Spoilers for Dead Space and Dead Space 2 ahead.As far as Dead Space's overall narrative is concerned, its ending is relatively happy. After experiencing the horrors aboard the USG Ishimura, and on the planet of Aegis 7, Isaac Clarke manages to escape via a repaired executive shuttle. Despite being the sole survivor, it is shown that Isaac is suffering from hallucinations of his dead girlfriend, Nicole Brennan.
The Dead Space remake's alternate ending, which can only be attained by collecting all the Marker Fragments and placing them on a pedestal in New Game+ mode, paints a much darker picture. While Isaac and his hallucination of Nicole still manage to escape, the engineer has fully succumbed to the Red Marker's influence. There is more to the alternate ending that sets up the events of Dead Space 2, but its inclusion in Dead Space makes it a perfect jumping-off point for Motive Studio to a sequel remake's narrative.
How Dead Space Explores Dementia and The Marker Schematics
Those who played Dead Space 2 know full-well the meaning of the Dead Space remake's alternate ending. Isaac, now suffering from dementia, isn't afraid of his hallucination of Nicole. This projection more closely resembles how she looked when she was alive, sporting a clean white Medical Officer's RIG instead of the bloody one she wears in the normal ending. Isaac has also taken to calling this apparition "Sweetie," and holds her hand as the two float away from Aegis 7.
All of this takes place as the camera pans out and reveals the interior of the executive shuttle, which is filled with Isaac's scribblings and schematics for a new Marker. This new Marker will no doubt be the Site 12 Marker that Isaac helps create aboard Titan Station in Dead Space 2, with Marker being an integral plot device in the sequel's main setting.
A Dead Space 2 Remake Could Better Flesh Out the Events of its Predecessor
Dead Space 2 reveals Isaac Clarke, Nolan Stross, and other patients suffering from mental illnesses due to Marker exposure are forced to work on a new Red Marker by Hans Tiedemann, the Director of Operations on Titan Station (also called The Sprawl). Tiedemann, and by extension the Earth Government Colonial Alliance (EarthGov), want to harness the Marker's power for their own needs. The blueprints for Marker creation were extracted from Isaac and the other patients' minds using the NoonTech Diagnostic Machine. However, the Site 12 Marker's signal manages to seep through containment and start another Necromorph outbreak onboard The Sprawl.
Much of this information is provided through text and audio logs in Dead Space 2. While some in-game events and exchanges between characters shed light on what happened on The Sprawl, there was never anything interactive that would let players experience these happenings firsthand. Should a remake of Dead Space 2 ever get made, it would be great to see the events get more fleshed out through video logs or gameplay.
Having players be there as the Red Marker is created would make them feel more involved with the story. These could be presented through tutorials where Isaac works on the Red Marker, justified by blackouts in his memory (as Isaac doesn't remember what happened prior to the events of Dead Space 2). This kind of tutorial would also make the sequel's opening hospital sequence less jarring while helping a Dead Space 2 remake feel more connected with 2023's Dead Space. Considering the three-year gap between the events of the first and second games, players should learn about what happened to Isaac Clarke after escaping his first run-in with Necromorphs.
Dead Space is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
