On the USG Ishimura, no one can hear you scream. The Dead Space remake is almost here, which means our safety from Necromorphs is getting thinner. Developer EA Motive doesn’t plan to hold back in the Dead Space remake, as the new Intensity Director system will ensure players are always on their toes. Keep your Plasma Cutter close.
Just like you, we’ve been counting down the days till the Dead Space remake release date. The atmosphere is everything when it comes to Dead Space, and developer EA Motive understands the assignment. But how can you still scare players returning to USG Ishimura over a decade later? That’s where the Intensity Director comes in.
Speaking on the new system via the game’s official blog, senior game director Eric Baptizat explains that it “is a way for us to control the stress level for the player, to be sure there’s always something happening. It lets us control the emotion and tension, and to always keep the player on their toes.”
Lead level designer Steven Ciciola adds that the Intensity Director tracks “the peaks and valleys of tension, to make sure that it’s not just back-to-back-to-back high-intensity events.”
As familiar players will be aware when specific scares and threats occur in the original game, this mechanical dynamically generates events around the player to avoid predictability. In a recent interview with Rely On Horror, realisation director Joel MacMillan details that players will encounter “more than 1,200 unique events that could come up whenever you enter an area, including spawning new enemies, new scares, new audio elements playing in the distance.”
To take the thrills even further, MacMillan also reveals to Inverse that the game almost didn’t feature a pause feature: “I think removing that as a feature would make horror games far more impactful. You would truly feel like you’re never actually safe.” However, the potentially divisive decision wasn’t implemented. Combined with the sheer amount of scares, would you be able to survive?
When you’re not pausing for a breather, you’ll see that Isaac isn’t completely alone this time on his quest, as previously unseen characters will expand the game’s lore. If you’re brand new to Dead Space or in a need of a refresher, make sure you check out the full list of Dead Space remake cast and voice actors.