Dead Space is back, with a remake of the very highest quality that came out at the start of 2023 to rightly rave reviews.
It’s a brilliant update for what was already a beloved horror game, and smartly takes an approach that sees it pay reverence to the original but also updating plenty of bits to play better by modern standards.
One of the changes that people cottoned onto soon after its release was the addition of a new, secret ending - here’s how to unlock it for yourself.
The first thing to know about Dead Space’s new alternate ending is that you cannot get it on your first playthrough of the game.
You have to finish the game once on any difficulty to unlock New Game+, a mode that lets you carry over your resources and upgrades into a new run through its creepy story.
However, when you start a New Game+ run, you’ll find a new type of collectable item that wasn’t in the normal mode.
Called a Marker Fragment, there are 12 of these to find throughout the game, with most chapters having one hidden (with a purple light in the game world to clue you into its location).
Generally, they’re not incredibly hard to find, and once you pick them up they’ll be stowed in your Key Items section, so won’t take up space in your inventory.
All 12 Marker Fragments are aboard the Ishimura, so you need to find them all before you leave for Aegis VII at the end of the game, with one final requirement.
Once you have all 12, you have to head to the Captain’s cabin, which is located in the Executive Quarters, within the Crew Quarters deck of the ship.
Here you’ll find a ritual circle you can interact with only if you have all the fragments - doing so will ensure that when you finish that playthrough you’ll get the creepy new alternative ending.
The new ending is most likely not the canonical one for the game, since very few players will actually see it, so it might be more of a “what-if” scenario.
Instead of a battle-scarred and traumatised Isaac escaping while still haunted by Nicole, what if he’s instead been completely brainwashed by the Marker and is now an instrument of its will? That’s the question it poses, with a crazed Isaac seemingly making a plan to build another Marker entirely.
Whether a prospective sequel would pick up this idea, or it’s just an easter egg for the dedicated, is hard to say.
Want more?
If you’re new to Dead Space the above might not have made much sense to you - check out ourtips and tricks for beginnersto get a sense of what you should prioritise as you play.
