Summary
Soulslikes have taken on a fun identity in gaming as they commonly share formulaic elements while also contributing to the subgenre with their own signature flairs; for example,Lies of P’s flair is its lying system in dialogue options,Lords of the Fallen’s flair is its dual realms, andMortal Shell’s flair is its distinct Shell builds. There’s something in this pattern that other genres could strive toward, where games of similar ilks could stand to gain from a contemporary balance of familiarity and rarity, and that’s a lessonThe Callisto Protocoldesperately needs.
The Callisto Protocolwas an underwhelming survival-horror gamethat arguably relied too much onDead Spaceas a distant relative and emphasized unsatisfying melee combat exchanges as its core loop. It’s not likeThe Callisto Protocol’s Black Iron Prison and Eureka settings didn’t have potential, though with the seminal Glen Schofield now out of Striking Distance Studios it seems unlikely that the IP will be picked back up. If it did return, however, it might be smart to play it safe in a follow-up game while making some much-needed changes.
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The Callisto Protocol Should Take a Soulslike Approach to Survival-Horror
The Callisto Protocol was Unabashedly Resident Evil-Inspired
Even thoughDead Spacewas whereThe Callisto Protocolscraped together its GRP telekinesis and character-driven storytelling,Resident Evilalways seemed to be the biggest inspirational takeaway with a smattering ofSilent Hillhere and there. Of course,Dead Space’s psychological-horror elementswith Isaac’s hallucinations are also interchangeable here with how Jacob hallucinates, butThe Callisto Protocol’s narrative revolving around a bioweapon plot is unmistakablyResident Evilin essence.
Now, that’s not to say thatResident Evilhas cornered the market on pharmaceutical or biological horror necessarily, but if studios are going to attempt a similar overarching story it needs to avoid the same tropes if it wants to be unique.The Callisto Protocolmight not have achieved that, but the fact that it had inspirations drawn from wells other thanDead Spacewas a welcome surprise.
Its problems then lay almost exclusively in how its melee encounters are structured around a restrictive boxing match with an enemy, where defending against multiple enemies or fleeing from such encounters was nearly impossible. If onlyThe Callisto Protocol’s signature flairhad been more engaging, it would likely have been received at least a bit better than it was.
The Callisto Protocol Needs a New Approach to Its Gameplay Loop
Not everySoulslikeis preferable to another, and to be clearThe Callisto Protocolisn’t anything like a Soulslike game. Still, it’s a shame thatThe Callisto Protocol’s IP has been readily dismissed in the survival-horror genre. Competing with almost all decades-old franchises,The Callisto Protocolwas absolutely right to stretch its limbs as a brand-new IP in that space and thankfully absconded from its temporaryPUBGconnection before it was too late.
That said, a reason whyThe Callisto Protocolmight not have been given room to breathe was because it didn’t do enough to express an individual identity apart from its inspirations. The equivalent of that would be a Soulslike imitator with hardly anything distinguishing it apart from a FromSoftware action-RPG and what it does do differently isn’t terribly fun or dynamic, meaning that what’s left is a pale imitation.
The Callisto Protocol’s story DLCdebuted a new weapon, and while a singular weapon addition isn’t going to be what revives the IP, there are many ways that tweaking the melee combat could hopefully make it refreshing and robust while other elements maintain a survival-horror familiarity. Not every survival-horror game should need to meet the standards ofResident Evil,Silent Hill, orDead Space, but it’d probably be easier to stand out from them if it wasn’t enslaved in their shadow.
Not everyResident Evil,Silent Hill, orDead Spacegame is beloved. Rather, one or more installments were iconic and therefore cemented their IPs as pillars of survival-horror or psychological-horror games all the same.
The Callisto Protocol
WHERE TO PLAY
In this narrative-driven, third-person survival horror game set 300 years in the future, the player will take on the role of Jacob Lee – a victim of fate thrown into Black Iron Prison, a maximum-security penitentiary located on Jupiter’s moon, Callisto. When inmates begin to transform into monstrous creatures, the prison is thrown into chaos. To survive, Jacob must battle his way to safety to escape Black Iron Prison, while uncovering the dark and disturbing secrets buried beneath the surface of Callisto. Using a unique blend of shooting and close-quarters combat, Jacob will need to adapt his tactics to combat the rapidly evolving creatures while scavenging to unlock new weapons, gear, and abilities to outrun the growing threat and escape the horrors of Jupiter’s Dead Moon.
