The Problem With Dead Space, As Told By PC Gamers
The science fiction horror genre has exploded in the last few years, especially in 2022 when the Summer Games Fest revealed a surprising number of upcoming horror games set in space or the near future. "The Callisto Protocol," "Fort Solis," "Atomic Heart," "Aliens: The Dark Descent" — all games that were revealed practically at the same time. But "Dead Space," the iconic game that helped to spur the genre's popularity a decade ago, loomed over the rest as a new remake was also announced. Fans were excited about returning to the original game, brought back to life with modern capabilities, but not everyone is pleased with the final result.
The remake launched recently, and critics and fans are particularly praising its attention to detail in the preservation of the original game's core. On most platforms, players have generally found the "Dead Space" remake to be an experience worthy of the original title's lauded status — but that's not necessarily true for PC players.
The PC gaming community's complaints don't stem from the "Dead Space" remake as a game — it's still the same classic horror at heart, and fans even say it improves upon the original in certain ways. The PC version of the game is all but unplayable for many thanks to constant stuttering and performance issues. EA has attempted to address the issues, but unfortunately it's ongoing, and it's certainly not a problem unique to "Dead Space." For just one recent example, the PC version of 2022's Game of the Year "Elden Ring" saw serious backlash after stuttering and performance issues on PC went unchecked.
Players vent their frustrations with Dead Space's glitchy issues on PC
On other consoles — the PlayStation 4 and 5, and the Xbox One and Series X|S — fans and critics agree that "Dead Space" is an improvement on the original. But since the game launched on Jan. 27, 2023, PC players have experienced bugs and issues that make the game almost unplayable. The official "Dead Space" subreddit saw complaints aplenty, all centered on the game's lag, stuttering, and performance. User /u/StatisticianCheap685 said the low FPS, input lag, and stuttering was constant, and that "even on the lowest settings it would run the same."
"I have one stutter every 10 seconds for two hours of play time which is pretty bad," wrote /u/Jon-Slow in a separate post. In a review left on Steam, with just over five hours in-game one player said they were "expecting a much smoother and more enjoyable experience given the specs of my computer, but unfortunately, that was not the case," and listed an assortment of these common issues with the game's performance.
So far the issues haven't had much of an impact on its ratings, with a Metacritic score just two points below the PS5 version. But in the days following its release, and after taking the complaints into consideration, the game was patched in an attempt to fix these glitches. In an official post to the Dead Space subreddit the EA Community Manager detailed steps to take if PC players are still experiencing stuttering, FPS drops, and other performance issues after the patch was rolled out.
PC Stuttering from
DeadSpace