The player takes the role of Isaac Clarke (named after science fiction writers Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke), an engineer who must fight his way through a stricken mining ship infested with hostile, grotesque monstrosities called Necromorphs, which are human corpses transformed and reanimated by an unknown alien organism. The game features an 'over the shoulder' third-person perspective, similar to the gameplay in Resident Evil 4. Players can upgrade modules, including suit and weapons.