Dead Space’s Plasma cutter is the best weapon in gaming
There are many iconic weapons in gaming, from powerful tools for destruction to challenging you to think about your environment. We’re going to celebrate the best of them all, so Dead Space is today, and Isaac Clarke’s trusted Plasma Cutter. You must have it.
A survival horror game’s tone is often determined by the strength and variety of weapons you have. You can make the weapons less powerful or eliminate them to create an atmosphere that will terrify players for many weeks. You can also go to the opposite end and remove all horror elements in favor of a slightly spooky shooter. You can balance the horror elements and delight in it, but you need to get it right. Dead Space’s Plasma Cutter is the best example of this.
The horror sci-fi horror series’ Necromorphs, mutations with spikes in limbs and a penchant for stabbing you in any orifice or organ, are among the most frightening enemies in gaming. Despite being an engineer trying to repair the Ishimura spaceship, Isaac is better equipped than many to combat the Necromorph threat. His Plasma Cutter can melt through Necromorph legs like a butter knife.
Dead Space had a unique way of taking out its enemies. Instead of just dropping ammo into a monster and watching it fall over, you had the Necromorphs utterly destroyed. This meant chopping off limbs, curb-stomping their remains, and then letting them gouge your eyes. Although it sounds tedious, Dead Space is a game unlike any other.
Combat is fast-paced and difficult. It would help to take precise shots at an enemy who flails everywhere. Every encounter, fight, and enemy feels like a challenge to Isaac. Dead Space is a bit more absurd than the rest of the series, as the stakes rise and the enemy numbers get larger and bigger, but there’s still the danger of regular Necromorphs.
The Plasma Cutter makes these challenges seem possible, despite that. The Plasma Cutter is a symbol of the best in Dead Space.
Strangely, Dead Space 3 was the first installment of the series. Two games of well-executed horror action with a great weapon at its forefront were completed. The developers then jetted everything from the airlock to create a weapon design system. You could attach two rocket launchers and call it quits, taking away any enjoyment or challenge.
Hopefully, the upcoming Dead Space remake will keep the Plasma Cutter’s importance to the core gameplay experience. Isaac’s Necromorph-killing hand cannon is worthy of being among the most powerful weapons in gaming.
