The Markers Are the Source of All Horrors in 'Dead Space'

Spoiler alert! This article contains spoilers for Dead Space.

In an age of remakes for our favorite video games, gamers are currently sinking their teeth into the Dead Space remake. The original survival horror title was first released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC in October 2008 and received positive reception along with several awards for achievements in gaming. It would soon kick off an entire franchise that includes sequels, spin-offs, and even tie-in comic books and films.

The remake closely resembles the original Dead Space as it follows systems engineer Issac Clark and his team as they board the space vessel USG Ishimura on a rescue mission. Once there, they encounter hordes of Necromorphs — corpses that have been reanimated and contorted into horrifying monsters. Issac and his team attempt to find survivors and avoid being infected by the Necromorph threat.

To this end, the Markers play a significant role in the story once more. What are they exactly?

Generally speaking, Markers in Dead Space take the form of double-helix obelisks with strange markings and symbols on them. They have the ability to create Necromorphs and even send out hallucinations to bend an organic being to its will. If they can create enough of them at once, they can enact a Convergence event that will create Brethren Moons — giant moon-sized Necromorphs that serve as the primary antagonists of the series.

These semi-sentient objects have their own agenda in creating more Necromorphs. As such, they have a variety of types and abilities.

There's the Black Marker aka the Prime Marker. Having arrived on Earth over 65 million years before the events of Dead Space, it was eventually unearthed by DredgerCorp researchers under military supervision.

The Black Marker then transmitted Necromorph DNA blueprints to the researchers, causing a Necromorph outbreak on Earth that was thankfully cut short.

However, its activity on Earth eventually gave rise to Red Markers, smaller, artificially created copies of the Black Marker. Though these are less powerful than the Black Marker, they can still transmit messages and hallucinations to unsuspecting victims. Naturally, they can also spread the Necromorph contagion as well.

No matter what color they are, the Markers present an enormous threat to Issac and his crew as they attempt to stop the Necromorphs from spreading.

The Dead Space remake is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.