most of the fixes can be found in the community guides. After capping my frames at 30 and editing the game files to double the sensitivity I was able to get this playable. THE GAME WILL NOT PLAY PROPERLY AT HIGH FRAME RATES, DOORS WILL NOT OPEN AND PHYSICS BREAK. If you're not willing to do these things I think the remake is a mostly faithful recreation of this, go ahead and buy that. :)

Despite the setup this game has aged extremely well, it's hands down the creepiest game I've ever played, the overall horror elements put it up there with some modern psychological horror titles despite largely being action horror. The sound design is amazing and really nails the "you are not alone/you are being watched" feeling at all times, and the enemies are peak body horror, truly gruesome designs on some of the necromorphs.

With it being a 17 year old port, the bugs are to be expected but they're mostly not game breaking so long as you save frequently. Some of the bugs I ran into are as follows:

- A few random crashes, particularly when loading big sections or when tabbing in and out
- Getting locked in the store when upgrading armor, forcing you to restart the game (fortunately most shops are near a save)
- The save screen seeming to have no buttons to save (they are there, just invisible, try to remember where they were)
- Getting locked into aiming (usually happened if I held aim too long and used stasis/kinesis, this one can be game breaking sometimes but it's rare, only happened twice and near saves)
- The hunter in the Lethal Devotion chapter not appearing in the room he's supposed to, fortunately there's an auto save right before so you can just reload
- The corruption (organic matter) throughout the ship skyrocketing your sensitivity when walking on it (this only happens if you use the mouse fix file to my knowledge, and you can mitigate this by aiming while walking across it)

All in all despite the bugs I absolutely loved this game, I really prefer Isaac as a silent protagonist (in contrast to the remake) and I think the graphics hold up well enough to justify buying this over the remake if you're willing to go through the extra effort to get it running properly.

I'll probably edit this review after I fully play through the remake, but as of right now I think this is a must have for horror game enjoyers.

Well, for sure this game was really good on 2008, when it was first released. Now I see it quite slow, with really limited movement options and quite repetitive.
I was just playing to arrive to the end of the game and just to know the plot but, finally I decided to not continue playing and read the synopsis in Wikipedia.

Delist EA. Forcing third-party accounts and banning for inactivity with no appeal is predatory.

As a kid, I watched my dad play many great titles, but this game stuck out as "Resident Evil-- in space!" The movement, the gunplay, the atmosphere-- it was all very "Alien/Aliens" to me-- but with that headsup display being your health, and ammo? I thought- "That is like Resident Evil 4," which my dad only got a few years ago at the time!

This game, to me, has maintained it's top status. If you need a good horror title to play, speedrun, challenge run, or just have a jumpscare to start your day- the original Dead Space is always one of my nostalgic picks, alongside the sequels- alternative picks being F.E.A.R.-- Resident Evil and a few other great survival action horror titles.

This game and it's series has absolutely been the best thing from my childhood especially since viceral games always but easter eggs in the game like most famously PENG. I would highly reccomend this game and series to people who are looking for a good scare, the whole game is basically full is it

A classic! I never played this so when the remake came out, I opted to play this version first and I must say that it has INCREDIBLE sound production. It always keeps you on your toes and sets an eerie and unsettling environment, especially when you hear distant noises but aren't sure if it's part of the soundtrack or a monster coming for you.

Loved every minute of it! Played on the OLED and was playing everything on max settings and getting 6+ hrs of battery life. A must own for any deck owner. I will admit it was somewhat of a hassle to get running but once you do, you're in for one helluva ride. 10/10 game.

terrifying for a 2008 game, 10/10 would and will shit my pants again

One of the few action horror franchises I love. I have played this game many times, and out of respect for the franchise, I finally decided to buy and support it. After buying and playing, I realized how old the game is. It holds my interest in most regards but really fumbles in others.

For example, the PC port hasn't aged well. It's not very complicated to run, but it is a hassle; it's very hard to recommend it to new players.

I wish I could give it a fine rating, not positive or negative, as I still enjoy the game but wish EA would have done more to update it for new hardware and some mechanics, whether gameplay or visuals show their age.

At this point, you're only playing this if you have a nostalgia reason for the game because if not, I would recommend the remake at this point.

One of the best survival horror games/franchises ever made. Still holds up in 2025. Downloaded again to dip my toes in and haven't stopped playing. It's that good. The lore, the gameplay, the user interface all contribute to this atmospheric masterpiece. If you are a fan of the survival horror genre, this game is one you don't want to miss. If grotesque imagery and graphic body horror and violence are overly disturbing to you, stay as far from this game as possible.

A true classic in video game horror media. Personally I would recommend you play the remake instead of the original because the gameplay here hasn't quite aged well, but it's still a fantastic game that holds up well enough for a person like me who played it for the first time just a few years back.

Has as much restraint and subtlety as a freight train, but it's still a classic action-horror game with fantastic art direction and world-building.

Playing this as a 8-9yr old I remember my friend let me borrow it in 3rd grade I think, he let me borrow fall out 3 too for xbox 360. Yeah...I don't remember much but playing the game Dead Space for 30 mins because the atmosphere was so terrifying then years later I play it and fell in love. The remake I've been playing lately and it brought me back with graphics but as an adult its not as scary but more on edge of your seat feeling.

looooooook if you don't buy one of the most iconic first games of a iconic horror series you lame also i love watchin new people to the series either getting scared or surprised it brings me lots of joy

Dead Space is a masterclass in survival horror, offering an intense and atmospheric journey through a terrifyingly detailed spaceship. Its gripping narrative, strategic gameplay, and chilling sound design create a truly unforgettable experience. A must-play for fans of the horror genre!

naprade spoko giera ja jestem na 10 chapterze i do tej pory morzna naprawde sie przestraszyć przy jumpscerach 100000/10

This is an absolute classic by now that - in my humble opinion - even stands above its Resident Evil 4 inspiration.
I wish they stuck to the mystery of the story instead of introducing the Brethren Moon concept. There are a lot of unanswered questions still lingering in the first game, a lot of hints towards a different direction for the story.

In other words: Dead Space (2008) is a bit of a self-contained universe/franchise. Dead Space 2 already feels different, Dead Space 3 is almost unrecognizable in terms of being a Dead Space game.

Hence why I'm so fascinated with this one. The entire vibe, the story, the images.
The developers went out of their way to make it creepy and gory.

The sound design is so good, you can stop moving at any place in the game, record the ambience for 60 minutes and have a completely varied soundscape with eerie atmosphere (and lots of whispers and secrets).

There's a lot to uncover regarding the horror and necromorphs. It starts with the main menu that apparently shows some "real time" mutation of flesh and bodies (in reality, they recorded the decomposition of a goat/animal body and sped it up, haha).

Cutting of limbs reveals necromorph tentacles and bile you do not even see in the remake. It's just so full of details.

This game is a piece of art and something got lost with its sequels.

10/10

Amazing survival horror game, deadass didn't realize about the mouse issue until i finished the game (just install the fan made patch and problem solved)

This was my very first experience with the Dead Space series, legitimately the only other knowledge I have with the series is Isaac having a skin in Fortnite, so I went into this game not expecting anything at all. So unfortunately I don't know if the series gets better later on but I'm afraid this game didn't scratch the same horror game itch that other games of it's genre have like Silent Hill or Resident Evil, which is disappointing because I thought I'd fall so much more in love with the fact this is space horror, but it feels like all it really did that interested me was the fact you must remove the limbs rather than simply aim for the head, which did genuinely make the game harder and much more of a fun challenge but beyond that it just felt like your average survival horror

Vranic man at it again. This time Vranic man visits Krnjaca, better known as "Dead Space" of the univers, after he receives a distress call from his wife. In his search for her on ship Ishimura, he is faced with friendliest and kindes residents that Krnjaca can offfer.
Unfathomable horrors 9/10

Don't get me wrong, this game is great. It's also genre defining and a technical marvel.
all of that being said... don't buy this, go get the 2023 remake, I played through almost the entire game. I say almost because I managed to softlock the game twice while PLAYING NORMALLY! the way I play I overwrite all of my saves to make sure my mistakes have consequences. so every time the game breaks I have to RESTART. just... go get the new one, or make sure you make new saves instead of overwriting them (also the zero g sections are hella buggy} you've been warned

Just love the gameplay mechanics and the horror element is very masterfully used. Instead of relying on the good ol' jumpscares, it has a nice touch of building up the tension when a necro is near-by. And the feeling of destroying the same necros with our arsenal is altogether very satisfying. The camera and controls are a bit sluggish I do admit. But that does not account to the overall experience.

The pacing and quality of story and gameplay in this game is top S class teir. short but damn good

Bardzo udana gra jak i udany horror.
Jest wystarczająco długa, aby zaciekawić, ale nie znudzić. Dźwięk w grze jest super.
Dead Space nawet w 2025 jest dobrą grą. Na wyższych poziomach trudności jest wymagająca. Trzeba odpowiednio zarządzać surowcami, rozwijać sprzęt/postać w sensowny sposób i nie strzelać po wrogach bezmyślnie. Czasami trzeba wroga wyczekać, żeby pokazał nam kończyny, które odstrzelimy to zadajemy dużo większe obrażenia. Polecam grę nie tylko fanom horrorów.
8/10

Great! I wish it didn't lean so much into the action but a great game!

Watch Event Horizon first and you will THOROUGHLY understand this game.

What a nice Horror Experience throughout the whole game so it made us whole with the game itself

I've accomplished this game by medium difficulty, so I really like this one, it's a classic stylish piece of gold from 2008 year it may seem to be old but no it isn't. Isaac Clarke such a strong-willed man that had gone through so many obstacles on his way to just reach a shuttle and escape this goddamn planet. It's also funny how much vents here was in the locations, because at the start of the game they tried to scare you by jumping from them so frequently but not at the end and it were
still horrifying me. Horror here also so intense or it's just me who is not that experienced like others in terms of Horror
Genre.

Also, want to disagree with people who are keep talking about this like a shooter, mostly because here so many action scenes with explosions or whatever. I think here enough missions where you need to repair some crucial issue to escape, so by the end of it's adventure you came to shuttle like you were at work 11 hours straight and it's true. Pay big respect to those who created The Marker idea, it's a big homage to Stanley Kubrick himself, director of the "Space Odyssey", and I want to explore this even more in the seuqel. Don't understand people arguing about V-SYNC (60 fps), for me cracked physics were not that funny and hilarious so I'm okay with that. Still, can understand if it bothers someone.

XBOX 360 ERA RULES, such a masterpieces were made during this period (for me Ninja Gaiden 2, Batman:Arkham, Fallouts and etc.)

In conclusion, really recommend you to play this game even if you are afraid of horrors just like me