The Dead Space 3 ‘Awakened’ dlc has been released just a month after the retail game, and details the aftermath of the main game’s ending. Unlike the only other single player dlc in the Dead Space series, ‘Severed’ for DS2, this new content continues the story of Isaac Clark instead of introducing a new protagonist.

Those who haven’t finished the main storyline need to beware of spoilers, as this review does discuss some aspects of the ending.

Those of you patient enough to sit through the credits will know that despite overwhelming odds, Isaac survived his fight against the hostile alien moon, although regaining consciousness too late to be rescued. The story picks up immediately afterwards, with Isaac trying to find transport off Tau Volantis. I was hoping, like some of you, that Visceral Games would use this opportunity to create some “old-school” Dead Space atmosphere, and to some extent it succeeds. Visceral Games’ PR team billed this as “the most disturbing content ever seen in a Dead Space game”. Well not quite. The gameplay itself is pretty similar to the rest of Dead Space 3, many of the enemies and locations are recycled with some small cosmetic changes, and there aren’t any new upgrades or weapons as far as I could tell which is a shame.

But the few new enemies, and in particular the new antagonist, are well conceived and manage to add a creepy, disturbing feel to the proceedings which focus on a newly emerging necromorph cult. As if there wasn’t enough for Isaac to deal with. Another enjoyable edition is new dialogue between Isaac and Carver, advancing their relationship and providing a few laughs.

‘Awakened’ tries to capture some of Dead Space 2′s genius by highlighting Isaac’s growing insanity yet again. Although it ramps up the jumpy encounters, it’s the continuance of the intriguing storyline that is the reason to buy this content. Unfortunately it’s short lived as one playthrough only takes around 90 minutes, disappointing and a little rushed considering how soon it has been released. Whether it is worth the 800msp asking price depends on how desperate you are to play it.

Hopefully this could lead to another couple of single players dlcs but it’s much more likely that they will use the events of Awakened to lead into Dead Space 4, with a better cliffhanger ending than the main game.