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1* AccidentalAesop: Initially brought up when Ellie and Isaac meet [[spoiler:and agreed on by Isaac near the end of the game]]. Isaac initially refuses to continue fighting, an understandable point as his life [[ShellShockedVeteran was a living nightmare]] at several points, [[DyingAlone he's lost loved ones]] (Ellie included as she left him), and has tolerated being the victim of ChronicBackstabbingDisorder more than once. Ellie's response? ''He's a coward who can't or won't face his problems.'' Apparently, if you have post-traumatic stress disorder, you should just stop having it and man up.
2** Even though we have no evidence that Ellie [[spoiler:knows about [[TheImmune Lexine]], if she is alive]], the fact remains of the second part of the Aesop's acceptance in the spoiler listed here.
3* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: For the game as a whole. Was ''Dead Space 3'' an ActionizedSequel, or simply the result of Isaac having tangled with the Necromorphs twice before and survived both? The ending of ''Dead Space 2''--where Isaac defeats them more or less on his own terms--reinforces the ideas that the Necromorphs haven't gotten any less frightening; Isaac just knows that he can get through this if he keeps calm and uses the resources available to him. This is reinforced in the multi-player where Carver's, and by extension his player's, experience and hallucinations are '''much''' worse than Isaac's as he hasn't accepted the loss of his family yet.
4** Is Norton just a [[CrazyJealousGuy jealous]] [[{{Yandere}} jerkass]] for Ellie or a UnwittingPawn for the markers, driven insane into doing their bidding, just to get Isaac were the [[spoiler: Brother Moon]] wants him? Is his continuous insistence on getting as far from the planet as possible, mere [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere cowardice]] or his way of [[FightingFromTheInside fighting back against the markers]] before their influence becomes too great for him to resist? Is his final act of [[spoiler: trying to shoot Isaac]] just him being afraid of being [[TurnCoat found out]] or his last desperate attempt of stopping Isaac from [[spoiler: finding a way to shutting off the machine]] in a final sliver of resistance against the markers and their wishes? Nobody knows and most likely, nobody ever will...
5** Carver. Is he really DumbMuscle like he presents himself to be or actually a GeniusBruiser whose depression just causes him to have a bad case of SelfDeprecation? The latter is likely as, despite claiming he "isn't an engineer", he is no less capable of constructing weapon modifications or performing various repairs across the ancient SC fleet and facility than Isaac is. TruthInTelevision as real life Special Forces groups require prospective recruits to have near genius to genius level intellects, and once joined are expected to cross train in multiple military roles (that isn't even their primary role) which would include battlefield engineering and ship maintenance.
6* AssPull:
7** [[spoiler:Ellie turning out to be NotQuiteDead. It actually seemed as though the creators planned on having her die, but then they changed their minds later on and sloppily forced her back into the plot at the last minute.]]
8** In ''Awakened'', [[spoiler:Carver and Isaac's survival. {{Lampshaded}} by Carver, who is incredulous about how they were "saved by fucking aliens", but Isaac notes that he has decided on GivingUpOnLogic a long time ago]].
9* AudienceAlienatingPremise: The game makes sweeping changes to the overall formula of the series that removes much of the horror (namely the weapon crafting, isolation destroying Co-Op, Microtransactions that negate the survival element, and inclusion of generic action game elements such as human enemies, and cover based shooting) making it more of a generic action game and making a game that pleased nobody. Fans panned the changes while the ContinuityPorn and getting lost in the crowd of other other generic third person shooters resulted in the game failing to draw in new fans, dooming the game to bomb in sales.
10* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The opening theme in the prologue, "200 Years Ago, On An Icy Planet..." is very foreboding and works well with the blizzard as a backdrop.
11* BadassDecay: Ellie goes through this, to some fans' displeasure, going from [[ActionGirl the one protecting someone who has no weapon]] to [[FauxActionGirl the one who has no weapon and needs protecting onscreen]]. Her status as an AcePilot also seems to have [[InformedAbility completely disappeared]], aside from one cutscene in which she was the only one on a ship in a place with no danger nearby at all.
12* BreatherLevel: Chapters 7 and 8. 7 consists almost entirely of exploring zero G space and collecting the items needed to fix the shuttle, with only a few space bound lurkers and stationary pod necromorphs to deal with, and concludes with a brief rail shooting segment as you pilot the ship to the surface; overall it is one of the shortest chapters in the game if you focus solely on story progress (you can explore and uncover a lot of extra items in space if you choose though, or complete the Greely and Brusilov side missions if you have not already). 8 meanwhile is one of the slower and more atmospheric chapters as you trudge through the snow following Ellie and the others, and features comparatively few combat encounters, punctuated with a couple of quick time events.
13* BrokenBase:
14** There's been some controversy over EA deciding to market the game by sending early demo access to famous [=YouTubers=] (via [[Creator/{{Polaris}} TheGameStation]] and presumably other networks) like WebVideo/GameGrumps, WebVideo/PeanutButterGamer, WebVideo/TheCompletionist, Criken, and LetsPlay/PewDiePie, etc. While some fans are thrilled these players are receiving some sponsor money, others are annoyed at them and EA for making them "sell out". It's mitigated somewhat with most of those [=YouTubers=] harshly critical of the game (either choosing to be honest about their contempt for the game, ex: [=ProJared=], or choosing to be more subtle, ex: Game Grumps), and some made extremely short episodes about it as opposed to their normal content.
15** The introduction of more typical third person shooter mechanics, such as TakeCover, UnnecessaryCombatRoll, UniversalAmmunition and enemies with guns, caused a bit of a split. One side feels this makes the game more generic and takes it too far from its horror roots. Others never really considered the Dead Space franchise to be much of a "survival horror" game in the first place, so any added variety to the combat and general gameplay in what can also be considered an atmospheric, sci-fi ThirdPersonShooter is a welcome change.
16** The end of ''Awakened''. Some find it fitted with the Cosmic Horror-inspired atmosphere. Others found that after the bittersweet ending of the vanilla game, [[spoiler:having the Moons reach Earth with the implication humanity's doomed despite everything Isaac and the other protagonists have done [[ShootTheShaggyDog negated any sense of accomplishment from the entire series]].]]
17* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Visceral have spoken out against one-weapon playthroughs, stating that the new weapon design system exists specifically to combat this. Ironically, one can build extremely overpowered weapons through crafting, making a one-weapon playthrough in this game far easier.
18** One of the pre-order/day one purchase [=DLC=]s is a weapon that's probably the best one in the whole game and is available from the start. No need for crafting, besides adding damage or clip modifiers.
19* CompleteMonster: [[TheFundamentalist Jacob Arthur Danik]] is the [[ChurchOfHappyology Unitologist]] founder of [[KnightTemplar the Circle]], a [[ChurchMilitant particularly militant group]] that [[EvenEvilHasStandards even other Unitologists find insane]]. Launching a brutal coup on the Earth government, Danik has numerous planets devastated and cities destroyed to release the Markers and the Necromorph plague. Hunting for [[PlayerCharacter Isaac Clarke]] to kill him, Danik becomes obsessed with the awakening of the Brethren Moon and begins its Convergence, seeking an end to humanity to force his twisted view of "evolution" upon them.
20* DemonicSpiders:
21** Regenerators return. And this time around, you encounter ''more'' than one of them at a time. And if that's not bad enough, they're immune to fire (unlike the first game), so the only thing you can do is run away or slow them down. [[DegradedBoss You eventually do get the chance to blast them all to smithereens with a large turret later on though]].
22** The Twitchers are back too. This time around, they're more powerful and seem to have the same amount of health as an enhanced Slasher, and they tend to attack in packs of four or five. Even ''with'' the stasis, taking out an entire group of Twitchers can be difficult.
23** Stalkers have returned as well. They're more aggressive in this game, and they're smart enough to jump ''behind you'' and hide behind cover you just walked past. In other words, ''they can attack you from behind if you don't notice them''. On the upside, a shotgun can take out a Stalker with just one blast.
24** The Alien Necromorphs encountered in the underground city. Unlike typical Necromorphs, you ''can't'' dismember them from the top, as you have to dismember them from the bottom instead. All you can do is slow them down and shoot at their "legs" until they die ([[OhCrap or until you run out of ammo]]). The fact that certain areas have these enemies spawn over and over again just makes them all the more frustrating.
25* EnsembleDarkhorse:
26** Player character [[DecoyProtagonist Tim Caufman]] from the prologue is liked for being an {{Adorkable}} NewMeat soldier who [[GoshDarnItToHeck mostly never swears]] even when scared, he still fights his way through.
27** Austin Buckell is one for being a CoolOldGuy and [[spoiler:one of the few characters in the franchise to be given a relatively peaceful death]].
28* FanonDiscontinuity: Two flavors -- the core game and the Awakened DLC.
29** Firstly the core game which, all [[RevenueEnhancingDevices controversial business decisions]] aside, undoes the kinda happy ending of ''Videogame/DeadSpace2'', and brings back Isaac's resolved issues by copying and piling them onto new character Carver. Throw in an ExcusePlot considering Isaac barely has a reason to keep fighting, and you've got a game with controversial fan continuity.
30** ''Awakened'' has also been subject to this, as it provides an epilogue to the main plot. Undoing the incredibly BittersweetEnding where [[spoiler:Isaac and Carver seemingly die killing the final necromorph, toppling them forever]] with a NotQuiteDead reveal, you aren't going to win many points with fans. When you then provide a final DownerEnding where [[spoiler:everything was probably for nothing, as a Brother Moon has found Earth]] and then have WordOfGod making it dubious [[FranchiseKiller if the series is done due to recent unpopularity]], you're going to have numerous fans desperately trying to scrub it from canon.
31* GameBreaker: Hammond's Heavy Chain-gun = Hammond's heavy frame + Telemetry Spike + Diffraction torus tip + Ammo box attachment. You'll be dropping ammo clips because they'll start clogging up your inventory due to the ammo-expentiture:kill-count ratio of this gun.
32** The [[ShockAndAwe Chain Lightning Gun]] (Heavy Frame + Tesla Core + Diffraction Torus) has mediocre clip size and range, but is very accurate and, with some nice chips installed, can one-shot most enemies in the game with plain old body shots, saving you the trouble of aiming for the limbs. Most importantly, it can and will do so without triggering Wasters' splitting or Pregnants' Swarm ZergRush. Add to that its eponymous ability to hit several targets per shot due to the chain lightning effect and you have a tool that's precise and useful for crowd control at the same time. Still not convinced? I apparently forgot to mention that electric weapons/effects almost always stun what they hit, including the super-fast Twitchers and all the other DemonicSpiders, which is pretty helpful of you're out of stasis for whatever reason.
33** For probably the most game-breaking gun there is, craft the Chain Lightning Gun from a Heavy S.C.A.F. Frame, combine it with the aforementioned [[MoreDakka Chain Gun]] and enhance it with Stasis Coating and eight Tier-3-chips for damage, clip size and reload speed. Mk V versions of tips and upgrades even give an additional boost to clip size. There's NOTHING AT ALL this combination can't counter with contemptuous ease, all the while being one of the most ammo-efficient guns in the game and therefore suited for the highest difficulties as well. At mid-range, the Lightning Gun lays waste to anything unlucky enough to be in Isaac's sights. Anything that reaches close quarters gets shredded by the Chain Gun, usually without a chance to fight back due to being stasised all the time. This combination makes short work of even the dreaded [[DemonicSpiders Stalkers, Twitchers and Regenerators]]. An Ammo Box upgrade instead of Stasis Coating gives those weapons enough clip capacity to massacre dozens of Necromorphs without the need for a single reload. The real kicker? You still have the second weapon slot available for... whatever. You won't need it anymore.
34** The Rivet Gun (Compact Frame + Telemetry Spike). Combined with an Electrocution Module and properly upgraded with chips, it also can one-shot pretty much anything short of Alien Necromorphs and bosses on any difficulty, and it has a much better clip size and rate of fire than its big brother, the lovely [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice Javelin Gun]]. Triggering the electrocution after hitting an enemy will kill it and everything in a several meters radius around the initial target. You don't even need to hit something at all - just shoot a spike into the ground, electrocute it and watch all nearby 'morphs drop like flies. Rinse and repeat until the onslaught eventually stops. Oh, and like the Chain Lightning Gun mentioned above, it kills Wasters and Pregnants without them pulling their nasty tricks in the process, and the electricity immediately stuns everything it comes into contact with.
35* GeniusBonus: Rosetta, [[spoiler: the alien lifeform that allows Isaac to decipher the information about what happened on Tau Voltanis]] is likely named after the Rosetta Stone, an artifact that showed researchers how to understand Egyptian hieroglyphics.
36* GoodBadBugs:
37** Necromorphs still have a problem with differentiating when a person is in a room or not sometimes, outright abruptly ignoring them... even if they are a ''foot'' away from its face! Which allows the player to shoot off limbs with their back turned.
38** Necromorphs don't ragdoll properly when killed by gradual damage such as fire or acid, meaning they'll amusingly flop into the air like a fish when they die.
39* MarathonLevel: Chapter 14 is the longest in the whole game with the player having to run all over the SCAF research facility to hunt down all the pieces of Rosetta, and also features two lengthy optional side missions (THREE if you are playing co-op).
40* {{Narm}}: Isaac shouting after Ellie after they crash on the planet. Downright hilarious in co-op.
41** '''''[[LargeHam "ELLLLLLIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"]]'''''
42** The [[{{TheyLookLikeUsNow}} Fodders]] are quite terrifying, with their almost-human appearance, growling and muttering, and their intelligence... until you cut them in half and tentacles sprout from their legs. And they walk towards you backwards. Try to see that without thinking [[{{FanFic/HalfLifeFullLifeConsequences}} "the pants were dead".]]
43** The scene after Isaac and company reassemble Rosetta [[spoiler:and they finally learn the true meaning of 'Make Us Whole' and Convergence]], in which Isaac is just sitting on the floor, monologuing to explain everything. It's some of the most awkward storytelling possible. [[spoiler:Then Isaac stands up to see Danik and his goons, along with Carver and Ellie, have just been standing there the whole time listening without a word.]] It's just a weird scene all around.
44** The same scene above isn't helped by the fact that as you piece Rosetta together, no one seems to even realize [[spoiler: [[{{Precursors}} it's an ancient alien]]]] until its finished. Carver even seems to hold an IdiotBall briefly by being in such disbelief that he has no idea what this means until it gets explained more thoroughly. This isn't helped by the fact that the cast passed by [[spoiler: massive bones and carcasses of numerous past alien beings, and even fight a Necromorph-itized body of one]], and yet [[FailedASpotCheck no one connects the dots.]]
45** In a single player playthrough, any of the scenes where Isaac and Carver bond as there is absolutely no build up to them. Carver also has an excessive habit of OffScreenTeleportation where he just ''appears'' out of nearly thin air from off-camera no matter how things were going beforehand; co-op partially mitigates this, up until the plot focuses on Isaac for both players and Carver starts teleporting again whenever the camera doesn't jarringly teleport to him instead.
46** Every conversation between Jacob Danik and Isaac seems to consist entirely of him spouting condescending religious cliches before Isaac just tells him to shut up; it's less "the antagonist and protagonist have an actual debate over their values" and more them just shouting meaningless stock phrases at each other. It really doesn't help that he looks suspiciously like Music/EltonJohn.
47* PlayerPunch: [[spoiler:In Chapter 15, after Carver and Isaac make it out of the laboratory as it's filling with deadly gas, Ellie realizes she can't make it and tells Isaac to leave her behind. The game then forces the player to PressXToNotDie, which causes Isaac to seal Ellie inside just as she tells him "I love you."]]
48* PlayTheGameSkipTheStory: The game’s story is poorly regarded due to its lackluster writing and GenreShift while the gameplay, if one doesn’t mind the shift from SurvivalHorror, is quite fun, particularly with a friend.
49* RomanticPlotTumor: The Isaac/Ellie/Norton LoveTriangle isn't much beloved by fans, especially for what it does to [[CrazyJealousGuy Norton]] and [[BadassDecay Ellie]]. It becomes a large part of the game's conflict, despite being a new addition to the series, and Ellie and Isaac's prior relationship being entirely off-screen.
50* TheScrappy: Ellie is approaching this, mainly for breaking up with Isaac between the second and the third game and hooks up with [[{{Jerkass}} Norton]]. Ignoring Isaac and embracing her new boyfriend for a kiss in front of him didn't endear her to many players, nor did her flippant attitude about Isaac's ShellShockedVeteran status. Some fans also do not like how [[BadassDecay less active in fighting the Necromorphs she has become.]] To be fair, Isaac got over his shell shocked status in the last game and falls right back into it after having a few more years out-of-story to deal with it. Also considering what Isaac has been through you would think she would understand.
51* SequelDifficultyDrop: The new crafting system allows you to make some truly game breaker weapons if you know what you're doing, making the later levels a breeze. Putting 4 damage upgrades on the plasma cutter can allow you to kill most enemies with just 1 or 2 shots.
52* SequelDifficultySpike: At first, ''Dead Space 3'' is a lot harder than the previous two games, especially if you try to play it the same way you played the first two. Enemies are a lot faster and don't hitstun as easily, so if you don't learn to use the dodgeroll real quick you'll end up taking a lot of hits. Also, if you don't upgrade the damage on your weapons, you'll end up spending ammo faster than you obtain it once you reach the Terra Nova.
53* SpiritualAdaptation: This is probably as close to a video game version of ''Literature/AtTheMountainsOfMadness'' as we're going to get. Though it's technically closer to ''Beyond the Mountains of Madness'' from ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu''.
54* SoOkayItsAverage: Common consensus is that it isn’t a bad game, and is very enjoyable, but it ultimately falls short of the previous 2 games due to the removal of horror elements in favor of more generic action game tropes, an underwhelming story, and questionable business practices surrounding the game.
55* StopHavingFunGuys: A rare developer case. Visceral states they introduced the weapon crafting to force players to review and rethink their strategies throughout the game, as a way to combat ComplacentGamingSyndrome. The problem is that the exact wording of the statement implies that whoever did a Plasma Cutter-only run of the previous games was apparently playing them wrong, despite there being an achievement for such a run in the first game, and a [[FireBreathingWeapon special ability]] for fully upgrading it in the second.
56** Since they didn't implement situational requirements for fighting specific enemies, most players still just find the optimal weapon combination that suits their playstyle and stick with it.
57* TakeThatScrappy: Have fun [[spoiler:shooting Norton in the face]]. Again in Awakened, [[spoiler: who's the first Necromorph you get to kill? That's right, Norton!]]
58* ThatOneLevel: Disposal Services. It's wave after wave of constant EliteMooks who soak up crazy amounts of damage in every single room. Enjoy having to restock on ammo multiple times just to progress. It's worse because the only reason Isaac wants to go down there is to find more ammo and supplies. Ammo that he is doubtlessly ''using up'' just by going down there. There's not even any really interesting logs, just an enumeration of the threat levels for alien containment (level 5 being "kill everybody and everything and even the databanks", but we already knew that).
59* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: A common response to the new UniversalAmmunition and crafting system (among other things). To counter this, the an unlockable "Classic Mode" was added, which includes Dead Space 1 rules[[note]]Difficulty is set to Hard and weapons can only be crafted from classic weapon blueprints from previous games.[[/note]] (though it's classed as New Game+, so the player [[FridgeLogic still has to play through the game in its new format to unlock it]]).
60* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
61** Carver during a single player playthrough is all but nonexistent in the story, with the player having to play a multiplayer game in order to see pretty much anything about him at all. It would have been easily possible for a single player playthrough to allow the player to run through the whole game as either Issac or Carver or to switch between them at various points in the game as they go through their own stories.
62*** Some have also noted that Carver would have been more fitting as the main protagonist over a returning Issac. Given his military background he'd have fit the more action oriented gameplay like a glove.
63** A few reviewers wonder why Ellie wasn't the co-op character, given she has as much mechanical and combat knowledge as Issac. Plus being an established character would allow her to not be forgotten by the story.
64** Danik and his men are part of a sect of Unitology that believes mankind interference is corrupting the Markers and spawning Necromorphs. Their goal is to destroy artificial Markers to put things back on track and let them uplift mankind properly. This would have been a perfect opportunity to depict a Unitologist faction as misguided good guys and have them go up against the ruthless [=EarthGov=]. Instead, the Circle is depicted in game as a bunch of generic fanatics who care little for innocent life and frequently KickTheDog for no good reason.
65** Lexine Murdoch doesn't appear in this game, despite being built up in ''Extraction'' and the ''Severed'' DLC in ''2'' as being very important to both [=EarthGov=] and the Unitologists. [[LeftHanging Her weird immunity to the Markers just goes unexplained.]]
66* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: As mentioned above, the Circle is a Unitologist faction who despises Necromorphs rather than revere them. There is serious potential in a Unitologist civil war between those who believe the Necromorphs to be the promised higher lifeforms and those who think they are a mere corruption caused by human meddling. The groundwork for such an event has been laid out as early as the first game with the conflict between Kane and Mercer, who are Unitologists with opposing view on the Necromorph.
67* UncertainAudience: A major contributing factor to the game tanking in sales is that it doesn’t know who its trying to appeal to. It tries to appeal to fans with its ContinuityPorn and expanding the series mythos and appeal to casual audiences with the near complete removal of horror in favor of more action, co-op, and weapon customization. The result is fans hating the game for its story and removing what made the franchise so beloved while new audiences were put off by the ContinuityLockOut and it being another generic action third person shooter in a sea of countless others.

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