Based on early impressions, reviews, and actual gamer comments, the Dead Space remake is as faithful of an adaptation as any can get. But, more than a decade has passed since Motive Studio came out with the original game in 2008. EA Motive rebuilt the remake from the ground up for modern platforms, which gave it a chance to squeeze in a couple of additions and we're not just talking about quality-of-life improvements.
The recently-released remake of the sci-fi horror title adds a secret ending, which should make the transition to a second game go much more smoothly.
Unfortunately, getting to the said ending is a lot easier said than done.
The first step to getting to the secret ending is to make it all the way to the end credits to unlock New Game Plus, which lets you play through the entire game all over again with several bonuses and other exclusive unlocks, such as:
- 50,000 credits
- 10 Power Nodes
- New text logs
- Advanced Soldier RIG (Level 6 suit)
EA Motive literally built Dead Space to be re-played at least once via New Game Plus if you want to complete everything, secret ending aside.
Now, as for the secret ending to Dead Space, New Game Plus adds new "Marker Fragments" that are scattered all over the USG Ishimura. You'll find one in every chapter of the game in specific locations, except in Chapter 5, which has two. Then, once you've found all 12 Markers, all you need to do is to head on over to an area that's noted as "Lt. Commander V. Holt" on your map, which is on the third floor of the Crew Quarters. You'll find a shrine there where you can place all the Markers in a circle position.
From here on out, just play through the Dead Space remake to unlock the new ending.
Now, as for why the alternate ending to Dead Space ties it better to the sequel than the original one, we're giving you the chance to stop reading first.
SPOILER WARNING!!!
In the alternate ending, the series' understandably traumatized engineer begins a slow descent to madness that starts with hallucinations of his girlfriend, Nicole, as he leaves planet Aegis VII. The ending implies that the Marker is controlling Clarke, telling him to build "a little something first." The implication is that Clarke ends up building more Markers to spread the Necromorphs all over the galaxy, maybe even Earth.
This would explain why, in Dead Space 2, Clarke is wearing a straightjacket with no recollection of the past three years - the time gap between Dead Space and Dead Space 2.
If we assume this is true, Clarke didn't just lose his mind due to the trauma following the events on USG Ishimura. Instead, the Markers made Clarke do sinister things in those three years as the sequel never explained the three-year gap.
If that's the case, then a sequel to Dead Space is all but guaranteed at this point.
Of course, whether the actual sequel will happen all depends on Electronic Arts and Motive Studios. EA Motive is currently busy working on the Iron Man game, so might be a while before it'll have the resources necessary to give us a re-imagining of Dead Space 2.
In the meantime, you can play as Isaac Clarke in Fortnite as part of the game's Gaming Legends Series of cosmetics.
