While Motive Studios has assured fans that the new Dead Space will retain a lot of the same plot and basic features as the original, there are plenty of aspects that will be updated. One aspect of the original Dead Space that the remake is changing is the chattiness of its protagonist, Isaac Clarke. In the first game, Isaac never uttered a word and remained the classic silent main character whom players experience the world through. Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3 changed this up, and the next Dead Space release will be following suit since Gunner Wright is returning to reprise his role as Isaac. However, fans had some mixed feelings about the news.

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Pros For Giving Isaac A Voice

There will always be those fans who can be categorized as purists, who want remakes to retain almost everything of the original game while simply giving them a shiny new coat to improve the visuals. There are some remasters that essentially fit that description, but sometimes, change is good and can help fix issues from the original game that were overlooked. Giving Isaac a voice as he is forced to fix and fight his way through the USG Ishimura is seen by many as a step in the right direction, and will help to humanize the beleaguered protagonist.

In the original Dead Space, it was actually a little offputting when Isaac didn’t make a peep when there was a particularly harrowing, emotional, or downright terrifying scene. It felt unnatural to remain silent when confronted with so many of the atrocities and heartbreaking events that Isaac witnesses during the game, and giving him a voice so that he can at least comment and react will help with player immersion. This is particularly important in survival horror, as creating a certain atmosphere and making sure players are absorbed by it helps with the whole experience of the game.

On the official Dead Space Twitter account, EA Motive was keen to point out that Isaac will “primarily only speak when spoken to” and “will sometimes speak in a situation where it would feel weird if he remained silent.” This should allay any fan fears that Isaac will suddenly transform into an uncharacteristically loquacious individual, and shows that the voice acting will be minimal and used to enhance the gameplay rather than distract from it.

Cons For Changing The Silent Protagonist

Many games have made use of a silent protagonist in the past, especially RPGs that give players the chance to create their own character, as it lets them project their own personality onto their protagonist without the distraction of some potentially awkward voice acting. While Isaac is a pre-formed character in the original Dead Space, he occupies a similar space as an “Everyman” figure that players can project onto. He worked so well in the original game not only because his engineering background was a tonic for the overused soldier protagonist archetype, but also because he wasn’t a distraction for players experiencing the story.

Isaac’s silence helped with the horror aspects of Dead Space, letting gamers focus on the environmental noises and the unadulterated fear factor of exploring the USG Ishimura all alone while they tried to avoid the grotesque mutated enemies. Isaac was the perfect conduit, and his blank slate characteristics helped to convey the feeling that players were actually the ones experiencing the game, adding to Dead Space’s horror.

Dead Space will release on January 27, 2023, on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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