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...in all the right ways.
For some fans, the most terrifying thing about Dead Space 3 is its seeming departure from what made the franchise famous -- the claustrophobic corridors, uncertainty, and tension seemed removed from the frantic fights on the surface of Tau Volantis. But Tau Volantis is not the identity of Dead Space 3. The series' next sequel dares to explore unexpected territory, certainly, but it also brings players back to their comfort zones, all while adding even more interesting surprises.
The Story So Far
When Dead Space 3 begins, returning hero Isaac is a fugitive. He’s laying low and doing what he can to escape his traumatizing past, but Ellie Langford’s disappearance gives him a reason to risk exposure. Before he’s drawn to Tau Volantis to eliminate necromorphs for good, he teams up with John Carver to explore the depths of space, as well as another fresh face, a scientist named Santos. She acts as Isaac’s guide and radio contact while he’s out and about solving the Langford mystery. Unfortunately, developer Visceral Games wouldn’t elaborate on Santos or any other additional characters joining Isaac’s new gang for fear of tipping the team’s hand.
Welcome to The Lost Flotilla
The 20-minute section IGN played took place on on an Ishimura-esque research ship stranded amid the wreckage of a lost flotilla. This setting represents not only a return to claustrophobic form for Dead Space 3, but its secondary mission mantra as well. The Lost Flotilla is a completely optional objective for players looking to discover deeper story information, collect equipment for the to-be-revealed weapon-crafting system, and explore the vastness of space. Audio logs and loot are everywhere -- and there’s more to discover if you leap out the airlock and investigate the wreckage in zero-g. Not bad for a side-quest.
Use Your Brain
Exploring the flotilla isn’t just about negotiating a labyrinth of rusted corridors, however. Some light puzzle-solving elements are in play, too. Most of these aren’t incredibly taxing, amounting to little more than flipping switches using Isaac’s telekinetic abilities. But one puzzle in this section was quite curious, and more in keeping with the spirit of Dead Space. It involves a power box. Opening it reveals a set of circuit breakers, each with a different numerical value, and in order to access the next area of the ship, you have to reallocate the power from the ship’s lighting to its CPU. So it’s a bit of gentle mental arithmetic, essentially, but redistributing power from the ship’s lighting plunges pockets of the environment forbiddingly into darkness. That once well-lit corridor now seems somewhat less inviting. It’s a smart way of integrating what could be fairly bland puzzles and making them more attuned to the Dead Space sensibility and Isaac's nine-to-five as an engineer.
Carver is a Person
John Carver is not just an Isaac Clarke clone. We’ve gone over a bit of what makes Carver a cool Dead Space co-op character before, but he’s such an integral part of the story that you can’t access certain missions without him. Various objectives unlock only if you have a second player controlling Carver, as they pertain to who he is. This keeps Carver from becoming a nondescript, Halo-like second player -- he shows up in cinematics, he has stuff to say, and he has his own story.
It's Very Dead Space
E3 was a difficult time for Dead Space fans. The demo EA showed at its press conference made Dead Space 3 look more like Lost Planet than the series players have come to love. Gone were the brooding dark corridors, instead replaced by frozen wastelands. It showcased a new focus on action and introduced audiences to Carver, but it seemed like a very different game. Had Dead Space turned its back on the genre in which it made its name? This mission aboard the Lost Flotilla is defiant riposte to those misgivings. It’s classic Dead Space through and through. Apart from radio communications, Isaac is terribly, terribly alone. It’s all strongly redolent of the USG Ishimura, the ship on which Isaac first encountered the unspeakable horror unleashed by the Marker. It has that same grimy, battered, lived-in future aesthetic that the Alien movies made so famous. This is a working ship, and it feels like it. It might be powered by a hypothetical warp reactor, but it looks like a vessel that might run more happily on oil.
But what is perhaps most reassuring for longtime series fans is that this section has the Dead Space atmosphere of old. It’s dimly-lit and claustrophobic. There’s an unsettling stillness; the air in the corridors feels heavy and stagnant, as if it hasn’t been disturbed or breathed for months. And walking down these damned corridors, you’ll come across great bits of environmental narrative: from passages smeared with blood and viscera to a hallway covered in sterile white plastic (what happened here?). But perhaps the biggest contributor to this swelling sense of dread is the brilliantly horrifying sound design. There’s a strange guttural yawning in the background, punctuated by sharp, deranged strings. It’s deeply unsettling.
Ultimately, the success of Dead Space 3 will hinge on its ability to blend these traditional horror sections with its more intense, action-oriented setpieces. Dead Space 2 did this really well, but if the action is upped considerably, it might prove more difficult. But for us, this latest demo of Dead Space 3 feels like a heartening stroll down memory lane, as long as that lane is a place where you found friends and family brutally murdered.
