Survivor Encounters

During the course of Isaac Clarke's progress through the events of Dead Space, Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3, he encountered many survivors of each Necromorph outbreak.

Dead Space

Chapter 1

Man Behind Door

The survivor being mauled by a Slasher

This survivor was encountered when Isaac first entered the room where he obtained his first weapon. Upon entering, Isaac could hear the survivor sobbing with fright behind a locked door on the other side of the room. He did not hear Isaac until he steped up on the platform where the Plasma Cutter was. Once the survivor heard Isaac, he immediately stopped crying and begged him to open the door for him, saying that he did not have a key and could not figure out how to hack the door.

After Isaac grabbed the Plasma Cutter, the survivor became more panicked, saying that he could hear the creatures through the vents coming for him. Once the door was unlocked, he flew into a full-blown panic, saying that he could hear the creatures everywhere and he still could not unlock it from his side. When Isaac finally opened the door for the survivor, he was found being mauled to death by a Slasher.

Although Isaac could dispatch the Slasher very quickly, the survivor would still be claimed by death.

Note this was the only time that you would see a Slasher using the hands dangling from it's sides to do something ingame.

(It was holding the man down with them).

It was possible that this crewman was the Tram engineer, Benson as the voice of both are identical and you would find the first audio log from him in the corridor foward.

Chapter 2

Blind woman

The survivor sitting beside "McCoy"

When Isaac stepped off the tram in Chapter 2: Intensive Care, in the corner, there was a woman wearing a bloodstained blindfold. She was stroking her friend "McCoy" and trying to comfort him, saying that help arrived. (In reality, she was stroking a dismembered torso, but due to blindness and more likely mental instability, she did not realize this.) She said that she knew that Isaac would come "just like you said"and she "saved something for you".

She reached behind the torso, turning it over, revealing maggots eating away at it. Beleaguered, she fumbled and barely managed to drop the Kinesis Module (That was what she 'saved' for the player) in front of Isaac. She asked him if she could go now and with the last of her breath said that McCoy wanted to take her to "the shuttle". She succumbed to her wounds. After Isaac returned to the tram station later on in the chapter, both the torso and the woman are gone, probably hinting that they were turned into Necromorphs.

Bioprosthetics Lab worker

The survivor pleading for help.

While walking down the hallway to the Bioprosthetics Lab, a worker rushed out from behind a window, begging Isaac to let him out. A Lurker ran out from around the corner, chasing him. Behind him, it fired a quill into his hand that he was pounding the window with, destroying it and pinning him to the wall. The Lurker fired another quill into his back as he painfully tried to free himself.

Thinking that would be enough to kill him, the young Necromorph began to scale the wall, leaving the man to scream in agony. Realizing that he was still alive, it turned around and fired all 3 of it's quills into the worker's head, decapitating him (And splattering the remains of his head all over the window that Isaac was looking through). There was no possible way to save him as the door that led to the lab was on a "Standby" mode until he was brutally killed. The fact that the door was mysteriously on standby may be a hint that Isaac is not witnessing this event in real time, but rather a hallucination of the past. 

Head banger

The survivor banging his head against the wall

While walking down the Imaging Diagnostics hallway, a heavy banging sound was heard. When Isaac turned around the corner, he could see that the source of the sound was a man smashing his head repeatedly against the wall with blood spattering out from each hit. He was also heavily mutilated, lacking any flesh on the front of his torso and had no organs present in his abdomen. His ribs are clearly visible. He was missing sections of flesh and skin all over his body and was drenched in his own blood as though he endured a Necromorph attack. He made no reaction to Isaac's presence and shooting him was not legitimately possible. When Isaac went near the man, he reared his head back and violently brought it into the wall for a final time.  His skull cracked as he slid down to the ground, dead.

The severity of his wounds which would not be survivable for any significant length of time suggested that this man may be a hallucination on the part of Clarke. By this time in the story, however, he did not experience any major visual illusions. Only the whispers about his name appeared. The man's corpse remained in the level (As opposed to despawning), however, leading to speculation on his status. A popular fan theory posited that the man was infected to some degree, but was deemed too damaged to be useful or fully converted, leaving him in a hellish limbo that would explain how he survived his wounds and his lack of reaction to Clarke and his suicide.

Also of note: During Chapter 5, in the Chemical Lab which Isaac first met with the Hunter, there are initially two stasis tubes to the left of the entrance: One contained the creature itself and the other one contained a male human subject. It was unclear if this man was dead or simply did not move due to the suspended animation. By closely examining the man, it was possible to see that he possessed many of the characteristics of the Head Banger, most notably the opened abdomen, exposed ribs, uniform and even hairstyle.

The theory that this was the Banger would actually make sense. Like the Hunter, he could have been one of Dr. Mercer's test subjects (Which would explain his decayed state, especially the exposed abdomen and lack of organs) who somehow found a way to escape the tube much earlier than Chapter 2. However, something could have kept him from continuing the escape, either a locked door, a Necromorph or his mental state itself and he would end up fully succumbing to his dementia and frustration, slamming his head continously at the nearest wall until Isaac's arrival, only for Mercer to take his corpse back to the Lab later as his death obviously would not keep him from becoming a new enhanced Necromorph created by the doctor. This, however was speculation.

It was also possible that the developers used the same model due to budgetary constraint as the model could be seen very often around the Medical Deck. 

Choking Officer

The survivor choking to death

In one room in Imaging Diagnostics, there was an officer behind the table who was violently choking. A yellowish liquid was foaming out of his mouth. He "died" after choking for a few seconds. A back story log found after beating the game detailed the transformation of a corpse into an Infector and the very first symptom was violently choking up a yellowish liquid, implying that the choking man was actually a corpse in the first stage of becoming an Infector. Upon returning to this room on the return trip in the Chapter, the man's body could have disappeared, implying that he became an Infector. If the player stomped him, he would be dismembered, but would continue to choke.

Insane nurse and patient

The nurse "operating" on her patient

When entering a surgery room, there would be a female officer in a glass surgery box who appeared to be operating on a patient. When Isaac got closer, it was clear that she was not operating on the man, but was instead mindlessly sawing into him, laughing hysterically. She looked back at Isaac and back to the "patient" who finally died from his injuries. She looked back at Isaac again and brought the saw up to her neck and sliced her throat with it. She dropped to the floor, gurgling before finally dying from blood loss. The two are most likely not a hallucination because they are still present in the glass room when Isaac returned in a later chapter. However it is possible that the exact moment of death was a hallucination and they had been both dead for some time prior to Isaac's arrival.

Chapter 3

Screaming

Throughout the entirety of Chapter 3, human screams of both genders could be heard alongside the ambiance of the level. It was possible that these are heard from the remaining survivors as the Engineering Deck was one of the last decks to hold out. It was also possible for these screams to be originating from the Necromorphs. However, they sounded quite human. Whether these screams originated from the survivors, Necromorphs or even Isaac's dementia was all left up to speculation.

"Dead" Engineer

The dying engineer

There was only one survivor directly encountered in Chapter 3, although the encounter was brief. On the 2nd level of the engine control decks, in a storage room adjacent to one of the lift shafts lied an engineer in a heavily beaten state. Beforehand, the player would witness a Leaper hastily crawl into the room with the engineer, but disappeared ( Due to the game's programming as it avoided breaking the vent ). He rested underneath a vent on the wall and did not move until approached. He lunged forward, reaching out to Isaac before suddenly collapsing, dead. A group of Swarmers was seen exiting the horrifying room immediately prior and are also found in a supply box a floor below, insinuating his cause of death. If the player did not not approach him, the player could dismember him (He could also be dismembered when he reached out to Isaac) and move him with Kinesis. Even if he was killed by the player, the engineer's moan would still be heard for a short period of time. Turning around let the player witness a Slasher run by the room, indicating that maybe the engineer was warning Isaac before dying.

KIA sounds

After passing through the other side of the decontamination chamber on the way to the Centrifuge, dulled (Low-pass) screams and thuds (Gunshots) could be heard. Soon after, there was silence. It was implied that there was someone who managed to survive and was fighting off the Necromorphs, only to die soon after. Owing to the fact that the Drag Tentacle was introduced moments later, it's signature groan was heard for the first time and a loud crash coincided with fresh limbs nearby. It was likely that the survivor was "taken" by the Drag Tentacle moments prior to Isaac's arrival which was most likely why it did not lunge at him initially.

Chapter 4

Screaming Woman

Once the main lift in the Bridge room neared it's destination at the lower level, the loud, horrified scream of a woman echoed down the shaft. The scream ended moments after Isaac reached the bottom floor. Upon entry to the level, there are no signs of human life and no murdered female in sight. Where the scream originated from was unknown. A possibility was that a Necromorph managed to kill the unsuspecting woman, but it did not seem likely as there was no roar to be heard as the woman was screaming. Another possibility is that the woman was hiding from the outbreak and  found refuge in the elevator  shaft, then the elevator crushed her when CEC Engineer Isaac Clarke activated it. Although, as the vanishing man was seen shortly after it could also be a hallucination. 

Vanishing Man

The vanishing man

After going up the main lift to Level 3 (On the entrance to the Communications Array), there was a man through a doorway who briefly told Isaac to "Make us whole again" before walking off. It was unknown where he went as there was only a lonely Pregnant down the corridor. If Isaac was quick enough, rushed and reopened the door immediately, it could be seen that he vanished after walking five feet away (Gameplay-related). Also of note, he was a survivor that Isaac could shoot, although it had no effect. He was likely a hallucination.

It was interesting to note that the man resembled a bloody Chen (He wore the same suit given to the USG Kellion crew members, Hammond and Johnston). Considering his pose while Isaac saw him, the phrase that he said and the way that he walked away, it could be possible that Isaac was hallucinating the Pregnant in the form of the man. If he was not a hallucination, it was possible that he and the crawling man from Chapter 8 are one and the same. This was also suggested by the physical likeness of these characters and proximity of these survivors encounters.

Chapter 5

Hysterical Woman

The hysterical woman

The hysterical woman up close

Before going into Dr. Mercer's office, Isaac could see a woman standing at the end of the hallway next to a surgical bed to the right. She was staring at a dead body on the ground and was laughing/crying hysterically which was on an eternal loop, did not react to Isaac's presence in any way and was invulnerable. She died when Dr. Challus Mercer vented the air throughout the deck into space. While Isaac did not see her die, he could verify that her body was there if he had the luxury to waste oxygen for that purpose.

A very interesting detail that many players did not notice was that the dead body on the ground looked identical to her, right down to the injuries on the face, though this may be an error in NPC formatting and the same skin was used for both. There was a possibility that she may be a hallucination due to the fact that her RIG health indicator was empty which meant that she was actually dead and moreover, it was strange that Isaac did not encounter her during his first visit of the Infirmary in Chapter 2. However, when Dr. Mercer disabled the life support systems in the Medical Deck, the woman died and her body was left lying next to the other corpse which infers that she was indeed a real person and managed to somehow survive until that point.

Dr. Mercer

Dr. Mercer

The insane science officer, Doctor Challus Mercer was first encountered in this chapter, revealed to be hiding on the Medical Deck in apparently safe areas. He first talked to Isaac inside the lab from behind a glass/perspex screen, revealing his plans concerning the Necromorphs and their transportation to Earth and his knowledge of the Hive Mind and released the Hunter. Once Isaac escaped back to the security station and entered the E.R., Mercer was again shielded behind a glass pane while attempting to convince Isaac to give up.

After Isaac acquired the recombinant tissue sample from his office, the insane doctor interrupted his video call with Kendra before venting all of the oxygen in the wing into space. After the oxygen was restored, he was encountered in the Cryogenics Treatment chamber, again behind a glass pane. Mercer made a brief speech about his plan to unleash the Necromorphs on Earth before releasing his regenerating creation and walking off.

Chapter 7

Elevator Man

The elevator man

When Isaac reached the far end of the rig room and activated the elevator, he would begin to hear painful moans from a nearby survivor. When the elevator reached Isaac's level, the door opened to reveal a dying miner lying on the ground with his left arm severed. He groaned and reached out to Isaac for help before collapsing, dead. Immediately after activating the elevator, his arm precipitously fell from a vent above, followed quickly by an onslaught of Slashers which was the likely cause of his demise.

Nicole Brennan

Isaac met Nicole while on his way to retrieve the SOS beacon. Nicole could not reach him from where she was, but she helped him to open the locked door to the room where the beacon was. Isaac had to defend her against an onslaught of Necromorphs that attacked her. She walked away after unlocking the door and declaring her love for Isaac. Kendra later stated that she lost Isaac's signal for a while, indicating that something blocked the signal while Isaac was defending Nicole.

Chapter 8

Crawling Man

The crawling man

After entering the passage guarded by the two Guardians, a survivor would crawl around the corner, groaning in his death throes and subsequently die as the game's first whole Divider came around the corner as well. Though Isaac could shoot and dismember the survivor, he would still act out his programmed death scene. If the player chose to look close enough, the survivor would strongly resemble the Vanishing Man as it was seen in Chapter 4.

Chapter 9

Gravity Panel Marine

The marine forced to the ceiling by faulty gravity panel

A Marine could be seen pinned to the ceiling by one of the malfunctioning gravity panels, moaning in obvious pain. (How he managed to survive without getting shredded to pieces by the panel was unclear). Nothing could be done to help him. Neither rescue or a mercy kill from Isaac was possible, though if the player managed to keep an exploding limb from one of the Exploders in the room previously, it could be used to remove all of the man's limbs (Which in a terrifying lack of programming did not result in a ceasing of the man's moaning). If this was done and the player left and returned to the Marine's room, his moan would no longer be heard as he would no longer be present due to a lack of programming.

His ultimate fate was unknown, although the fact that he was trapped and heavily injured when the ship later exploded certainly suggested his KIA status. If the player looked closely, the Marine still had full health.

Legless Marine

The legless marine

After leaving the room with the shooting range on the USM Valor, Isaac discovered a space Marine, sitting on the ground and holding up his severed leg. He grunted in pain for a few times and fell backwards, dead. This Marine was found outside an operating room with a malfunctioning medical laser suggesting that he lost his leg inadvertently during his escape from the Necromorphs, but only made it to the hall before Isaac found him.

Fleeing Marine

The fleeing marine

Another Marine could be seen running away from Isaac as he entered a room connected to where the singularity core was found. The door closed and locked as he left. It was never explicitly shown what happened to him, but the fact that he was never shown again in the game implied that he was killed either by a Necromorph or when the USM Valor exploded. However, when Isaac followed his path after retrieving the singularity core, a lone dead Marine could be seen by an elevator with a blown power unit. Seeing as Isaac nearly avoided injury when one exploded near him (Before Dr. Kyne's transmission), it was likely that the same Marine who was lacking a Kinesis Module was killed when the power unit was ejected or was unable to escape a pursuer.

Chapter 10

Dr. Kyne

Dr Kyne

The ship's chief science officer was encountered behind a secure glass pane in the sleep block Security Station. He informed Isaac about the importance of returning the Marker to it's pedestal on the planet and aided Isaac in locating the Navigation Cards needed for the Executive Shuttle. He would not leave the Security Station and if Isaac attempted to visit him before he located the Navigation Cards, Kyne started to ramble believing Isaac to be his wife. Eventually, Kyne left to pilot the shuttle into the Flight Deck.

Jacob Temple

Jacob Temple about to be killed by Dr Mercer

Jacob Temple, formerly an engineer aboard the "Ishimura" left a series of audio logs detailing the mechanics and failures of the systems on the ship and his attempts to repair them and escape the crisis. Eventually, it practicality forced him to abandon this objective and he instead went out to find Elizabeth Cross, his partner. Their reunion was short lived. Both of them are murdered by Mercer. Their skulls are punctured to ease the inevitable work of the Infector. Clarke was forced to witness Temple's death, though he could not intervene.

Unitologist Miner

The Unitologist Miner

Upon entry to the back room to Sleep Block C, Isaac discovered a room full of dead Unitology worshipers who committed suicide under the orders of Dr. Mercer with their impaled heads wrapped up in bandages. One surprisingly clean and unhurt woman remained alive in the room, but upon Isaac's entry, she laughed hysterically and promptly blew her head off with a P-Sec Pistol. The woman was the only one in the room to die from a gunshot. The others are impaled in a similar fashion to Jacob Temple and Elizabeth Cross.

Dr. Challus Mercer

On his way to retrive the Crew Key, Isaac came across Mercer murdering the Acting Chief Engineer, Jacob Temple while ranting on about his belief, shortly before walking off. It was interesting to note that the lift that Mercer could be seen decending led down to a Divider-infested sublevel and no traces of his presence could be found when Isaac went down there.

Once Isaac collected the Navigation Cards, Mercer briefly taunted him via RIG Link before unleashing the Hunter on him once more. He was not seen or heard from again for a brief time until Isaac killed the Hunter with the Executive Shuttle's engine test after which Mercer contacted him and invited Isaac to join him as he gazed at the face of God before submitting himself to an Infector. Isaac later found Mercer's mutilated remains along with the Infector just a few rooms away which would turn into an Enhanced Slasher should the transformation be allowed to complete.

Chapter 11

Dr. Kyne

After obtaining the escape shuttle, Dr. Kyne rushed out to greet Isaac, telling him that they must escape immediately. Before either of them are able to board the shuttle, however, Kyne was shot in the chest by Kendra Daniels who was hidden on board the shuttle before taking off with the Marker. As Kyne laid dying on the floor, he reached out and gasped for Amelia to come back to him before collapsing to the ground dead.

Kendra Daniels

Kendra was not fully visible in this chapter, but she apparently snuck aboard the Executive Shuttle sometime after Kyne piloted it to the Flight Deck. Once the Marker was loaded onto the shuttle, Kendra swiftly shot and killed Kyne in the presence of Isaac before flying the shuttle away, stranding him. She contacted him via RIG Link and thanked him before revealing that the outbreak on Aegis VII along with the Marker was the product of EarthGov and the Valor was sent to assist her in retrieving the artifact.

Later on, Kendra escaped down to the colony when Isaac activated the Shuttle recall override.

Nicole Brennan

Nicole appeared again once Kendra betrayed Isaac in a control room blocked by a Guardian. Once Isaac reached her, she expressed her joy and told Isaac to "make them whole" (Note that this was the same words that the vanishing man said to Isaac, indicating that he in fact was a hallucination) before instructing him to recall Kendra's shuttle. She was later seen co-piloting the shuttle with Isaac when they descended down to the colony.

Chapter 12

Nicole Brennan

Nicole was seen again at the start of the chapter, instructing Isaac to load the Marker off the shuttle and guide it to it's pedestal using the loader system. She vanished after he restored the power to the loading bay doors.

After the Marker was returned, Nicole made her final appearance in a bright flash of light as Convergence began. She congratulated Isaac on doing a good job and said that "they are now whole" before disappearing for good.

Kendra Daniels

Kendra was seen shortly after Nicole vanished at the Marker pedestal, removing it and loading it back to her shuttle. She pointed out Isaac's growing dementia by telling him that Nicole was dead this whole time and forced him to watch the full transmission. Kendra then left with the heartbroken engineer in hot pursuit.

Once Isaac reached the landing pad, he witnessed the brutal death of Daniels at the hands of the newly-awakened Hive Mind, smacking and crushing her many times before tossing her against the sharp corner of a building, fully dismembering her. 

Dead Space 2

Chapter 1

Franco Delille

Franco Delille

In the opening of Dead Space 2, Franco woke Isaac out of Stasis while speaking to Daina. He got stabbed by an Infector once in the chest and in the forehead. He quickly mutated into a Slasher who was head butted away by Isaac. His Slasher was later encountered in the game.

Numerous Asylum Patients

One of the Asylum patients

As Isaac attempted to escape the Necromorphs that appeared after Franco's Necromorph transformation, several patients could be seen trapped in their glass booths. The patients are ultimately left to die as they had no way of escaping the numerous Slashers and Infectors that poured into the room. One of the unfortunate patients even slammed his chest into a wall in desperation, splattering blood everywhere from a recent chest wound that he received. It was possible that this was the same man seen in the "Dead Space 2: Severed" DLC that was cut in half (Referred to later on this page as the "Hand-Banging Survivor") as they possessed the same head bandage.

Flatlining Patient

The Flatlining patient

As Isaac got up after dealing with the Slasher that pinned him down, you could hear a faint sigh and a flatline suddenly going off at one of the nearby beds which was the man's last breath. You could never see this man move.

Two Security Officers

The two security officers

Isaac came across two security officers who are apparently looking for him. One of them yelled out "Clarke! Take him down!" and they began firing at Isaac. Before they could land a hit, one of them got stabbed and took up into an air vent in the ceiling by an unseen Necromorph (Possibly a variant of the Leaper since the tail structure was similar). The other officer stopped firing and examined the air vent, only to suffer from the same fate as his partner. As Isaac approached, the blood dripped down like a waterfall from the vent opening. The Necromorph that was responsible made it's way noisily across the ceiling, dropping a completely dismembered torso of one of the officers through a separate vent. The other officer could be heard screaming from inside the vent as the Necromorph dragged him to someplace else and a flatline sound could be heard almost immediately afterward.

Foster Edgars

Edgars Foster holding the scalpel against Isaac's throat

When Isaac passed through the observation room overlooking the patient recreation room during his escape from the asylum, he found Foster Edgars giggling to himself and carving into the observation window. Clearly insane, Edgars seized Isaac as he attempted to slip by and held a scalpel to his throat. Edgars manically stated that Tiedemann ordered that all of the "key subjects are to be terminated" and said "What was one more?".

This statement, Foster's blood covered clothing and the fact that the next room contained several deceased patients with cut throats suggested that he already killed several other people before Isaac encountered him. Isaac tried to convince Edgars to help him remove the straightjacket so they could escape together. Edgars suddenly appeared to stab Isaac in the stomach, but he actually cut the restraints of the straightjacket. He mentioned Isaac's RIG being red and indicated a supply locker with a Medical Pack and a Flashlight inside. As Isaac turned around after retrieving both items, Edgars said "Isaac, we are all going to burn for what we did to you." before casually slitting his own throat, falling against a window, sliding to the floor and choking to death on his own blood. His corpse was later found by Gabe Weller.

Man On Operating Table

The man on the operating table

At some point, after progressing through the hospital, Isaac would hear pleas for help coming from inside an observation room. When Isaac entered, he discovered a man strapped to an operating table who apparently was having heart surgery done, but was abandoned during the initial attack. The man's chest had a gaping hole open from mid-surgery. Isaac noticed a device above the man that used a Plasma Cutter to perform operations and decided to take it off the machine and use it to cut the man free.

As Isaac hacked a computer panel to get the Cutter off the machine, however, a Slasher passed by the entrance to the room, noticed the duo and walked into the chamber, attacking the man. Although initially fighting the Slasher off using his legs, the man quickly had his right leg chopped off, followed by repeated stab wounds to the opening in his chest and decapitation. By the time Isaac freed the Plasma Cutter from the machine and combined it with his flashlight, the man was already butchered. Nothing could be done to save him. When Gabe Weller returned to this room in Dead Space 2: Severed, a lone, legless Stalker appeared, though since it had a head, it could not be this man unless there was a bug or error. The man had the same face as Director Tiedemann's.

Note: Isaac could use Kinesis to throw pieces at the man. If they hit his head or a limb, it would come off. It was possible to completely dismember the man, but he would still be alive and the Slasher would still attack him.

People on Audio log

A dead security guard with an audio log playing

Isaac found a corpse of a security guard that had an audio log playing near it. One trooper was in disbelief that he blew off a Necromorph's legs and it kept on coming. Another replied that the Necromorphs are needed to be completely dismembered to be killed. It was possible that these troops are elsewhere in the hospital, trying to kill off any other patients. If Isaac stayed there and listened to the conversation long enough, it would eventually just be the sounds of a Necromorph growling (Although not loudly).

Nurses Being Attacked by Pukers

One of the nurses dying from a Puker

The other nurse who is dying from the Puker

After Isaac entered the morgue, a nurse crawled around the corner. Something behind the corner sprayed him with caustic fluid, violently burning him and causing him to collapse before dying. His body was covered in blisters when he was approached. When Isaac came around the corner, he witnessed a female nurse being vomited on and killed by the game's first Puker which attacked. They both died no matter how quickly that the Puker was dispatched. If Isaac waited before entering the room with the female nurse, he could hear several screams of agony as the female nurse got burned by the Puker. The screams are on a loop. A glitch occurred if you killed the Puker holding the female nurse before he could puke on her. When the Puker was killed, the female nurse would stand straight up and fall over dead. It should be noted that the female nurse shared the same character model as the nurse first seen in the Dead Space 2: Severed DLC. Whether this was intentional by the developers of the game or just the practicality of sharing the same model was unknown.

Nolan Stross

Nolan Stross speaking to Isaac before the security door closes

While trying to escape the asylum, Isaac met Nolan Stross. Stross tried to help Isaac escape, but he got locked behind a security gate.

At some point during the second chapter of the game, Stross contacted Isaac over a radio transmission. He could be seen in person across a courtyard, leaning over a railing shouting to Isaac. After a short conversation where Stross gave Isaac directions, he gave Isaac a warning, seconds before a Leaper crawled over the railing toward Isaac.

Chapter 2

Slasher Victim

The Slasher violently attacking the woman

When Isaac entered the Titan Heights Apartment, a woman was seen backing away from something behind the corner. She noticed Clarke and turned to him and a Slasher's blade suddenly sliced her in the back and knocked her to the floor. The Slasher jumped on her back and violently stabbed her multiple times before attacking Isaac. The Slasher could be killed before the woman was attacked, but the woman would still fall and blood would spray from her back and she would die regardless of Isaac's actions as this event was scripted.

Several Fleeing Civilians

The fleeing civilians

After the explosion in the apartment blocked off the entrance to the lobby, several survivors could be seen fleeing to a hallway. Another survivor on the floor was seen holding onto a corpse near an Infector and sobbing while a nearby woman holding her gut stumbled out of the lobby. An additional three survivors could be seen sprinting into the hallway. One of them was looking back at the lobby. Two more survivors are coming in from the right with one holding his arm and the three survivors are seen running off in the hallway at a distance.

It was still possible to kill the Infector and grab it's corpse with Kinesis.

Elevator Man

The elevator man

As Isaac ascended in an elevator in the apartments, the elevator blacked out and came to a halt. Someone who was shouting was heard outside the doors, shouting and running which opened halfway between floors, allowing a survivor on the other side an attempt to crawl in through the small gap in the doors. However, a Slasher impaled him in the chest and sprayed the elevator's floor with blood as the elevator began working again. The last sight of the survivor was that he was dragged away around the corner by the Slasher. You could not save the man due to Isaac's reaction to the man's death. If Isaac aimed at the area where the Slasher came through (Or any area) and tried to shoot the Slasher's arm right before it impaled the man, he would gasp in a shocked manner while holding his left hand up to his face (Front of suit visor) appearing to hide the man's fate from Isaac's sight.

Note: This survivor used the face of Dan Emmerson who won the "Get Dismembered in Dead Space 2" contest with his entry, Meat Cello which was now used ingame.

Cowering Survivor

The cowering survivor

In the same room as the Elevator Man was a survivor sitting on the floor, shaking. While the elevator doors closed before his fate could be seen, he was presumably killed by the Slasher that killed the Elevator Man or died from his wounds.

Distant Fleeing Survivors

The fleeing survivors

The fleeing survivors could be seen behind Nolan Stross as he talked to Isaac. On the floors above and below, several other survivors would sporadically run into view, being chased by the Pukers and Slashers. All of these survivors' fates are unknown, though they either escaped or are killed by the Necromorphs or even killed when the Sprawl exploded.

As a side note, if one was accurate enough, they could shoot the Necromorphs chasing the survivors and would drop items and the player would eventually pass through this area and would be able to collect them.

Injured Woman

Before entering Hallway 405 413, Isaac saw a woman holding her stomach on a close balcony on the same floor as him heading toward a closed door.

Family On the Run

The couple

When Isaac headed into Hallway 405 413, he saw a man and a woman running away from their apartment, but the woman said that she could not leave her mother and attempted to run back into the apartment. The man said that it was too late and forcibly grabbed her by the waist and dragged her off. Moments after, the game's second female Slasher attacked Isaac by bursting out of a nearby apartment door. Their fate was unknown and they could not be seen running down the hallway or entering any doors.

The couple's apartment door was left open. Isaac could enter to find the room in shambles. A ventilation shaft above the bed was bursted open. When the bathroom was approached, a legless Puker crawled out and attacked. This may have been the woman's mother as well as another female Slasher that snuck into the apartment while Isaac explored it, but the answer was generally left up to the player's interpretation. However, if the player listened carefully after you killed the Slashers and the Puker, the player could hear an elderly woman crying which soon ended shortly. This suggested that the mother of the fleeing woman was still alive and hid herself, but was too weak to move or was injured by a Necromorph attack. It was also possible that the sound was a hallucination.

Even if Isaac managed to kill the female Slasher extremely quickly, there would be an invisible barrier preventing you from going any further until the man and woman left.

Several Unseen Survivors

Throughout the apartment complex, several survivors could be heard in their apartments when Isaac approached the door. Judging from the sounds, they are presumably killed by the Necromorphs or insane people. One woman could be heard begging someone on the other side to stay away from the door and suddenly screaming hysterically before being cut off. One man screamed to a woman "They are coming in through the walls!" before a roar was heard and both of them are heard screaming. There was also a clearly terrified man who locked himself in his apartment, frantically warning the others that he was armed. At one point, a crying baby was heard as well as a crying female's voice, presumably it's mother. Suddenly, the infant's cries turned into snarls and the woman was silent, implying that the infant turned into a Lurker and killed the mother. When walking by what looked like a laundromat, you could hear the pounding and muffled screams of a child (Most likely one of the Pack) stuck inside, shaking a washing machine. When the power went out, the pounding stopped, the washing machine stopped shaking and the child fell silent.

Man Holding an Injured Woman

When Isaac reached the terrace, a man holding a critically injured woman could be seen on the balcony under where Isaac Clarke came from. The man also seemed to be gesturing at a third unseen survivor on the left. Their fates are unknown. If Isaac returned here later on, both (Or possibly all three) are gone with no sign that they are killed or turned into Necromorphs.

Crawling Woman

After exiting the elevator on the floor with the Family on the Run, the wall to the right of the elevator had a gate lowered to quarantine the area. Behind the gate, apparently not noticing Isaac was a woman who crawled toward the gate, crying and begging while leaving behind a trail of blood who stopped and likely died. If Isaac came back to this area later on, the body was missing and a trail of hand prints could be seen leading to a broken air duct, implying that she was transformed into a Leaper.

Leaving ships

Right after Isaac exited the washing room where he got ambushed by the Necromorphs, a large ship could be seen outside, leaving the station, probably EarthGov evacuating the station. Several other ships could also be seen leaving the station with a good amount crashing or exploding while trying to escape and others getting away seemingly unscathed.

Crashing ship

When Isaac first entered the waiting room, right before the tram station, a ship would start taking off, but suddenly another ship plunged into it, causing the both of them to crash into the building, leaving large cracks on the window that Isaac was looking through.

Chapter 3

Unseen Woman

While in the mall, a woman could be heard occasionally crying or laughing. Her fate was unknown, but it could be assumed that she died or was just a hallucination.

Chapter 5

Daina Le Guin

Upon finally reaching Daina's safehouse, her assistants proceeded to ambush Isaac, grabbing him from both sides and holding him. She proceeded to explain why she, a Unitologist wanted him to help make more Markers and spread "Glorious Convergence". However, just as she began preparations to take Isaac to the shuttle, one of Tiedemann's gunships managed to spot them and began firing at the windows blasting one of Daina's arms off and cutting her in half. What was left of her was sucked into the vacuum of space if she somehow survived being torn to pieces, she did not last long.

Daina's Assistants

Daina's helpers and two men who are Unitologists helped to keep Isaac held as she talked to him. When the gunship arrived and started firing, the right assistant was decapitated in the chaos and as everything began to be sucked into space, the left assistant tried to cling onto Isaac, but was quickly kicked away and sucked into space.

EarthGov Gunship

The EarthGov Gunship was first encountered in Chapter 3 while trying to kill Isaac in the entrance of the Church. The Gunship was once more encountered at the end of Chapter 5, killing Daina and her assistants. The Gunship was finally destroyed when Isaac was being chased by the Tormentor as Isaac shot the Gunship's fuel canisters.

Chapter 6

Ellie Langford

Isaac first met Ellie during his second visit of the Concourse. She was holding her ground behind a welded mesh blocking the elevator used by the player in Chapter 3. When she was approached, she threatened Isaac and refused to join him. She allowed Isaac to use the elevator after she did, but not before warning him not to follow her.

Woman Hugging a Crawler

When Isaac entered Titan Elementary, he walked by a nursery window with a woman suffering from dementia on the other side. The woman, looking at something in the corner of the room said "Come to momma!" and a Crawler emerged from under a table, slowly making it's way toward her. As she knelt down, the Crawler crawled into her arms with it's grotesque anatomy causing it's head to face Isaac as he looked on. As the mother gently cradled her infected baby, it suddenly screamed and exploded, taking both of their lives and drenching the viewing window with their remains. After this, Isaac had his first fight with the Crawlers in the next room. This was one of the few times that a survivor (Mentally stable or otherwise) acted positively to a Necromorph and also proved that the Crawlers could self detonate at will.

Distant Screaming

Some time after the first fight against the Crawlers, someone could be heard screaming in the distance only for it to abruptly stop because the survivor was presumably killed.

Chapter 13

The Sprawl Security Officers

Upon entering the Government Sector, Isaac encountered a firing squad style line of security officers with riot shields and Pulse Rifles. They demanded Isaac to disarm immediately and opened fire in seconds. The troops are later wiped out when Isaac cut the power, letting the Necromorphs into the Government Sector. The riot line which would have been effective against human assailants could do nothing to prevent the massacre of the entire sector. The Security Officers are killed by a charge of thousands of Pukers, Slashers, Pregnants and even the Ubermorph.

Interestingly, Isaac was unable to fire at the officers: If attempted, he lowered his weapon instead. Isaac could be killed by the Sprawl Security Officers at this point in the game. If Isaac approached them after the first warning, they would start shooting and throwing grenades at him which would partially dismember Isaac.

Screams behind door

After dodging the lasers in the Marker Reconstruction chamber, Isaac would come across a hallway leading to the Data Monitoring room. If you waited for a little while before opening the door, the screams and Necromorph growls would be heard. Entering the room would only reveal the corpses of the Slashers and the police officers.

Chapter 15

Hans Tiedemann

Tiedemann contacted Isaac throughout the game, but was finally confronted in front of the Marker in the final chapter. Utilizing a Javelin Gun, Tiedemann almost killed Isaac. Isaac narrowly escaped death and disarmed Tiedemann before proceeding to kill him with his own gun.

Dead Space 2: Severed

Colin Price

Colin Price was a member of Gabe Weller's security team. Gabe met him in the Mines. Price was badly injured and looked down at Gabe from a platform above him. He told him that he locked all of the doors, but explained that the Necromorphs are coming through the vents. After he said that, he turned around and made several moans and grunts. By the time Gabe reached him, an Infector already turned him into the game's first Twitcher. It was impossible to save him.

Victor Bartlett

Victor Bartlett was the leader of Security Team Alpha. After his team got slaughtered, he was given orders by Tiedemann to exterminate all of the key subjects including Gabe's wife, Lexine. Bartlett was barely able to fight through the waves of Necromorphs until he reached Lexine where he was incapacitated by the two Oracles who abducted Lexine. Once Gabe reached Lexine at the shuttle, Bartlett ambushed him with a live grenade. It went off, killing Bartlett and severing Gabe's right leg where he succumbed to his wounds.

Hand-Banging Survivor

In the overlook of the operation room in the hospital, a loud banging could be heard. When Gabe took the elevator down to the main operating section, he saw a man with a bandaged head banging his hand against the window much like the one from the original Dead Space. The man collapsed out of view as Gabe approached the window. When Gabe entered the operation room, the man laid in the same spot, but as it turned out, he was torn in half at the waist. A blood trail led from his now dead upper half to his severed legs which still laid in the center of the room. Oddly enough, his RIG was blue and at full health, even though his legs are severed. Once he died, it quickly changed.

Lexine Weller

Gabe encountered his wife for the first time when he was standing over the cell where she was being held hostage by Victor Bartlett. After Lexine called out to Gabe, two men appeared, incapacitated Barlett and took her away.

Lexine's Abductors

Two mysterious men (Oracles) who tried to escape with Lexine and her unborn child. They are unnaturally calm concerning the situation around them. Weller chased them throughout the hospital, nearly catching them several times. They are killed by the Infectors which are feet away from their escape shuttle and turned into Twitchers who are killed by Gabe.

Dead Space 3

The Survivor encounters are minimal in Dead Space 3. As the only populated area visited by the player was the New Horizons Lunar Colony, during Isaac and John Carver's escape from the Unitologists, they would overhear a woman being interrogated by a Circle member off screen. Approaching the opening of the alley, the woman would enter their line of sight when she fell to the ground after being shot in the back during an escape attempt. There are also many fleeing residents that could be heard and seen as Isaac and Carver traversed the markets and stores of the colony as the Necromorphs began their onslaught of the unsuspecting, helpless colonists. Many of the shuttles filled with survivors who are trying to escape the colony could be seen in the sky.

After this point, most of the "survivors" encountered are either Circle members (Danik), Robert Norton and the members of Ellie's crew.

The pre-recorded messages of Tucker Edwards on the Sovereign Colonies ship, the CMS Terra Nova gave the player the impression that the man managed to survive on the ship in spite of the two hundred years that passed. However, reaching the top of the Conning Tower revealed that he committed suicide during the events of the Necromorph outbreak on Tau Volantis.

While on the surface of Tau Volantis, the player could encounter the lone Unitologist soldiers who immediately committed suicide when approached, either by gunshot or slitting their own throats. En route to the Dissection Hangar, Isaac and Carver came across the small squads of Circle members being ambushed and killed by the Necromorphs while some of them that are being the recently deceased members are brought back to life by the Swarmers. On the return trip through the chamber that housed the giant drill, four soldiers could be witnessed conducting a ritual before cutting their own throats and killing themselves. 

Dead Space 3: Awakened

During the first chapter of Awakened, Isaac and Carver would encounter the surviving members of the Circle cowering in corners and on tabletops. They lost their minds and are driven crazy by the signal of the Brethren Moons. They rocked around in a fetal position, repeating the phrase, "They are hungry. They are coming". Others immediately/instantly committed suicide by either slitting their throats or shooting themselves.

Upon arrival at the Terra Nova, a member of the Circle, Randall Carr who did not succumb to dementia could be heard talking over the PA until he was caught by the Cult Leader and killed. Carr mentioned several other members of the Circle who did not succumb to dementia, but their fate was not covered. They are killed by the Necromorphs, hunted down by the new Cult members or are forcefully inducted into the Cult.

Notes

• There are no survivor encounters in the Aegis VII Colony; practically anyone who wasn't killed made for the Ishimura, unknowingly bringing the lifeform onto the ship. If there were survivors on the planet, the impact from the chunk pulled would have certainly destroyed all life.
• On Aegis VII, Isaac can hear a rather strange chanting in the final room before the Marker pedestal.
• The explosion that destroys the Site 12 Marker and Titan Station likely killed all remaining survivors on the Sprawl. Those who survived were evacuated prior, during the outbreak under the orders of Tiedemann.
• The Necromorphs seen chasing the civilians in Titan Heights can be killed and will drop an item when shot. The player will eventually pass through the area with the Slashers, so you will be able to collect them. The Pukers fall down when shot; the Slashers will continue running, but still drop an item as if killed.
• Given that evacuations were taking place around Titan Station during the outbreak, a lot of civilians probably escaped the Sprawl and revealed the existence of the Necromorphs to the public. If this is true, then most of humanity would have been aware of the Necromorphs by Dead Space 3.
• In chapter 12 of Dead Space 1 on Aegis VII, in the gravity tether core when Isaac enters the gravity tube severed body parts of female flight crew members and male civilian members are seen floating around. Interestingly enough near the gravity tube door is three headless bodies. It's possible the three headless bodies were previous survivors that escaped while the others died but when coming back were killed by mature guardians. It's also interesting to note that with the female flight crew members have  male heads for reasons unknown, also a rather strange ambiance is heard when inside the gravity tube. It's also unknown how the enhanced lurkers and leapers managed to get inside.
• In chapter 13 and 14 in Dead Space 2, there are no scientist survivor encounters. Most likely behind the offline doors are possibly survivors that locked themselves inside or possibly a room filled with necromorphs, its unknown what is in those rooms.