The Callisto Protocol features many similarities with Dead Space that will inevitably inspire comparisons between the two. This makes complete sense since Glen Schofield, co-creator of Dead Space, is helming the new IP at developer Striking Distance Studios. That said, The Callisto Protocol looks to be coming into its own and seems to serve as a grisly spiritual successor to Schofield’s Dead Space in its own science-fiction survival-horror atmosphere.
Many of the aforementioned similarities between The Callisto Protocol and Dead Space revolve around said-atmosphere, with common tropes, jump-scares, and gory brutalities executed. Firearm ammunition also appears above the weapon itself, and the player’s health is represented on a minimalist HUD placed on the character’s body for quick visual reference. However, one paramount difference isolates The Callisto Protocol apart from Dead Space: an emphasis on melee encounters.
The Callisto Protocol’s Jacob Lee is Better Equipped than Dead Space’s Isaac Clarke
Players have seen a couple of the firearms that will be available in The Callisto Protocol, which look fairly similar to those implemented into Dead Space as they concentrate on splitting limbs and dismembering biophages. Today’s new gameplay footage at Summer Game Fest showed a brief look at a new weapon called the Grip, which behaves similarly to Dead Space’s Kinesis, allowing players to lift and throw enemies.
While the similarities continue, The Callisto Protocol’s last-resort melee encounters are perhaps what differentiates the two IPs the most. The Callisto Protocol’s recent cinematic trailer depicted protagonist Jacob Lee with a baton that holds some sort of stun charge. In today’s brief reveal of raw, unedited gameplay footage, fans are offered a glimpse at how the baton looks in action.
Simple swings of the baton can mean the difference between Jacob being killed or not as an enemy closes the distance or if players are interrupted while trying to manually reload a firearm, which is already a monumental change from Dead Space. Dead Space’s Isaac Clarke can wildly swing his arms and stomp on corpses and necromorphs, but melee is never advised in Dead Space’s practical combat encounters because necromorphs are much quicker and Isaac’s haymakers are ineffective against them.
The Callisto Protocol Lets Jacob Lee Evade Biophages
Moreover, the baton is not the only useful mechanic players will have at their disposal if enemies draw closer and ammunition is low. In Dead Space, proper distancing is incredibly important and while the player can sprint away to gain more distance, it is oftentimes more efficient to slice away at their gangly limbs to render them incapacitated.
In The Callisto Protocol, it seems as if players will have a dedicated evasion mechanic where they can side-step incoming melee attacks. This will surely be an instrumental mechanic for players to use and may get them out of particularly troubling encounters that they would otherwise be killed in. It is uncertain how exploitable this dodge mechanic will be, such as if players can side-step continuously to avoid attacks, or if it is a well-timed skill similar to a parry or counter.
This evasion technique, in tandem with Jacob’s stun baton, make for an already comprehensive melee strategy that Dead Space never had. Dead Space lacks this sort of melee approach due to the fact that it wished to perpetuate an isolated survival-horror atmosphere where Isaac is not a battle-ready soldier, but a lowly engineer.
The Callisto Protocol’s Jacob already looks much more equipped and prepared for combat than Isaac, which will undoubtedly make it more of an action-horror title, but it also looks as if players will not always have these tools and armaments on them, making the combat more dynamic. Either way, this is a great way for The Callisto Protocol to separate itself from Dead Space and offer fans new mechanics to reinvent the action-horror genre.
The Callisto Protocol releases on December 2 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
