Fans decipher Dead Space Remake's 'Indecipherable' text log and find tasty Easter eggs

I love secret languages in games. I’m too slow to decipher any of them myself, but I enjoy seeing a game’s community pick apart foreign symbols to uncover a game’s deep mysteries (Tunic’s musical language was especially fun.) Fortunately for me, players have already deciphered the ‘Indecipherable’ text log in the new Dead Space remake, revealing a poem that potentially hints toward the series’ future. Naturally, spoilers within.

Once you roll credits on Motive's new Dead Space remake, you’ll be able to start anew on New Game+. At this point, you’ll have a few new text logs in your inventory, one of which is simply titled ‘Indecipherable’ and features a wall of symbols that’s truly alien to me. However, longtime fans recognised these as Marker symbols - a language that shows up in all three Dead Space games. Reddit user u/GingyYoutube translated the text to find an ominous, three-verse poem.

The poem is quite cryptic, but internet sleuths think it potentially refers to multiple parts of Dead Space lore. Fans on the subreddit had quite a few ideas, linking certain lines to the Necromorphs, Markers, and the Oracles from Dead Space 2, depending on your interpretation. One Redditor even has a “crackpot theory” about how the poem relates to the overlooked Dead Space mobile game (although personally, I'd just be happy with something that explains hero Isaac Clarke's stint as a Tiger Woods impersonator in his rather cursed job history, among many of other weird side hustles he's undertaken over the years).

Meanwhile, other fans believe the second stanza could be referencing the icy planet of Tau Volantis in Dead Space 3, as it’s literally frozen still. The last line is particularly interesting. Is it a warning about humanity’s fate at the end of Dead Space 3, or is it a prayer to the Brethren Moons?

I’ll be interested to see if the text log was a fun community mystery or a sign of things to come. The remake's new secret ending also leads directly into the sequel, and I'm sure fans will find other easter eggs in the coming weeks. Either way, EA Motive have done a swell job on the remake, giving the horror classic a shiny face-lift. In his Dead Space remake review, Liam called it “one of the best action-horror games I’ve ever played,” so I’d be happy to see the rest of the trilogy receive the same treatment.

If you’re in the mood for some outer space frights, Dead Space Remake is available on Steam and the Epic Games Store for £50/€60/$60.