Even though the Dead Space franchise has Isaac Clarke fighting against some of the worst beings the universe has to offer, his main adversaries are still the grotesque Necromorphs. Corpses that were reanimated by an alien infection, Necromorphs' main goals are to infect dead bodies with their particular brand of mutation or create more bodies to infect (i.e. by killing things). The way they go about their duties varies, but most Necromorphs like to personally introduce their victims to the sharper parts of their anatomy.
Different types of Necromorphs result from the various types of bodies that were infected. Reanimated infants spawn tendrils on their backs and crawl on their arms and legs. Young children lose most of their defining features while spawning claws and developing a pack mentality. With the amount of Necromorph types seen in 2023's Dead Space, newer players would greatly benefit from a bestiary that catalogs all the data regarding these monstrosities.
Know Thy Enemy's Strengths and Weaknesses
The biggest advantage of a Dead Space bestiary is that players can have something to fall back on when tackling different Necromorphs. While the main method of defeating them is by cutting off their limbs, the assortment of Necromorphs present makes it so that different types of limbs need severing. Players can defeat a common Slasher by cutting off its blade arms or legs but this might not always work with other Necromorphs. Leapers - which have no legs - can only be defeated by cutting off their strong upper arms or sharp tail. Brutes - hulking behemoths with strong frontal armor - can only be hit on the weak points found on their exposed backs.
Aside from knowing what to hit, a bestiary can also tell players what not to hit. Pregnants - which can easily be distinguished by their large abdominal sacs - should never be hit in their chest lest players want a pack of Swarmers exploding from the beast. With this knowledge made easily available through an information tab, players will become accustomed to Dead Space's enemies much faster.
Miscellaneous Information Is Always Welcome
While enemy strengths and weaknesses are the main reasons players would use a bestiary, most wouldn't mind a little flavor text. This includes the origins of each Necromorph and how they transformed from normal human beings to unrecognizable alien monsters. When players see a huge boss like The Leviathan, most will wonder how so many human corpses combined to create something that can block almost the entirety of the Hydroponics food storage.
A bestiary can also incorporate each Necromorph's first appearance in the franchise and how they looked compared to the remake. Seeing how the original Dead Space's Slashers compare to the remake's is interesting not just for those who played both games, but for those experiencing the franchise for the first time. Considering that 15 years have passed between both games, it can be eye-opening to see just how much has changed.
Lastly, any associated logs players find on the U.S.G Ishimura can be placed in the bestiary as well. Audio and video logs associated with the side mission "Scientific Methods" can be classified under The Hunter entry, as the entire mission revolves around this particular Necromorph's creation. This will make it easier for players to read up on their adversaries and give them a deeper understanding of Dead Space's lore.
While the chances of adding something as big as a bestiary may seem unlikely for 2023's Dead Space, it would be nice if Motive Studio brought the feature to a Dead Space 2 remake, should the developers ever get to it. Dead Space 2 has far more Necromorph variants than the first game, and it will be much harder for players to get a grasp on each enemy type as a lot of them tend to swarm Isaac at the same time. With this in mind, a bestiary just might be what the Dead Space franchise needs for the future.
Dead Space is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.