Dead Space 3 is a science-fiction-themed survival horror action video game in which players take on the role of engineer Isaac Clarke, controlling him from a third-person perspective through a level-based narrative campaign. Players navigate a variety of environments, principally on the ice-covered planet Tau Volantis, completing narrative-based missions, solving physics-based puzzles within the environment, and fighting monsters dubbed Necromorphs.[1][2][3] In addition to standard movement, Isaac can climb some ladders to reach higher platforms, and rappel up and down some vertical slopes with accompanying controls for sideways movements and dodging environmental threats.[4] During some sections, Isaac can explore outer space, though he has a limited air supply. Some areas are subject to zero-G, with Isaac using his RIG suit to explore both debris and intact space ships.[3]
While exploring, Isaac can break crates in the environment using either his melee attack or a stomp action. Two further abilities are Kinesis, which can move or pull objects in the environment, and Stasis, which slows a target's movement for a limited time.[4] As with previous Dead Space entries, almost all gameplay displays are diegetic, appearing in-world as holographic projections; the one exception is the interface for the crafting bench.[5] Isaac's health and energy meters are shown on the back of his RIG suit, while ammunition counts are shown on the weapons themselves, while opening the inventory screen does not pause the game.[6]
While exploring, Isaac must fight different types of Necromorphs which emerge from the environment; there are also limited encounters with human enemies with their own behavior, and occasional three-way battles between Isaac, the Necromorphs and human soldiers.[3] Isaac can access two weapons to combat the Necromorphs, which can only be killed by severing their limbs, a system dubbed Strategic Dismemberment.[7][8] In addition to standard movement-based combat, Isaac can also move into cover behind some objects such as box piles.[9] All weapons draw from a pool of universal ammunition.[10] While some items such as health, weapons and ammunition can be found in the environment, additional items and customized weapons are created using crafting benches found during the campaign.[4] Weapons are crafted using blueprints, and can be customized with multiple firing types, melee counter enhancements, and buffs to enhance damage.[7][11] Crafting resources are found in the environment, retrieved using a scavenger robot, and picked up from defeated enemies along with ammunition. They can also purchased with real money from the bench interface using microtransactions.[3][4]
Alongside the single-player mode, a second player can take on the role of secondary protagonist John Carver through online cooperative (co-op) multiplayer. The co-op game is opened from the main menu, with the host player able to either invite a friend, or create an open invite for any player to drop into a session.[12] While leaving the story mostly unchanged, co-op mode adjusts the game's puzzles, and unlocks co-op exclusive side missions and cutscenes related to Carver.[1][13] A central part of the co-op campaign is "Asymmetrical Dementia", where players experience different hallucinations.[14] The Xbox 360 version incorporates the Kinect peripheral, with players able to use voice commands to communicate and activate abilities such as stasis.[13] Beating the game unlocks New Game Plus, allowing players to carry over current weapons and armor, and additional gameplay modes. The "Classic" mode removes crafting, playing similarly to earlier games. "Pure Survival" has enemies only drop resources, enforcing health and ammunition management and focusing on what to craft. "Hardcore" introduces permadeath, with Isaac only having one life and death forcing the player to restart from the beginning of the campaign.[12][15]
