Electronic Arts and Motive Studio’sDead Spaceis arguably one of the best examples of a remake done right. From the gameplay to the story, the devs have made sure to honor the original game while putting modern touches where appropriate. Most importantly,Dead Spaceis a visual treat on high-end PCs.
As with many PC releases in the last year, theDead Spaceremake is a demanding PC port that will require the most powerful systems to get the full visual spectacle. Luckily, support for eitherNvidia DLSS 2(no DLSS 3 support currently) or FSR 2.0 allows modern GPUs to give the game a little visual boost without sacrificing too much on the performance end.
RELATED:Dead Space Remake Review
The world ofDead Spaceis incredibly detailed and filled with a ton of little atmospheric touches. From ominous dark shadows to moody smoke to some really impressive gore effects, there is a lot for the eyes to feast on while playing this remake. And those that can support the Ray Traced Ambient Occlusion (RTAO) in the game will come away thinking that this is one of the best-looking games in recent memory.
Storage:Samsung 980 PRO 1TB
PSU:XPG Cybercore 1300W Platinum
Case:NZXT H7 Elite All White Edition
Performance onDead Spaceis going to require a very bulky system or some concessions made through the use of DLSS 2 or FSR 2.0. At 4K resolution and with every setting at Ultra and RTAO turned on, the game struggles to deliver a consistent 60 FPS on even the most high-end systems. Luckily, popping DLSS to the Quality setting is enough to close the gap and then some. In our PC playthrough, the game hit at least 100 FPS in all areas, and usually closer to 120 or 140 FPS. Granted, that is a top-of-the-line NZXT PC with anNvidia 4090 Graphics Card, so mileage may vary depending on specs and configurations.
There are a solid array of settings for players to tweak within theDead Spaceremake, and even at low settings the game has some really strong visuals. Most of the backgrounds are either obscured or filled in with darkness, though, so users will need to dial in what works for their tastes, performance preference, and what their rig can handle.
The two downsides toDead Spaceon PC are some micro stutters throughout a lot of the experience and a lack of gradation with the game’s darker areas. Both are not enough to “ruin” the game, but they are both noticeable enough that it will be worth it for some to wait for a couple of patches. As of this writing, Motive has released a Steam patch that addresses some performance issues and allows for turning off Variable Rate Shading (the culprit behind the dark gradation issue), but the stutters are still present. Again, it’s not the type of hitching that is extremely distracting, and if players move a little slower through the game instead of sprinting to each area they shouldn’t be too bothersome.
The Variable Rate Shading, on the other hand, can hurt the game’s horror vibes. Essentially, VRS is used to lower the textures of objects at the fringes of the screen – i.e. where the player shouldn’t have their focus. But inDead Space, that means dark areas in the corners and background have almost no detail; they are completely black. As ahorror game classic,Dead Spaceis expected to be dark, but this feelstoodark. It is our recommendation that PC players turn VRS off.
Ultimately, though,Dead Spaceruns very well and its visuals are a sight to behold. Eventually, the stutters should be worked out, but for us they weren’t too distracting. The remake is too good to miss and the PC version is definitely the best way to get the most out of the updated visuals.
Game Rant testedDead Spaceon a custom BLD from NZXT. NZXT offers a variety of customizable PCs that can meet any gamer’s needs. Read more about the NZXT BLDhere.
