Ford has issued a recall for 462,000 vehicles worldwide over the possibility that their rearview cameras could suffer from faulty video output. According to the Associated Press and Reuters, the recall covers some 2020 to 2023 model Ford Explorers and Lincoln Aviators, as well as a bunch of 2020 to 2022 model Lincoln Corsairs. The affected vehicles come with 360-degree cameras that display live view footage on the in-car entertainment touchscreen console. The majority of the affected cars — over 382,000 — are in the US.
According to a document (PDF) from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the agency contacted Ford in late 2021 about allegations that the live view camera was showing a blue image instead of what was happening outside. That came after an earlier recall in 2021 for the same problem. Ford worked with suppliers to analyze those reports, but it wasn't until December 2022 that the automaker was able to replicate the issue in the laboratory and in-vehicle, which is most likely why Ford has only issued a recall now.
Apparently, 2,115 warranty reports had been submitted about this issue as of November 30th, 2022. Also, the automaker is aware of 17 minor accidents that allegedly occurred due to the vehicles' rear camera blue screen problem, but it hasn't heard of any injuries. Reuters said even the vehicles that were recalled in 2021 are part of this recall, so dealers can also update their image processing module software.
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15 AMAZING Pocket Gadgets You MUST Have! | Amazon Gadgets
15 AMAZING Pocket Gadgets You MUST Have! | Amazon Gadgets Welcome Back To WorldWide Tech ! Gadgets, gadgets ...
via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaEfp8CjJlc WorldWideTech
When Twitter quietly updated its developer policies to ban third-party clients from its platform, it abruptly closed an important chapter of Twitter’s history. Unlike most of its counterparts, which tightly control what developers are able to access, Twitter has a long history with independent app makers.
Now, the developers of some Twitter clients are turning their attention to another upstart platform: Mastodon. This week, Tapbots, the studio behind Tweebot, released Ivory, a Mastodon client based on its longtime Twitter app. Matteo Villa, the developer behind Twitter app Fenix, is testing a Mastodon client of his own called Wooly. Junyu Kuang, the indie developer behind Twitter client Spring is working on a Mastodon app called Mona. Shihab Mehboob, developer of Twitter app Aviary, is close to launching a Mastodon client called Mammoth.
The one-time Twitter developers join a growing group of independent app makers who have embraced Mastodon, the open-source social network that’s seen explosive growth since Elon Musk took over Twitter. The decentralized service now has more than 1.5 million users across nearly 10,000 servers. That, coupled with Mastodon’s open-source, “API-first” approach, has attracted dozens of developers eager to put their own spin on the service.
Mastodon
Paul Haddad, one of the developers behind Tweetbot and Ivory, says Tapbots started working on a Mastodon client late last year as they started to grow nervous about the future of Twitter’s developer platform.
“They [Twitter] had absolutely been making huge strides and opening up their API platform, but clients like ours were always going to be second- or third-class citizens,” says Haddad. “Whereas with Mastodon, that's absolutely not the case.”
Thomas Ricouard, the developer behind Ice Cubes, a Mastodon app that launched earlier this month, says that he had considered building an app with Twitter's API in the past, but decided against it because it was “looking more and more limited as the days passed.” At the same time, he says he noticed fewer and fewer familiar faces on his Twitter timeline. “Loving open source software,” he says, “I quickly saw the opportunity [for Mastodon].”
Today a new third-party #Mastodon app, Ice Cubes, launched on iOS. At least two more, Ivory from @tapbots and Mona from @theSpringApp, are being developed. Third-party apps are where the innovation happens!
— Mastodon (@Mastodon@mastodon.social) (@joinmastodon) January 20, 2023
Ice Cubes launched in the App Store January 19th, and it has already won the praise of reviewers and has dozens of contributors on GitHub. Even Twitter co-founder Ev Williams, who has been more active on Mastodon lately, uses the app.
On its part, Mastodon has welcomed developer interest even though it maintains its own mobile apps. “It's exciting because it means that a lot of very talented people are investing their time and resources into building on the platform and ecosystem that we have built up,” Mastodon founder and CEO Eugen Rochko tells Engadget. “Third party applications are incredibly valuable for a platform because that's where the power users go … it benefits everybody because the power users are the people who create the content that everybody reads.”
Developers’ contributions also have the potential to influence the direction of the platform itself. Just as Twitter’s earliest developers had an outsize impact on the service, some developers now see an opportunity to similarly influence Mastodon.
Both Ricouard and Haddad noted that official Mastodon apps currently don’t support quoting — the Mastodon equivalent of a quote tweet — but some clients, like Ice Cubes and Mona, do. “I think the client developers are able to implement that feature within the app, we're probably going to push it to go higher up on the radar of the Mastodon server developers,” Haddad predicts. Mastodon so far hasn’t publicly committed to adding quotes but Rochko, who was once adamantly against the feature, recently said he’s considering it.
Mastodon developers have experimented with other unique additions, too. Ice Cubes has Chat GPT-powered prompts that will spice up the text of your post (or "toot" as they are known to longtime Mastodon users). Wooly groups notifications in batches, similar to Twitter. Tapbots is working on a Mac app that will sync with Ivory’s iOS app, much like Tweetbot did across platforms.
I’ve experimented with integrating #OpenAI#ChatGPT right into my open source Mastodon client, I’ve added 3 prompts for now, to correct your toot, shorten and emphasise it! pic.twitter.com/41XEC3w8Bv
“Mastodon is in the [same] early phase Twitter was, where third party apps will have a big impact on the future product focus and development,” says Ricouard.
Rochko says that while he’s happy to see the growing number of Mastodon clients, he’s not in a hurry to try to replicate their features. Mastodon is still a nonprofit with a small team and a lengthy product roadmap. “It's definitely interesting to see different ideas tested out and experimented with and I think that long term, there's probably going to be influence over the official apps,” he says.
Still, not every former Twitter client developer is eager to start over on Mastodon. “I’m not sure if I want to create a Mastodon app but you should definitely check out those other developers who have,” Tweetings said in a farewell post on Twitter. Twitterrific’s developers are also unsure if Mastodon fits into their future plans.
Much will likely depend on if Mastodon is able to maintain its current growth and continue to attract new users. And as much as many former Twitter users see it as a replacement, Mastodon is structured very differently, and not everyone finds it as user-friendly as Twitter. Rochko, who started Mastodon in 2017, says he’s optimistic because the site continues to add influential users.
“What's exciting to me about the latest wave of users on Mastodon is not the numbers but the who. The people who have joined from various journalist organizations, media organizations, politicians, actors, writers, and just you know, famous internet people — like the olden days.”
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At the moment, Amazon Prime customers can enjoy free grocery delivery via the company's Fresh service for checkouts worth $35 and above. It's a reasonable and pretty affordable minimum purchase requirement, even for those live alone. But starting on February 28th, people would have to add a lot more items to their cart if they don't want to pay extra to get their order delivered to their doorstep. As The Verge has noticed, the e-commerce giant has updated its Fresh grocery page to note that only orders worth above $150 will be delivered for free within a two-hour window by the end of next month.
Amazon will deliver orders between $100 and $150 for $4, while orders between $50 and $100 will incur a $7 service charge. If a customer's items come up to less than $50, they'll have to pay a whopping $10. Since the Fresh service is only available to subscribers already paying for Amazon Prime, which raised its annual fee to $139 from $119 last year, it will become a much pricier option by the time March arrives.
A company spokesperson told The Verge that it's "introducing a service fee on some Amazon Fresh delivery orders to help keep prices low in [its] online and physical grocery stores as [it] better cover[s] grocery delivery costs and continue to enable offering a consistent, fast, and high-quality delivery experience." The spokesperson continued: "We will continue to offer convenient two-hour delivery windows for all orders, and customers in some areas will be able to select a longer delivery window for a reduced fee."
Based on that statement, Amazon could jack up grocery prices if it doesn't charge delivery fees. But as it is, customers will end up paying more anyway — a lot of people can't afford its $150 minimum requirement these days, and those who can may not be able to consume everything they bought before they go bad or are no longer, well, fresh. Amazon has started notifying customers via email about the new service fees, and some social media users are pointing out how outrageous the price jump is to get free delivery.
Customers have come to rely on Amazon Fresh for grocery deliveries when the pandemic started, including folks on the government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program. People who have SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) debit cards can order via Fresh even without a Prime subscription, making it a good (and in some cases, the only) option for people with disabilities. But now they'd have to pay extra on top of their purchase. According to Amazon's website, they can't even use their EBT cards to pay for the shipping fee and will have to provide another form of payment.
"Customers with an EBT card will continue to receive free grocery delivery on orders more than $150."
Uh, the average benefit a single person gets is only $197 *FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH*. This price-hike for delivery fees is going to hurt low-income disabled folks horribly.
Pro surfers will soon start using an Apple Watch during competitions. The World Surf League (WSL) has designated the wearable as official wearable equipment. The organization says it's the first time that Apple Watch is being "used as official competitor equipment in a professional sports environment."
Before each heat, every surfer on the Championship Tour will receive an Apple Watch that's preloaded with the new WSL Surfer app. They can use it to keep track of scores, wave priority and times. The app, which works on Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra, syncs with the WSL's scoring system in real time. The WSL says Apple Watch fits the bill thanks to its durability, cellular data connectivity and large, bright screen.
"The noise of the wind and the waves can sometimes make it impossible to hear the announcers while competing, and that means you miss crucial information," Ítalo Ferreira, the 2019 WSL champion and an Olympic gold medalist, said in a statement. "Challenging conditions can make it hard to see the beach and a priority penalty could cost you the heat, so not needing to rely on seeing the beach or hearing the announcers makes a huge difference and prevents guesswork."
The WSL didn't say which Apple Watch model competitors will use, but the Ultra makes the most sense. It has the largest screen of any Apple Watch to date and it's the most rugged version the company has built. Apple says the Ultra has more accurate GPS and water resistance than its other models.
The 2023 WSL Championship Tour starts this weekend in Oahu, Hawaii. If you're interested to see how the Apple Watch is used in pro sports, you can watch the event on YouTube, the WSL's app or the organization's website. Meanwhile, the second season of docuseries Make or Break, which follows competitors on the Championship Tour, will hit Apple TV+ in February.
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When I look back, many of my favorite games supply a distinct sense of movement, a kind of reworked physics that directly connects my hands to the physicality of the thing I’m controlling onscreen. This thrill is the main reason I particularly enjoy driving games. In a good racing game like Gran Turismo, for instance, each car tells a different story with each track, whether I’m threading a luxury sports car through the curves of the Nurburgring or lugging a Sambabus down the Tokyo Expressway.
That said, exactly how much detail the digital cars in these games can convey can feel limited by a standard gamepad. But with a good racing wheel and pedals, those finer sensations – bumping over a curb, transitioning from concrete to dirt, fighting through a tight corner as your car resists – are more intimate. The way a wheel forces me to put my whole body into steering the car only makes me more connected and engaged. And in competitive games, its granularity can be a great benefit. Recently, I’ve been reminded of these pleasures after picking up Thrustmaster’s T300RS GT Edition.
This is not my first wheel. Previously, I used Logitech’s G29, a popular entry-level model. It helped my lap times for many years, and I’d still consider it a decent buy if you can find it, or its mildly upgraded successor, the G923, on deep discount. But as I continued to sink more time into different kinds of simulators and racing games, I felt I could do better. Logitech’s brake pedal could feel stiff and inconsistent – even preventing me from braking 100 percent in a sim like Assetto Corsa unless I effectively stood on it – and its gear-driven force feedback could come off a bit clunky and imprecise.
After spending several hours combing through reviews and game forums, I settled on the belt-driven T300RS GT as my upgrade. It’s a clear step behind the direct drive wheels that exist at the top end of this market, but I’m more of an enthusiast than a high-level sim racer. And at $450, it’s about as much as I can consciously invest in a game controller, especially a niche one. After roughly six months of use, however, I can confidently recommend it to others upgrading from an entry-level wheel, or those who are looking to buy their first wheel and know they’ll make use of the extra investment.
Jeff Dunn / Engadget
The T300RS gives a favorable impression out of the box. Though the wheel is coated in rubber (rather than the G29’s leather), it’s grippy, sturdy and pleasingly smooth. The three metal pedals feel cool and solid, and their base stays in place regardless of how much force I put down. The full set of gamepad buttons built into the wheel are easy enough to reach, and the metallic paddle shifters on the back of the wheel have a tight click when changing gears. The wheel is also completely detachable from its base, on the off chance I ever want to pop on a different one instead.
This is a Gran Turismo-branded wheel, and since Gran Turismo is a PlayStation franchise, all the buttons follow PlayStation’s iconography. Thrustmaster launched this wheel back in 2016, so it’s plug-and-play with the PS5, PS4 and PS3 (which I appreciate as someone who enjoys revisiting older games). The device also works on PC, but, unsurprisingly, Xbox and Nintendo consoles aren’t supported.
The wheel’s multi-piece mounting setup requires more work to attach to a desk than the Logitech wheel’s built-in clamps, but it’s not arduous enough to be a serious hindrance. The wheelbase is on the heavy side, though and, as with any wheel, you’ll want to have ample space to hook everything up.
Once it’s locked in, the T300RS GT Edition gives me little to complain about. The point of a racing wheel is to effectively communicate what your virtual car is doing. This does that. When I start to lose grip after taking a corner too hot, I feel it, and I can tell what subtle corrections I need to make to regain control. It’s not as true-to-life as a direct drive wheel, but its belt-driven force feedback is powerful and strikingly smooth, unlike the stepped sensation I’d get with the G29. It’s also noticeably less noisy than the Logitech wheel, which is great when I want to get in a few races later at night.
Likewise, it didn’t take me long to get used to the pedals, and within a few races I had a good sense of how much force was needed to properly feather the accelerator or fully brake. In general, the pedals don’t require significant pressure, which I like. Still, you can adjust the pedal sensitivity, among other bits, through the wheel’s settings on a PC.
One consequence of this motorized setup is that it needs internal fans and heatsinks to keep itself cool. When you’re pushing it, a fan at the top of the wheelbase will blow out hot air. It’s quiet, but you can sometimes smell it. Cranking the feedback effects isn’t the wisest idea for this kind of wheel’s long-term durability, either, so it’s worth keeping the force feedback at a moderate level more generally.
The GT Edition here is a variant of Thrustmaster’s standard T300RS, which is usually $50 or so cheaper. (Both wheels look to be having stock issues as of this writing.) The main difference, besides the GT branding, is that the former has a nicer-feeling three-pedal set with a built-in clutch pedal. The latter just has gas and brake pedals. The GT Edition also includes a spongy “conical brake mod” that you can stick behind the brake to provide a more realistic sense of resistance, though I prefer the looser feel of driving without it. The pedal upgrade of the GT Edition was worth the extra change for me, but, to be clear, the two wheels are otherwise the same, and it’s always possible to upgrade either model’s pedals down the line.
You should view all of my praise here on a curve. Hardcore racers who only play sims like iRacing or rFactor 2 can do better, and they already know that. A racing wheel isn’t some magic cheat code, either: A gamepad user will be faster than wheel user if they’ve spent more time perfecting their lines and braking points on a given track. If anything, using a wheel for the first time can feel like learning to drive again.
Still, the T300RS GT Edition should be an ideal performer for new converts and moderate enthusiasts looking to upgrade. Even if it’s been around for a while, there still aren’t that many belt-driven alternatives that are truly competing with it in its price range.
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With the launch of the Galaxy Buds 2 last year, Samsung brought premium features like active noise cancellation (ANC) to its entry-level headphones, while keeping the same $150 price as the Galaxy Buds+. If that's still too much money, you can now grab a pair at Amazon in multiple colors for just $95, for a savings of $55 or 37 percent.
The Galaxy Buds 2 received a solid 84 Engadget Review score thanks to a number of big improvements. The biggest is the addition of ANC, along with an adjustable ambient sounds mode. While the ANC doesn't block external sounds as well as more expensive earbuds, it's a big improvement over simple passive noise cancellation They also offer improved sound quality, with ample base and balanced sound. It also offers EQ presets and the ability to control features using the Galaxy Watch 4.
They're 15 percent small and 20 percent lighter than the Galaxy Buds+, making them he company's smallest and most comfortable earbuds to date. Battery life isn't incredible at 5 hours (with ANC enabled), but the case holds an additional three full charges and it supports Qi wireless charging as well. Call quality is solid thanks to AI that helps reduce background noise.
All those features make the Galaxy Buds 2 a very solid buy, particularly at the $95 sale price that's just off the all-time low. They're designed to work best with Android devices, though so iPhone users will probably want to look elsewhere.
Apple has "halted the development" of its own WiFi chip that was meant to replace Broadcom's in its devices "for a while," according to Ming-Chi Kuo. The notable analyst explained in a Medium post that he's basing this report on his latest survey of the semiconductor industry's foundries, equipment, packaging and testing. If you'll recall, Bloomberg reported earlier this month that the tech giant was working on its own wireless chips meant for devices slated for release in 2025. While Apple has yet to confirm the report, it's not exactly hard to believe: The tech giant has been taking steps to design and manufacture more in-house components to lessen its reliance on outside companies.
Kuo said Apple chose to devote most of its resources to developing its next-gen A-series and M-series processors instead. That way, it can ensure that the processors for its iPhones, iPads and MacBooks can enter production over the next couple of years. The analyst also explained that it's riskier for Apple to use its own WiFi chips at a time when companies are switching their devices over to WiFi 6E. "Broadcom will be the biggest winner" in this situation, he said, since the iPhone 15 is expected to feature the new WiFi standard that allows access to the 6 GHz band.
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Apple has halted developing its own Wi-Fi chips; Broadcom is the biggest winner of the iPhone 15’s upgrade to Wi-Fi 6E and the leading beneficiary of the Wi-Fi industry-standard upgrade to Wi-Fi 6E/7 with higher ASP.https://t.co/XEZ0bVV8A8
While it's unclear if Apple will ever release its own WiFi chip, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the company's wireless chipset ambition isn't entirely dead. In Kuo's Twitter thread about the report, Gurman chimed in and said that the tech giant is still working on a combined WiFi-Bluetooth chip. Gurman previously said that the tech giant is also working on a chip that combines Bluetooth, cellular and WiFi in a single component, but he didn't say if that one is still under development.
When The Information published a piece last week that said Apple is working on a cheaper mixed-reality headset, one of its sources claimed that the device could use the company's in-house Bluetooth and WiFi chipset. That would allow Apple to keep costs and the device's final retail price low, since it wouldn't have to deal with a third party company's pricing demands.
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Google is rolling out a feature to Android that will add an extra layer of privacy when you browse websites in Incognito mode. The tech giant has revealed in a blog post (via The Verge) that the ability to lock Chrome Incognito sessions behind biometric authentication on mobile is currently making its way to Android users after debuting on iOS. When this feature is switched on, you will have to verify your identity through face or fingerprint authentication every time you return to an Incognito tab after exiting Chrome or navigating away to another app.
Locked Incognito sessions first became available on Android in 2022 — over a year after Google started testing it for iPhones and iPads — but as an experimental feature you'd have to activate via a flag. Based on 9to5Google's experience using it on Android last year, this feature will show you a gray screen with the Incognito logo at the center when you come back to a tab protected by the privacy feature. You'll then have to tap "Unlock Incognito" to open biometric authentication or choose to verify your identity with your PIN code.
While the feature isn't available for us yet, you can check out if you already have access to it by tapping on the three-dot menu at the top right corner of Chrome. Open Settings and then go to Privacy and Security to toggle on "Lock Incognito tabs when you leave Chrome" if you already see it as an option.
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You might not want to count on getting a Cybertruck this year despite promises to the contrary. During a conference call discussing Tesla's latest earnings, company chief Elon Musk said mass production of the electric pickup won't begin until 2024. He still expects manufacturing to kick off "sometime this summer," but warned that output would be "very slow" early on. Tesla is still in the midst of installing assembly equipment.
Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019, but has delayed its release multiple times. The company also warned that the final specs and pricing will change. The EV was originally supposed to start at $39,900 in its single-motor configuration and climb to nearly $70,000 for the tri-motor version. While the automaker is still taking deposits, it's no longer promising specific configurations. The pandemic, a rough economy, longstanding supply chain issues and design tweaks are all expected to influence what you can ultimately buy.
This isn't a new problem for Tesla. Production of the Model 3 started in July 2017, but was very limited until mid-2018 as the company struggled to clear factory bottlenecks. The Cybertruck poses unique challenges, however. Its signature cold-rolled steel body is said to be extra-tough, but also requires manufacturing techniques not normally used for cars. Most production is expected to take place at the Giga Texas factory near Austin, which formally opened last April.
The revised timeline may create problems. The Cybertruck is already entering a fiercer competitive landscape that includes the Ford F-150 Lightning, GMC Hummer EV and Rivian R1T. By the time Tesla's production is in full swing, it will likely have to take on the Ram 1500 EV and Chevy Silverado EV as well as more affordable versions of existing trucks. An electric pickup is no longer the novelty it was four years ago, and it's not clear if the finished Cybertruck will offer major advantages over its rivals.
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In the split second before a necromorph slides its arm blades into Isaac Clarke’s stomach, it looks like the massive monster is giving him a bloody, snarling, over-excited hug. This precise moment, frozen between horrific brutality and a comforting embrace, captures the essence of the Dead Space remake. As a fan of the 2008 game, playing the new Dead Space is a cozy experience, even amid all the terror, death and gore. Hell, because of these factors. The Dead Space remake is big, beautiful and better than the original, while maintaining the magic that made the first game an instant classic. Turns out, great game design is timeless.
Man, EA used to make some good games. Dead Space came out at the height of EA’s golden era, a year after the first Mass Effect and a month before Mirror’s Edge, and it defined the sci-fi horror genre in a way that persists today. Dead Space was the game that introduced HUD-less horror environments, incorporating health and ability meters into Isaac’s suit, rather than displaying static indicators over every scene. The remake uses the same immersion system, alongside a pop-up inventory that doesn’t interrupt gameplay. Stores and upgrade benches are scattered around the USG Ishimura, the main ship where the nightmare unfolds, powered by credits and nodes that players find while slicing their way through the monsters onboard.
In the remake, the Ishimura is a maze of twisting metal corridors and locked rooms, and it’s bursting with secrets. I found myself checking every corner for glowing boxes to stomp on or shiny bits of ammo and credits, and my exploration was often richly rewarded. Never toorich, though — asset management underscores the game’s tension, and Isaac is constantly at risk of running out of ammo, stasis energy, oxygen or health. He’s always vulnerable in some way. In an action-horror game, this feeling is paramount.
Isaac has his classic arsenal of improvised and scavenged weapons, including the plasma cutter, disc ripper and flamethrower, but with some modern updates. The secondary mechanism on the flamethrower, for instance, deploys a wall of fire rather than an explosive orb, and it’s an ultra-satisfying way to cut off encroaching hordes. Shooting the necromorphs’ long limbs will always be more powerful than a headshot; stomping on mutant corpses still releases goodies (and any lingering player frustration), and the stasis ability remains a critical tool in managing enemies, temporarily freezing them in place. Kinesis is incredibly useful as well, allowing Isaac to pick up and hurl objects at any time, with unlimited duration.
EA Motive
Isaac gains new weapons and abilities at a rapid pace, and these tools flow into each other smoothly during locked-room combat scenes. Players are able to approach fights in a variety of ways and swap strategies on the fly — though stasis, shoot, stomp is always a valid approach. Save and refill stations are positioned generously throughout the environments, while ammo and health drops tend to appear right when they’re needed. In general, it doesn’t feel like the game mechanics are working against you — that’s only the murderous mutant space monsters.
Aside from significant graphical improvements, the single biggest enhancement in the Dead Space remake is the addition of zero-gravity flight. This mechanic opens up the game in a way that feels authentic to the source material — as if this is what developers wanted to do back in 2008, but hardware limitations made it impossible. In the original, Isaac leapt from surface to surface in zero-gravity, but now he floats and soars freely through these scenes with boosters on the soles of his boots. While flying, he can shoot, freeze and fling objects at enemies in any direction.
Boss fights and large-scale puzzles are dynamic in zero-G, and flying changes some sections of the game drastically. Isaac’s final fight against the Leviathan (a big tentacle blob) is now a fast-paced, no-oxygen, in-literal-space event with three turrets, requiring a combination of kinesis, mid-flight strafing and shooting skills. In the original Dead Space, this fight has Isaac firing on the tentacles from a gunner seat inside the Ishimura. There’s no denying, the remake does it better.
Dead Space is bloody and beautiful from start to finish on PlayStation 5. The game includes full voice acting, expanded narrative arcs, fresh mechanics, new puzzles and no loading screens (just a few suspiciously long tram rides that developers at Motive claim exist purely to increase the tension).
Only a couple of sections in my playthrough came close to tedious. More than halfway through the game, I was grabbed by a giant tentacle and had the wrong weapon equipped to shoot its glowing weak point. It took half a dozen deaths for me to properly swap guns and land enough shots to end the sequence. This felt unfair and deflating after an entertaining and challenging boss fight. However, I'm happy to say this was my largest gripe with the remaster — despite minor hiccups like this one, Dead Space is a master class in action-horror game design.
There’s a surprising amount of restraint to this remake: EA updated the right things in the right way, while avoiding the baggage of modern AAA games. You’ll find no procedural generation here, no open world, no way to communicate with other players, not even a HUD; just a limited set of skills and a spaceship filled with violent, half-dead, long-limbed monsters.
Playing the Dead Space remake feels like snuggling into a cozy sweater made out of bloody, infected flesh and razor-sharp bone fragments. It’s scary, yes, but in a way that makes you laugh after jumping in fright. It’s a lot like being spooked by a friend — or, maybe, getting hugged by a necromorph.
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