Technologies

The Ultimate Dead Space Remake Survival Guide

Even Dead Space veterans might want to check out these tips.

Dead Space might be the best video game remake ever. But whether you’re a longtime fan of the series or brand new to it, the sci-fi survival horror game can be a little tricky.

The remake of the 2008 game came out Friday, and players are stepping back into the role of Isaac, an engineer who finds himself in the middle of an utter nightmare. Even though the game is 15 years old, developer Motive Studios made some small changes to its formula to create a fresh experience for anyone playing.

Here are nine tips to survive Dead Space.

Always go for the limbs

Several characters in the game mention cutting off the limbs of the Necromorphs, the game’s alien bad guys. It can’t be said enough how important this is.

Shots to the head and body don’t do nearly as much damage as cutting off a limb, making the effort a waste of ammo. Most of the weapons available to Isaac are intended to be used to cut off the extremities, but you have to make sure to target limbs accordingly. For most enemies, focus on the legs in order to decrease their mobility.

Use the right weapon on the right enemy

Speaking of weapons, with so many options, it’s important to know which one is best for the job. Isaac starts off with the Plasma Cutter, ideal for the commonly found Slashers, with their long limbs, or the doglike Lurkers. Isaac’s second weapon, the Plasma Rifle, is perfect for the Exploders, who have a pouch of chemicals attached to them. It takes only a few bullets for the pouch to explode. Since ammunition is limited in Dead Space, picking the right weapon will help prevent you from running out of ammo at the worst time. The Ripper is the third weapon Isaac acquires and is the best to take down multiple Stalkers.

Keep the weapons you like on you

There are seven weapons in Dead Space, but you may find yourself gravitating to a few of them. If that’s the case, keep only those weapons you like in your inventory and put the rest in storage. Ammo dropped by enemies will only match the weapons you carry. Sticking to the weapons you like will open up space in your inventory, and ammo for those weapons will be prioritized by the game.

Never forget to stomp

Necromorphs can take a lot of damage and still move around with only one or two working limbs. Because of this, one way to make sure they’re dead is by stomping on them. Not only does smashing them to bits with Isaac’s boot provide some satisfaction, it’ll also cause an item to drop from the Necromorph. Practically every one will have some useful item on it.

Use your Stasis

The Stasis Module is a suit upgrade that lets you slow down an object or enemy. At the start of the game, Isaac can use it just a few times before it’s depleted, but upgrades to his suit extend the amount available. Though initially Statis is used to get past an out-of-control door, it’s an incredibly helpful tool for dealing with Necromorphs. A shot to an individual or group of enemies will slow them down tremendously, giving you more time to evade attacks, lop a limb or run away.

Use Kinesis to get hard-to-reach items

Kinesis is another module Isaac acquires early in the game to move obstacles in his way. It can also be used to solve puzzles and to throw pipes and exploding canisters at Necromorphs.

Kinesis can also be used to grab items. Keep an eye out for the glowing green or white dots on items. Instead of running, or floating, to get them, you can use Kinesis to bring items right to you. There are some items purposely placed out of reach that can be acquired only with Kinesis.

Watch out for useful weapons around you

Thanks to Kinesis, many objects found around the Ishimura can be used as weapons. The two obvious ones are the bright red canisters that explode on impact, and the glowing blue-ish containers, which can cause a Stasis effect to enemies caught in the blaster. Isaac can also yank poles from the ship with Kinesis and then hurl them at a Necromorph. Even the Necromorphs themselves can act as a weapon. Once a Slasher’s arm has been severed from its body, that giant claw can be thrown at the enemy to deal damage.

Don’t let your health get too low

Isaac’s health is viewable on his back and goes from green to yellow to red as it’s depleted. Since Dead Space is a survival horror game, healing items are hard to come by. The problem is that certain Necromorphs have a grab attack that can immediately kill Isaac if his health is in the red. If it’s that low, make sure to keep your distance.

Save often

Modern games autosave a player’s progress frequently. Dead Space, however, predates that feature, which means it’s important to save your progress often. There are segments of the game when an autosave happens, but don’t rely on these, or else you’ll risk incurring a significant setback.

Technologies

Microsoft Is Eliminating Passwords in August: Here’s What You Need to Do to Prepare

Microsoft Authenticator has already stopped autofilling passwords, but the biggest change comes next month.

In June, Microsoft Authenticator stopped letting users create new passwords. In July, it turned off the autofill password function. And in August, the login app will stop supporting passwords entirely, moving to more secure passkeys, such as a PIN, fingerprint or facial recognition.

Attila Tomaschek, CNET’s software senior writer and digital security expert, says that passkeys are a safer alternative to the risky password habits practiced by 49% of US adults, according to a recent survey by CNET.

«Passwords can be cracked, whereas passkeys need both the public and the locally stored private key to authenticate users, which can help mitigate risks like falling victim to phishing and brute-force or credential-stuffing attacks,» Tomaschek said.

Using the same password for several accounts or adding personal hints can be a convenient way to remember your login. But that puts you at a big risk for scammers, identity theft and fraud. Here’s more on Microsoft’s plan for eliminating passwords and how to make the switch to passkeys before August.

When will Microsoft Authenticator stop supporting passwords?

Microsoft Authenticator houses your passwords and lets you sign into all your Microsoft accounts using a PIN, facial recognition like Windows Hello, or other biometric data like a fingerprint. Authenticator can be used in other ways, such as verifying you’re logging in if you forgot your password, or using two-factor authentication as an extra layer of security for your accounts. In June, the company stopped letting users add passwords to Authenticator, but here’s a timeline of other changes you can expect from Microsoft.

July 2025: You won’t be able to use the autofill password function.
August 2025: You’ll no longer be able to use saved passwords.

If you still want to use passwords instead of passkeys, you can store them in Microsoft Edge. However, CNET experts recommend adopting passkeys during this transition. «Passkeys use public key cryptography to authenticate users, rather than relying on users themselves creating their own (often weak or reused) passwords to access their online accounts,» Tomaschek said.

Why are passkeys a better alternative to passwords?

So what exactly is a passkey? It’s a credential created by the Fast Identity Online Alliance that uses biometric data or a PIN to verify your identity and access your account. Think about using your fingerprint or Face ID to log into your account. That’s generally safer than using a password that is easy to guess or susceptible to a phishing attack.

Passkeys aren’t stored on servers like passwords. Instead, they’re stored only on your personal device. More conveniently, this takes the guesswork out of remembering your passwords and the need for a password manager.

How to set up a passkey in Microsoft Authenticator

Microsoft said in a May 1 blog post that it will automatically detect the best passkey to set up and make that your default sign-in option. «If you have a password and ‘one-time code’ set up on your account, we’ll prompt you to sign in with your one-time code instead of your password. After you’re signed in, you’ll be prompted to enroll a passkey. Then the next time you sign in, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your passkey,» according to the blog post.

To set up a new passkey, open your Authenticator app on your phone. Tap on your account and select «Set up a passkey.» You’ll be prompted to log in with your existing credentials. After you’re logged in, you can set up the passkey.

Technologies

The AI Chatbots We Use Most, and How We Use Them

91% of AI users have a default artificial intelligence assistant they turn to for their AI tasks, a Menlo Ventures report has found.

If you have a particular artificial intelligence tool that you tend to try first every time you’re in need of an AI assist, you’re not alone. According to a new survey, 91% of people who use AI have a favorite chatbot they try first, whether it’s ChatGPT, Gemini, Alexa or something else.

A Menlo Ventures survey of 5,000 adults found that this «default tool dynamic» means most people using AI have chosen a general AI tool they’ll try first for every job, even if it’s not necessarily the best tool for the job.

In the report, ChatGPT is the AI assistant that tops default tools, with 28% of respondents choosing it first. It’s followed by Google’s Gemini at 23%, Meta AI and Amazon’s Alexa, both at 18% and Apple’s Siri at 16%. Other tools including Claude, Grok and Perplexity collectively make up another 33%.

Some of the most common ways people are using these AI tools include composing emails and other writing support, researching topics of interest and managing to-do lists, according to Menlo Ventures.

Some of that, Menlo Ventures says, is «first-mover advantage,» with tools like ChatGPT having built up a following by being the first to offer some chatbot and image-generation features. But, the company warns, «that position is not guaranteed,» with challengers moving fast.

«The consumer market for [large language models] is still nascent and far from saturated,» the report says, «leaving ample room for product innovation to shift market share over time.»

Overall, 61% of Americans have used AI in the last six months and nearly 1 in 5, 19%, rely on it daily, the report says.

Technologies

This Early Prime Day Deal Lets You Grab AirPods 4 At Their Lowest Price Yet

Apple’s AirPods 4 have dropped to their lowest price of 2025 — but this early Prime Day deal won’t last long.

Prime Day is still a few sunsets away, but Amazon isn’t waiting around. The retailer has already started slashing prices across tons of popular products, including the much-loved AirPods 4 (ANC).

For a limited time, you can snag these for 2025’s best price of just $149. This saves you $30, and you don’t even have to enter any codes or clip any coupons. The catch? We can’t promise that this deal will stick around for much longer.

This is the latest generation of Apple’s earbuds. The Apple AirPods 4 have the same H2 chip found in the AirPods Pro 2, so you can expect great sound quality. They also rock a more compact design with this new generation and offer excellent voice-calling performance. Plus, Spatial Audio support adds a touch of personalization.

Note that this deal is for the ANC (active noise cancellation) model of these earbuds. It comes with a wireless charging case and a speaker that can help you find them using Apple’s Find My tracking service.

«With a slightly smaller design, improved sound and Apple’s powerful H2 chip features, the Apple AirPods 4 are a worthy upgrade,» said CNET audio expert David Carnoy in his AirPods 4 review. «But what really makes them special is the noise canceling in the step-up ANC model.»

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

What’s the competition like? You can find out by reading through the best early Prime Day deals on headphones and speakers, where we’ve rounded up all the latest and greatest prices from the likes of Apple, Sony, Beats and many more big names. Just be sure to get your orders in before the deals expire.

HEADPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones (Navy):

$298 (save $50)
Soundcore Life Q20 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphones (Black):

$40 (save $20)
Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Black):

$300 (save $51)
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless ANC Over-Ear Headphones (Black):

$299 (save $151)
Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e ANC Over-Ear Headphones (Black):

$220 (save $180)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

Apple products rarely go on sale, and when they do, the stock tends to run out before the deal window closes. Combine that with AirPods 4 being Apple’s latest AirPods and this discount being the year’s all-time low price — you have a nice offer in your hands.