The game's story follows player-character Isaac Clarke and his allies as they explore a frozen planet, Tau Volantis, to discover the origins of the growing threat from their enemies, the Necromorphs.

Players control Isaac and explore the environment, solve puzzles, and find resources, while fighting Necromorphs and hostile humans called Unitologists.

Players navigate a variety of environments—mostly on the ice-covered planet Tau Volantis—completing narrative-based missions, solving physics-based puzzles in the environment, and fighting monsters called Necromorphs.

[4] As with previous Dead Space games, almost all gameplay displays show in-game as diegetic holographic projections; the exception is the interface for a crafting bench.

[12] While leaving the story mostly unchanged, co-op mode adjusts the game's puzzles, and unlocks co-op-exclusive side missions and cutscenes related to Carver.

During the initial outbreak, a new religion called the Church of Unitology, which worshipped the Marker as a divine force that would lead humanity to a unified state dubbed "Convergence", arose.

In the present, Isaac is hiding in a colony on Earth's moon when Carver and Norton forcibly recruit him to help them find Ellie, escaping a Necromorph outbreak triggered by Danik and the Circle.

Isaac, Carver, Norton, Santos, and Buckell travel to Tau Volantis's moon; they rescue Ellie and investigate the orbiting derelict ship Terra Nova, discovering evidence of past research on the Necromorphs and the recurring phrase "Turn it off".

[25] After the increased action focus of Dead Space 2, Wanat wanted to return to survival-horror elements with the crafting system that was originally designed to emphasize Isaac's engineering background.

[24][26] Antony Johnston, who had written for the original game and its related media, said the decision was indicative of the team's wishes and a "necessary evil" to increase sales.

[24] The shift was part of Electronic Arts' refocusing of marketing and resources on established franchises with strong sales figures, contrasting with their earlier experiments with new game ideas like Dead Space.

[26] Microtransactions were kept optional with unlimited resource mining using a remote device and yielding the same items that could be purchased; at release, players assumed this feature was a glitch.

[25] The new setting Tau Volantis allowed the team to experiment with obscuring visibility with sudden blizzards, combining it with the sound design to create a different type of tension than previous entries.

[37] From December 2011, the team focused on tuning controls and the weapon-upgrade system, increasing the speed of Isaac's movements from Dead Space 2 to match the new human enemies.

[14] The environmental design for the human-made ruins on Tau Volantis was intended to appear less high-technology with devices and character outfits that are inspire by pre-digital machinery and safety equipment.

[45][47] The team referenced vintage photographs of expeditions to Antarctica and contemporaneous scientific outposts in Alaska to give these environments a familiar feeling.

[48] The ice formations were given a serrated appearance to look as though they might cut the player, making the environment threatening and referencing recurring visual motifs within the series.

[50] The humanoid Necromorphs were redesigned to appear more horrifying; and some had specific inspirations—the Feeders were recycled from one of the original game's early concepts using re-animated mummies, and the Infectors are homages of the monsters of Alien and The Thing.

[39] The alien Necromorph designs for Tau Volantis, which was originally an ocean planet and used a non-human species, drew inspiration from illustrations of aquatic life by Ernst Haeckel.

[68] Alongside the standard version, a limited edition that gave players early access to two powerful RIG suits and associated weapons was released.

[69] Electronic Arts collaborated with Treehouse Brand Stores to create a special edition of the game that was called the Dev Team Edition and includes promotional and behind-the-scenes material created by staff members, an art book, themed postcards and posters, a water bottle designed after the game's health packs, and a Marker statue.

[74] Liberation, which was written by Ian Edginton and illustrated by Christopher Shy, was released on February 5, 2013, by Titan Books, and focuses on Carver's first contact with the Necromorphs and his involvement with Ellie's search for Tau Volantis.

[79] The DLC's producer Shereif Fattouh said the concept for a fear-based experience had been in place for some time and was not influenced by any feedback about the main game.

[94] Upon its release, Dead Space 3 received generally positive reviews from critics, many of whom praised its gameplay, crafting system, and graphics.

[10] Edge Magazine lauded Dead Space 3's immersion and outer-space section but said the campaign is too long and the storyline of saving humanity lets down the narrative.

[9] IGN's Casey Lynch spoke negatively about the game's story and mission structure but said the gameplay in both single-player and co-op is enjoyable enough to allow players to overlook any problems.

[86] Ryan Stevens of GameTrailers enjoyed the co-op gameplay and noted the outer-space sections as a highlight but disliked the story and characters, and criticized the microtransactions.

[90] Edwin Evans-Thirlwell writing for Official Xbox Magazine UK praised the crafting and co-op integration, but wrote negatively about the story and repetitive gameplay elements.

[101] Richard Mitchell writing for Joystiq enjoyed the expansions to the lore but noted the DLC's lack of new gameplay elements made it a hard sell.

[102] Whitehead summed up the DLC as "short and insulting", saying its only redeeming element is the sound gameplay carried over from the main game, and calling it otherwise unenjoyable given its price.