A new addition to the Dead Space franchise would surely be welcome, with the last new mainline game launching a decade ago. While the IP has received a lot in the way spiritual successors in recent years, and the recent Dead Space remake from EA Motive was a hit, it seems time that the franchise receives its own new mainline story.
With this in mind, there is a lot that a new Dead Space game would have to maintain from its predecessors in order to capture the same tension in its experience. For one thing, the way in which a new Dead Space game approaches its protagonist would have huge implications for the core themes of the release, and there is very little room for error in this regard.
The Charm of Dead Space's Isaac Clarke
The Dead Space franchise is considered to be one of the best of the survival horror genre, with its gameplay often fostering seriously tense and memorable horror sequences. Of course, a lot of this success can be attributed to Dead Space's protagonist Issac Clarke.
The player experiences the horrific world of Dead Space through the eyes of Isaac, who started the events of the narrative as a ship systems engineer. Being sent out to the USG Ishimura for emergency work, Clarke is thrust into a dangerous hellscape with no formal combat training.
This plays extremely well to the survival elements of the IP, since the player feels the weight of Isaac's inexperience in the chaos as much as he does. Of course, this also works well to create a tangible sense of progression as the player advances, with both Isaac and the player feeling more confident as they fight their way to safety. Isaac has a useful skillset in his engineering background, giving him a slight edge in survival in an unusual yet realistic way. This presents a big contrast to the likes of Resident Evil's Leon Kennedy, who is trained directly for combat even in his most novice state.
How New Dead Space Games Should Handle Protagonists
While nothing is currently confirmed regarding a new Dead Space game, the recent movement that the wider franchise has seen increases the likelihood of a new release coming in the near future. If this new game is to explore a new narrative within the IP's universe, then its choice of protagonist would be crucial.
With Isaac Clarke being so synonymous with the franchise, there are certain elements of the figure that a new protagonist would have to maintain above all else.The world of Dead Space is supposed to feel imposing and overwhelming, and this is conveyed best when the player is just as vulnerable and unprepared as the character they are controlling.
A new Dead Space protagonist should be as green and untrained as Isaac to recreate this feeling, while still possessing a non-combat skillset that aids in survival. While Isaac's tool kit is iconic, a new Dead Space game could take a different approach from Clarke's mechanical background for a new protagonist.
A new leading figure could be proficient at something like hacking instead, allowing the player to take advantage of advanced tech to re-wire it to their advantage, for example. Like Clarke, this character could become naturally more comfortable with raw combat as the story progresses, but needs to possess the same vulnerabilities to play into the IP's horror feel. Although a new Dead Space protagonist would need to be unique, it is clear that combat inexperience is something they should absolutely maintain from Isaac Clarke.
Dead Space is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
