Space can be scary, and with the recent release of the Dead Space Remake, it can be REALLY scary. Fortunately, I have put together six tips that will help you fight your way through the USG Ishimura and make the unlucky day of Space Engineer Issac Clark a little bit better. 

Explore, Explore and then Go Explore it again.

Dead space is a game of resources, like many survival horrors, and you will notice many of these tips help with that. The Ishimura is a sprawling ship with many locations you cannot get to the first time you arrive. As you progress through the story and complete some side missions, you will be rewarded with new levels of access around the ship. So keep a mental check of where things are, and before jumping headfirst into the next Necromorph trying to kill you, go for a jaunt through some previous areas and fill your pockets. There is even a Peng Statue valued at $30 000 credits to be found.

Take what you are going to use….

Issac Clark’s Rig upgrades its inventory as you buy each upgrade through the game, ranging from the space of my jean shorts pockets to Batman’s utility belt. This means that you really have to manage your inventory at times. Including the seven different weapons that can be collected throughout the game. And tho it is tempting to take all of them, don’t. Find which four guns suit your play style and place the rest in your inventory. This not only frees up your inventory but also prevents the game from giving you more ammo for a gun you will not use; without the guns in your inventory, the loot containers scattered throughout the environment and Necromorphs you have slain will only give you ammo for the guns in your inventory (apart from a couple of set spawns) which comes in handy in the later stages of the campaign where your resources are running thin. 

… but never leave home without the flamethrower.

Though I suggested finding the guns for your playstyle, always take the flamethrower. Several Necromorphs will drop swarming creatures when they die, and the flamethrower is the perfect gun to deal with them. Otherwise, they do a surprising amount of damage. The alternative flamethrower fire is also fantastic as crowd control, creating a wall of fire that stops Necromorphs as they walk through it. Unlike the other six, weapons can be interchanged and work well for multiple things. They achieve a different success than the flamethrower, requiring next-no-mods to be helpful throughout the game. 

Use Kinesis and Stasis in More Situations!

The Kinesis and Stasis modules are introduced as methods to solve puzzles, being explained as slowing down fans and picking up batteries. But both of these abilities have practical uses that are not touched on by the game. Stasis can be used in Combat to slow enemies; one armoured enemy can be made trivial once slowed so Issac can efficiently run around them and shoot them in the back freely or when waves of Necropmorphs are approaching, slow a group of them and run past. Kinesis has an even more interesting use that makes one boss fight much easier to deal with. Kinesis can be used to grab loot from afar, especially during the new zero gravity puzzles. Shown a spec of green or white light, Issac can aim towards them and use Kinesis pulling them closer to be collected. In one zero-gravity boss fight, this can be used to collect everything in the room before starting the fight or play from safety during it. Kinesis can also be used to rip off partly cut limbs from Necromorphs which will net you a fancy trophy or achievement, depending on which platform you are on.

There’s No Interest. Use your money!

It is very common in games to hoard credits just in case on a rainy day. Other than weapon mods and the armour upgrades that become available in the store, credits are plentiful in the standard medium difficulty to be used to top up on other supplies such as ammo and health regens. Make sure to check your inventory each time you get to the shop for micro boards purely used for selling (marked with a green dollar sign), and do not feel like you need to be saving all credits at all times. Items feel plentiful at the start, but during the latter moments of the campaign, you are better off topping up at a store before proceeding.

It’s an Arms Race, not a Shield Race

With the plentiful weapon and armour upgrades available to Issac as you proceed through the game, it can be very tempting to make your armour as beefy as possible, leaving out improvements to your health, stasis and other abilities. But with each armour upgrade, you are getting total 5% armour increase each time, so it’s often best to put your upgrades into your weapons. The difference between an upgraded Plasma Cutter and the base model could mean the difference between repeated loading screens or getting quickly to New Game Plus. Also, remember any time you attend a workbench, and you can reset all of the mods on a weapon and find a new path to try out on your favourite toy.

I hope these tips can help you out while you adventure through the USG Ishimura. Good luck!