From the very announcement, The Callisto Protocol seemed like a dream game: the legendary creator of “Resident Evil in space”, who abandoned the franchise in the clutches of a greedy corporation, returned to show everyone how to make space horror. Glen Scofield really kept his promise and made a new Dead Space. The first Dead Space that had all the good stuff cut out.
Genre: survival horror, third-person shooter
Developer: Striking Distance Studios
Publisher: Krafton, Bluehole Inc.
Platforms: PC, PS5, PS4, X1, XSXS
Played on: Xbox Series S
Similar to: Dead Space
Somewhere in the 23rd century, mercenary Jacob Lee (Josh Duhamel) arrives at Tinplate Prison with a cargo of medical supplies with his partner Max. While Max is trying to find out from Lee what they are carrying and why he agreed to another order, they are attacked by extremists led by Dani Nakamura (Karen Fukuhara), because of which the ship crashes on Callisto, the moon of Jupiter.
The survivors are picked up by the security chief of the Black Tin prison, who, by a sudden order from above, arrests not only Nakamura, but Jacob as well. Flashforward – Lee wakes up in a cell, a riot has gripped the prison, and deformed piles of meat are running around the floors, devouring prisoners. Enlisting the support of one of the prisoners, Jacob begins a long journey to the surface. This path will lead him to unravel the terrible secrets of the Black Tin.
In Dead Space, which The Callisto Protocol is trying to copy, the plot also did not shine with originality. But interesting characters and a touch of psychologism constantly kept the player’s attention. In The Callisto Protocol, there is neither one nor the other – the heroes simply do not have enough time to open up. And Jacob, with whom we spend the whole game, does not arouse any interest: he is just a victim of circumstances, well able to beat people.
The sparse narrative is especially frustrating against the backdrop of a phenomenal picture, star cast and outstanding facial animation.
It is to beat, because most of the time you will have to deal with enemies with the help of an electrified police baton, occasionally shooting from a few firearms.
At first it seems that the developers really came up with something fresh and driving. To win the fight, you need to carefully monitor the movements of the enemy, dodge in the right direction and inflict a series of blows with a club. No warnings about an attack in the manner of Assassin’s Creed – you will have to rely only on your reaction. As the battle progresses, pictograms appear on the enemy’s body, which, when fired, can cause increased damage.
Every punch feels heavy, and it feels like Jacob is a heavyweight fighter. The pistol is also a joy to shoot, although other types of firearms have failed and feel somehow flat and the same. And somewhere at the beginning of the game, Jacob receives a gravitational glove, which the guards used to torture prisoners – with its help, you can attract opponents and objects. Moreover, all weapons and gloves can be upgraded on 3D printers, and all upgrades change the appearance of guns. Sounds great, but there is one thing.
When striking, Jacob focuses on a single target, and one-on-one fights are extremely rare in The Callisto Protocol – the game imposes skirmishes with groups of enemies. When the main character is attacked by a crowd, the battle can often be considered lost in advance, because no one will wait until you finish the chosen target. And how do you dodge them all at once? The glove could save, but it is so inconvenient to control it that in the heat of battle it turns out to be useless, although it is pleasant to scatter opponents on spikes with it from afar before the fight.
Part of the interface is placed on the protagonist’s costume
It would seem, what’s the matter – heal and not whine. And in The Callisto Protocol there are already two types of treatment. The first is the collection of a small amount of health from some enemies, the second is the injectors scattered throughout the locations. Except that Jacob injects the cure through a very long animation that can be interrupted by an attack, so it’s best to forget about healing in the heat of battle.
Over time, there are more and more opponents, and the battles turn into an unbearable burden, which culminates in a monstrous finale in every sense. Sometimes it is much easier to run headlong than to get into skirmishes.
Speaking of enemies, there are five types of them, not counting the bosses: the usual biophage, the fat man, the blind (in fact, rather deaf), the spitter, and the creeping invisible who loves to jump out of the darkness at Jacob. Moreover, monsters on the verge of death begin to mutate. And it is better to slow down this process with shots, because otherwise you will have to face a pile of meat that kills the hero in a couple of hits. The variety is not impressive, but with the local combat system, it’s for the best.
The developers did not lie – every death of Jacob is accompanied by a picturesque animation, although sometimes the “wounded” version of the hero is made well, very carelessly
All this mess takes place in the premises of the Black Tin prison, from the monotony and illogicality of which you can go crazy. “Black Tin” is a series of identical rooms with unjustified elevations, giant saws, spiked walls and ventilation shafts. Surrealism is also added by the constantly repeating bloody inscriptions on the walls – as if someone walked around the entire prison with a spray can of paint and a couple of stencils. Only once the game allows you to walk around a small, but picturesque and gloomy snowy location.
By the way, there are a lot of mines in the prison. And also narrow and long cracks, through which, due to the strange arrangement of checkpoints, you will have to squeeze several times after each death. There are also branches for those who like to study locations: some lead to the rooms you just passed through, others to distant dead ends with loot and notes, from which you will have to stomp back to continue moving through the story. Forget about shortcuts, “Tinplate” is a giant steel gut, where nothing is connected to anything, and Jacob returns to the already completed locations only according to the plot and exclusively through dimming the screen.
The pleasant side of local locations is the translation of all the inscriptions and interesting posters
It will take a very long time to walk along this gut, fighting from time to time. No even the simplest puzzles and interactions, a maximum of a dozen times to take the fuse in the next room. And the game almost does not reward for this torment: you walk and fight for 40 minutes, then listen to boring conversations of the heroes for a couple of minutes, and then start the cycle again. Just like in the first Dead Space!
It seems that such a linear structure is a great option for horror. Take at least the endless budget horror movies with scripted scenes or frightening sounds, where you are also led by the hand and not allowed to be distracted from the storyline. Unfortunately, The Callisto Protocol cannot really scare you. Even for a particularly anxious person, the screamers here will only cause irritation. There are no terrible sounds either, except for the roar of biophages, and the constant darkness at the levels only strains the eyes. The game seems to always build up suspense that never breaks through. Like Shepard’s endlessly rising tone – uncomfortable at first, and then just a headache.
Nothing from narrative to level design works in The Callisto Protocol. The combat system occasionally brings pleasure, but more often it causes rage, which Hidetaka Miyazaki never dreamed of, because here you always blame the game for mistakes, not yourself. Pleases only an incredible picture, and even that is not given out by all devices. But I really want to believe that we will still see the second part with “finished” battles and learn more about this world. Judging by the free prequel podcast, the developers have a lot to say. Maybe the sequel will be better and more interesting than the original in everything, as Dead Space 2 once was. Maybe Glenn Scofield should not be allowed into it either.