Crawler

Crawler
Description:	Reanimated babies with explosive sacs in their stomachs
Attack(s):	Self detonation

Crawlers are Necromorphs formed from human infants. They first appear in Dead Space 2.

Description

In Dead Space 2, Crawlers are reanimated infants, much like the Lurker. The torso is grossly enlarged, with an organic explosive substance under its skin. The body and head are twisted backwards, so that the Crawler can move with the sac pointed upwards. The back legs of the body are fused together, giving the Crawler an almost caterpillar-like mode of movement.

In Dead Space 3, Crawlers are now reanimated alien infants, spawned by Alien Necromorphs. They have the same characteristics of the human Crawler, except in physiology,movement speed and sound.

Strategy

• The Crawler's explosion has a very small radius, but is still dangerous. Remember to keep your distance.
• It is fairly easy to cause a chain reaction amongst a group of Crawlers. Simply killing a Crawler when more are near can clear out an entire group.
• Also if there is an oncoming group of necromorphs and there is a crawler included shoot the crawler first it's explosion could damage or kill the other necromorphs utlize the crawlers explosion technique to make it as much of a hazard to your enemies as it is to you.
• Like the Exploder, being knocked over by the Crawler's explosion leaves Isaac vulnerable to other attacks.
• The Plasma Cutter is a recommended tool for killing Crawlers; just aim at the explosive sac, fire, and move on to the next one. One shot from a Plasma Cutter will do the job.
• One shot from the Force Gun can kill an entire group of them at once, without setting off the bodies.
• The Crawler can be killed without being detonated by severing its head with a precision weapon like the Plasma Cutter or bludgeoning it with kinesis. The torso can be thrown as an improvised explosive, which can be useful for saving ammo when fighting swarms of Crawlers.
• It is surprisingly easy to stomp a Crawler to death without setting off its explosive. If attempting to save ammo, do this for widely spaced Crawlers. Do not attempt when there are two of them close to each other as the other would attack you while you attack the first. Note that the sac does not explode when the Crawler is killed even if it is attempting to explode.
• The Rivet Gun (if available) is an ideal weapon against the Crawlers: its ammo is cheap and abundant.
• Throwing a kinesis object at them can kill them instantly. It doesn't even have to impale them, giving you a chance to pick up their corpse and cause a chain reaction, killing all of them in seconds. Just keep your distance and shoot any that are still alive (which is very likely to happen).
• Crawlers can almost always be killed in one shot, either decapitating them or causing them to explode.

Trivia

• Killing thirty Crawlers without detonating them earns the achievement/trophy "The Nanny." It can be easily done with the Force Gun primary fire.
• Crawlers wear hospital identification bracelets on their wrists.
• Crawlers will sometimes trip and stumble as they approach.
• During the Crawler's first appearance, if one listens closely (after it is hugged by the woman but before it explodes) you can hear it laugh.
• The Crawler's first appearance is most likely a homage to the Lurker's first appearance in Dead Space, as they are both infant Necromorphs and they first appear behind a window while making a fatal example out of a survivor.
• Crawlers act very strangely in Chapter 13, lying on the floor while cooing and laughing as if they are luring Isaac to approach them. One could say they are "playing dead," much like a Slasher does after being shot at, but not fatally.
• Crawlers are much larger than normal infants, probably because of disfigurement and swelling caused by the Necromorph infection.
• There are two "first appearances" in the game, when walking into the school if you turn left and walk to the hallway guard a Crawler will crawl across the hallway. If you turn left and face the window you will see a woman ( most likely to have gone insane earlier ) encouraging a Crawler to come to her, saying "Come to Mama" in a motherly way, and then hugging it before it detonates, killing the woman and splattering blood all over the window. Oddly enough, if the player looks closely enough, when the Crawler jumps into the woman's lap, it appears to be hugging her back.
• If they are killed without hitting their explosive sac (for example, by cutting off the head), their bodies can be picked up using kinesis and used as a weapon against other Necromorphs, similar to the Exploder's explosive sacs. Live Crawlers cannot be picked up using kinesis, however.

Gallery

Crawler full-body view

A female survivor hugging a Crawler, seemingly unaware of its suicidal nature.

Concept art of the Crawler.

Two Crawlers getting dangerously close to Isaac.

Crawlers in Dead Space 3

Alien Crawlers "faces"

Isaac against Alien Crawlers

Death Scene

• If Isaac allows a Crawler to come within explosion distance while he has dangerously low health, it will explode, blowing him in half.

Videos

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