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Our Dead Space remake coverage continues with a full walkthrough of the game's second chapter, 'Intensive Care'. As Isaac reaches the medical wing, the full extent of the crisis aboard the USG Ishimura is only beginning to come into view. You'll be chased by new challenges and introduced to new ways to fight back.
The Kellion is officially out of commission. Isaac's mission is now all the more serious if anybody hopes to escape this catastrophe alive. We're not going to pretend our guide is the only way to win this game, but it sure can help.
Paradigm Shift
From the jump, you're in the medical bay, where the Kinesis Module is yours for the taking. As you might expect from something so in-your-face, this item's hardly optional. If you've played Breath of the Wild, think of this as the big, honking, magnetic object-moving apparatus. Better yet, if you've played the original Dead Space, forgive us our Zelda reference - you know exactly what this thing is capable of.
Objects that can be moved via the Kinesis Module typically contain a telltale blue-shaded marker. There are quite a few nearby, so you'll recognize the symbol in no time. For now, move the crates ahead of you, and retrieve the Pulse Rifle from a corpse. This is a solid weapon through and through, and one you'll quickly come to rely upon... maybe. It's actually a pretty divisive gun, with some old-school fans swearing by it, but many others having been left perennially unimpressed. Give it a whirl sometime.
Near the save station is a tram station. These are Dead Space's convenient fast-travel areas. The Ishimura is a big ship, so make full use of every tram station you unlock along the way.
Behind the woman who dropped the Pulse Rifle, grab some credits, and then move on. Use Kinesis again to move the crates blocking your path forward.
Medical's A Slaughterhouse
Following another chat with Hammond, Isaac's next objective becomes clear. Consult the objective indicator button to begin the search for a hydrazine tank and shock pad. For the former, follow the indicator until the tank comes into view, handling foes along the way. Kinesis is once again the name of the game, so pull it out.
Slide the power cell into the slot beside a breaker to power up the next bit. A door requiring second-level security should be noted en route to the elevator; nothing for it now, but again, these sorts of places crop up across the ship for future reference. More Leapers will emerge after you take the lift upstairs, so keep an eye on the walls, and never stop listening. Watch out for a rather abrupt Slasher right before the blood-written sign that reads 'infidels'!
Head into the observation room behind that Slasher, where you'll pick up a log on a nearby medical bed. Return to the catwalk, continuing the search for the hydrazine tank.
Leaps And Bounds
It's zero-grav time. You have a timer constantly ticking downward. Once the timer drops to nil, it's game over. Scattered throughout the area are air canisters that can increase his oxygen supply, but you shouldn't find this place terribly unforgiving to begin with.
Float across the gorgeously creepy expanse between bulkheads. Grab the hydrazine tank at long last. You're going straight across a zero-g expanse again; this time, the music is determined to creep players out. Take heed. A Leaper will land on Isaac just as you reach the far end, so be ready to stomp on it.
After the Leaper has been disposed of, and when you reach the next zero-g area filled with debris, don't waste time - note that rather than to your left or right, the way forward is up. Lift off from the floor and levitate upward. There's an oxygen refill up here, so don't pass it up.
Be sure to land on the floor again shortly after grabbing that oxygen refill tank. Another Leaper awaits, and the longer it takes players to get Isaac to the ground, the more damage it's bound to inflict.
The number of Leapers and Slashers will increase after the zero-grav area is behind you, so have your chosen weapon out and ready to go. More than once, a second Leaper can and will ambush you. Only consult the indicator for the location of the Shock Pad when you're certain a room's been cleared out. Use Stasis on another rapidly-swinging door you're bound to encounter along the way.
Quarantine
As you enter the next area, the lights will flick off; the ship's computer has evidently detected a 'hazardous anomaly'. Naturally. Honestly, the orange glow left behind here is more than enough to keep a steady eye toward the Necromorphs lingering in the nooks and crannies, but all the same, do be careful. Up to four Slashers may descend upon Isaac simultaneously depending on how you navigate the room.
Take the lift at the far end of the room down to the lower level. Two Slashers will emerge from a vent here. Treat them kindly. Don't miss the loot crate beneath the sign advertising soft drinks; it's an easy-to-skip little spot considering the cocktail of Slashers and Leapers on either side.
Quarantine officially lifts when you've located and eliminated every Necromorph in the area. Don't forget to upgrade at the bench afterward!
Little Lab Of Horrors
You can't save the scientist. Alas. You can, however, kill these tiny creatures, AKA Lurkers, on their very dead behalf. Head inside, kill one, take the lift up, kill two more, and interact with the nearby breaker. Head back up now, and enter Limb Simulation Therapy, where at last Isaac acquires the Shock Pad.
Once again following your indicator, plant the explosive charge at the end of the current objective trail. Don't waste ammo trying to shoot the bomb - this part's a little confusing, after all - instead, note that Isaac automatically detonates it once inside the very messy, bloody room to its right.
Now head to the morgue. We're on the lookout for the captain's corpse. Some doors will be somewhat obscured by crates requiring Kinesis, but they're almost comically obvious, so you shouldn't have any real difficulty finding them.
Slashers, Leapers, and yes, Lurkers, will all greet Isaac on his way to the chapter's final objective. Some especially gruesome scenes will follow, as well as another zero-g stint, and another Power Cell in need of nearby placement to open the door to the morgue. When you've reached the captain, and the winged creature appears to transform his body, just treat him like any other Slasher; the bigger threat is the sheer number of foes in a nearby room.
Chapter Two concludes, but the troubles aboard the Ishimura sure do seem to be... multiplying.