After Dead Space got… dead with the third instalment going too mainstream (then the studio also got axed…), Visceral was hoping to create a fourth numbered Dead Space title.

Visceral created a decent franchise with Dead Space a decade ago, and its first two main games are still enjoyable even today. The third game wasn’t good, and there were plans for a fourth game, too – Ben Wanat, Dead Space‘s creative director, revealed his plans for it to Eurogamer:

„The [Dead Space 4 concept] was you were trying to survive day to day amongst infested ships, searching for a glimmer of life, scavenging supplies to keep your little ship going, trying to find survivors. The flotilla section in Dead Space 3 hinted at what non-linear gameplay could be, and I would have loved to go a lot deeper into that. I figured you’d start in a section of space, maybe following a trail of ship carcasses to an orbital station you think might have the parts and fuel needed to get your ship Shock-capable. You’d start to form a picture of what happened in that region while fighting through scores of Necromorphs from ship to ship.”

That idea sounds exciting. Wanat would have given unique interiors for the ships, the weapon crafting from Dead Space 3 would have been modified/balanced, and even the Necromorphs would have been getting a new version to make our life even harder: „The problem with all of the ground-based enemies was that they couldn’t follow you through zero-g and that made them much less threatening. But make a zero-g enemy that can snake through zero-g corridors, propel itself in open space, and grapple with the player to tear off his mask and eat his face? Then I think you’d have yourself a good old time.”

Wanat thinks Dead Space 4 could still happen if the budget were kept low. He even hinted at the ending of this game: „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…” Humanity would be in trouble. Oh, we saved the best for the last: the protagonist would have been… Ellie Langford!

However, it’s unlikely that Electronic Arts would ever give Dead Space one more chance…

Source: WCCFTech