Survival Horror, why is it so hard to find it in the world of video game this day? Well, i didn't meant that there is no more survival horror game left but what I meant is its really hard to be terrified when you are playing (supposedly) survival horror game this day. Most of survival horror game just wasn't scary anymore. Well, it was at least in the mainstream market.
Resident evil, one of the most well known survival horror game, became (dare i said) a shitty action game with co op partner to ruin your single player game and now one of my favorite series, Dead Space, is following the same step like Resident Evil by adding co op to the single player campaign? What in the name of God is this? A world corporate conspiracy to wipe out survival horror from this planet?
It was so sad because The first dead space is a great blend between action and surival horror. Yes, i do realize that the horror is just a marathon of jump scare but it was executed so well that it managed to make me scream like a litle girl in the haunted house. The second instalment, even if there's more action shoved into our face, still had some good horror moment in it. Now, the third and final instalment is here, I will tell you all my opinion on this game.
Dead space 3 takes place 2 month after the Titan Sprawl necromorph outbreak in dead space 2 where Isaac is now getting romantically involved with Ellie Langford. You know, the one eyed girl who survived together with Isaac at the end of Dead Space 2. After the prologue, we see that Isaac had broke with Ellie and now she is gone missing in a mission to find a way to stop the marker. To save ellie, Isaac now must once again face the horror of necromorph attack, hostile environment, and awkwardly horrible love triangle. No, friendo, you are not reading a typo. Dead space, one of the scariest series I've ever played is now became twilight in space.
Its a badass version of twilight...but it is still twilight!
To be fair, i knew that dead space was never been well known for its story, let alone love triangle story, but by God the story and the characters here is so painfully shallow. Isaac struggle agains his dementia and his quest to destroy the marker at dead space 2 is much more interesting than Isaac "Cullen" Clarke quest to get back with Ellie "Swan" Langford in the middle of space zombies attack. It's only two month after they first met but they are acting like they had been married for years. By the way, are you wondering about how is Isaac affected by his deceased ex-fiancée that used to haunt his mind with guilt and dementia in the previous dead space? Not a single mention came from Isaac mouth like he never even remember that he used to had a fiance. Isaac is definitely good at moving on.
If the story is awkwardly forced into the game, the gameplay is where dead space 3 delivers the fun. The core dismemberment gameplay still hasn't changed because why fix what isn't broke and with the addition of the robust weapon crafting system, you can create your own perfect tool of dead to kill the space undead the way you like it. Wanna create an acid flamethrower with cryogenic torch? You can. Or maybe you prefer an electrified rocket launcher with shotgun attachment? Be my guest. The weapon crafting system is robust and feels satisfying when you used it to blast necromorph limbs to the space. The game also delivers some memorable set pieces like the spaceship mini game and surprisingly, there's a lot of puzzle this time which i think is fine.
Sadly, even if i had a blast playing Dead Space 3 and i do really want to play it again with the new game+, the fun factor is the thing that kill the horror in this game. Survival horror isn't supposed to be fun, its supposed to be terrifying. It supposed to deliver the "i don't want to play this but i had to" experience like what i feel when i'm playing amnesia the dark descent. Survival horror should make you feel insignificant and weak not makes you feel like a badass who can solve every problem with bullet. The fear factor get even lower because supply is as easy to get as trying to find a sand in a desert. You will rarely feel in the edge of dying in this game.
What about the co op part you asked? Did it ruin the game the way Co-op in resident evil ruin everything that makes survival horror scary? Well, i gotta admit Dead Space 3 Co-op had some unique idea that manage to impress me. When you are just playing solo, there will be no AI partner to ruin your game and if you want someone to accompany you since you are to scared to play this game alone (seriously?), your partner can join anytime you want it. There's also some co-op optional mission that shows how John Carver, Isaac partner in co op, seeing some creepy illusion because he was affected by the marker but the player who plays as Isaac can't see what the other player see. It is a nice additional mission that you can enjoy with your friend.
In conclusion, Dead Space 3 have changed from a good blend of survival horror and action into a simple action game with nothing to scare you. It left me disappointed, but its not making me mad that i want to throw my Dead Space 3 disc into a deep black hole in the space, it just simply disappointing. The game is fun to play but it really lack the feeling that make Dead Space unique and memorable. If you are a horror fan, i suggest that you just skip this game but if you like action game with some minor horror element in it you might wanna give this game a try.
Initial El Score
6.5
Just a decent survival action horror game
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