In the Dead Space Remake, the Store is Isaac Clarke’s primary safe haven. As players navigate and survive on the Ishimura, they come across Credits to spend at the Store. Although players might also scavenge for what they need—that is, Med Packs, Stasis Packs, and ammo—Isaac can easily run out of resources. At these moments, the Store provides necessities without the random happenstance that scavenging entails.
From various upgrades to refills on Health and Stasis, the Store has anything that Isaac has found the Schematics for. Throughout the game, here are the most efficient items to spend Credits on—the items most likely to secure Isaac’s survival.
7 Oxygen Tanks
There are plenty of puzzles and sections of Dead Space that position Isaac in the breathless vacuum of space. These sections are either brief hallways that do not require Oxygen Tanks or puzzles and boss fights that may require Oxygen Tanks. Even so, the latter areas usually provide Oxygen Recharge Stations—free of charge. Lastly, upgrades to Isaac’s RIG Suit also include upgrades to his emergency Oxygen capacity. Although upgrading his Oxygen capacity would use a Node, it would also provide peace of mind in stressful situations.
Given all of these reasons not to buy Oxygen Tanks, why would players buy one? If there are more-than-enough Credits to spend, and players already know that they are heading into a boss arena or puzzle, they may as well buy Oxygen Tanks as insurance.
6 Ammunition
For a survival-horror game, why would ammunition be among the least important? Ammo for Isaac’s various weapons is fairly common. Assuming that players are not missing shots, are landing shots on weak points, and are using Kinesis to save ammo, Isaac should almost never run out of ammo.
That being said, there are certain points in Dead Space where several Necromorphs suddenly ambush Isaac, resulting in ammo being wasted in a desperate bid for survival. After these moments, the Store can supplement the lost ammunition.
5 Stasis Packs
Stasis Packs are similar to Oxygen Packs in two respects: they are both available in the Store and for free at Recharge Stations. The key difference, however, is that Stasis is highly useful in practically every combat scenario. Puzzle areas will always provide Stasis Recharge Stations, which players should absolutely take advantage of — these Recharge Stations are also found throughout the game at random.
In the spaces between these generous Recharge Stations, however, players may find themselves in desperate need of Stasis. Whether it be because Isaac is surrounded by several Necromorphs or is stalked by the ever-regenerating Hunter, Stasis Packs are key to having Stasis when Isaac needs it most. Consider keeping one or two on hand at all times.
4 Med Packs
As the game progresses, players will encounter Schematics for larger Med Packs—from Small to Medium and then Large. Of course, this directly relates to Isaac’s increased health pool and the slow increase in difficulty over time.
While scavenging, Isaac may find smaller Med Packs when he needs larger ones. In other words, scavenging sometimes doesn’t yield the amount of health that Isaac needs. As such, buying Med Packs occasionally is a sound strategy for ensuring Isaac’s continued survival.
3 Weapon Upgrades
Upgrades for each weapon can be purchased at the Store. Although these items are crucial to develop Isaac’s weapons, they are all fairly expensive — weapon upgrades range from 11,000 to 12,000 Credits each. In other words, not every Weapon Upgrade is worth it—players should prioritize buying Upgrades for weapons that will be used in the long term.
Despite this consideration, Weapon Upgrades are nonetheless crucial, especially during the middle and late game. These Upgrades open up paths on each weapon’s Upgrade Tree, allowing for different augmentations according to player preference. At the end of each path is a special weapon ability that will considerably improve each weapon’s overall damage and utility.
2 RIG Upgrades
Aside from the Necromorphs and the Marker, Dead Space’s most iconic visual component is Isaac Clarke’s engineering outfit—his RIG Suit. Not only is the suit visually important, but (believe it or not) the RIG is also functionally important to Isaac’s survival.
Throughout one playthrough of Dead Space, players can upgrade the RIG four times (after finding the relevant Schematic for doing so).
There is also a fifth upgrade in New Game Plus. Each upgrade is notably costly, so be prepared to save up money in anticipation of finding each Schematic. Each upgrade boosts Isaac’s Damage Resistance and Inventory space, helping Isaac to both survive Necromorphs and manage his inventory all at once.
1 Nodes
There are many ways to accumulate Credits in Dead Space: being conservative with ammo, tactically utilizing Recharge Stations, and simply not getting injured. All of these behaviors are not possible at all times, but they generally save up Credits either way. Once Isaac has plenty of Credits to spend (and there are not expensive RIG Upgrades or Weapon Upgrades to buy), then players should absolutely purchase Nodes.
In the long term, buying Nodes is essential. If players only scavenge for Nodes, then upgrading weapons would be fairly limited. By saving Credits and buying Nodes slowly over time, Isaac’s suit and weapons can be considerably more effective. Whereas many of the Store items are short-term expenditures, Nodes are the most useful item to buy should players want to focus on long-term survival.
