When The Callisto Protocol was first revealed, the Internet was ablaze with accusations of it being nothing more than a Dead Space clone. Dead Space creator Glen Schofield indeed spearheaded the development of this new survival horror game. However, as players quickly found when The Callisto Protocol was finally released, it may have emulated Isaac Clarke’s misadventures on the USG Ishimura, but a clone it was not.
The Callisto Protocol follows Jacob Lee (Josh Duhamel) as he tries to escape the clutches of the treacherous Black Iron Prison. Normally a feat impeded by the ruthless security guards, Jacob’s escape attempts are made even more difficult by the hideous mutations infesting the prison. The “biophages” are similar to Dead Space’s necromorphs, but how Schofield and Striking Distance Studios approached combat makes them feel like an entirely unique threat.
A Story We’ve Seen Before
One of The Callisto Protocol’s biggest issues is its story. There’s nothing wrong with it, really. It just isn’t all that new. We’ve watched the extreme activist team up with the unlikely hero to defeat an impossible threat. We’ve gone toe-to-toe with the power-hungry brute that overshadows the actual antagonist. The Callisto Protocol has it all – from an intentional outbreak caused by a radical organization to the amnesiac hero.
What really saves the overall experience are the cast and the setting. Josh Duhamel and co-stars Karen Fukuhara, Sam Witwer, and James C. Mathis III really sell their characters and make the slog through familiar territory more than bearable. Black Iron Prison is a character all on its own, its infested hallways calling back to the atmospheric terrors of the USG Ishimura in the best way. You may not be as terrified as you were the first time you stepped into Isaac Clarke’s shoes, but you’ll definitely be on the edge of your seat for much of this ride.
Close-Quarters Horrors
Rather than relying on something like the iconic plasma cutter, Jacob integrates more melee combat into his repertoire. This alone will be enough to alienate many of the players thinking they’re getting a Dead Space experience. The Callisto Protocol requires far more strategic combat, where players need to read their enemies, learn attack patterns, and understand how to best string together melee strikes with quick ranged bursts.
It’s not a combat system for everyone, and many will go on to say it’s broken or unbalanced. But Jacob’s dodge and heavy-hitting melee help keep things exciting and fair.
While the playing field is quite even, The Callisto Protocol is quite unforgiving. Slipping up once could spell doom for Jacob, and there are pockets of action where it feels like maybe a different combat style would fit better.
If you can master utilizing Jacob’s arsenal of close-range blunt objects, shotgun blasts, and handgun fire, you should be able to make quick work of the biophages. In some instances, you can even completely bypass the fight with Jacob’s forgiving telekinesis or use other enemies as a shield to minimize incoming damage.
A Matter of Poor Performance
As much as I enjoyed The Callisto Protocol, there is a clear issue when it comes to performance. And it brings up the questionable connection between Sony and the game’s development.
On PC and Xbox, the game started off borderline broken or missing current-gen elements. Up until a patch that dropped two days after release, The Callisto Protocol stuttered unforgivably on PC. Even rigs that were more than capable struggled because, according to Striking Distance, the game was generating shaders as players visited each new area rather than pre-compiling them.
Xbox players had a slightly less frustrating problem with poor ray-traced reflections and minor frame-rate studdering. The December 9th patch kind of fixed the ray-tracing issue, but the image quality still lacks compared to the PS5 version.
It may just be a compatibility issue between the Xbox and the game’s final build, but it’s worth noting that Sony developers worked on cinematic performance capture. Of course, that doesn’t directly suggest favouritism for the PS5 version, but it definitely raised some eyebrows.
But It Is Grotesquely Beautiful When It Works
If Glen Schofield is known for anything, it’s for his love of gore. Dead Space gave Isaac Clarke quite a few brutal deaths, and The Callisto Protocol is even less forgiving to Jacob. The biophage are brutal in how they completely dismember every living thing they come across, whether it’s ripping off limbs or completely tearing off someone’s face.
It’s beautifully gross and violent, exactly as one would expect from such a game. Considering how players are anticipating watching Leon S. Kennedy get decapitated in the Resident Evil 4 remake, it’s exactly what survival horror fans want.
When the screen isn’t filled with blood and viscera, it’s a gloomy and uncomfortable space. The prison is uninviting in every way, which is what one would expect from such a setting. From its broken-down machinery to the spreading biophage, Black Iron is an awful place to be—and yet it’s tough not to want to explore more of its dark hallways and space-aged machine rooms.
Each biophage design is uniquely disgusting, like a blend of The Thing’s titular alien and mutated, boil-infested zombies. It’s clear that the biophage was a big focus for the development team, which created something so horrifyingly unfamiliar with each new monstrosity that stepped into the frame.
Is Black Iron Worth a Visit?
There is a lot that The Callisto Protocol could work on to create a more well-rounded experience, but as it stands, it’s a suitable survival horror entry. Combat is not going to be everybody’s cup of tea as it almost veers into Souls-like territory, but those that get a handle on it will enjoy it from start to finish.
The game’s biggest crime was its out-the-door performance. PC and Xbox players really got the short end of the stick on this release. Thankfully, a recent patch fixed any stuttering and started to address the ray-tracing reflections. Players may still see a dip in framerates here and there, but it’s to a point where it won’t ruin the experience.
The Callisto Protocol feels like a solid start to what’s bound to be an ongoing series. It’s unlikely Striking Distance Studios will leave this as a singular entry, and we can’t wait to see how the mind behind Dead Space tweaks the game’s shortcomings in sequels. Make sure to get some Xbox Live Gift Cards from OffGamers here to not miss out on future games on the Xbox.
Developer: Striking Distance Studios
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
Publishers: KRAFTON, Bluehole Inc.
Reviewed on PS5
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