Summary
As with most behind the scenes things in video games, it’s not quite clear what has happened with theDead Space 2remake - all we know for sure is it’s not coming. Insider Jeff Grubb claimed the remake had beencancelled due to poor sales of the Dead Space remake, but anIGN report with an EA statement claimed the remake was never in development at all, unequivocally denying the story. Grubb, however, has since doubled down on thatthe remake did exist, claiming that EA is being economical with the truth, leading toa Bloomberg report that in turn doubled down on IGN and EA’s position, but revealed a true sequel was discussed and quickly discarded.
I don’t know what the truth is, and broadly speaking, don’t care. MaybeEAdid cancel the Dead Space 2 remake due to poor sales, maybe it was shelved because the Iron Man game took priority, maybe it was never anything more than an idea on a whiteboard that was quickly crossed out and replaced. The point for me is bigger than that. A remake of the sequel should never have been on the cards, and it’s why I have such reservations around remakes in general.
Whenever a remake of an older game comes out of the woodwork, the same line is trotted out with it. Yes, they’re spending thousands of dev hours polishing a game that was already beloved when it came out, is still playable today, and will likely mostly be bought by people who already played the original and want to reclaim their childhood. But it’s for the good of the series! This will recharge the passion for the games and eventually lead to new, fresh, exciting ventures.
But this almost never happens. Instead, there’s minor profit to be made from selling us games we already own that now look a little better, and the series is dumped back where it started. Whatever version of the Dead Space 2 story you believe, all accounts have that as the next in line, just at various stages of having been worked on. There is no suggestion of an actually new Dead Space game, just more microwaved leftovers.
This Is Secretly An Article About Crash Bandicoot
We saw this happen withCrashandSpyro, both of which sustained excellent sales and still linger in the charts to this day. Not a sniff has been heard from Spyro since (intermittent reports of new projects continue to drift by), and sinceToys for Bob(the studio tasked with the remastered trilogy) has since bought its way out ofActivision’sgolden handcuffs, we may never see it again.The reason Toys for Bob wanted out?While it did get to make a new Crash game inCrash 4: It’s About Time, this was only after Crash passed two auditions in both N.Sane Collection and Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled. I love these two games, and Spyro, so I suppose all things considered, I’m glad they exist.
I have a combined 600 hours in Crash N.Sane, CTR:NF, and Spryo: Reignited. I am underselling how glad I am that they exist.
But Crash was brought back just to be killed all over again withCrash Team Rumble, which in turn led to Toys for Bob jumping for freedom while Vicarious Visions, the team behind N.Sane, was pushed into theCall of Dutymeat grinder - after also remasteringTony Hawk’s 1+2, a series which has also since been abandoned.
I have spent a lot of time playing various remakes (see the note above), and hadResident Evil 4 Remakeon my GOTY list last year. I don’t have an allergic aversion to remakes or remasters that means I take a hardline stance on them. I get that they can be good games, can remind us of games we forgot, can introduce us to old series, and can become even better ways to experience all-time greats. But the idea that we need remakes to see if a new game is viable is nonsense. Win lose or draw, remakes exist to milk money from loyal fans, and the reward for supporting them is often another go around with a second remake. If, against the odds, a scrapped series rises from the ashes, it is culled at the first misstep.
I like Dead Space, though not enough to get around to the remake. The next remake wouldn’t have won me over either. An entirely new game, that’s more like it, but no matter how successful the remake was, it looks like that was never likely to happen. It never is. And whenever a remake rolls around, we should remember that before getting our hopes up about a series revival.
Dead Space (2023)
WHERE TO PLAY
Dead Space is a 2023 remake of the classic survival horror shooter by Motive Studio. Rebuilt from the ground up, you play as Isaac Clarke as he navigates a mining ship that has been taken over by a deadly alien threat.
