It’s crazy when they said Issac was gonna have a voice in the remake I swore up and down that he already had a voice. The way they portrayed him in the 1st game was so impressive even though he never talked you could still feel his thoughts. Still the remake just made everything that much better.
One thing I really liked about the remake is how smart it made Isaac. He predicts, without even knowing exactly what's wrong with the Ishimura, that it should take him and the other engineers 2 days at most to fix anything amd everything. That sounds too easy for a building-sized spaceship that rips and mines entire planets. But Isaac proves that wasn't just talk. He immediately and correctly diagnoses every base engineering problem he encounters and enacts repairs thay often look like they should probably take at least a couple people single-handedly. Further, he can even come up with off-the-cuff solutions well outside his wheelhouse. How do you fix the data corruption for the automated anti-debris guns? Hook it up to his guns and give it manual targeting data to rebuild its predictive models from. How do you stop an seemingly unstoppable man-made space zombie? Snap-freeze it first so it can't follow you anymore, and if that doesn't take, trap it in front of small rocket boosters and turn them on. Interestingly, Isaac's dialogue on actually killing the Hunter changes based on if you finished the sidequest where you learned its full backstory. Not finishing the quest has him cuss it out, glad he can finally stop worrying about the damn thing. Finishing the quest, and thus knowing this is some poor bastard Mercer manipulated and had been torturously experimenting on for a long time, Isaac expresses sorrow and reassures Mercer's victim that he can't be hurt by him any more. Back on the main point, the Remake makes it clear that Isaac is, to borroe a meme, WICKED SMAHT. Which is cool for Isaac, but it also adds a new dimension of horror to the Marker. Because Isaac is obviously smart enough that he should maybe be able to put together that something isn't right. But he doesn't. It just adds to the power and terror of the Marker that it can in fact trick almost anyone, even people as smart as Isaac, Nicole, and Cross.
It kinda sets the tone to the confrontation between Isaac, Markers, and the whole Brother Moons in total. Which goes without saying, Isaac, as a human bean and a real hero, is just damn strong and has enough willpower to overcome almost any odds the universe literally and figuratively throws at him. He might break a couple of times, and he isn't perfect, but this man has been through a lot for the whole of humanity.
This comment basically sums up why I can't understand people wanting him to be silent. Isaac is our boy. We like to see him do his thing at this point, they built on his character, making him silent would have been a huge regression. I really hope they remake 2
I'll say one thing; Isaac is the loudest fucking silent protagonist. I can HEAR the death knells and stomps and heavy breathing noises all from having played dead space 1.
recently i had a loss... my grandmother died by a stroke, it was hard to see her not able to talk, to be "sleeping" while she was fully aware of what was happening to her... and after 6 hours at the hospital saying goodbye to her. Not gonna lie, it got me goosebumps too... but like issac... i´ll be better... we all be better.
A guy whose head a cosmic horror tried to fuck with so badly he developed an immunity, then he 1-v-1-million that cosmic horror in a mind battle and WON! A human engineer, no super powers, no special destiny, fought against creatures evolved to mess with people's mind for millions of years in its own turf and WON! That is Isaac Clarke, our Isaac Clarke.
People dont know what they arecapable of... isaac had no choice but to fight, backed against the wall... there were two choices Either he breaks, or the necromorophs break He chose to break them... to rip and tear, with his bare hands, until it was done.
I used to think Kendra as a data analyst intentionally cut the suicide part of Nicole’s recording just to keep Isaac focused on the mission. Plus I was fully expecting to fight Mercer as a Hunter because as a zealot and genius why wouldn’t he pick a necro form that would suit his interest. Lastly I really miss the victory theme that plays when you freeze the hunter, I wish that was included. Overall I love the remake.
Some people don't like the new actors in the Remake as much, but by the Marker some of the dialogue has been amazing so far in my playthrough. Some of the dialogue before the Leviathan fight was top notch!
Isaac being in mute shock is actually an element of DS1's presentation that i think is underrated, even if it's largely unintentional/headcanon. not only is Isaac unusual as a protagonist for being a kind of schlubby middle-aged engineer armed with a space stapler, but one can infer that he's also *completely shutting down* everything that's not immediately imperative to his survival, in almost the exact opposite of what you expect your hero to do. the necromorphs are just so deadly and he's so far out of his depth that all he has the bandwidth to do is scream and roar and pull the trigger. tonally i think it added a lot when even your protagonist is so human and his enemy so dangerous that his faculties completely fall away on contact, and he has to become something almost as inhuman as the necromorphs just to survive for a couple hours. combined with the RIG's anonymous design and his hunched, twitchy animations, it always gave me the impression he'd been reduced to kind of just a wild animal running through a warren of predators - which of course is exactly what he is. of course it does get silly when people are directly adressing him and he's supposedly handling high-tech repairs in this state. i would have liked the remake to have some middle-ground where he's shaken up and initially struggling to get any words out at all, but he gets it together after the first chapter or two.
Absolutely. Isaac always reminded me of a feral character in ds1. He’d do anything to survive out of desperation, whereas in ds2/3/remake he’s seemingly more aggressive.
Another thing is that Isaac design wise was anathema to the Necromorphs. The monsters were warped organics with clearly malformed properties. Chaotic and devoid of any applicable rationale. On the other hand, Isaac's base form was very symmetrical and streamlined. Clearly designed with form and purpose. A brutal efficiency that is required for his work as an engineer in deep space. There is also something to be said for his silence, which I think helped with the established tension, because when Isaac makes a noise, you know he is in trouble. Still, I respect what the remake has done, and I applaud for it living true to its goal.
I'll always appreciate the original for how groundbreaking it was, how fundamentally it set the tone for Dead Space 2 and how incredible THAT game was all in itself. But I think so much is enriched from having Isaac be his own person, his own character. I know a lot of people like the whole silent protagonist for how it allows you to put yourself into the shoes of the game's hero...but I know what my shoes are like. I know who I am. I discover nothing about myself by being my own self, even in an extraordinary situation. I learn so much more when I have the chance to be someone else for awhile. In that way, I don't want to be Fahl in space zombie outbreak. I want to be Isaac Clark. So the remake will be my Dead Space, now.
Also at this point Issac is an established character. It made sense during og Dead Space 1 for him to be silent because they were just starting the franchise not knowing where the series would go. Gunner Wright is Isaac at this point and the game wouldn’t feel right without him.
i am sorry i aint a c^ckold. so i love my silent protagonists. also, it is kinda giga annoying when you are like based 😎irl and the game forces you to self-insert into some loser whiny b^tch-boi or some edgelord or something. the last thing i want in a game is to force me in role playing as someone that is cringier/ less cooler/less braver/emotionally less unstable than me. just give me a meatsack avatar if the story doesnt involve massive character arc for the protagonist otherwise why bother
also, in case of the original dead space 1, isaac being silent made the whole thing more intriguing, cuz i honestly couldnt tell how much isaac was communicating "canonically" with his fellow crews. he(we) were clearly seeing some supernatural sh^t at the very beginning but it was not made clear whether it was just our character's illusion/hallucinations and if they were so how much awareness does isaac actually have about these being real or not real. we werent even sure if isaac even mentions these discrepency of reality to his fellow cremates or was hiding or just repressing it. was it something in ishimura messing with isaac or is isaac's mind just fked inherently or whether or not isaac was the only one vulnerabke to the ishimura(marker as learn later) or is it universal ? and this builds tension( and that tension is not released until Kendra mentioned seeing her d^ad brother in the ship) and made me question isaac's mental stability and sanity and since we had no voice so we dont get to judge his mannerisms via how he converses with fellow crewmates to get a read on his sanity and this made this first blind playthrough really intriguing. i was so invested to see what was really going in isaac's mind duribg these quiet non-combat moments silent protagonists absolutely have their places in video games and not for mere measly "SeLf-iNsErT" reasons. and i kinda dislike these recent crusades against silent protagonists. if the story is creative enough then the story can do a lot good outta a protagonist being a silent one, like we could be playing as a bad guy and wont know until the end cuz being silent protagonists hid inner monologues and stuff etc to give an example. isaac was voiced in ds2 and that worked wonderfully, isaac wasnt voiced in ds1 and that worked incredibly too
I remember that the reason I didn't mind Isaac having a voice in Dead Space 2 is that there wasn't much narrative dissonance at all in that game even though he could talk. Gunner Wright did an excellent job of portraying a dude who isn't in his first rodeo against Necromorphs and is adequately pissed off about people constantly trying to use him or manipulate him in some way after Kendra betrayed him in the first game. Even the further focus on action than the first game is like "Yeah that makes sense, Necromorphs are *less* scary to both Isaac and the player even though they're still formidable so leaning more into action is fine". Like, mostly everything I remember about his character in that game just kinda clicked into place just right, it didn't feel like an arbitrary decision to do it because some out of touch EA exec wanted it like a bunch of stuff in Dead Space 3 felt like. I will say that I think they kinda botched the nicole reveal in the reboot. Yes, it has more plot threads that click into place with previous context attached, but I buy silent Isaac's grief and surprise at the reveal a lot more with just a simple gesture of trying to avert his eyes by covering his face with his hand than what happened in the reboot. There's also some other things, like the part at the beginning where the fist necromorph is revealed, they should have had him saying "HOLY SHIT BEHIND YOU" or something instead he just kinda silently watches. Still, they seem to have done a pretty good job with the remake, it could have gone a lot worse.
I could see those working! Yes, there were a few moments he could have spoken more. I think this is the best Nicole we’ve seen yet - although she could still be improved. Maybe if they remake 2?
I like that a horror survival game or movie becomes more action-oriented by the sequel, simply because of experience. Happened with Alien and Terminator. But it's also something I enjoy because real men and women get stronger and braver with adversity
@@JohnPeacekeeper Tbf dead space 2 has some very creepy moments where it can make you go "what the fuck?" Example. School area. Or the church with the stalkers (or as I call them raptors)
I'm also grateful that the developers brought Gunner Wright back as Isaac, his voice is iconic! But glad they gave him a voice in the remake, it really brought depth to Isaac's character in the first iteration of the story.
ISSAC DOESN'T KNOW NICOLE'S FATE PRIOR TO BOARDING THE ISHIMURA! In the original, Issac only has half of the message from Nicole, because the data transfer was cut short due to the Comms Array being sabotaged. Evidence for this is in the game and the extended universe movie. The remake highlights this, plus you used it in your video, where Issac tells Kendra that he saw Nicole, and Kendra is put off by the statement. In both the origina and the remake Kendra knows Nicole's fate because once she gets access to the Ishimura's systems she gets access to all the data. Kendra see's Nicole's rig info, then presumably finds the full video message, then reveals Nicole's fate to Issac. As in, ISSAC THINKS NICOLE IS ALIVE UP UNTIL THE REVEAL. The original was too sublte and fans got lead astray. The remake just makes it more obvious.
He does know she’s dead just denied it because his fear that the last thing he said to her was blaming her for his parent’s deaths. Issac is desperate to right that wrong and the marker exploits that.
I always just assumed he watched the tape all the way up until she pulls out the syringe, and then stopped because he was afraid of what might come next after that. He suspected she might've been dead but he wasn't sure, and he didn't WANT to be sure. A form of denial, because he didn't want to lose hope. Kendra even says during the final confrontation: "This time, watch it till the end."
In the remake he is in denial, Kendra just instructs him to watch until the end. So she knows what happens. Why Hammond and Kendra not tell you? Because the last thing they want is Isaac breaking down and possibly endanger the mission.
You know what might be fun, if they did it in reverse. In the remake he starts off basically normal, but then the second game rolls around and he's severely traumatised, talking only when he has to. Then the third game hits and he's completely fallen into his role as the silent protagonist. Or maybe it depends on his choices, the more he embraces the marker the more talkative he becomes.
I like how Issac sounds and looks older. Yahtzee said it best. He seems like an actual industry professional because hes gotten to his prime. And only people who have been in the industry for a while
The Necromorphs in the original were scarry because that had an insatiable drive to kill anything they see. The Necromorphs in the remakes are terrifying since they can gang up on Issac from behind and even catch you off guard. Making them seem more organized for a hive mind.
Yeah, exactly what 'mrmhj9925' said above. Your description of Necromorph behavior in the remake is exactly how they operate in the original. So I don't understand what you mean.
Nicole didn't age well at all compared to the original. She looks like she's been partially transformed into a necromorph by the time you meet her in the remake.
@@fredanderson7728 To be fair she was the head of medical and seeing all the stuff happening it's not unlikely that she was under a lot of stress, without enough sleep and on top of that the Marker influence.
I love how the secret ending of Dead Space Remake leads into Dead Space 2 so well. I really hope they continue on with the series, eventually correcting 3 and giving us the finale we crave.
I like how they kept the subtle detail that those that are noticeably smart have a higher resistance to the Marker's fukery. Isaac can diagnose and duct tape a temporary patch to the ship's MANY problems, the female survivor came up with a compound that managed to temporarily stun the whole Corruption. They might be an ant in a hurricane, but they're worthy enough for the hurricane to go "huh, respect", and flex a little harder
what i really like about the remake is that he doesn't start out as 2 and 3 isaac. i can barely recognize his voice in the beginning of R calm collected and without the tinge of paranoia. as the game progresses and he becomes more and more desperate and afraid. i cant hear anybody else. which is impressive.
I don't really know how to explain it without sounding weird, but I preferred deadspace 1 Isaac's yells when taking damage or meleeing than deadspaces 2, 3, or the remakes, it just felt more I guess impactful is the word I wanna use. Honestly it might just have been the voice filtering they used.
It definitely was the filtering. They use most of the same screams and grunts for 2 but the filtering and audio dynamics are different. Weird how we notice when little changes make the whole thing feel different, eh?
So glad to see a video on this! I love me my HL2 and my silent Gordon but I am firmly in the camp of DS2 > DS1 because of the great characterisation of Isaac, and I think the remake knocked it out of the park by making the Ishimura feel much more alive (if you'll forgive my wording there) by exploring its background cast. In particular, the gut punch of the last words from Isaac to Nicole being it was her fault his parents died was one of those great moments in the last quarter of the game that makes you see Isaac's motivations and the story through to the sequel with the ghostly, angry Nicole very differently.
Absolutely. That argument really hit me. They did a great job not changing the story, but finding new depth and relatability in what was already there.
Interesting you mention Half Life 2, because even the Black Mesa remake manages to further characterize not only the other characters, but Gordon himself, by putting him in situations where he's allowed to empathize with the beings that have been suffering. The vortigaunt concentration camp behind bulletproof glass is a good example here.
I’m really torn on whether I prefer silent or voiced Isaac. I believe the original’s setting was so good that he never really needed to speak for me to get an idea of how Isaac would be feeling because I was him. When I’d enter a room that gave me an eerie feeling, it would reflect on how I played the game. Watching (and controlling) Isaac slowly walking around, always checking behind him, aiming at corners and bodies because “he” could never be sure of where the threat would come from. It was excellent visual storytelling unbeknownst to me until one of my friends at the time told me to “quit playing like that! You’re freaking me out, man.” On the other hand, I personally love Gunner Wright’s performance. (I’m speaking for 2 and 3, I haven’t played the remake, yet) He makes Isaac seem believable in a scenario that is fundamentally unbelievable to me. He doesn’t have a gruff “I ain’t got time to be reanimated” kind of voice or attitude. By Dead Space 2, he seems hardened, reasonably confident, but afraid, being a man that survived Hell… IN SPAAACE! I hate to be a fence sitter but I love them both for different reasons. I’ll direct people to play the original and remake to get their own take on either. I’ll tell them to play the entire series too, even three. They’re all very near and dear to my heart.
My primary issue is that it's exactly like Half-Life-- apparently an MIT degree only makes you good for pulling levers and switches when you're instructed to. I was afraid they'd mess this up, but they used the opportunity to make Isaac an actual engineer. In the original, it feels like Hammond is an engineer who can't hold his own in a fight but has immense technical knowledge, while Isaac is a scrappy combatant who pulls switches when he needs to but can hold his own against hordes of undead monsters. Now that Hammond and Kendra come up with problems and Isaac comes up with solutions, they managed to add way more depth to his character and somehow ended up striking a great balance. Beyond that... he doesn't do one liners, doesn't constantly wise-crack, and doesn't try to carry the narrative with constant interjections. I think the silent protagonist was probably the biggest mistake the original game made, beyond some of the cheaper jumpscares and maybe the ADR sections. That, and adding all the panic-vulgarity of 2 is a nice touch. Having him swear at C.E.C. as his trigger stops working with a necromorph only a few meters away is _immensely_ in character for the situation at hand.
Personally, silent protagonist never work. I can never imagine myself in these situations. I think voiced protagonist are more immersive because instead of projecting myself, now I can just get immersed in someone else’s struggle as I know that world belongs to them. Also Gunner Wright is awesome.
@@hopelesslyoptimistic8231 They never work... for you. Not everyone needs a character constantly talking and swearing, many people can do that themselves, without being told that something is startling.
Dead Space 1 is EXACTLY how you should do a remake, improve what needed to be improved on the original, but also tweak things just enough to surprise even your veteran fans
The remake really did so well in how Isaac being given a voice to allow himself to show so much more of his character and added more depth of the characters and story all the while maintaining Isaac's relatability and what made the original game so special. And especially given how Dead Space 2 turned out and how the Dead Space remake turned out, it's pretty much normal and more awesome for Isaac Clarke to be his own character and grow out of his silent protagonist roots now. Gunner Wright did an amazing job bringing Isaac Clarke to life. Of all the other characters who changed in the remake, other than Isaac, Nicole and Kendra are the most improved characters of all, most especially OG Nicole was a glorified Princess Peach who you couldn't save and OG Kendra was so obnoxious and come off unreasonable at times (her bickering with Hammond especially, really glad the remake made Kendra more reasonable)
Silent Isaac was my first introduction to the character, but Dead Space 2 is my favorite of the series. so having Isaac with a voice is closer to what i always imagined Isaac to be
I loved silent Issac when the game first came out, it helped add to the horrifying atmosphere and the fear of speaking aloud would somehow draw the monsters. The dead space 2 happened and I instantly fell in love with Gunner wrights acting. So hearing him return was *chef kiss*. And of course he knocked it out of the park. Wonderful work on this video, I consider myself a dead space fanatic and I even missed the Secret log with Elizabeth! Stellar work friend
Never actually got time to play the Remake but after watching your video I’ll definitely do. Thanks for all the info on differences of Isaac with and without voice. I’m impressed with how they expanded the lore of Unitology and gave a definitive explanation about first Nicole appearance on Ishimura.
The remake is great. I wanted to stay on topic, so there’s a lot of non-character improvements I didn’t touch on, but if you’re a fan of the original, I think you’ll really like it.
Personally, I prefer silent Issac mostly because of the subtlety of what he could be thinking. The Sphere Hunter mentioned this in her video, but you may constantly wonder what Issac is thinking half the time, is he mute because he's terrified? In shock? Still, I like talking ISSAC.
It's tough. The big reveal works because you realize you were wrong about the journey Isaac was on...and because he couldn't talk, we just assumed based on what we knew. Adding a voice to this game in particular was a big gamble.
@@KevinHelpUs I think it was a big gamble that worked out in the end because they still managed to keep the big reveal a secret to new players and it just makes sense for him to speak in the first game he does so in the sequels.
@@KevinHelpUsfor me it was alien having a silent protagonist talk in DS2 but thanks to good voice acting and good writing he grew on me. But I also appreciate “Our Isaac”. Very good video by the way. Fastest 20 minutes of my life
21:25 I’ve been playing Dead Space since it came out when I was around 5 years old, it was one of my first games, and I’ve always loved it, but I recently went back through the whole series and took away a very similar interpretation, it’s nice to hear that a series that’s helping me so much in my adult life now has helped others in the same way. Great video man! Looking forward to more :)
I was blown away by Isaac's overall presentation in the remake. The fact that both he and Nicole are aged up, Isaac finally talking and actively communicating with the Kellion crew, how well the dialogue he's given so that his character smoothly transitions into the Isaac from Dead Space 2... They nailed it all. I'll admit, I forgot Nicole appeared for us in Ch.7 in the original game, so I was completely taken aback when I saw her again in the remake. But man, I LOVE what they did with Temple and Cross, and how the reveal scene was re-contextualized. It made that side story of these 2 trying to find each sting that much more, watching them both die brutally at the hands of others. Dead Space 1 is a complete tragedy at its core; No one gets a happy ending.
Huge Dead Space fan. I'm excited to play through the remake. I actually named my son Isaac lol. He is finally old enough to experience Dead Space. He doesn't want to play it himself, but he wants to watch me play through it so were going to do a playthrough during Christmas break. I thought about if I should do the OG for him for his first time, but I think the remake will actually be a better experience for him. Personally I generally prefer a voiced protagonist. I don't buy the whole role play "I am the protagonist" idea. If it is an RPG where I make my own character then sure, but in game's where I assume the role of an established character there is obviously already a backstory and identity there, so thinking I can assume that role as myself with no idea of that characters past or identity is dumb to me. I never immerse myself as "being" that character. I mostly find silent protagonists as awkward when everyone around them is talking to them and they just sit there not saying a word. It's a thing that works in older games with no voice acting at all, but if other characters are voiced, I think the main protagonist should be too. That being said, I obviously loved the OG and still developed a strong connection to Isaac, but I think I'll really like this voiced version when I play through.
its one thing i like about my black mesa playthroughs, it builds up a narrative each time i play of a man doing his best in an impossible situation and thats not something you necessarily show by words
Finally finished the remake the other day; DS2008 will always hold a formative place in my heart, but I am so happy with all the changes and adjustments they made in DS2023, chief among them expanding Isaac's role, like you said, from errand boy to a fully realized character. I was thrilled with the post-game nuances you touched on, too; thought I was misremembering things as they started to pop up on my second run. It's such a benchmark for what remakes are capable of, with that one change truly leading the charge! Thanks for putting the sentiment in words!
One of my favorite game analysis of yours! Thanks for all the effort you put in to explaining and characterizing probably my favorite game series. Your videos are awesome.
As a big Dead Space fan (since I was a kid), this remake deserves way more praise than it was given. Amazing work from Motive, i always praise them for their work.
The changes made to the story really make this the definitive dead space. Original is the benchmark, of course, but 2008 was a long time ago. Being in a committed relationship myself, dead space 2’s story of Isaac trying to move past the trauma of essentially killing his lover hit me HARD back in the day, and now knowing (retroactively) that not only did Isaac tell Nicole to take the Ishimura job but he also got into a MAJOR argument with her and that was the last time they ever spoke, it’s scarier than anything else I can think of. And incredibly sad, makes me think of what that would do to me, if I was to do that to my girlfriend. It would probably break me. Dead space has always really done the psychological horror really well.
a long time ago is not a valid excuse. dead space is the og, from the uncanny horrifying necromorphs (which they studied car crash victims) to the subtle loneliness of being in isolation- you can't replace it on its own. there's certain aspects of the remake which are improved on but it's retroactive. it's a really good tribute but it doesn't replace dead space.
What's more is that the argument that Isaac had with Nicole potentially retcons Isaac's entire personal journey in Dead Space 2. How much of the opening sequence of their vid-call at the start of the game change? How much does this affect him during the events on the Sprawl? Is it the same, or is he weighed down even more by the guilt of what transpired between them before Nicole's final moments? And would his hallucinations and dementia become worse for it? The thought of a DS2 remake addressing all of these questions has me exited for the future of the franchise going forward.
I loved the DS series growing up and I was so glad Gunnar Wright got to reprise his role for the remake in such a cleaver way to incorporate his own pov for the story in rewrites without ruining the overall tone.
i was in the process of playing the old games and achievement hunting when they announced the remake. the original dead spaces will always hold a special place in my heart, with how well they did the remake i really REALLY hope we get the same for the next two games.
I agree with you about the value of a silent protagonist! Fallout is an example of a game where a silent protagonist is better. Fallout 3 had a silent protag, and you’d pick whatever dialogue you wanted to say, and just had to accept that that’s what your character said. Then Fallout 4 added a voice actor and instead of complete freedom with dialogue, it became picking a sentiment you want to express with your dialogue, and your character paraphrasing the option you picked.
Yeah, I don't think anyone asked for or wanted a voiced protagonist in a Fallout game. You have to plug your ears in all the cutscenes if you want to do any kind of roleplaying.
Agreed, I loved Fallout 3 and New Vegas for that. I haven't felt as immersed in a character as I did with the Lone Wanderer, and especially the Courier.
Thanks for making this just finished the remake and grew up with the original glad you showed the difference between them hope they keep going and make another wether it's a remake of dead space 2 or something new keep cutting and stamping
I first played dead space the original in 2019 with my friend's old Xbox 360 he gave me when I was ten and I was so scared that the first time you see a necromorph at the very beginning I quit. 4 years later I played the remake and it made me realize that because in The original since Issac doesn't talk it made me feel alone and that I had no one to hold my hand when I was scared and in the remake I wasn't alone I was with Issac Clarke and could think don't worry Issac is with you and I was able to finish the game. Thank you Issac Clarke.
Isaac speaking helps add a whole lot to the game as well as highlighting his occupation more so, Isaac thinks of the technical stuff such as how to get the ship back to orbiting the planet and gaining access to the morgue. Another addition of the remake that is nice, reducing barriers between Isaac and threats, unfortunately some aspects took a hit hard in the remake. However despite Link in zelda breath of the wild lacking a voice, it is still nice to see him talk and have some personality. Although I will curse the Japanese having the better end of the stick.
Wow, here I was thinking Dead Space remake was a cheap graphical update & nothing else. So glad I was wrong, these are the remakes & remasters we need more of.
True, I’m streaming the Last of Us on my other channel right now and it’s tough to find the right moments to talk with all the dialogue. Silent Isaac made that easy.
Just found your channel today, I really like your style! I will replay both the original and the remake equally! And while the remake improved nearly every aspect of the game, there are a couple things that, for me personally, fell short. 1. Dead Space 1 had an atmosphere of isolation and dread at a level that was never matched, and I believe this is largely due to Issac being silent. It made it feel like WE were going through all of this, as opposed to when Issac talks you're subconsciously reminded that you're not him. 2. The necromorph sounds. Think of the crazy screams from The Exploder, the bone chilling howl from The Divider, even the difference between a male & female slasher. In the remake the sounds have all been turned down/made less unique. Edit: And you're right about Kyne's subtlety & Mercer's death, both vastly superior in the original.
I watched the Classic Dead Space. I found it quite funny (in a bad way) that they had to adjust the dialogue to make it so he doesn't have to respond or that having a response is unnecessary. I thought it was great but the silent protagonist in such a game is a minus point for me. Having a silent protagonist, at least for me, only works for certain games and this is NOT one of them. When I learned of the remake making Isaac talk, I immediately decided that I should play this game and this was one of the best game-related decisions I've made. If the Remake was to be one's first experience of Dead Space then they'll all the better for it.
Knock a few points off of horror to bump up character engagement. After Dead Space 2, Isaac had a voice, and there was no going back. A remake was never going to be as scary, even with the changes, and so retaining the voice was smart, and keeps the character developing for the future remakes. Which better happen, Dead Space 2 was my favorite. And they better deliver on an equally (at LEAST) high-quality remake for DS2. Oh, and thank God they kept the original voice actor; it would have been hard to hear a new voice, and the guy is just so good as Isaac, anyway.
I love the original, and might replay it at some point, it will always have a special place for me, but damn is this how you should make a remake. Like they nailed the experience spot on. In an era where shitty remakes cashgrab on every corner it's nice to see the couple really good ones shine.
one thing i love about the remake is how Isaac's face has changed. it just feels so much more unique and more appropriate for his character. the old look for him was just so interchangeable with all kinds of protagonists of that era.
On the thing at the beginning about criticism of silent protagonists, I think there's a difference between "Silent character who is still clearly a character who exists in the world despite rarely if ever making noise" and "Basically just a glorified player hitbox that has no actual character" The objective of a silent protagonist is in most cases is to let the player put themselves into the character's place and feel like they're actually in the world of the game. With characters who have enough of their own personality and backstory, to feel like they belong, but not so much lore it prevents the player from projecting onto them, that works quite well. With characters who have no backstory or anything and serve solely as a vessel for the player, it actually ends up more detached than not having a silent protagonist at all, since not only is the player themselves detached from the universe, but the icon that's supposed to represent them in that universe is also just a silent observer that seems to barely qualify as sentient, so now the player is even more of an outsider relative to the game's characters than if the character was just voiced.
1:08 actually the only example I could think of was Jak in Jak & Daxter who was mute in the first game but no longer in the sequel, still not an « updated title » so Dead Space Remake was pretty unique !
"I think everyone can relate to holding on to someone for too long, trying to save something you had no chance to save." Yeah, that comment kicked me right in the chest and brought back some uncomfortable memories. Well said, friend.
Great job! I can watch both you and MandaloreGaming talk all day about Dead Space franchise and never get tired. And I want to add something: making a silent Isaac again wouldn't make sense because in the original, you go in completely blind, whereas in the remake it's assumed that most of the player base knows about what happened. So it wouldn't make sense to make a silent protagonist again for a personal story. This time, you need to see how Isaac discovers the truth that YOU know, and how that truth effects him.
True, most people playing this have played the original, so you have to cater (at least somewhat) to that experience and adjust. Which they did! Also, big thank you, I love Mandalore - that’s a huge compliment.
Man, you should cover the suplementary material of Dead Space (like the movie, comics, and novel). In the remake I believe Nicole Scientific Methods side mission was based on Dead Space Extraction comic and Mathius's accidental death was follow closely to the Dead Space Downfall animated movie. It fleshes everything out.
I think you’re right! I’d love to do more, I just don’t want to be a single game channel. I’ve got one more Dead Space video in me (at least), but I want to do one or two more on other topics first.
I was only 10 when Dead Space came out, so the remake has been my first experience. First time round I was too full of adrenaline to catch the finer details of the plot, and I’m really enjoying taking a closer look now!
As much as I love the first game, I remember thinking it felt odd for Isaac to be a silent protagonist. The devs note that they really liked how Gordon Freeman was a SP in half life, and to me it worked there because HL is in first-person. In Dead Space, a third-person game, i don't feel like I'm Isaac so much as I'm controlling or helping him. I remember it feeling strange that he never responded or said anything to anyone, particularly because I can WATCH him remaining silent as he's spoken to. It was a weird feeling compounded by the fact that he would grunt and cry out if hurt or exhausted. Like, he clearly has vocal chords... But just chooses not to speak?
Nah silent Isaac was never my Isaac even though I played Dead Space when it came out. The fact that he never talked and never reacted to anything that happened was ridiculously immersion breaking, made no sense at all and was the one factor that kept the original from being a masterpiece. This remake fixed that issue and made everything else even better.
100% agree. Silent protagonist ruins story. Having Isaac talk, made the game have way more life and feeling and every time something tragic happened. I felt Isaac pain, which made me feel a little bit of pain.
Ah, someone else talking about this. Currently co-op playing through this with a buddy. He never played the original and was baffled by the idea of Isaac being silent originally. I explained how it allows for psychological interpretation - the idea that he's suffering internally, shown not told. But, adding a voice to the remake for me is simply a fresh take and I think it aligns with his personality & development fine. Never knew health affects delivery!
My problem with silent protagonists lies in their name. If you give me a character named Jonathan, with a specific physicality (specific body type, clothes, facial expressions etc.) and a specific personality (opinions, way of thinking etc.), then I want said character to fully express himself as he was originally intended, especially vocally. I’m playing as Jonathan, not as myself. If I wanted to play as myself, I would stick to RPGs, and customize every single aspect of my character as I see fit, and even choose to name him after myself. That would justify a mute avatar. But in the end, at least in my opinion, silent defined protagonists are outdated game design elements that hinder the players’ ability to immerse themselves in video games, instead of enhancing it.
Even RPGs struggle with this. You’re still partaking a predetermined role as a character. The Courier, The Warden, etc. with the ability to deviate from the path slightly, but the the main goal of the character you play as is still there because the developers have to tell a story. RPGs like The Witcher or Kingdom Come: Deliverance don’t run into this problem because Geralt and Henry are fleshed out and have motivations, but their characters are written in a way where they’re undecided and ambiguous on where they land on the morality scale allowing player agency and choice.
If people want player surrogates tbh I want more Samus arans and less Ethan winters. Ethan in re7 is supposed to be a player surrogate but for some reason they gave him a voice, a ton of dead space like personal baggage, but then didn’t give him anything of ANY importance to say during any moment. Samus aside from one game we don’t talk about doesn’t speak when she doesn’t need to, fusion established she always could directly speak, but CHOSE not to unless a situation called for it. That’s a powerful thing. And speaks a lot louder than Ethan’s 70th poorly acted grunt.
Right?! It’s like a multi tool? It has the eye needle, but can also take out Temple? I didn’t NEED them to explain it, but the more I watched the footage, the more I wanted them to.
love the original, it just breaks my heart how much effort it takes just to get it to launch on pc and at 60 fps. Adding folders, adding txt files, configuring the game on nvidia control panel, and making sure it doesn't launch in fullscreen first makes it a chore to set up.
It’s crazy when they said Issac was gonna have a voice in the remake I swore up and down that he already had a voice. The way they portrayed him in the 1st game was so impressive even though he never talked you could still feel his thoughts. Still the remake just made everything that much better.
One thing I really liked about the remake is how smart it made Isaac.
He predicts, without even knowing exactly what's wrong with the Ishimura, that it should take him and the other engineers 2 days at most to fix anything amd everything.
That sounds too easy for a building-sized spaceship that rips and mines entire planets. But Isaac proves that wasn't just talk. He immediately and correctly diagnoses every base engineering problem he encounters and enacts repairs thay often look like they should probably take at least a couple people single-handedly. Further, he can even come up with off-the-cuff solutions well outside his wheelhouse.
How do you fix the data corruption for the automated anti-debris guns? Hook it up to his guns and give it manual targeting data to rebuild its predictive models from.
How do you stop an seemingly unstoppable man-made space zombie? Snap-freeze it first so it can't follow you anymore, and if that doesn't take, trap it in front of small rocket boosters and turn them on.
Interestingly, Isaac's dialogue on actually killing the Hunter changes based on if you finished the sidequest where you learned its full backstory. Not finishing the quest has him cuss it out, glad he can finally stop worrying about the damn thing. Finishing the quest, and thus knowing this is some poor bastard Mercer manipulated and had been torturously experimenting on for a long time, Isaac expresses sorrow and reassures Mercer's victim that he can't be hurt by him any more.
Back on the main point, the Remake makes it clear that Isaac is, to borroe a meme, WICKED SMAHT. Which is cool for Isaac, but it also adds a new dimension of horror to the Marker. Because Isaac is obviously smart enough that he should maybe be able to put together that something isn't right. But he doesn't. It just adds to the power and terror of the Marker that it can in fact trick almost anyone, even people as smart as Isaac, Nicole, and Cross.
Definitely. He's not taking cues from Hammond in this version, Isaac owns the solutions here -- and it makes him so much more compelling.
Ugh I wish I could upvote more than once your point is so spot on!
I’ll take the one though! Thank you!
It kinda sets the tone to the confrontation between Isaac, Markers, and the whole Brother Moons in total. Which goes without saying, Isaac, as a human bean and a real hero, is just damn strong and has enough willpower to overcome almost any odds the universe literally and figuratively throws at him. He might break a couple of times, and he isn't perfect, but this man has been through a lot for the whole of humanity.
This comment basically sums up why I can't understand people wanting him to be silent. Isaac is our boy. We like to see him do his thing at this point, they built on his character, making him silent would have been a huge regression. I really hope they remake 2
I'll say one thing; Isaac is the loudest fucking silent protagonist. I can HEAR the death knells and stomps and heavy breathing noises all from having played dead space 1.
True, I know that GRAA anywhere.
Yeah, I noticed that shit too when I took snack breaks, was very unsettling (Cool)
@@DawnApon I’d say he’s tied with Miles Upshur from Outlast
"holding on to someone for too long, trying to save something you had no chance to save"
that hit right on the spot, perfect timing
We’ve all been there.
woah that was crazy and I got goosebumps
Really was not ready for that.
Made me save the video on the spot.
recently i had a loss... my grandmother died by a stroke, it was hard to see her not able to talk, to be "sleeping" while she was fully aware of what was happening to her... and after 6 hours at the hospital saying goodbye to her.
Not gonna lie, it got me goosebumps too... but like issac... i´ll be better... we all be better.
A guy whose head a cosmic horror tried to fuck with so badly he developed an immunity, then he 1-v-1-million that cosmic horror in a mind battle and WON! A human engineer, no super powers, no special destiny, fought against creatures evolved to mess with people's mind for millions of years in its own turf and WON!
That is Isaac Clarke, our Isaac Clarke.
Isaac be praised!
He Who Withstood the Devourers!
He Who Engineered their Demise!
We Shall Never Be One!
Remain True Ourselves!
People dont know what they arecapable of... isaac had no choice but to fight, backed against the wall... there were two choices
Either he breaks, or the necromorophs break
He chose to break them... to rip and tear, with his bare hands, until it was done.
He is basically Guts but in space with future technology and an engineering certificate.
When the Maker becomes the Breaker
I used to think Kendra as a data analyst intentionally cut the suicide part of Nicole’s recording just to keep Isaac focused on the mission. Plus I was fully expecting to fight Mercer as a Hunter because as a zealot and genius why wouldn’t he pick a necro form that would suit his interest. Lastly I really miss the victory theme that plays when you freeze the hunter, I wish that was included. Overall I love the remake.
I really think this is what happens especially since the full file is played on Kendra's rig in the og
I appreciate that the writing staff seemed to really care about the original when writing the dialogue.
Me too!
Some people don't like the new actors in the Remake as much, but by the Marker some of the dialogue has been amazing so far in my playthrough. Some of the dialogue before the Leviathan fight was top notch!
Literally, the opposite
@@ExpertContrarian Care to explain?
@@dignusdingus3709 Explanation: He doesn't know, just likes arguing
Isaac being in mute shock is actually an element of DS1's presentation that i think is underrated, even if it's largely unintentional/headcanon. not only is Isaac unusual as a protagonist for being a kind of schlubby middle-aged engineer armed with a space stapler, but one can infer that he's also *completely shutting down* everything that's not immediately imperative to his survival, in almost the exact opposite of what you expect your hero to do. the necromorphs are just so deadly and he's so far out of his depth that all he has the bandwidth to do is scream and roar and pull the trigger. tonally i think it added a lot when even your protagonist is so human and his enemy so dangerous that his faculties completely fall away on contact, and he has to become something almost as inhuman as the necromorphs just to survive for a couple hours.
combined with the RIG's anonymous design and his hunched, twitchy animations, it always gave me the impression he'd been reduced to kind of just a wild animal running through a warren of predators - which of course is exactly what he is.
of course it does get silly when people are directly adressing him and he's supposedly handling high-tech repairs in this state. i would have liked the remake to have some middle-ground where he's shaken up and initially struggling to get any words out at all, but he gets it together after the first chapter or two.
Absolutely. Isaac always reminded me of a feral character in ds1. He’d do anything to survive out of desperation, whereas in ds2/3/remake he’s seemingly more aggressive.
Nah man in the original he felt like a mindless robot.
The rmake did justice by giving him a voice
@@parkout95 he def didn't feel like a robot lol did you even play the original?
Another thing is that Isaac design wise was anathema to the Necromorphs.
The monsters were warped organics with clearly malformed properties. Chaotic and devoid of any applicable rationale.
On the other hand, Isaac's base form was very symmetrical and streamlined. Clearly designed with form and purpose. A brutal efficiency that is required for his work as an engineer in deep space.
There is also something to be said for his silence, which I think helped with the established tension, because when Isaac makes a noise, you know he is in trouble.
Still, I respect what the remake has done, and I applaud for it living true to its goal.
I'll always appreciate the original for how groundbreaking it was, how fundamentally it set the tone for Dead Space 2 and how incredible THAT game was all in itself. But I think so much is enriched from having Isaac be his own person, his own character. I know a lot of people like the whole silent protagonist for how it allows you to put yourself into the shoes of the game's hero...but I know what my shoes are like. I know who I am. I discover nothing about myself by being my own self, even in an extraordinary situation. I learn so much more when I have the chance to be someone else for awhile. In that way, I don't want to be Fahl in space zombie outbreak. I want to be Isaac Clark. So the remake will be my Dead Space, now.
also it much easier to empathize with character that do talking compared to silent protagonist
Also at this point Issac is an established character. It made sense during og Dead Space 1 for him to be silent because they were just starting the franchise not knowing where the series would go. Gunner Wright is Isaac at this point and the game wouldn’t feel right without him.
I'm sorry you don't love yourself.
i am sorry i aint a c^ckold. so i love my silent protagonists.
also, it is kinda giga annoying when you are like based 😎irl and the game forces you to self-insert into some loser whiny b^tch-boi or some edgelord or something.
the last thing i want in a game is to force me in role playing as someone that is cringier/ less cooler/less braver/emotionally less unstable than me.
just give me a meatsack avatar if the story doesnt involve massive character arc for the protagonist otherwise why bother
also, in case of the original
dead space 1,
isaac being silent made the whole thing more intriguing,
cuz i honestly couldnt tell how much isaac was communicating "canonically" with his fellow crews. he(we) were clearly seeing some supernatural sh^t at the very beginning but it was not made clear whether it was just our character's illusion/hallucinations and if they were so how much awareness does isaac actually have about these being real or not real. we werent even sure if isaac even mentions these discrepency of reality to his fellow cremates or was hiding or just repressing it. was it something in ishimura messing with isaac or is isaac's mind just fked inherently or whether or not isaac was the only one vulnerabke to the ishimura(marker as learn later) or is it universal ?
and this builds tension( and that tension is not released until Kendra mentioned seeing her d^ad brother in the ship) and made me question isaac's mental stability and sanity and since we had no voice so we dont get to judge his mannerisms via how he converses with fellow crewmates to get a read on his sanity and this made this first blind playthrough really intriguing. i was so invested to see what was really going in isaac's mind duribg these quiet non-combat moments
silent protagonists absolutely have their places in video games and not for mere measly "SeLf-iNsErT" reasons. and i kinda dislike these recent crusades against silent protagonists. if the story is creative enough then the story can do a lot good outta a protagonist being a silent one, like we could be playing as a bad guy and wont know until the end cuz being silent protagonists hid inner monologues and stuff etc to give an example.
isaac was voiced in ds2 and that worked wonderfully,
isaac wasnt voiced in ds1 and that worked incredibly too
2:52 "With Covid-19,000" Man, you made me chuckle out loud.
It’s so humorous compared to the tone of voice that it just blindsided you.
''Fuck this ship. Fuck Altman too''.
That sentence alone is why a voiced Isaac is the way.
Great video man, you've gained a sub.
Welcome! Glad to have you here!
The irony that Altman could've said *_"Fuck this ship."_* too.😊
@@Jamushu If he were alive, he would've.
It’s great too because it ties Dead Space 1&2 together too, since Issac has a similar line near the end of that game.
I remember that the reason I didn't mind Isaac having a voice in Dead Space 2 is that there wasn't much narrative dissonance at all in that game even though he could talk. Gunner Wright did an excellent job of portraying a dude who isn't in his first rodeo against Necromorphs and is adequately pissed off about people constantly trying to use him or manipulate him in some way after Kendra betrayed him in the first game. Even the further focus on action than the first game is like "Yeah that makes sense, Necromorphs are *less* scary to both Isaac and the player even though they're still formidable so leaning more into action is fine". Like, mostly everything I remember about his character in that game just kinda clicked into place just right, it didn't feel like an arbitrary decision to do it because some out of touch EA exec wanted it like a bunch of stuff in Dead Space 3 felt like.
I will say that I think they kinda botched the nicole reveal in the reboot. Yes, it has more plot threads that click into place with previous context attached, but I buy silent Isaac's grief and surprise at the reveal a lot more with just a simple gesture of trying to avert his eyes by covering his face with his hand than what happened in the reboot. There's also some other things, like the part at the beginning where the fist necromorph is revealed, they should have had him saying "HOLY SHIT BEHIND YOU" or something instead he just kinda silently watches. Still, they seem to have done a pretty good job with the remake, it could have gone a lot worse.
I could see those working! Yes, there were a few moments he could have spoken more. I think this is the best Nicole we’ve seen yet - although she could still be improved. Maybe if they remake 2?
Yeaah it's very annoying how lazy and bad the remake ended up being. Well, at least we still have the original 2 games I guess
@@Freelancer837 Literally nobody said that for you to agree with. Take your meds, you're seeing things.
I like that a horror survival game or movie becomes more action-oriented by the sequel, simply because of experience. Happened with Alien and Terminator. But it's also something I enjoy because real men and women get stronger and braver with adversity
@@JohnPeacekeeper Tbf dead space 2 has some very creepy moments where it can make you go "what the fuck?" Example. School area. Or the church with the stalkers (or as I call them raptors)
It had been so long since I played the first one, I missed just how much depth Isaac having a voice gave to the experience of the remake. Great vid!
Thank you!
I'm also grateful that the developers brought Gunner Wright back as Isaac, his voice is iconic! But glad they gave him a voice in the remake, it really brought depth to Isaac's character in the first iteration of the story.
ISSAC DOESN'T KNOW NICOLE'S FATE PRIOR TO BOARDING THE ISHIMURA!
In the original, Issac only has half of the message from Nicole, because the data transfer was cut short due to the Comms Array being sabotaged. Evidence for this is in the game and the extended universe movie. The remake highlights this, plus you used it in your video, where Issac tells Kendra that he saw Nicole, and Kendra is put off by the statement. In both the origina and the remake Kendra knows Nicole's fate because once she gets access to the Ishimura's systems she gets access to all the data. Kendra see's Nicole's rig info, then presumably finds the full video message, then reveals Nicole's fate to Issac. As in, ISSAC THINKS NICOLE IS ALIVE UP UNTIL THE REVEAL.
The original was too sublte and fans got lead astray. The remake just makes it more obvious.
He does know she’s dead just denied it because his fear that the last thing he said to her was blaming her for his parent’s deaths. Issac is desperate to right that wrong and the marker exploits that.
I always just assumed he watched the tape all the way up until she pulls out the syringe, and then stopped because he was afraid of what might come next after that. He suspected she might've been dead but he wasn't sure, and he didn't WANT to be sure. A form of denial, because he didn't want to lose hope. Kendra even says during the final confrontation: "This time, watch it till the end."
In the remake he is in denial, Kendra just instructs him to watch until the end. So she knows what happens. Why Hammond and Kendra not tell you? Because the last thing they want is Isaac breaking down and possibly endanger the mission.
stage 1: denial.
Which movie are you talking about?
You know what might be fun, if they did it in reverse.
In the remake he starts off basically normal, but then the second game rolls around and he's severely traumatised, talking only when he has to. Then the third game hits and he's completely fallen into his role as the silent protagonist.
Or maybe it depends on his choices, the more he embraces the marker the more talkative he becomes.
I like how Issac sounds and looks older. Yahtzee said it best. He seems like an actual industry professional because hes gotten to his prime. And only people who have been in the industry for a while
The Necromorphs in the original were scarry because that had an insatiable drive to kill anything they see. The Necromorphs in the remakes are terrifying since they can gang up on Issac from behind and even catch you off guard. Making them seem more organized for a hive mind.
That’s pretty much the same for the original. They sneak up on you from behind without you knowing it.
Yeah, exactly what 'mrmhj9925' said above. Your description of Necromorph behavior in the remake is exactly how they operate in the original. So I don't understand what you mean.
I like that they made Isaac and Nicole look a little more middle-aged - nice to see variety of any kind in a protagonist
I really don't, I think Nicole looks way too old.
Nicole didn't age well at all compared to the original. She looks like she's been partially transformed into a necromorph by the time you meet her in the remake.
@@fredanderson7728 To be fair she was the head of medical and seeing all the stuff happening it's not unlikely that she was under a lot of stress, without enough sleep and on top of that the Marker influence.
Nicole actually looks like a senior medical officer now instead of an undergrad doing pre med.
@@MegaTech81 You can be a Sr in a field and not be aged by 30 years lol.
Hammond was hit hard in the remake to give voice to Isaac. Shame. I liked how competent he was in the original
I love how the secret ending of Dead Space Remake leads into Dead Space 2 so well. I really hope they continue on with the series, eventually correcting 3 and giving us the finale we crave.
And actually ending the Trilogy? That's would be fan-fucking-tastic
I like how they kept the subtle detail that those that are noticeably smart have a higher resistance to the Marker's fukery.
Isaac can diagnose and duct tape a temporary patch to the ship's MANY problems, the female survivor came up with a compound that managed to temporarily stun the whole Corruption.
They might be an ant in a hurricane, but they're worthy enough for the hurricane to go "huh, respect", and flex a little harder
If I could describe Isaac Clarke, it would essentially be "John McClaine with an engineering degree"
They actually told Gunnar Wright to emulate John McClane during Dead Space 2, so you’re bang on.
what i really like about the remake is that he doesn't start out as 2 and 3 isaac. i can barely recognize his voice in the beginning of R calm collected and without the tinge of paranoia. as the game progresses and he becomes more and more desperate and afraid. i cant hear anybody else. which is impressive.
I don't really know how to explain it without sounding weird, but I preferred deadspace 1 Isaac's yells when taking damage or meleeing than deadspaces 2, 3, or the remakes, it just felt more I guess impactful is the word I wanna use. Honestly it might just have been the voice filtering they used.
It definitely was the filtering. They use most of the same screams and grunts for 2 but the filtering and audio dynamics are different. Weird how we notice when little changes make the whole thing feel different, eh?
@@LtSprinkulz Humans recognize patterns. We see and hear more than we realize. The only issue is are we open to recognizing this change.
So glad to see a video on this! I love me my HL2 and my silent Gordon but I am firmly in the camp of DS2 > DS1 because of the great characterisation of Isaac, and I think the remake knocked it out of the park by making the Ishimura feel much more alive (if you'll forgive my wording there) by exploring its background cast.
In particular, the gut punch of the last words from Isaac to Nicole being it was her fault his parents died was one of those great moments in the last quarter of the game that makes you see Isaac's motivations and the story through to the sequel with the ghostly, angry Nicole very differently.
Absolutely. That argument really hit me. They did a great job not changing the story, but finding new depth and relatability in what was already there.
Interesting you mention Half Life 2, because even the Black Mesa remake manages to further characterize not only the other characters, but Gordon himself, by putting him in situations where he's allowed to empathize with the beings that have been suffering. The vortigaunt concentration camp behind bulletproof glass is a good example here.
I had no idea of Liz’s recorded conversation when she opens the door! Man I just got past that chapter on NG+. So much I’ve missed!
I’m really torn on whether I prefer silent or voiced Isaac. I believe the original’s setting was so good that he never really needed to speak for me to get an idea of how Isaac would be feeling because I was him. When I’d enter a room that gave me an eerie feeling, it would reflect on how I played the game. Watching (and controlling) Isaac slowly walking around, always checking behind him, aiming at corners and bodies because “he” could never be sure of where the threat would come from. It was excellent visual storytelling unbeknownst to me until one of my friends at the time told me to “quit playing like that! You’re freaking me out, man.” On the other hand, I personally love Gunner Wright’s performance. (I’m speaking for 2 and 3, I haven’t played the remake, yet) He makes Isaac seem believable in a scenario that is fundamentally unbelievable to me. He doesn’t have a gruff “I ain’t got time to be reanimated” kind of voice or attitude. By Dead Space 2, he seems hardened, reasonably confident, but afraid, being a man that survived Hell… IN SPAAACE! I hate to be a fence sitter but I love them both for different reasons. I’ll direct people to play the original and remake to get their own take on either. I’ll tell them to play the entire series too, even three. They’re all very near and dear to my heart.
Honestly Gunner’s performance in the remake feels like 2 and 3 in my opinion.
@@unionblue21 Yeah, play I’ll have to play it when I get some cash to burn. So I can formulate my opinion on it.
My primary issue is that it's exactly like Half-Life-- apparently an MIT degree only makes you good for pulling levers and switches when you're instructed to. I was afraid they'd mess this up, but they used the opportunity to make Isaac an actual engineer. In the original, it feels like Hammond is an engineer who can't hold his own in a fight but has immense technical knowledge, while Isaac is a scrappy combatant who pulls switches when he needs to but can hold his own against hordes of undead monsters. Now that Hammond and Kendra come up with problems and Isaac comes up with solutions, they managed to add way more depth to his character and somehow ended up striking a great balance. Beyond that... he doesn't do one liners, doesn't constantly wise-crack, and doesn't try to carry the narrative with constant interjections. I think the silent protagonist was probably the biggest mistake the original game made, beyond some of the cheaper jumpscares and maybe the ADR sections.
That, and adding all the panic-vulgarity of 2 is a nice touch. Having him swear at C.E.C. as his trigger stops working with a necromorph only a few meters away is _immensely_ in character for the situation at hand.
Personally, silent protagonist never work. I can never imagine myself in these situations. I think voiced protagonist are more immersive because instead of projecting myself, now I can just get immersed in someone else’s struggle as I know that world belongs to them. Also Gunner Wright is awesome.
@@hopelesslyoptimistic8231 They never work... for you. Not everyone needs a character constantly talking and swearing, many people can do that themselves, without being told that something is startling.
Dead Space 1 is EXACTLY how you should do a remake, improve what needed to be improved on the original, but also tweak things just enough to surprise even your veteran fans
yep Nicoles face surprised me a lot, biggest scare in the game
One of the devs watch the remake and said that the addition of the voice made it the story better.
Holy fuck, I can’t type.
The remake really did so well in how Isaac being given a voice to allow himself to show so much more of his character and added more depth of the characters and story all the while maintaining Isaac's relatability and what made the original game so special. And especially given how Dead Space 2 turned out and how the Dead Space remake turned out, it's pretty much normal and more awesome for Isaac Clarke to be his own character and grow out of his silent protagonist roots now. Gunner Wright did an amazing job bringing Isaac Clarke to life.
Of all the other characters who changed in the remake, other than Isaac, Nicole and Kendra are the most improved characters of all, most especially OG Nicole was a glorified Princess Peach who you couldn't save and OG Kendra was so obnoxious and come off unreasonable at times (her bickering with Hammond especially, really glad the remake made Kendra more reasonable)
.lpp
The last moments of the video where you talk about holding on to something... yeah, i needed to hear that. this is odd but thank you.
3:09 "I'm full of bad ideas."
3:52 "Well, I'm all out of good ideas, so guess what's left."
I need to use those lines next time it comes up.
Silent Isaac was my first introduction to the character, but Dead Space 2 is my favorite of the series. so having Isaac with a voice is closer to what i always imagined Isaac to be
I loved silent Issac when the game first came out, it helped add to the horrifying atmosphere and the fear of speaking aloud would somehow draw the monsters.
The dead space 2 happened and I instantly fell in love with Gunner wrights acting. So hearing him return was *chef kiss*. And of course he knocked it out of the park.
Wonderful work on this video, I consider myself a dead space fanatic and I even missed the Secret log with Elizabeth! Stellar work friend
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it!
Never actually got time to play the Remake but after watching your video I’ll definitely do. Thanks for all the info on differences of Isaac with and without voice. I’m impressed with how they expanded the lore of Unitology and gave a definitive explanation about first Nicole appearance on Ishimura.
The remake is great. I wanted to stay on topic, so there’s a lot of non-character improvements I didn’t touch on, but if you’re a fan of the original, I think you’ll really like it.
You're not missing much. Original is still better.
Don't listen to this dude ^
Extremely well done video comparing the two. Love the content, and great editing.
Thanks - so glad you enjoyed it!
Personally, I prefer silent Issac mostly because of the subtlety of what he could be thinking. The Sphere Hunter mentioned this in her video, but you may constantly wonder what Issac is thinking half the time, is he mute because he's terrified? In shock? Still, I like talking ISSAC.
It's tough. The big reveal works because you realize you were wrong about the journey Isaac was on...and because he couldn't talk, we just assumed based on what we knew. Adding a voice to this game in particular was a big gamble.
@@KevinHelpUs I think it was a big gamble that worked out in the end because they still managed to keep the big reveal a secret to new players and it just makes sense for him to speak in the first game he does so in the sequels.
I love how no one had an issue with Clark talking in dead space 2 and 3
I think most folks enjoyed Wright’s performance, but those games were written around a talking character.
@@KevinHelpUsfor me it was alien having a silent protagonist talk in DS2 but thanks to good voice acting and good writing he grew on me. But I also appreciate “Our Isaac”. Very good video by the way. Fastest 20 minutes of my life
21:25
I’ve been playing Dead Space since it came out when I was around 5 years old, it was one of my first games, and I’ve always loved it, but I recently went back through the whole series and took away a very similar interpretation, it’s nice to hear that a series that’s helping me so much in my adult life now has helped others in the same way.
Great video man! Looking forward to more :)
i just finished my first playtrough of the remake and i couldnt imagine this story without Gunner Wright
I was blown away by Isaac's overall presentation in the remake. The fact that both he and Nicole are aged up, Isaac finally talking and actively communicating with the Kellion crew, how well the dialogue he's given so that his character smoothly transitions into the Isaac from Dead Space 2... They nailed it all. I'll admit, I forgot Nicole appeared for us in Ch.7 in the original game, so I was completely taken aback when I saw her again in the remake. But man, I LOVE what they did with Temple and Cross, and how the reveal scene was re-contextualized. It made that side story of these 2 trying to find each sting that much more, watching them both die brutally at the hands of others. Dead Space 1 is a complete tragedy at its core; No one gets a happy ending.
Great essay, good editing, smooth voice and killer jokes? My man you deserve far more than 10k subs.
Glad i found you.
Glad you found me too - so glad you enjoyed it!
A great video essay that introduces and explains an original claim instead of simply verbalizing very obvious and repeated sentiments. Great stuff.
Thanks! It takes a bit, but I never want to make videos where I just read the wiki over gameplay footage. Appreciate your appreciation.
Huge Dead Space fan. I'm excited to play through the remake. I actually named my son Isaac lol. He is finally old enough to experience Dead Space. He doesn't want to play it himself, but he wants to watch me play through it so were going to do a playthrough during Christmas break. I thought about if I should do the OG for him for his first time, but I think the remake will actually be a better experience for him.
Personally I generally prefer a voiced protagonist. I don't buy the whole role play "I am the protagonist" idea. If it is an RPG where I make my own character then sure, but in game's where I assume the role of an established character there is obviously already a backstory and identity there, so thinking I can assume that role as myself with no idea of that characters past or identity is dumb to me. I never immerse myself as "being" that character. I mostly find silent protagonists as awkward when everyone around them is talking to them and they just sit there not saying a word. It's a thing that works in older games with no voice acting at all, but if other characters are voiced, I think the main protagonist should be too. That being said, I obviously loved the OG and still developed a strong connection to Isaac, but I think I'll really like this voiced version when I play through.
its one thing i like about my black mesa playthroughs, it builds up a narrative each time i play of a man doing his best in an impossible situation and thats not something you necessarily show by words
Finally finished the remake the other day; DS2008 will always hold a formative place in my heart, but I am so happy with all the changes and adjustments they made in DS2023, chief among them expanding Isaac's role, like you said, from errand boy to a fully realized character. I was thrilled with the post-game nuances you touched on, too; thought I was misremembering things as they started to pop up on my second run. It's such a benchmark for what remakes are capable of, with that one change truly leading the charge! Thanks for putting the sentiment in words!
Thank YOU for saying so! And yes, I loved that they didn’t announce the NG+ changes, they just started warping the story. Brilliant.
Kevin, Kevin here. You’re great at creation and explanation. You also have a friendly and informative manner of speaking and a kind voice. 😊
Why thank you, fellow Kevin!
One of my favorite game analysis of yours! Thanks for all the effort you put in to explaining and characterizing probably my favorite game series. Your videos are awesome.
Thanks so much - so glad you enjoyed it!
As a big Dead Space fan (since I was a kid), this remake deserves way more praise than it was given. Amazing work from Motive, i always praise them for their work.
I did put myself in Isaac's shoes and already predicted how long I'll last in his situation
5 seconds at best
This is nothing short of excellent, I was shocked to see the sub count so low. You're definitely going places my man.
Everyone starts somewhere - and thank you!
Dead Space remake is a masterpiece. I love the line Isaac mutters right before the fight with the final boss. Absolute badass moment.
The changes made to the story really make this the definitive dead space. Original is the benchmark, of course, but 2008 was a long time ago. Being in a committed relationship myself, dead space 2’s story of Isaac trying to move past the trauma of essentially killing his lover hit me HARD back in the day, and now knowing (retroactively) that not only did Isaac tell Nicole to take the Ishimura job but he also got into a MAJOR argument with her and that was the last time they ever spoke, it’s scarier than anything else I can think of. And incredibly sad, makes me think of what that would do to me, if I was to do that to my girlfriend. It would probably break me. Dead space has always really done the psychological horror really well.
a long time ago is not a valid excuse. dead space is the og, from the uncanny horrifying necromorphs (which they studied car crash victims) to the subtle loneliness of being in isolation- you can't replace it on its own. there's certain aspects of the remake which are improved on but it's retroactive. it's a really good tribute but it doesn't replace dead space.
What's more is that the argument that Isaac had with Nicole potentially retcons Isaac's entire personal journey in Dead Space 2. How much of the opening sequence of their vid-call at the start of the game change? How much does this affect him during the events on the Sprawl? Is it the same, or is he weighed down even more by the guilt of what transpired between them before Nicole's final moments? And would his hallucinations and dementia become worse for it?
The thought of a DS2 remake addressing all of these questions has me exited for the future of the franchise going forward.
Definitive Dead Space? DS3 was better than the remake
@@Freelancer837 Any other bad opinions you'd like to share?
No, they make it the non-definitive. Everything about the story is worse.
The editing in this video is spectacular.
I loved the DS series growing up and I was so glad Gunnar Wright got to reprise his role for the remake in such a cleaver way to incorporate his own pov for the story in rewrites without ruining the overall tone.
i was in the process of playing the old games and achievement hunting when they announced the remake. the original dead spaces will always hold a special place in my heart, with how well they did the remake i really REALLY hope we get the same for the next two games.
I agree with you about the value of a silent protagonist! Fallout is an example of a game where a silent protagonist is better. Fallout 3 had a silent protag, and you’d pick whatever dialogue you wanted to say, and just had to accept that that’s what your character said. Then Fallout 4 added a voice actor and instead of complete freedom with dialogue, it became picking a sentiment you want to express with your dialogue, and your character paraphrasing the option you picked.
Yeah, I don't think anyone asked for or wanted a voiced protagonist in a Fallout game. You have to plug your ears in all the cutscenes if you want to do any kind of roleplaying.
I like fallout 4 because of the voice so we all have different opinions on this matter.
@@KeenApollo I still love you.
Agreed, I loved Fallout 3 and New Vegas for that. I haven't felt as immersed in a character as I did with the Lone Wanderer, and especially the Courier.
@@MerlautJones oh courier, the biggest badass in the Mojave
Thanks for making this just finished the remake and grew up with the original glad you showed the difference between them hope they keep going and make another wether it's a remake of dead space 2 or something new keep cutting and stamping
I first played dead space the original in 2019 with my friend's old Xbox 360 he gave me when I was ten and I was so scared that the first time you see a necromorph at the very beginning I quit. 4 years later I played the remake and it made me realize that because in The original since Issac doesn't talk it made me feel alone and that I had no one to hold my hand when I was scared and in the remake I wasn't alone I was with Issac Clarke and could think don't worry Issac is with you and I was able to finish the game. Thank you Issac Clarke.
Isaac speaking helps add a whole lot to the game as well as highlighting his occupation more so, Isaac thinks of the technical stuff such as how to get the ship back to orbiting the planet and gaining access to the morgue.
Another addition of the remake that is nice, reducing barriers between Isaac and threats, unfortunately some aspects took a hit hard in the remake.
However despite Link in zelda breath of the wild lacking a voice, it is still nice to see him talk and have some personality. Although I will curse the Japanese having the better end of the stick.
Wow, here I was thinking Dead Space remake was a cheap graphical update & nothing else.
So glad I was wrong, these are the remakes & remasters we need more of.
Silent Isaac was great for streamers to add their own responses.
True, I’m streaming the Last of Us on my other channel right now and it’s tough to find the right moments to talk with all the dialogue. Silent Isaac made that easy.
Thank you for this video.
Thank YOU for watching it!
Just found your channel today, I really like your style!
I will replay both the original and the remake equally! And while the remake improved nearly every aspect of the game, there are a couple things that, for me personally, fell short.
1. Dead Space 1 had an atmosphere of isolation and dread at a level that was never matched, and I believe this is largely due to Issac being silent. It made it feel like WE were going through all of this, as opposed to when Issac talks you're subconsciously reminded that you're not him.
2. The necromorph sounds. Think of the crazy screams from The Exploder, the bone chilling howl from The Divider, even the difference between a male & female slasher. In the remake the sounds have all been turned down/made less unique.
Edit: And you're right about Kyne's subtlety & Mercer's death, both vastly superior in the original.
I watched the Classic Dead Space. I found it quite funny (in a bad way) that they had to adjust the dialogue to make it so he doesn't have to respond or that having a response is unnecessary. I thought it was great but the silent protagonist in such a game is a minus point for me.
Having a silent protagonist, at least for me, only works for certain games and this is NOT one of them.
When I learned of the remake making Isaac talk, I immediately decided that I should play this game and this was one of the best game-related decisions I've made.
If the Remake was to be one's first experience of Dead Space then they'll all the better for it.
Knock a few points off of horror to bump up character engagement. After Dead Space 2, Isaac had a voice, and there was no going back. A remake was never going to be as scary, even with the changes, and so retaining the voice was smart, and keeps the character developing for the future remakes. Which better happen, Dead Space 2 was my favorite. And they better deliver on an equally (at LEAST) high-quality remake for DS2.
Oh, and thank God they kept the original voice actor; it would have been hard to hear a new voice, and the guy is just so good as Isaac, anyway.
I love the original, and might replay it at some point, it will always have a special place for me, but damn is this how you should make a remake. Like they nailed the experience spot on. In an era where shitty remakes cashgrab on every corner it's nice to see the couple really good ones shine.
one thing i love about the remake is how Isaac's face has changed. it just feels so much more unique and more appropriate for his character. the old look for him was just so interchangeable with all kinds of protagonists of that era.
as someone who played the remake as their first time experiencing the dead space 1 story
frick it was awesome
On the thing at the beginning about criticism of silent protagonists, I think there's a difference between "Silent character who is still clearly a character who exists in the world despite rarely if ever making noise" and "Basically just a glorified player hitbox that has no actual character"
The objective of a silent protagonist is in most cases is to let the player put themselves into the character's place and feel like they're actually in the world of the game. With characters who have enough of their own personality and backstory, to feel like they belong, but not so much lore it prevents the player from projecting onto them, that works quite well.
With characters who have no backstory or anything and serve solely as a vessel for the player, it actually ends up more detached than not having a silent protagonist at all, since not only is the player themselves detached from the universe, but the icon that's supposed to represent them in that universe is also just a silent observer that seems to barely qualify as sentient, so now the player is even more of an outsider relative to the game's characters than if the character was just voiced.
1:08 actually the only example I could think of was Jak in Jak & Daxter who was mute in the first game but no longer in the sequel, still not an « updated title » so Dead Space Remake was pretty unique !
"Silent Isaac was my Isaac... he was yours too!"
That got to me
He was!
"I think everyone can relate to holding on to someone for too long, trying to save something you had no chance to save." Yeah, that comment kicked me right in the chest and brought back some uncomfortable memories. Well said, friend.
I CANNOT wait to see how EA Motive will do Dead Space 2
Me too!
I'm glad they give Isaac a voice in remake which makes sense seeing he's voiced in 2 & 3
Great job! I can watch both you and MandaloreGaming talk all day about Dead Space franchise and never get tired.
And I want to add something: making a silent Isaac again wouldn't make sense because in the original, you go in completely blind, whereas in the remake it's assumed that most of the player base knows about what happened.
So it wouldn't make sense to make a silent protagonist again for a personal story. This time, you need to see how Isaac discovers the truth that YOU know, and how that truth effects him.
True, most people playing this have played the original, so you have to cater (at least somewhat) to that experience and adjust. Which they did!
Also, big thank you, I love Mandalore - that’s a huge compliment.
@@KevinHelpUs and I thank you for the quick reply. My man.
"When you discover the crew of the Ishimura has come down with COVID-19000" - ROFL
Man, you should cover the suplementary material of Dead Space (like the movie, comics, and novel).
In the remake I believe Nicole Scientific Methods side mission was based on Dead Space Extraction comic and Mathius's accidental death was follow closely to the Dead Space Downfall animated movie.
It fleshes everything out.
I think you’re right! I’d love to do more, I just don’t want to be a single game channel. I’ve got one more Dead Space video in me (at least), but I want to do one or two more on other topics first.
Silent Isaac was ours and we will always remember him as our Isaac. He can rest easy knowing the Isaac we have today is worthy of it
I will still always play the original before I run though the remake. A lot of things I like about both for different reasons
Wow I can't help but feel some sort of subtle hinting now hearing the name Cross!
Visceral made 2 amazing dead space games. EA choked them out
The real monster of the Dead Space world is EA.
I was only 10 when Dead Space came out, so the remake has been my first experience.
First time round I was too full of adrenaline to catch the finer details of the plot, and I’m really enjoying taking a closer look now!
As much as I love the first game, I remember thinking it felt odd for Isaac to be a silent protagonist. The devs note that they really liked how Gordon Freeman was a SP in half life, and to me it worked there because HL is in first-person.
In Dead Space, a third-person game, i don't feel like I'm Isaac so much as I'm controlling or helping him. I remember it feeling strange that he never responded or said anything to anyone, particularly because I can WATCH him remaining silent as he's spoken to.
It was a weird feeling compounded by the fact that he would grunt and cry out if hurt or exhausted. Like, he clearly has vocal chords... But just chooses not to speak?
One example of a Silent Protag being given a voice?
Corvo, in Dishonored 2, is voiced by Stephen L. Russell for the first time.
Crazy Isaac screaming "YOU CAN'T STOP ME" is why remake is the best
Link and Gordon are my favorite silent protags and honestly I hope that never changes. They already have so much personality… and trauma.
Nah silent Isaac was never my Isaac even though I played Dead Space when it came out. The fact that he never talked and never reacted to anything that happened was ridiculously immersion breaking, made no sense at all and was the one factor that kept the original from being a masterpiece. This remake fixed that issue and made everything else even better.
"When you discover that the crew of the Ishimura has come down with COVID-1900."
100% agree. Silent protagonist ruins story. Having Isaac talk, made the game have way more life and feeling and every time something tragic happened. I felt Isaac pain, which made me feel a little bit of pain.
Ah, someone else talking about this. Currently co-op playing through this with a buddy. He never played the original and was baffled by the idea of Isaac being silent originally. I explained how it allows for psychological interpretation - the idea that he's suffering internally, shown not told. But, adding a voice to the remake for me is simply a fresh take and I think it aligns with his personality & development fine. Never knew health affects delivery!
the writers for Remake clearly care about the source material and wanting to write good dialogue
I agree!
i think we can all agree, unless for story reasons, we have moved on from silent protagonists.
My problem with silent protagonists lies in their name. If you give me a character named Jonathan, with a specific physicality (specific body type, clothes, facial expressions etc.) and a specific personality (opinions, way of thinking etc.), then I want said character to fully express himself as he was originally intended, especially vocally. I’m playing as Jonathan, not as myself. If I wanted to play as myself, I would stick to RPGs, and customize every single aspect of my character as I see fit, and even choose to name him after myself. That would justify a mute avatar.
But in the end, at least in my opinion, silent defined protagonists are outdated game design elements that hinder the players’ ability to immerse themselves in video games, instead of enhancing it.
Even RPGs struggle with this. You’re still partaking a predetermined role as a character. The Courier, The Warden, etc. with the ability to deviate from the path slightly, but the the main goal of the character you play as is still there because the developers have to tell a story.
RPGs like The Witcher or Kingdom Come: Deliverance don’t run into this problem because Geralt and Henry are fleshed out and have motivations, but their characters are written in a way where they’re undecided and ambiguous on where they land on the morality scale allowing player agency and choice.
If people want player surrogates tbh I want more Samus arans and less Ethan winters. Ethan in re7 is supposed to be a player surrogate but for some reason they gave him a voice, a ton of dead space like personal baggage, but then didn’t give him anything of ANY importance to say during any moment. Samus aside from one game we don’t talk about doesn’t speak when she doesn’t need to, fusion established she always could directly speak, but CHOSE not to unless a situation called for it. That’s a powerful thing. And speaks a lot louder than Ethan’s 70th poorly acted grunt.
@@urbiznesnunuv6938 I hate the acting in resident evil games so much
Feel sad that it took me this long to find this channel. Great contents.
But you’re here now - that’s what matters!
It kills me the main villain walks around with a nail gun without a battery🤣
Right?! It’s like a multi tool? It has the eye needle, but can also take out Temple? I didn’t NEED them to explain it, but the more I watched the footage, the more I wanted them to.
Wondering if it's a rivet gun
Guessing the battery would be integrated in the tool. I mean the the future after all.
It makes sense since he talked in the next 2 games
love the original, it just breaks my heart how much effort it takes just to get it to launch on pc and at 60 fps. Adding folders, adding txt files, configuring the game on nvidia control panel, and making sure it doesn't launch in fullscreen first makes it a chore to set up.
Yeah, EA didn’t take much pride in their PC ports back then, such a shame.
I’ve been lisening to your videos and i love them a lot
I send you all my suport!