Dead Space

EA Redwood Shores' 2008 horror game puts you on the USG Ishimura, a mining ship where the crew has been converted into Necromorphs, and gives you an engineer with a plasma cutter instead of a soldier with a rifle. Dismemberment is the whole combat system: shooting a Necromorph in the chest does almost nothing, so you cut limbs off, and the stasis module slows the fast ones long enough to line up the shot. The interface is the other famous idea - health and ammo are projected onto Isaac's suit, menus appear as holograms in the world, and there is no HUD at all, so nothing ever breaks the frame. Sound does most of the rest, with the Ishimura groaning around you and vacuum sections cutting audio to your own breathing. It borrows structure openly from Resident Evil 4 and setting from Event Horizon, and combines them into something that stands on its own. The 2023 remake is excellent; this original is still worth playing for its pacing.