Dead Space 3

Dead Space 3 puts returning protagonist Isaac Clarke and new co-op character Sgt. John Carver against the Necromorphs, human corpses reanimated by the signal of an alien artifact known as the Marker. The Resource Integration Gear (RIG) suit returns, using holographic displays projected from the players' suit and weapons to display health and ammo count, respectively. In vacuum areas, a timer will appear on the player's right shoulder, indicating how much oxygen that character has left before they suffocate.

Isaac and Carver can now roll and take cover to avoid attacks. This new ability was described by a Visceral Games developer as essential, as it "felt dumb/terrible not to have it" and that they have been "making Isaac more responsive", as they "want the horror to come from the terrible things that happen in the game; not from the horror that something is moving slowly towards you and you can't shoot it because the game controls like a piece of crap."[5] The cover system is also described as "organic" in nature; for example, the player does not need to "walk up to certain tagged things and press the cover button; Clarke or Carver just does the action that is appropriate for the given situation."[5]

Aside from the returning Necromorphs, Dead Space 3 features a large cast of new enemies. One example is the Waster, whose attacks change depending on how it is dismembered; while another is the Nexus, an insect-like giant that can crush or swallow people whole.[2][6] Other obstacles in Dead Space 3 include a new human enemy, Unitologist soldiers; and environmental hazards like falling machinery and a giant mining drill.[6]

The Bench weapon upgrade system from Dead Space and Dead Space 2 has been redesigned as a new upgrading system called the "Weapon Bench". Here, players are able to construct new weapons from parts gathered throughout the game. The bench provides two main frames to start with—a light one-hand frame and a heavy two-hand frame—and players can build new weapons and put two weapons together (for example, a plasma cutter and a flamethrower). Examples of weapon functions include an electric rivet gun and an incendiary buzzsaw launcher.[7] If a player does not want to build a weapon from scratch, they can choose from ready-made blueprints, including classic Dead Space and Dead Space 2 weapons. Built weapons can also be shared in co-op mode.[8][9]