Twitcher

"The infection process is doing something strange to these soldiers. They all had built-in Stasis units in their body armor. The infection is merging the Stasis unit into their flesh or something... making them move fast... real fast. Be careful."

—Zach Hammond^[1]

Twitchers are Necromorphs created from hosts equipped with stasis modules. They are first encountered in the ruins of the USM Valor, and later spread into the USG Ishimura. They additionally appear on Aegis VII and on the Sprawl in the Dead Space 2 DLC Dead Space 2: Severed. They also appear in Dead Space 3 on Tau Volantis.

Description

The Twitchers are the result of the Necromorph infection converting the corpses of people who were equipped with Stasis modules (such as soldiers, security personnel or special division scientists). They are physically similar to Slashers in most aspects.

A disturbing side effect of the transformation is that the Stasis modules become fused with the resulting creature, and the effect of the Stasis Module is strangely reversed, with terrifying results. Because of the Stasis Module merged into their bodies, Twitchers can react and move several times faster than any other Necromorph variant, making them very hard to hit before they close in to melee range. It also causes them to have highly erratic and spastic movements, and their features seem to blur as they move when seen close up. Due to their incredible speed, they are very capable of dodging Isaac's weapons in harder difficulties when they see it coming. They also make distinctive jabbering noises when they get close.

Their name is derived from their constant twitching and spasmodic behavior. Their design is similar to that of a Slasher; however, this is hard to notice due to their speed. Their heads, legs, and bodies retain a vaguely human form, albeit much chunkier and muscular than Slashers (likely due to the fact that the infected soldiers or security personnel tend to be more well-built than civilians). Some lack the small chest appendages of the Slashers, but their talons are much larger. Their heads have a massive, hollowed-out indentation on the top of the skull, and tiny tentacles fill the gap. They also seem to be missing both their eyes. Furthermore, their faces seem to be almost static; they never change their facial expression, which is fixed in a blank and hollow stare.

They will often times bend themselves backwards and walk on their human legs and their slashing blades while the talons protruding from their stomach wave in the air. This can cause it to be potentially difficult to dismember them because it protects their blades.

The infected Titan Station security officers, Oracles and S.C.A.F. scientists remain largely humanoid and still wear most of their armor, so they don't seem to be as extensively infected as the Valor's marines. However, they are still just as deadly.

Strategy

Increased speed aside, these Necromorphs are essentially a variant of the Slasher.
Twitchers will fake death if their legs are removed. As such, it is prudent to keep the Twitcher in sight until its death is confirmed.
Twitchers will often feign death as a Slasher will (more often when their arms are cut off). The way to tell if a Twitcher is playing dead is the same as a Slasher; a death animation can be observed.
Using Stasis on a Twitcher overrides the effect of its own Stasis Module and brings its speed down to that of any other Necromorph under Stasis.
Distance is key. As such, while they're still charging, a weapon with an instantaneous projectile speed, such as the Plasma Cutter or the Pulse Rifle, can be used. The Line Gun beam will likely have no effect, as the Twitcher can dodge it.
In Easy mode, a single powered up Line Gun shot across the upper torso will cut off both arms, killing them instantly.
Their running speed is formidable. The Contact Beam's secondary attack, or a shot from the Force Gun, can knock Twitchers back and deal heavy damage.
Pulse Rifle rounds do a good job of keeping them from moving, and can also cut down any accompanying Necromorphs, such as Exploders.
A legless Twitcher crawls with the speed of a running Slasher, but their arms are easier to target this way.
If they become too hard to target, the Ripper is a brilliant weapon to use.
An interesting item to note about the Twitchers is that if they do charge at high speed, a shot in the leg can bring them to the floor, breaking off their arms and often killing them. This is achievable on Medium difficulty using a fully upgraded Plasma Cutter or Line Gun.
Twitchers will not die instantly when both arms are removed. They will remain alive and attempt headbutt attacks. Any military corpses should be utterly dismembered, including the removal of legs and heads.
Twitchers and Slashers are the only Necromorphs whose transformation can be observed.
The Ripper is not always a good choice against a Twitcher, as it will sometimes dodge the saw blade.
Using the Contact Beam's primary fire against the Twicher is not recommended. It can easily dodge the shot, and switching weapons or recharging a shot, which may be easily dodged again, can be detrimental.
In Dead Space 2: Severed, Twitchers move just as fast as in Dead Space, although they are much more resilient. Using Stasis is sound advice, especially if engaging multiple Twitchers.
In Severed, they also dash side-to-side randomly, but still moving at the same forward speed making a hit much harder, and making Stasis even more valuable.
In Dead Space 3, generally any weapon with a knockback effect and some close range power and area of effect is extremely effective in combating Twitchers, being able to knock them down or kill them outright with enough power.
In Dead Space 3, Twitchers are likely more resilient to dismemberment and their movement is similar to Dead Space 2 variant. They are often encountered while accompanying Exploders in later levels. In this case, killing Twitchers first is the right choice because Twitchers will quickly close the distance and will slash the Player while they are trying to shoot the Exploders. This is can be fatal in chapters where rooms are cramped.

Trivia

The Twitcher is the only Necromorph to receive a total overhaul in both sound and appearance in the sequel.
In the Dead Space 2: Severed DLC and Dead Space 3, the Twitcher is thinner and less bulky than the marine version. They have been observed bending backwards and using their arms as support.
Oddly enough the Marines had helmets, but when you look at their Necromorph head there isn't a helmet. This may be because the Infector knocked their helmets off, or the Twitchers' heads grew too large and destroyed the helmets. This does not happen to the Sprawl security officer, Oracle and S.C.A.F. scientist Twitchers.
A common bug found in Dead Space involves Twitchers and ventilation shafts. Sometimes the player will find a Twitcher running around in circles endlessly, and never attacking Isaac. Shooting them has no effect, but if the player stands in the path of the running Twitcher or strikes the creature, it immediately leaps up into a ventilation shaft either on the roof or in the wall. Sometimes, this can occur even if there isn't a shaft to jump in, at which point the creature leaps through the nearest wall.
When Twitchers run into Gravity Panels, they don't completely dismember, or even get lifted up. They just drop dead. However, as soon as they die they will be affected by the panels effects.
Twitchers are the quickest enemy in the game, even when their legs are dismembered.
The Twitcher is first introduced as soon as you enter the USM Valor.
As Twitchers are also encountered on the Aegis VII colony, it is likely that they are created from any RIG wearer outfitted with a Stasis Module.
When killed, they will gibber and mutter incoherently for a short while, then remain silent.
In the special death sequence, depending on the camera angle, the Twitchers stare at the player for a few moments before skittering off, breaking the fourth wall.
The tendrils of brain inside a marine Twitcher's head will wiggle around even when the Twitcher is dead.
It is also unknown what it is coming out of a marine Twitcher's head, and there are many theories as to what it is.
It appears odd that there are no Twitchers in Dead Space 2, as there are many bodies of security officers throughout the Sprawl. But you do encounter Slashers and Enhanced Slashers with their uniforms still intact in some areas. Most notably in Gov't Sector.
Twitchers are not present in Dead Space 2, the closest version you meet is the slasher in the room where you get the stasis and you can't kill it without using stasis. However, they make a comeback in the Dead Space 2: Severed DLC. Instead of marines, the Twitchers are made from the corpses of Sprawl security officers. Now rather than charging in one direction they zig-zag as they close in on the player, making them more difficult to hit.
Sometimes the shoulder-mounted flashlights on the infected Titan Station security officers, and S.C.A.F. scientists are still lit which, in addition to their spastic idle animation, makes them easier targets to identify in dark areas on Titan Station and Tau Volantis.
The two "Men in white" that Gabe encounters along with Lexine near the end of the DLC are unique from any other Sprawl Twitcher in that they do not possess Security Suits, nor the indicative flashlight. (They, instead wear the suits of the "Men in white", speculated to be Oracles) They could have turned into Twitchers from the ring weapons they wear.
The Twitcher's sounds appear to be made of distorted vowel sounds in Dead Space. But in Dead Space 2: Severed and Dead Space 3, their sounds are completely unintelligible.
Occasionally in Dead Space 2, a Slasher wearing some of the officers' armor will appear: It is unknown why they weren't transformed into Twitchers. In fact, the Twitcher model is the same as the Officer Slashers.
The RIGs worn by the security team in Dead Space: Downfall appear to have Stasis modules on the right side. However, none of them are transformed into Twitchers, and no Twitchers are encountered by Isaac until after he visits the USM Valor. It is possible that the writers and directors of the movie did not consider this when making it, as it would probably have made the security team's journey near-impossible.
In the Dead Space 3 trailer, the models for the Oracle and Titan Station officer Twitchers appear. In game, however, they are recycled and reskinned models of the Titan miners.

Death Scene

A special death sequence occurs if Isaac has no health shown in his Rig and the Twitcher finishes him off. The Twitcher tears off Isaac's right arm in its frenzied swinging. Isaac looks at the stump on his arm in a dazed shock, and the Twitcher suddenly swings its blades right into Isaac. At first, it appears the blade swing didn't do anything, but then Isaac suddenly leans forward and his upper torso falls off to the floor. His legs walk a few steps before also falling to the floor. The Twitcher then stares into the screen before dashing off. This death scene is not present in Dead Space 2: Severed DLC.
If Isaac is hit by a Twitcher's barrage of slashes while he is low on health, Isaac will simply be split in half.
In Dead Space 3, if Isaac or Carver has low health, the Twitcher will stab him, then start a barrage of stabs at a very high speed. Isaac/Carver will shake violently, try to aim their weapon at the Twitcher, and then fall apart, completely dismembered.

Gallery

Appearances

Dead Space
• Chapter 9: Dead on Arrival (First appearance)
• Chapter 10: End of Days
• Chapter 12: Dead Space
Dead Space 2: Severed
Dead Space 3 ^[2]

Sources

[DS1:IS-1] Dead Space: Infected Soldiers

[2] Dead Space 3: GamesCom Trailer 2012

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