While playing as Carver we battle through the Necromorph ranks alongside Isaac and come to a long, dark corridor. In the middle stands an eerie toy soldier carved out of wood. It’s about the same height as our heroes and just stands there, not moving, doing nothing.
The doll spooks Carver as a cut-scene triggers, showing him walking towards it. Suddenly he becomes startled and turns to see the face of his dead wife projected onto Isaac as she speaks to him. Isaac shakes Carver until he snaps out of it, and gameplay resumes.
Things only get creepier from here, as the person playing as Carver starts to see more of the eerie dolls lining the hallways, and the person playing as Isaac sees the world as in its natural state.
“Are you seeing this?” Carver asks Isaac, and is met with an order to snap out of it in return. Things get even worse as a set-piece triggers that sees Carver walking around a warped dimension full of motifs from his son’s birthday party, more dolls and creepy apparitions that attack and hurt the soldier.
We’re playing as Carver, so naturally we shoot the phantoms to drive them back, but on Isaac’s screen, it’s looks like we’ve gone nuts, running off, shooting at nothing and rambling like a maniac.
Isaac calls on Carver to come back as Necromorphs in the real world start to swarm him, but we can’t hear his cries behind us as we march on through the hellish birthday party, blasting ghouls that aren’t even there.