Dead Space’s chronological order has become increasingly complicated over the years. Although the games are orderly numbered from 1 to 3, novels, comic books, movies, and spin-off games made the chronological order of Dead Space less crystal clear. The new Dead Space 2023 remake might confuse even more people. That’s why we decided to put all games and tie-in media in one chronological Dead Space Timeline, so you can put everything in perspective!
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First discovery of the Black Marker
The Dead Space Timeline starts about 300 years before the events of the first game. The book Dead Space: Martyr tells the story of Michael Altman and the discovery of the Black Marker. The book also delves in the history of the cult-like organization known as Unitology. Dead Space: Catalyst is a sequel to this novel and dives even deeper into the history of the Black Marker and Unitology. Both novels greatly expand on the lore and background of the Dead Space universe.
New contact with the Marker on Aegis VII
Before all hell broke loose on the USG Ishimura, the same hell broke loose on the colonized planet Aegis VII, right below the USG Ishimura. The Dead Space Comic, Dead Space: Downfall and Dead Space: Extraction describe these events from various perspectives. After the Red Marker is discovered on Aegis VII, incidents quickly ramp up, ranging from insomnia to bloody fights among personnel and eventually the outbreak of Necromorphs. When the Red Marker is loaded onto the USG Ishimura, the Necromorphs also spread to the Planet Cracker.
No Known Survivors, an interactive website, told more stories about the USG Ishimura crew. Unfortunately, No Known Survivors is no longer available.
The USG Ishimura Incident
Before the USG Ishimura was overrun by Necromorphs, it managed to send out a distress signal. This signal was picked up by the USG Kellion and Isaac Clarke boarded the ship to investigate. In Dead Space: Aftermath, the USG O’Bannon is sent to Aegis VII in the aftermath of the first video game to search for fragments of the Marker. Dead Space: Salvage takes place between the first and second video game, as a group of freelance miners called ‘The Magpies’ discover the abandoned USG Ishimura and try to loot the ship, unaware of the horrors the ship holds.
The Titan Station Incident
Three years after the events of Dead Space, Isaac Clarke finds himself on Titan Station, also known as The Sprawl, a space station built around the remains of Saturn’s moon Titan. At Titan Station, a new Necromorph outbreak begins and this time, Isaac witnesses the events from the start. Dead Space Mobile (no longer available) and Dead Space: Ignition both serve as prequels to the main game, while the dlc Dead Space 2: Severed takes place simultaneously with the main game, describing the Necromorph outbreak from a different perspective.
The Tau Volantis Incident
Dead Space 3 takes Isaac Clarke to Tau Volantis, in an attempt to discover the origins of the Markers and end the Necromorph threat once and for all. He is joined in his mission by John Carver, who serves as a playable character in the game’s co-op mode. John Carver is first introduced in the prequel comic Dead Space: Liberation. Dead Space: Awakened takes place after the main game and reveals the Necromorphs are anything but defeated.
This Dead Space Timeline has been composed with as much care as possible. Nevertheless, an error may have crept into our chronological order. Are you an even bigger Dead Space fan than we are? Please contact us and tell us what we did wrong!
One Response
This is amazing, thank you so clear and direct, also this is the only place that mentions comics and mobile games, I really wanted to get the whole experience. Nice!