The Art of Dead Space is written by Motive Studio and published by Dark Horse Books.
The Art of Dead Space is available from today, in print where all good books are sold. Grab your copy from Amazon UK here.
Review
In 2023, Motive Studio made the bold decision to do a ‘from the ground up’ remake of the iconic survival horror game Dead Space from 2008. The remake received overwhelming praise for perfectly recapturing the dark and horrific tone of the 2008 game whilst updating the graphics and streamlining the controls/story beats to create a smoother experience overall. In the remake, many visual aspects were improved or even completely overhauled, and this new book The Art of Dead Space, looks to dive deeper into the games’ artwork in as much detail as possible.
The book’s chapters are conveniently split up into relevant categories such as environments, characters, tools etc. allowing for enough information on specific details to come through. One thing that the book does is show comparisons of how things looked in the 2008 original and they appear now in the 2023 remake. This clearly displays how far the series has come graphically but also how much or little something has been changed in the process. For instance, the environments chapter features screenshots of the infamous waiting room that opens the game in horrific fashion. The update between these images is more drastic when put side by side as the amount of finer details and greater sense of a foreboding atmosphere is more apparent in the look of the 2023 version.
Inclusions of smaller environmental additions gives a greater sense of world-building whilst, again, showcase the amount of work and precision that went into every aspect of this remake. The book makes specific note of the posters that can be seen on the walls of the USG Ishimura and how they are strategically placed in areas to remind the player of key locations or Isaac’s core objective.
Even when the book dives into the design choices for Isaac’s suit, the decisions made and various steps all show a great amount of foresight and attention to detail in regards to both Isaac’s character and the story. There are examples shown of possible redesigns for the suit that would have overhauled the look from the original game as well as in depth looks at how it changes with each upgrade received as the player progresses through the story. One element players may appreciate with this book, and in particular this section, is looking at the ways in which the team at Motive Studio planned out the many animations in the game. From small movements such as Isaac picking up his Stasis module for the first time to how he assembles the iconic Plasma Cutter and how the separate parts of that weapon move independently.
The final chapter of the book takes a look at the terrifying Necromorphs Isaac has to dismember throughout the game. The book does a great job of displaying the amount of grotesque detail that went into the creatures as well as giving nuggets of information for each Necromorph variant that may not be apparently obvious to players in the moment. Some updates to the creatures are subtle but other elements, such as deeper colours and realistic textures, are noticeably more defined and gruesome.
Verdict
A fascinating look into the dark and intense visuals of arguably one of the greatest survival horror games of all time. There is plenty to appreciate with this book as it leaves no stone (or mangled corpse) unturned when looking at the artwork of this beloved game and its remake.
⭐⭐⭐.5
