Uploaded March 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Dead Space 3 is a perfect example of EA messing with a good thing.
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• DISCORD: discord.gg/2AfRXbM2hg
All good things must come to an end. Sometimes a series just runs out of steam. In other cases, executive meddling gets in the way of a project and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Dead Space 3 is a case of the latter.
While it's not as bad as I was expecting due to its reputation, Dead Space 3 does fall short of the masterclasses of game design that were the first two titles.
Looking to reach a larger audience, several compromises were made to the formula. Horror was dialed back, and action was dialed up. Coop was integrated into Dead Space 3.
Dead Space 3 also suffered from being one of the first major big-budget single-player titles with microtransactions. The end result ends up being a compromised title - design decisions that conflict with the foundation of what Dead Space is.
There's still plenty that's great here in Dead Space 3, as Visceral was a very talented team. They were making the most of a bad situation. It's a cliche, but it's one of the many examples of EA getting in its own way of its own products. In trying to squeeze out more money from customers, they ended up losing in the long run.
This Dead Space 3 review/analysis/retrospective/critique will look at the changes in Dead Space 3, coop, single-player microtransactions, the death of the series (for a time) and the death of Visceral studios.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Prelude
01:43 - Gameplay of Dead Space 3
05:46 - Weapon Crafting in Dead Space 3
09:04 - Level Design in Dead Space 3
11:18 - Coop in Dead Space 3
14:19 - Plot of Dead Space 3 (Spoilers)
22:57 - Earlier Plans for Dead Space 3
24:00 - Awakened DLC
25:29 - Aftermath and Closure of Visceral
Sources:
• pcgamer.com/former-visceral-creative-director-reveals-plans-for-dead-space-4
• web.archive.org/web/20130127185532/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/388167/interviews/interview-dead-space-3-producer-on-micro-transactions-and-keeping-the-horror-alive/?page=2#top_banner
Additional Footage:
• Callisto Protocol: youtube.com/watch?v=nAbTpXiHVI8
• Dead Space
• Dead Space 2
• Dead Space: Extraction
• Dead Space: Remake Trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=C1yiuM7blIw
• Mass Effect: youtube.com/watch?v=2BEPThkr3S0
Mass Effect 2:
• youtube.com/watch?v=ZV914LMch-g
• youtube.com/watch?v=ozd15lBGS0Y
Mass Effect 3:
• youtube.com/watch?v=lQ1O_w0ksgw
• youtube.com/watch?v=bysVwWMHnH8
• Mass Effect: Andromeda: youtube.com/watch?v=VQNcIfEURrI
• Project Ragtag: youtube.com/watch?v=AmM7BYcUOJQ
• Resident Evil 7
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order: youtube.com/watch?v=xIl2z5wwjdA
#DeadSpace #DeadSpace3 #DeadSpace3Review #boulderpunch #survivalhorror #horrorgaming #deadspaceseries
Dead Space 3 is a perfect example of EA messing with a good thing.
• PATREON: patreon.com/boulderpunch
• ONE-TIME DONATIONS: ko-fi.com/boulderpunch
• DISCORD: discord.gg/2AfRXbM2hg
All good things must come to an end. Sometimes a series just runs out of steam. In other cases, executive meddling gets in the way of a project and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Dead Space 3 is a case of the latter.
While it's not as bad as I was expecting due to its reputation, Dead Space 3 does fall short of the masterclasses of game design that were the first two titles.
Looking to reach a larger audience, several compromises were made to the formula. Horror was dialed back, and action was dialed up. Coop was integrated into Dead Space 3.
Dead Space 3 also suffered from being one of the first major big-budget single-player titles with microtransactions. The end result ends up being a compromised title - design decisions that conflict with the foundation of what Dead Space is.
There's still plenty that's great here in Dead Space 3, as Visceral was a very talented team. They were making the most of a bad situation. It's a cliche, but it's one of the many examples of EA getting in its own way of its own products. In trying to squeeze out more money from customers, they ended up losing in the long run.
This Dead Space 3 review/analysis/retrospective/critique will look at the changes in Dead Space 3, coop, single-player microtransactions, the death of the series (for a time) and the death of Visceral studios.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Prelude
01:43 - Gameplay of Dead Space 3
05:46 - Weapon Crafting in Dead Space 3
09:04 - Level Design in Dead Space 3
11:18 - Coop in Dead Space 3
14:19 - Plot of Dead Space 3 (Spoilers)
22:57 - Earlier Plans for Dead Space 3
24:00 - Awakened DLC
25:29 - Aftermath and Closure of Visceral
Sources:
• pcgamer.com/former-visceral-creative-director-reveals-plans-for-dead-space-4
• web.archive.org/web/20130127185532/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/388167/interviews/interview-dead-space-3-producer-on-micro-transactions-and-keeping-the-horror-alive/?page=2#top_banner
Additional Footage:
• Callisto Protocol: youtube.com/watch?v=nAbTpXiHVI8
• Dead Space
• Dead Space 2
• Dead Space: Extraction
• Dead Space: Remake Trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=C1yiuM7blIw
• Mass Effect: youtube.com/watch?v=2BEPThkr3S0
Mass Effect 2:
• youtube.com/watch?v=ZV914LMch-g
• youtube.com/watch?v=ozd15lBGS0Y
Mass Effect 3:
• youtube.com/watch?v=lQ1O_w0ksgw
• youtube.com/watch?v=bysVwWMHnH8
• Mass Effect: Andromeda: youtube.com/watch?v=VQNcIfEURrI
• Project Ragtag: youtube.com/watch?v=AmM7BYcUOJQ
• Resident Evil 7
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order: youtube.com/watch?v=xIl2z5wwjdA
#DeadSpace #DeadSpace3 #DeadSpace3Review #boulderpunch #survivalhorror #horrorgaming #deadspaceseries
