Set as a prequel to the science-fiction horror game Dead Space, Dead Space:Downfall takes the viewer through the events that lead up to the extraction of the artifact and the elimination of the crew of the USG Ishimura.
Dead Space: Downfall takes place in the events prior to the start of the video game Dead Space(2008). The film starts with the discovery of an ancient artifact that some believe to have mythical powers associated to the prevalent religion - Unitoligy. After the discovery of the artifact the Concordance Extraction Corporation extracts the artifact with a ship deemed the USG Ishimura. The USG Ishimura falls into the Planet Cracker Class and is the largest of its kind. During extraction something goes array and the colony on Aegis 7 starts experience mass suicides. The artifact is shuttled up to the USG Ishimura. After its arrival the ship starts experience the same mass suicide pandemic that struck the colony on Aegis 7. The teams security crew quickly dispatches to discover the cause of the chaos. Upon their arrival they are greeted with missing bodies and a couple corpses which have sprung sharp knife-like limbs which they use to cut (these creatures were given the name necromorphs). The story promptly follows the team as they try to escape the ship alive.