Dead Space has an iconic health bar which you are going to keep a sharp eye on throughout your playthrough. The game HUD is integrated right into your RIG (suit) as well as weapons. The glowing tube running across your spine is your health bar and when it goes red, you need to heal.
It is highly unlikely that you beat the game for its alternate ending without needing to heal. Keep in mind that owing to its survival horror elements, healing is a privilege in the new Dead Space remake but one which you should know all about.
How to restore health using Med Packs
Med Packs are the only items in Dead Space that let you recover health, which naturally makes them valuable. Since resources are scarce aboard the USG Ishimura, any Med Packs that you come across should be saved — not sold for quick credits — for the most difficult situations.
You will find three types of Med Packs that heal for different amounts. Small Medical Packs heal for the least amount and become a bit useless as you near the end of the game or if you are playing on New Game Plus. In the early game though, they are best to heal up minor injuries.
Medium Medical Packs restore more of your health points in comparison and are pretty common to find in Dead Space. You will be using them a lot since they are enough to patch up most of your injuries after a brutal encounter.
Large Medical Packs are rare to find because they can bring your health from zero to full, giving you another chance at life. One general tip here is to save your Large Med Packs and only use them after upgrading your RIG to maximum health capacity so as not to waste any healing points.
| Med Pack | HP Restored | How To Unlock | Buy Price | Sell Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 25 HP | 2,000 Credits | ||
| Medium | 50 HP | Schematic in Chapter 3 | 5000 Credits | 2500 Credits |
| Large | 200 HP | Schematic in Chapter 9 | 10000 Credits | 5000 Credits |
There are two ways to use a Med Pack. You can firstly quick-heal by pressing O/B/F on PlayStation/Xbox/PC respectively. This will consume a Med Pack placed in your quick-heal inventory slot to quickly restore your health. You, however, cannot aim your weapon while quick-healing.
The second way to heal is to manually consume a health pack from your inventory. This takes a lot longer compared to quick heal and is preferred to not accidentally consume your Medium or Large Med Packs.
Where to find Med Packs in Dead Space
Apart from spending precious credits to purchase them from a store, you can loot Med Packs by simply exploring every room and niche of the ship.
Search corpses
Stomping enemy corpses is an excellent way to collect valuable resources like ammo and health packs. You must check every corpse since this will be the primary way you earn resources in the game.
Search crates
As you continue to explore the USG Ishimura, you will find crates lying around in various rooms. Like you do with corpses, you can stomp these crates to obtain useful items including Med Packs.
Search lockers
Lockers are an additional but rarer way to obtain items. Every now and then during your playthrough, you may enter a room with multiple lockers. You must open each one and search for supplies.
How to restore health using RIG Health Upgrades
Every time you unlock a health upgrade for your RIG, you will restore all of your health points. This is important to know because RIG upgrades are limited in the game. If you are ready for a health upgrade and there is a bench nearby, do not waste your Med Packs.
