How scary is the Dead Space (2023) remake?

The Dead Space series has often been regarded as the stuff of nightmares, but the dated graphics and systems kind of put a dull edge on that. The remake of the original is Motive’s opportunity to use all the tools of current-gen development to truly bring the scares to players. With many commenting on the horror in the game, it makes sense why players would be curious before playing.

Fortunately, there are options that can help limit some of the more traumatic moments while still allowing you to get spooked here and there. Here’s all the information you should know about how scary the Dead Space (2023) remake will be.

Are there a lot of scary moments in the Dead Space (2023) remake?

There are a lot of scary moments for players on the USG Ishimura, nearly from the second that you first step foot on the ship. Players are quickly introduced to the Necromorph in a big way before they can ever fight back. However, once you start to acquire weapons, the monsters feel a little less scary since you can just blow them away. Paired with the “Story” difficulty, they don’t have to pose much of a threat at all.

That doesn’t mean that they won’t still scare you, however, as having a monster jump out of a vent directly behind you is uniquely scary in this game. There will even be times when you won’t hear the Necromorph until it slowly creeps out of the darkness, frightening you as soon as you notice it. These are basically jump scares that will have you looking over your shoulder throughout the game.

There are also many other “jump scares” that aren’t related to the Necromorph, with walking through certain parts of an area triggering some kind of cue. This can be something like a pipe shooting out compressed air or a shower turning on, and it will get you every time. There’s no real way to see these coming, and they may even scare you a second time through New Game Plus since you’re likely to forget.

There are also a lot of situations that some players might find a little challenging given the sensitivity of the moment. Many of these examples include the voices of characters in clear mental distress and depictions of suicide in pretty severe manners. There’s also an entire section of the map dedicated to a lab where the Ishimura was used to harvest babies for medical reasons.

You can adjust the settings to censor some of these moments, which is likely smart if you’re in a sensitive place or just choose to avoid that imagery. There’s no shame in doing so, as there are a couple of intense moments that will make the strongest person’s stomach churn.

Overall, the game is pretty scary but it’s more unsettling than anything else. While you’ll likely get over the jump scares pretty quickly, some of the subject matter is pretty heavy and should only be approached by mature audiences.