The Callisto Protocol: When Association is your Downfall

The Dead Space franchise created a new game genre with its first release that still impacts how survival horror games are made today. Necromorphs haunted many young teens like myself when it first dropped and still make waves to this day. Those first minutes of intense terror of running for an elevator to survive as Isaac Clark hooked me, and it continued to Dead Space 2.  The franchise felt like it dropped off after the second game, so hearing about and watching the trailer for The Callisto Protocol had me excited to experience that rush again. This was Striking Distance Studios biggest mistake. 

If I were to look at the game without the filter of Dead Space attached to it, I would say this game wasn’t bad for a first release. The gameplay isn’t perfect, but it has its style and flair. You beat your way through biophages in close combat, rarely relying on your gun. The graphics are stunning and help to add to the eerie atmosphere. The story sticks to its beats and has a conclusive ending, but this is all I can praise. I have many issues with this game and the decisions made by the developers. 

After an hour or two, the fighting feels bland and repetitive. Each enemy can be fought the same way in close combat with a dodge mechanic that is more of a cheat than it is a help. No matter what way you push to dodge, Jacob will move to avoid an attack. It becomes a toil and a hindrance in a game that feels more like an action than a horror game. Being so close to enemies took away the fear they should instill, destroying much of the immersion needed for any survival horror game. 

The characters and story in no way helped to add depth to the game. Jacob is a lackluster protagonist who barely has any layers or originality. Besides getting from point A to point B, his goals and motives are unclear throughout the game. Dani and Elias felt like afterthoughts that could have added much more to the story but felt unutilized or extras for Jacobs’s development.

The most glaring issue is adding any association with a franchise and not thinking about making your game like the reference you use. Many went into this game expecting an experience similar to Dead Space, only to be met with a game with no similarities. I was in no way expecting The Callisto Protocol to have necromorphs or take place in the same universe. I was expecting similar gameplay, riveting stories, and enemies that put fear in me.

With the names connected with this title, it is a shame they put together such a half-baked story into an unimaginative game. I hope they move away from The Callisto Protocol and start fresh. If you enjoyed this game, I won’t deny there are reasons it worked, but as a fan of Dead Space, this falls flat to what was promised.