It’s no secret that 2008’s Dead Space co-creator had moved on to direct The Callisto Protocol. The question is, is it as good, better or worse than its similar predecessor, and is it a little too similar, or different enough that it can make its mark in the gaming survivor horror genre?

First off, watching the trailers that were released earlier this year, it’s no secret how similar this game was going to be. And sure, as much as there are a lot of mixed reviews out there for The Callisto Protocol, it was extremely clear what and how the gameplay and setting was going to be. Additionally, prior to the game’s release, there had been a few images floating around the internet on the visual comparison of Josh Duhamel’s likeness comparison of real life photos vs CG, which were extremely impressive. Unfortunately this set up high expectations which felt as though the game didn’t meet during gameplay and cutscenes. Sure it was relatively close to the teased screen shots, but it wasn’t so accurate. On the flipside, what The Callisto Protocol did well in the likeness of other actors that can clearly be seen such as Karen Fukuhara and Sam Witwer, just to name a couple familiar faces. With the addition of the quite linear narrative makes this game feel more like an interactive movie where you move protagonist, Jacob Lee, down dark hallways with flickering lights, blood splattered pathways and rotten flesh textured tunnels.

Without giving away too much of the story, Jacob Lee finds himself trying to escape Black Iron prison in an ice covered planet after crash landing his ship from a delivery run due to some sabotaged events lead by Karen Fukuhara’s Dani Nakamura. Beyond that, a series of horrific events and reveals take place… and to be honest, it’s pretty much Dead Space, only you’re not Isaac Clarke trying to find answers TO a planet, but you’re trying to escape FROM instead. Apart from that difference, there are so many similarities from holographic images, predictable jump and scare tactics and horror aesthetics that one can easily make a mistake to thinking they’re the same game. The gameplay and linear path always ends up the same in terms of Jacob having to get from one end of an area to another, however, due to an unforeseen issue such as a bridge collapsing, an elevator not working… or just something breaking down, he has to go ‘the long way around’ instead where he’s met with mutated humanoids (sound very familiar right?). 

One thing that’s slightly different from Dead Space is The Callisto Protocol’s combat system. The way you upgrade weapons is very similar in that you take it to a station type unit which it 3D prints your upgrades to a stun baton and a variety of different guns such as pistols and shotguns. However, the differentiator is the fact that Callisto Protocol feels as though it leans more towards the melee combat and shooting as a secondary, which is quite the opposite to Dead Space. This is quite clear as they’ve included a dodge (left or right) in its combat when an enemy is attacking for you to be able to counter with hits with your baton, but they’ve also incorporated a critical hit option to fire off a round from your gun after your swing combos. With this in hand, there’s definitely a sense of satisfaction when you execute a perfect dodgy, a 3 hit combo and a critical shot to destroy enemies. Apart from these weapons, you’re also fitted with a GRP (gravity control glove) where you’re able to manipulate and lift objects or enemies and either throw them to surrounding environment or stun them to get a combo attack in.

As previously mentioned, the use of cheap scare tactics such as walking down a dark corridor and having air vents bust open to these monstrous mutants, shadows running across the background and even bodies disappearing off screen, are all things that we’ve seen before. And yes, the sound and atmospheric design is executed very well, however, you can tell the developers and directors are playing it safe and going with the formula we already know and expect. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing to some players and fans of Dead Space, but the problem is what was mentioned before. Expectations. There are a huge number of people that want more than a re-labelled Dead Space game, which is fair. That being said, in addition to the well executed horror genre that developer, Striking Distance Studios, created, the game uses the speakers on the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller when communicating with other characters, which is a fantastic way to immerse players as you play a character that’s isolated.

The Callisto Protocol is a good immersive survivor horror game, just one that is very familiar to the Dead Space series. And sure, it’s extremely similar, has the same aesthetics and scare tactics used 14 years ago, but if you were a fan of that series, you’ll be sure to enjoy this. However, if you were expecting a lot more, you’ll be disappointed. What they’ve done badly is setting up expectations for people and played it extremely safe in that they’re using the same formula from the past predecessors. But what they exceed in is creating a scary filled feeling… one that not only reminds you of Dead Space, but also has moments of what may remind you of Ridley Scott’s Alien films. Having both clear positives and negatives makes perfect sense as to why there are contradictory reviews out there, the question is whether YOU would enjoy it for what it is.