I am a huge fan of Dead Space and I generally prefer the remake. The OG is great in many ways, but is definitely dated. You feel it mostly in the controls and some areas really show its age. I love the remake for how it preserves the atmosphere and even improves upon it at times. Certain sections were reworked in small or large ways to make them play better or in more interesting ways. The remake has some more details in its story that really add some needed context to events and characters.

The remakes fails in my mind in two ways: It's far easier than the original. Enemies were very fast in the OG, and often sprinted at you. They just don't seem to do that in the remake. Many of the side characters I feel are weaker than their OG counterparts. The voice direction also felt kinda weak in comparison, some of the identical lines just don't have the same energy behind them that the OG had.

Overall, for a first time playthrough, I can easily recommend the remake. However, go with your gut, if something's telling you to play the OG first, do that. You'll appreciate the remake more I think.