
Coming in at number eight is Dead Space. This full PS5 remake kicked off 2023 with its January release, and honestly, we haven't stopped thinking about it since. With The Callisto Protocol launching just a month prior and sharing a lot of the same DNA, EA Motive wiped our memory of Johnny Protocol as it thrust us into a dark, terrifying, yet wildly enchanting world.
Absent from PlayStation consoles since the PS3 era, Dead Space made its triumphant return with a horrifying, bloody embrace. This was a game that not only countered arguments against the need for remakes like it, but had us asking "when are we getting the Dead Space 2 remake?"
With stellar pacing and some delicate revamps to the central story, Dead Space is the perfect balance of old and new brought into the PS5 era. Thanks to some phenomenal lighting and audio design, Dead Space is more terrifying than ever, and further solidifies the USG Ishimura as an icon of video game settings. It's exceptionally cinematic, and we loved slowly walking down dimly lit corridors, just listening to the horrors that awaited us and the rumblings of the Ishimura itself.
What stuck with us more in this remake, though, was the risk and reward to exploration of the ship. Each time we ventured off into some blood-speckled hallway with loot or precious ammo on our mind, it induced a mixture of fear and excitement unlike most other games in 2023. And the pulpy flesh system only amplified that feeling, as we blasted, ripped, and stamped our way through hordes of necromorphs.
Combat is visceral and the epitome of "surviving by the skin of your teeth", making each encounter butt-clenching yet wholly entertaining. We really felt every bullet missed or health pack wasted, and were painfully aware of our inventory at every turn. Yet that worry was totally worth it when you were finally able to unload the ammo of the stronger weapon you were saving to rip through the latest big bad.
EA Motive made the smart move of not overly bloating the game either, coming in between 10-15 hours to complete. So while it's a nerve-wracking experience throughout, it's one that doesn't overstay its welcome, or demand more time than it deserves — a novelty in the modern gaming. Nonetheless, we're grateful for PS5 remakes like Dead Space, which allow us to experience a classic to its fullest potential for the first time, or all over again.
Push Square's Game of the Year list is primarily decided by an internal staff vote. Our community Game of the Year poll is also taken into account. Feel free to agree or disagree with our list in the comments section below.
You can check out all of our Game of the Year coverage by clicking the link.
Do you agree with Dead Space being our #8 Game of the Year? (712 votes)
- It should be higher on the list
- Yeah, it's about right
- It should be lower on the list
- It shouldn't even be on the list
- I don't know / I haven't played it
Comments 42
Calling it now - “Goodbye Volcano High” will be PushSquare GOTY.
Well deserved.
I'm currently on my 3rd playthrough of this game and it's freaking fantastic. I'd put this at #3 behind SF6 and FF16.
Removed - trolling/baiting; user is banned
@Mad001 huh?
@olwakachangchang holy doughnuts batman, ignore me I'm in pain with a bad bout of syatica
Happy Christmas 😊👍
re-releases oh , excuse me “remasters” ,as GOTY just seems so cheap & unfair imo. the game came out in 2008 , it had its time .
This game was an amazing remake and on the level Capcom's remakes!
I never found the original games to be scary. In fact, using your gun to cut off their limbs was pretty hilarious to me. Is the remake actually scary, do you still cut off their arms and legs?
Dead space remake is definitely higher on my list.its number 3.easily one of the best games ever made.now ea bring dead space 2 remake.word up son
@Mad001 "I played 20 minutes nah I stick with the original had the woke mind virus in this remake."
You can't be a real person, are you perhaps trolling us? 😅
Picked this up on a sale. Really looking forward to replaying it with a new coat of paint but I'm hoping some of the changes don't hinder much of the experience. I'm not a fan of how they changed the necromorphs' looks
What a fantastic remake, it mostly left the original in tacked while improving on many things which includes the beautiful visuals. This and RE4 should be the templates on how to do remakes properly
@Mad001 fair enough. get well bud!
Really glad to see this absolutely fantastic remake on a Top 10 GOTY list. For me personally, it was top 5 or maybe even top 3 based on what I’ve played but definitely glad to see it get some well deserved recognition.
Awesome to see it make the overall top 10. Bought it for $20ish on a GameStop deal a month ago. Haven’t gotten to it since I’ve played LAD Gaiden, A Plague Tale Requiem. Persona 5 Tactica and GrimGrimoire OnceMore. Might start prioritizing it now. Glad people like it
@Matter No, it will be those spiders, because.
place in top10 well deserved imo... great game, very good remake
@nomither6 Its a from the ground up remake, like with RE4R its more or less a new game.
I played it with the discounted EA play (1$ for a month) and it's very good even with the fact i don't play horror/scary games. I just started Dead Space 2 on PS3 and probably I will play DS 3 too.
It’s a wonderful remake, on par with RE2 and that tram system really makes the game better. I’ll be all in on a Dead Space 2 remake but I would imagine it won’t happen for a while
Look at all the pretty lights
@nomither6 That's an opinion to have, but this is at #8, so no big deal no matter how you feel about remakes and remasters making a GotY list.
Removed - trolling/baiting; user is banned
@olwakachangchang thanks have a great one 👍
This is an old game, surprising to see it feature in a 2023-list. I am sure you liked replaying it a lot. I have a few predictions which really is veiled criticism of the ideosyncracies of capitalism in gaming.
Feel free to comment, Mark from Marketing.
@Mad001 what was woke about it? You play a white male engineer in a scifi space survival horror.
OT. It is a great game. Not normally my genre. Brilliant sound design. Very creepy
@Puketapu
Allow me to explain. Disclaimer: I haven't played the remake.
Source of info: Locked steam comments. The cogs of capitalism cancelled the criticism, so that you would consume. ( https://steamcommunity.com/app/1693980/discussions/0/3714937078843366671/ )
Apparently, the game's tense dialogue and relationships has been altered to pander to whatever needs pandering. Thus, for some, the magic is gone. Also, the glass ceiling of this fictional world seems upended and you'll find women in leadership and oh, the iconography of the game is updated to reflect and enforce the changes.
@EfYI These pathetic weirdos cannot be for real.
The original was possibly my favourite PS3 game (definite top 3) and the remake did it justice IMO, looked incredible. Probably wouldn't make my top 10 this year but that is mainly due to the high caliber of releases in 2023!!
Can’t wait to play it! Bought the deluxe edition for Series X for € 8,99 in the Microsoft Store 😵💫
Playing it now for the first time since playing the OG game. It's great. Atmosphere is awesome.
@Pete_Stooge You should fix that immediately!
@AndroidBango
Wash your mouth, Bingo.
You clearly didn't read and understand what the thread was about. It was an ultra detailed criticism going into the technical aspects of the remake too. Way above your level of understanding or reading capacity, perhaps, but also way too detailed for a casual summary.
@EfYI Yeah the entire post is whining about... literally nothing. "Th- the door opens too fasht." That criticism told me all I need to know about the thread being whiny for the sake of whining lmao.
I am currently playing this game and I am enjoying it.
@Nepp67
Admit it, you managed to read that one little paragraph and nothing more😂
Your comment reveals your limited reading capacity and also understanding of what the original was all about: loading screens.
I played this on PC and it's a stutterfest it really is and they never fixed it, even under FSR2 Quality/Balanced it would stutter between areas since it's now a constant level no loading. They never fixed it either gave it one patch to fix the memory leak in Feb 2023 and that's it moved on to that Iron Man Game they are supposedly on
Though I love this game and the original, I do not think it should even be included on the list. Great game that it is, it is only a remake and GOTY should be new games only. I know there are a lot of people out there that don't mind remasters and remakes but it ultimately hurts the industry instead of progressing it. It's still a great game but I think the requisites for GOTY should be stricter.
@olwakachangchang Christmas without the kids will do this to an old mf
@Puketapu play the original you'll see 😂
Amazing game, made even better on PS5!!
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