The new Dead Space remake not only offers a massive visual overhaul alongside some quality-of-life improvements but also an alternative ending that connects the proceeding two installments in the franchise.
You might remember that fans were not too happy with the direction Dead Space 3 took. The secret ending of the Dead Space remake attempts to tie up those loose ends by proving an alternative conclusion that says a lot about the future events of the franchise.
However, you will need to invest some hard work to unlock the new ending of the game. You will need to survive the horrors of the USG Ishimura not once but twice.
The following guide will tell you how to get the alternative ending in the Dead Space remake.
How to get the alternative ending
The alternative ending is part of your journey to achieve a 100 percent completion playthrough. Hence, all you need to do to unlock the ending is to play the game twice.
Unlock the New Game Plus mode
The first thing to do is to beat Dead Space to unlock the New Game Plus mode. The good thing here is that there are no difficulty requirements. Hence, if you are finding the Necromorphs too hard, you can reduce your difficulty settings to the lowest and still be able to get the alternative ending.
On that same note, once you unlock New Game Plus, you can choose any difficulty for your second playthrough as well.
However, if you are looking to unlock achievements, there are two achievements tied to two difficulty settings. You will need to beat the game on Dead Space Impossible mode to unlock both the Set of Benchmark and Untouchable achievements.
Find and place all Marker Fragments
There are 12 Marker Fragments scattered in different locations across the ship. They are collectible items that only spawn in the New Game Plus mode and are required to unlock the secret ending.
Collect all the markers and make your way toward Captain Mathias’ quarters. To reach the quarters, you need to start from the Crew Deck and make your way to Executive Quarters. From there, just go to the Mathias Office and find the large table containing 12 pedestals.
Place all the Marker Fragments on the table and continue with the game’s remaining story. After completing the main story, you will unlock the secret ending in Dead Space Remake. Additionally, you will receive the Reunion trophy and achievement.
What happens in the Dead Space secret ending?
It is important to first recap what happens in the original ending of Dead Space before knowing about its alternative ending. This is because both endings are connected.
Be warned though, what follows are major story spoilers. If you are still playing the Dead Space remake or plan to do so later, turn away now.
In the original, base ending of Dead Space, Isaac successfully manages to defeat the Hive Mind and make it back to his ship before reaching Earth.
It also turns out that Dr. Nicole Brennan, his lost love, was dead from the start and Isaac was only seeing hallucinations due to the Markers and mutated Necromorph versions of her on the USG Ishimura.
Having defeated the Hive Mind and come to terms with Nicole’s death, Isaac is piloting the ship back to the Earth when he gets attacked by one last Necromorph version of Nicole. That is where the original ending cuts off, leaving it up to you to decide whether he was actually attacked or was hallucinating again.
In the alternative ending, Isaac has completely lost his sanity to become a slave of the Marker. His ship is covered with Marker symbols that look to be painted in blood.
He is approached, not attacked, by the same mutated version of Nicole. He is shown to be in a delirious state and is happy for finally reuniting with his love.
The Necropmorph Nicole asks Issac if they are going home to which he replies soon but “gotta build a little something first.”
The alternative ending of the Dead Space remake basically tells the future events of the franchise. What Isaac is going to build here is a new Marker that kicks off Dead Space 2 where he brings a new Necromorph plague to Earth.
