With a new installment of the beloved survival horror franchise just announced by Electronic Arts in the form of a remake of the original Dead Space for the next generation of consoles, it’s the perfect time to take a look back at the iconic moments that made the first game and its sequel such stone-cold classics. Wait, what’s that? There were three games you say? We must have blocked it from our collective memories.
Needless to say, heavy spoilers ahead for Dead Space and Dead Space 2.
Spoilers Ahead
Get Dragged (Not on Twitter) (Dead Space)
During a mission to refuel the engine in the third chapter of the original Dead Space, our protagonist Isaac Clarke’s stroll down a hallway is rudely interrupted by the sudden appearance of a terrifying gigantic appendage-like monster known appropriately as a “Drag Tentacle.”
Players who manage to maintain hold of their controllers (and their bladders) discover they need to shoot the yellow sac portions of the creature in order to get it to loosen its grip. Not doing so fast enough ensures a bloody end for our hero as he’s dragged into the hole it emerged from. Two later encounters in the game require the same strategy before these Necromorph variants are put down for good.
Come to Papa (Dead Space 2)
What’s worse than an everyday Necromorph? Ask any player of Dead Space 2 who knew things were about to take a turn for the much, much worse when they realized they needed to make a trek through the nursery in Titan Elementary School. Introduced through a disturbing sequence during which a baby Necromorph explodes in the arms of a human woman, the tiny monstrosities known as “Crawlers” are an enemy not soon forgotten.
Created when a Necromorph utilizes an infant as a host, Crawlers look like something straight out of John Carpenter’s The Thing, featuring distended, twisted bodies that give them a spider-like appearance. Despite their small size, they’re not to be underestimated, given their ability to blow Isaac to bits on contact. But though they often present with strength in numbers, thankfully their fragility makes them easy pickings with almost any weapon.
You’ll Poke Your Eye Out! (Dead Space 2)
Self-surgery is such a recurring trope in movies and games that viewers have nearly become desensitized to images of protagonists pulling shrapnel from their bodies and stitching themselves up with nary a grimace. However, even the most jaded player wasn’t ready for the moment when Isaac Clarke needed to thrust a needle into his eye in order to download some important data that would help him destroy the Necromorphs.
Through a series of prompts, players need to carefully navigate the needle into Isaac’s eye while monitoring his rising heart rate. Failure, of which there certainly will be given the nerve-wracking parameters of the situation, results in a grisly death scene that gives new meaning to the phrase “eye popping,” and not in a good way. The needle not only punctures Isaac’s eye, but drills entirely through his brain, with poor Isaac struggling in vain throughout the entire process before his demise. The doctor will see you now?
Return to the USG Ishimura (Dead Space 2)
Players who spent the 10 or so hours needed to complete the original Dead Space became quite familiar with its setting; the USG Ishimura, a gigantic Planet Cracker-class ship that had become infested with Necormorphs and a hellish parade of horror and death. Last seen drifting in space at the end of Dead Space, the USG Ishimura made a most surprising and (un?)welcome return during the 10th chapter of Dead Space 2, where it was discovered docked at Titan Station.
Voicing the feeling of everyone at the keys or holding a controller, an understandably nervous Isaac quips before entering, “Last time I was here, things didn’t go so well,” an understatement if ever there was one. Artistically, the environment now reflects the events of the original Dead Space, with hazard tape and protective materials covering the walls and UV lighting highlighting every gory stain.
Revisiting the bridge, medical, engineering and flight deck, echoing the opening chapters of the original Dead Space, provides a great opportunity for series callbacks and actual flashbacks to key moments, including the drag tentacle sequence we mentioned earlier. In an unexpected move, it seems that the powers that be also saw fit to install new stores in the ship—a convenient addition seeing that the place is also once again infested with monsters, making it the worst homecoming ever.
The Ending (Dead Space 2)
At the end of Dead Space 2, Isaac Clark is resigned to die. Having defeated the final boss and accomplished his mission, our protagonist sits down for a final rest in sheer exhaustion as The Sprawl, the civilian space station built into the moon Titan that served as the setting for the game, collapses around him. If this is the player’s first time through, an achievement or trophy named “The Final Sacrifice” pops up. If that’s not enough of an indication that it’s all over, the credits start to roll as the camera pulls back, pieces of the structure raining down, readying us for the end.
But then! Your companion Ellie breaks through on the comms—she’s alive and ready to rescue Isaac! After a thrilling zero-gravity escape, Isaac boards the gunship and we get to the real ending; a sublime moment where Isaac glances at Ellie and she responds with a nonchalant, “What?” subverting the expectation that there would be some larger twist or jump scare.
It’s a nice nod to the end of the first game when Isaac’s (dead) girlfriend scares the bejeesus out of him just as he turns to see what’s next to him, and a brilliant way to cap off one hell of an adventure.