Dead Space 3 pits player character Isaac Clarke against the Necromorphs, human corpses reanimated by the signal of an alien artifact known as the Marker. The Resource Integration Gear (RIG) suit returns, using holographic displays projected from the players' suit and weapons to display health and ammo count, respectively. In vacuum areas, a timer will appear on the player's right shoulder, indicating how much oxygen that character has left before they suffocate.
Isaac and Carver can roll and take cover to avoid attacks. This new ability was described by a Visceral Games developer as essential, as it "felt dumb/terrible not to have it" and that they have been "making Isaac more responsive", as they "want the horror to come from the terrible things that happen in the game; not from the horror that something is moving slowly towards you and you can't shoot it because the game controls like a piece of crap." The cover system is also described as "organic" in nature; for example, the player does not need to "walk up to certain tagged things and press the cover button; Clarke or Carver just does the action that is appropriate for the given situation."
