Having issues with a modern computer, not getting the game to run and perform like you'd expect? I've got a quick and dirty solution for you. First, as a reference I'm going to post my system specs:

Intel i7-13700k
Nvidia 4090 RTX(Gainward)
64gb Ram@6.000Mhz(G.Skill)
2x990 EVO M.2 SSD(Samsung)
Standard 1920x1080 monitor(HP)

I'm using a Logitech G910 keyboard with a Logitech G604 mouse. I also have a Xbox controller, but I rarely use it. I just list it here to confirm full functionality for Dead Space 2 on Steam. Just make sure to have the Steam controller feature turned off, or set to default.

I was initially facing several issues ranging from the game crashing right away on start, the camera spinning around the character, very wonky mouse controls and extreme loud and overdriven audio. To address those issues I went over to the Dead Space 2 Gaming Wiki[www.pcgamingwiki.com] and downloaded the following fixes&improvements:

• 1. 4gb patch(use the patch, not the large address thingy)

• 2. raw input mouse fix(make sure to let ENB/Reshade/SweetFX know in the .ini, that you are using a different .dll, if you make use of ENB, or any other form of 3rd party shader)

• 3. the DXWrapper if you experience crashes at start, or other related issues that render the game unplayable. Do NOT! use the ADK thingy, because there's no reason why you want to affect your whole computer to fix a single instance of a game!

• 4. Conduit Room Modification(optional console DLC content, giving you free access to 4 new rooms previously locked. The rooms contain some audio/text logs and a couple of useful gimmicks)

• 5. Retail Downgrader(optional to remove the games Steam exclusive update cheat, unlocking various new weapons and suits in shop, so you would never need schematics, or need to unlock them by naturally progressing through the game)

• 6. use 5.1 audio(in the DS2 settings) even when you're on headphones and your system does not naturally provide 5.1. Otherwise you risk to get your ears blowen off on jumpscares

So what did I experience exactly and what did I do to fix all of it, and properly set all the downloads up to make things work in conjunction, to make the game whole again?

Well, the first symptom was the game crashing to desktop right away. This would also let the game and Steam fall back to my second monitor, for whatever reason, and funny enough, not allow Steam to use the default monitor without restarting the computer. This was fixed by the "Single Core usage"-fix aka DXWrapper.

The second symptom was extremely loud audio. And by loud I mean "so loud that even I as a deaf aid user got my ears blowen out of my skull, on any jumpscare and shriek audio"-loud. This was fixed by setting the audio to 5.1.

Third symptom, unfortunately only realized when I'd progressed through the intro sequence and was about to flee from the Necromorphs, was a spinning camera around the player. I had to google for a solution, and figured the game doesn't like if you have a Joystick(not controller) pluged into the computer. So you want to remove the joystick if you're making use of one.

The fourth symptom was very low framerate(30fps) and literale visual eye cancer due to hopelessly outdated shader and visual settings. This was completely addressed by:

1. turning off the game internal Vsync
2. set everything else to maxed out
3. turning on Vsync in my game specific Nividia control panel
4. turning manually on(not "use game default"): FXAA, MSAA, DSR and Anisotrop Filtering, all maxed out. And yes, you can use both in conjunction, FXAA and MSAA

To my surprise the game's default visual settings were used as well, and so I basically ended up with 144fps(my monitors limit), a tripple anti anilising setup and a 2xresolution via DSR. At this point I believe I can easily raise to even 4xresolution given the games age. Of course make sure to set up the ingame resolution to the max so DSR will properly work, which was 1920x1080@144fps for me.

If you make use of all those settings, make sure to definitively use the mouse fix, because the developers tied mouse acceleration to the actual game's frame rate. Also, it will naturally fall back to 30fps if you do not use the single core fix, because it is a lazy console port.

Hope this helps, because it took me about 3 hours to find all those things and set it up properly. Maybe this guide will shortcut your misery, so you can finally become whole a second time without a "pain in the anus"-setup.

I already mentioned the Conduit DLC, and the Steam DLC downgrader. But there's one important thing to understand here. If you also make use of the 4gb patch, you must first install the .exe coming with the downgrader, and THEN use the 4gb patcher on it.

For the Conduit DLC enabler you basically just have to rename the downloaded file according to instructions on the Gaming Wiki, or the Nexus(if this was your prefered source for download), because the default install on Steam does not make use of any archive number lower than 2.

Make sure to back up everything properly, and maybe set up an easy "rebuild" routine, if the game, for whatever reason, autoverifies or updates the game files. My auto rebuild routine is basically just having everything inside one folder after setting up, to easily copy paste.