Dead Space 4 was the planned fourth installment in the Dead Space series.
Overview[]
Post-Dead Space 3[]
The game would have followed on directly from Dead Space 3 with humanity facing extinction at the hands of the Brethren Moons. Taking inspiration from the flotilla section in Dead Space 3, the notion was that the player (Ben Wanat stated that he would have made Ellie Langford the game's protagonist) was trying to survive on a day-by-day basis, scavenging supplies while looking for survivors and withstanding the Necromorph-infected ships. The player would have their own ship. It was intended that the ships would be diverse, each with unique purposes, floor plans and gameplay.
The game would utilize non-linear gameplay, being a hybrid between the chapter format of the previous games and the new, non-linear style. An idea floated around was that the player would start off in a section of space, follow a trail of carcasses to an abandoned space station and scavenge fuel and a ShockPoint Drive. The retrieval of the drive would make their ship shock-capable, allowing them access to the new sectors of space. The elements of the plot would be uncovered as the player explored new areas. As the game went on, the range of exploration would be greater.
For the weapons, it was indicated that the crafting system of Dead Space 3 would be re-examined. New Necromorphs that could function in zero-g would be introduced.
The ideas for the game are mainly confined to Visceral Games' story team. While they knew how the game would end, Wanat refused to give the ending away in case Electronic Arts returned to the franchise. He provided hints by stating "I don't want to give away the lore, but I will say that we spent a bit of time working out the origin of the Necromorphs and what purpose humans held in this dark universe. Would players find a way out of the Necromorph apocalypse? I'd say yes, but they might be sorry they did. Sometimes you're better off with the devil you know..."
Ultimately, the game was never produced as Visceral Games moved on to the other projects and was later shut down.[1]
Original Concept for 3 and 4[]
In a 2021 interview with franchise producer and co-writer Chuck Beaver, it was revealed that the original story for Dead Space 3 planned by him and Ben Wanat during development of Dead Space 2 would have been the third chapter of Isaac Clarke's psychological journey. Featuring Isaac as an unreliable narrator alongside a "dark" version of himself and emphasizing his dementia, the story would have eventually led to Isaac leading the Brethren Moons to Earth due to being a "herald of the Markers" for having DNA that was compatible with the Marker signal. Dead Space 4 would have been a final confrontation at Earth, with Isaac "facing his destiny" and fighting against the Moons.
According to Beaver, many of the elements from this original concept were repurposed for the Awakened DLC, with the story of Awakened being much closer to what Dead Space 3 was envisioned to be at the time of Dead Space 2 than the base game's.[2]
References[]
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