Times and graphical capabilities have changed, though. The “CUT OFF THEIR LIMBS” combat that created a mechanical justification for an extreme gore-fest was surprisingly fun and the Ishimura was a rotting industrial hell that had aged well as a setting despite being so clearly a product of its era. Even then, however, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed a game that I remembered getting respectful but not adoring reviews upon its release.

I didn’t play the original Dead Space until 2016, and then it was on a PC port that was so bad that even the tolerance for half-assed PC controls that I built up throughout the late 2000s was tested. Rob: Now this is more like it, don’t you think? You’ll get to hear Rob and I unpack our thoughts on this updated cosmic horror on Waypoint Radio this week, but in the meantime, after playing the finished game for a few hours, we went back and forth over what we make of the formally silent Isaac Clarke speaking in this one, how haunting the atmosphere of barely-audible whispers feels, and why it remains sick as hell to walk around with a floating fan that you’re prepared to launch at an alien’s feet. EA Motive has applied what amounts to a light touch to updating Dead Space since it came out more than a decade ago, but it looks like Dead Space (now, with much better lighting) and plays like Dead Space (now, with a better map and transit system to use). But The Callisto Protocol tried really hard to be a modern spin on Dead Space, and what it mostly revealed was how good Dead Space still was. Under the right circumstances, such as late in the evening with a beer, it was even good.

Look, The Callisto Protocol was well-meaning.

Dead space reviews