10 Shocking Video Game Bait-And-Switches You'll Never Forget
7. Dr. Mercer’s Pathetic Death - Dead Space
Sometimes the scariest monsters are not the ones that want to make you suffer but are instead those who simply do not care. To them, all you are is an obstacle or perhaps, worse still, fuel.
The leading human antagonist for Dead Space is Dr Mercer. His exposure to the alien Necromorph beings have ruined his capacity for rational thought and he has become a twisted fanatic. He repeatedly preaches what are essentially sermons at you about how he believes the Necromorphs are the next stage of evolution and how humanity should surrender themselves to it. He throws Hunters at the player, some of the toughest enemies in the game, and you grow very weary of him.
After all the pain Mercer puts the player through, it feels as though a showdown and some vengeance is coming. In other horror video game franchises, like Resident Evil in particular (which was a huge inspiration on Dead Space), it would be expected for Mercer to get his wish and become a large, hulking Necromorphic boss fight… right?
Nope, he’s just meat to the Hivemind and all of the build-up is washed away and leaves the player cold. It says more about the Hivemind than Mercer that he failed to materialise into a giant, gribbly monster of his own design. Instead, he is no more special to the Necromorphs than any other organic material.