So now that it's been out for a bit, Dead Space Remake - Isaac Talking a Good Choice or No? (Spoilers)

[Kalentan]

So this may be a bit one sided but it's something I'm curious about because I did actually see quite a few who said they didn't like the fact that they were giving Isaac a voice for the Remake since obviously in the original game he was a silent protagonist and only ever spoke in Dead Space 2 and 3. A main reason of concern would that it could potentially ruin the tone and such of the original since out of all 3 games it was the one most drenched in horror. (You know, the sort of usual analogy of DS being Alien and DS2 being Aliens).

For me, I thought it was perfect. He didn't speak too much but they also didn't make what he was saying inconsequential. He made suggestions for how they should proceed, had good back and forths, and it felt very much like stepping back into the shoes of the Isaac I knew from Dead Space 2, just a little more on the naive side for obvious reasons. I'm curious if it makes Dead Space 2 feel far more seamless.

Also I liked that it actually reminds you that he's an Engineer when he actually gives Engineering advice and so on.

I loved how you could find the recording between Isaac and Nicole that was first played (to us the players) in Dead Space 2. And then there is that side conversation where Isaac lashes out at Nicole after his parents died. It was really well done.

Assuming you did like the addition of Isaac speaking in the Remake, is there a particular scene or dialogue that stood out to you?

If you didn't like it, would be cool to see the reasoning.

 

[Lulu]

silent protags in 2023?

 

[Pankratous]

I've not played it yet, but I've played the OG like 5 times and I cannot tell you how happy I am he speaks now. Silent protags are dumb.

 

[The_Iceman2288]

Good choice. Honestly, silent protagonists are a bit awkward - why is my guy being so rude to his friends?

 

[hobblygobbly]

Not a fan at all personally. That's the exact type of change I dislike in remakes. Seems devs actually were conscious of that which is why it's not used much and only in specific situations. Pretty sure the devs once said that Isaac not speaking, and in remake not speaking much, is part of the atmosphere of isolation, which I agree with

 

[aerach71]

I think the remake is weirder for having Isaac speak because him and everyone else is not adaquately reacting to the utter horror occuring around them

 

[Kadzork]

Worth it alone for a line he delivers after a first time visit to the morgue.

 

[Osahi]

Yes. The storytelling feels less 'gamey' because of it

 

[Menchin]

Yes, I prefer my characters to be actual characters rather than silent automatons that just do everything they're told to do

 

[Bulby]

Its in the middle for me. Doesnt really add anything but doesnt take it away. I think my preference is silent though

Theres zero interesting about his character or 'character'

 

[MGPanda]

The only silent protagonist I can tolerate nowadays is Link. The rest feel kinda weird imho. Definetely a change for the better.

 

[BRVR]

Silent protags have never ever been good and never should be a thing again. That's all I have to say on this matter.

 

[Papercuts]

Much, much better. Still a few moments where it feels like he should have reacted more, but the changes all fit in really naturally.

 

[Doomguy Fieri]

It rules. I'm a silent protag and silent Isaac fanboy but him talking in the remake is very good. I actually would go so far as to say it is a perfect execution of the talking protagonist. Just enough to give him a bit of personality without overwhelming the player or ruining the mood.

 

[Weiss]

I haven't played it yet but I was turned by Isaac's dialogue when he runs out of ammo.

The way he says "fuuuuuck" is like it's being dragged across pavement.

 

[KDC720]

Good choice, I've always been team voice ever since Dead Space 2 though.

I will say even with the voice in the remake he's still unusually unreactive to certain things. Like when you run into those survivors who off themselves in front of you he doesnt say anything or react. Extra weird when they went through the effort of giving him extra dialogue if you do the sidequests.

 

[svacina]

silent protags in 2023?

Click to shrink...

we should have more of them

but isaac already talked non stop in 2 & 3, so w/e

 

[TheDarkKnight]

Silent Protagonists is always a downgrade. Always awkward, distracting and pulls you out of being immersed.

 

[CopyCatGirl]

I love the original Dead Space but Isaac being a silent protagonist was always a flaw for me. In general I never like that in games.
Glad they changed that in the sequel and I'm really happy they changed it in the remake.

 

[Humanity]

Fairly indifferent to the choice. They could have made him stay silent like in the original and it would have worked just as well. There are few places where Isaac speaking adds to the story - most notably when discussing his mother near the end - but nothing earth shattering.

 

[Lulu]

we should have more of them

but isaac already talked non stop in 2 & 3, so w/e

Click to shrink...

nah

 

[Dest]

I was worried given we in an era where protagonists don't ever shut the fuck up, but Issac talking was a good choice here and was done well.

 

[hobblygobbly]

Silent Protagonists is always a downgrade. Always awkward, distracting and pulls you out of being immersed.

Click to shrink...

Sometimes games are made to present the character from the player perspective and not the player being an observer of a character like in a movie

For example for me, it's the opposite regarding immersion, silent protagonists, especially in a RPG or survival horror is more immersive than giving one a voice and then the voice/personality doesn't even mesh with the class/gameplay style you might choose while playing like a RPG. For example the major reason Fallout 4 sucked was because they gave your character a voice/personality, a constantly concerned dad, nevermind the game allowing you to be a loner, cannibal, raider... and none of the gameplay possibilities matched the voice. Voiced protagonists aren't always automatically better

It's a perfectly valid style for many of us that appreciate that especially for example an RPG or a survival horror, two genres that do really well with it in my opinion

It's like Choose Your Own Adventure books or first person narratives in a book vs third person narrative. They're just different valid styles

 

[Rassilon]

Silent Protagonists is always a downgrade. Always awkward, distracting and pulls you out of being immersed.

Click to shrink...

half life fans, fully immersed in the moment:

 

[Roxas]

I think it made sense, honestly loved it in the original but I think the slight tweaks they make to the story to account for the fact that Isaac speaks now make it a really good inclusion. If they had just made him speak but kept all the original script otherwise it would've been pretty bad.

 

[Bishop89]

I haven't played the remake yet but I hated him talking in 2, probably will hate him talking in remake

 

[Magic Mushroom]

Yes, it's much more natural.

 

[Thorn]

It helps he's not very chatty. He talks when it's appropriate.

 

[Santar]

I haven't played the remake, but I just played through the original Dead Space for the first time and the fact that Isaac doesn't speak or really interact with anybody during the game does make you feel kinda disconnected from the what's going on. So I'd think him talking is probably a good change.

 

[Kouriozan]

I didn't know about that, I usually find characters talking to themselves really immersion breaking so I'll check this out soon.

 

[Jimnymebob]

I've played the original and watched the remake for around the same amount of time, and Isaac talking is such a good change.

 

[Toriko]

Silent Protaganists absolutely suck. In RPGs that cannot program every single dialogue option I get that its a choice but otherwise fk no.

Link not saying anything when Zelda yaps on is the stupidest shit I have seen. Just make everything text based for fk sake instead of awkwardly standing with their mouth shut.

 

[Mr Evil 37]

Overwhelmingly yes. It made no sense for him not to speak when spoken to, especially given how 2 and 3 went. They needed to make 1 consistent with the series and it adds so much to his character and the story.

The only time silent protagonists work in my opinion are games like BioShock or Prey where you're not doing a lot of direct interaction with other characters. It's even annoying in Dishonored 1 and Halo 3: ODST.

Also, before this thread gets into it, RPG protagonists are NOT silent. They are just not voiced. You talk in Fallout and TES, we just don't hear it. It's not the same thing as a silent protagonist which literally doesn't talk.

I didn't know about that, I usually find characters talking to themselves really immersion breaking so I'll check this out soon.

Click to shrink...

He doesn't talk to himself, except in extremely rare and specific cases. Most of the time he only talks when other characters talk to him.

 

[RoboPlato]

Isaac outlining what needs to be done and telling people he was going to do it felt so much more natural since he is an engineer. 2 and 3 had him talk anyway so it made things more consistent and I liked his characterization

 

[cowbanana]

Yes, it was a good choice. He only has a few lines where needed and he doesn't quip incessantly.

 

[xendless]

It's much better that he talks in this character driven horror context
Imagine if James couldn't talk to Maria in SH2

 

[CopyCatGirl]

Sometimes games are made to present the character from the player perspective and not the player being an observer of a character like in a movie

For example for me, it's the opposite regarding immersion, silent protagonists, especially in a RPG or survival horror is more immersive than giving one a voice and then the voice/personality doesn't even mesh with the class/gameplay style you might choose while playing like a RPG. For example the major reason Fallout 4 sucked was because they gave your character a voice/personality, a constantly concerned dad, nevermind the game allowing you to be a loner, cannibal, raider... and none of the gameplay possibilities matched the voice. Voiced protagonists aren't always automatically better

It's a perfectly valid style for many of us that appreciate that especially for example an RPG or a survival horror, two genres that do really well with it in my opinion

It's like Choose Your Own Adventure books or first person narratives in a book vs third person narrative. They're just different valid styles

Click to shrink...

But even in RPGs you usually have at least dialogue options so your character can interact with other people.
Instead of just standing there like an empty shell while NPCs talk at you.
Same in your example with Fallout 4. I agree that it was worse and Fallout 3/New Vegas without a voiced character was better. But even without voice acting your character wasn't "silent" in the world.

It's unfortunate that "silent protagonist" is nowadays used for both a game without voice acting and a game with an blank character. Makes it easy to talk past each other what people like/dislike about it. I don't think this used to the be case. I always heard it solely in regards to games like Half-Life.

Personally I have no problem playing games without voice acting. But actually silent progagonists I can't stand that.
And at least Dead Space didn't have anything originally. Isaac was just standing there like nothing is happening. NPCs talk at him and he has zero reaction. Big dramatic moments and just nothing. This is something that just never works for me. It feels super awkward and often ruins the immersion. Because I would react and I'm not even playing my character, I'm playing Isaac. So why isn't he showing any human reaction? Doesn't mean he has to constantly talk just never reacting to anything doesn't feel natural either. I think this is what people usually have an issue with when they dislike silent protagonists.

 

[SmokedSalmon]

It was a good decision.

In the original I never liked how Isaac was always told what needed to be fixed and how to fix it even though he's and engineer.

 

[Lowrys]

Silent protagonists are immersion-breaking for me, even in survival horror or whatever. Everything about the design of games is done to immerse the player. Having your character never say anything is just ridiculous to me. People talk and emote. That's human.

 

[P-Bo]

It was perfectly fine when he was talking in DS2, no reason why it wouldn't have been fine in the remake as well--and for how it helped flesh some things out, it was a welcome change.

 

[BeI]

I'm all for it since it brings it closer to DS2: the best of the games.

 

[Patitoloco]

The best decision.

It makes him way more integrated in the story and the Ishimura.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Silent protagonists have always been, and will always be, stupid.

 

[Kalentan]

Sometimes games are made to present the character from the player perspective and not the player being an observer of a character like in a movie

Click to shrink...

I think the only problem with that in this regard is that Isaac was never really an observer. His mission in the OG was the same in the remake, find his wife Nicole, so he was always a character coming in with a pre-determined backstory and investment in the current story.

 

[Zippedpinhead]

Gunner nails it, and I am enjoying the hell out of my playthrough.

 

[Modest_Modsoul]

Yes?

 

[plagiarize]

Making Isaac silent was clearly something the original devs regretted. Heck, I've been watching a series of 'react' videos on youtube with one of the original writers, and greatly prefers the change to give Isaac a voice because it means he gains so much agency.

It's one of my favorite choices in the remake.

 

[runcibald]

I love that he starts yelling shit if you repeatedly stomp a dead body like in Dead Space 2

 

[thepenguin55]

I think there's moments where he speaks and didn't need to as him talking in that moment added nothing but that's far less egregious to me than him not reacting at all to shit he should be reacting to. Actually, my bigger VO related problems are with Hammond and Daniels. While the new actors' performances aren't bad, they seem weirdly chill about everything that's happening particularly compared to their more believably freaked out performances in the original. There's also a tension between the two in the original that is dialed WAY back in the remake. Their dynamic was a little over the top in the intro of the original but after that I always thought it was pretty good.

Hammond in particular is just a total nothing of a character in the remake. Yeah, his character in the original was a bit of a cliche but there was at least something to latch onto compared to the remake. Also, I'm not a fan to the changes to Nicole's dialog in the intro. Totally different vibe to it that doesn't work for me. All in all I think the remake is great but some of the dialog changes I think are very hit or miss with certain characters.

 

[carlsojo]

Gunner Wright is *always* a good choice. He's wildly underrated as a VA.

Some kickass lines from him in this one too.