Plasma Cutter (Dead Space)

Plasma Cutter
Dead Space element
Publisher	Visceral Games
Genre	Survival horror, science fiction
In-universe information
Owners	Isaac Clarke
Function	Weapon

The Plasma Cutter is a fictional energy weapon from the Dead Space franchise of science fiction survival horror video games developed by Visceral Games. It is used by the protagonist, engineer Isaac Clarke, to fight the undead creatures known as Necromorphs. An industrial tool repurposed into a pistol-like weapon, it is able to fire energy beams in a precise horizontal or vertical line by changing its shape, making it uniquely useful against the Necromorphs, who are highly resistant to conventional weaponry and vulnerable to having their limbs severed. While the first weapon the player receives, it is nonetheless powerfully effective throughout the games, and the One Gun achievement requires the player to beat Dead Space and its remake using solely the Plasma Cutter. Unlike the other guns in the remake, the Plasma Cutter was purposely kept as similar as possible. The Plasma Cutter's design and function have been praised by critics, and it is regarded as one of the most iconic video game weapons of all time.

Appearances

The gun is first found in the original Dead Space, held by a dead engineer alongside bloody text urging Isaac to cut off the Necromorphs' limbs. This is later reinforced by an audio log saying as much. The Cutter next appears in Dead Space 2, where one is jury-rigged together by Isaac using a medical laser. It returns in Dead Space 3, albeit with weakened power.^[1]

Development

Carrying over a save file from Dead Space unlocks the Plasma Cutter for immediate use in Dead Space 2.^[2]

The developers of the Dead Space remake, EA Motive, believed that while the game was reprogrammed from the ground up, the Plasma Cutter should be kept as similar as possible in appearance and behavior to the original, citing its iconic and memorable nature. However, they added numerous visual details reflecting a more realistic operation of the weapon if it was an actual tool. An upgrade system was added, similar to that of Dead Space 2, so that the game's guns, including the Plasma Cutter, would visually change as modifications were added to improve its performance.^[3]

Reception

Heather Alexandra of Kotaku described the Plasma Cutter as representative of Isaac Clarke's status as "just a ship engineer in a bad situation". Calling it "surprisingly strong for a default weapon" and "incredibly suited to cutting off limbs", she compares it to Resident Evil 4, in which pistols lose their effectiveness later in the game, requiring protagonist Leon Kennedy to amass a "huge arsenal", while the Plasma Cutter never loses its effectiveness regardless of what new Necromorph is introduced. She went on to praise the weapon's sound design, saying that "its booming report makes every attack feel meaningful". Describing it as "an improvised weapon", she states that, similar to how the Gravity Gun from Half-Life 2 demonstrates Gordon Freeman's scientific skills, the Plasma Cutter's ability to change shape reflects Isaac's ability to adjust to each new complication, and his status as "misplaced but dangerous".^[4]

Edge magazine called the Plasma Cutter a "signature weapon", saying that its industrial nature is representative of the game's depiction of "the big black as a blue-collar frontier", similar to Alien. Describing it as "the deep-space equivalent of the hastily snatched kitchen knife", the publication calls combat with the gun "marked by deliberation over angles of incision, and also by a search for efficiency", with the player seeking to kill enemies with as few shots as possible, especially on higher difficulty settings where ammunition is scarce. The magazine called it even more useful thanks to the ability to upgrade it using the Bench, saying that beating the game solely with the Plasma Cutter for the One Gun achievement had "a purity [...] that echoes Dead Space's wider style and sense of purpose". They criticized Dead Space 3 for making the Plasma Cutter less effective and forcing the player to use a larger assortment of conventional weapons, saying the game was "poorer for it".^[1]

Carlos Zotomayor of Game Rant stated that the gun was "interwoven" with the game's DNA, calling on the remake to preserve what made it iconic.^[5] Petra Jarrett of Screen Rant praised the Dead Space remake for preserving the functionality of the Plasma Cutter,^[6] while Padraig Cotter of the same publication described it as "gaming's most underrated handgun".^[7] Matt Purslow of IGN commented that "it's rare a pistol gets to be the star of the show in a video game", but said that was the case with Dead Space.^[3]

A fan modded the Plasma Cutter, including its ability to change firing modes, into Fallout: New Vegas, intended for use with a separate mod that allows enemies to be dismembered while they are still alive.^[8]

References

1. "Things: Plasma Cutter". Edge (255): 132–133. July 2013 – via Internet Archive.
2. Yoon, Andrew (2011-01-01). "Dead Space save file unlocks original plasma cutter in Dead Space 2". Engadget. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
3. Purslow, Matt (2022-12-09). "Dead Space: Rebuilding the Iconic Plasma Cutter - IGN First". IGN. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
4. Alexandra, Heather (2018-10-13). "What Makes Dead Space's Plasma Cutter Such A Great Weapon". Kotaku. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
5. Zotomayor, Carlos (2022-03-14). "Dead Space Remake Needs to Maintain What Made The Plasma Cutter Iconic". Game Rant. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
6. Jarrett, Petra (2022-10-18). "The Dead Space Remake Preserves Its Most Important Feature". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
7. Cotter, Padraig (2020-05-12). "Dead Space 2's Plasma Cutter Is Gaming's Most Underrated Handgun". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
8. Horti, Samuel (2018-05-13). "Mod brings Dead Space's plasma cutter to Fallout: New Vegas". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2025-08-25.