With the Dead Space remake out, it's a good time to compare it to The Callisto Protocol. The Callisto Protocol features multiple attempts at jump scares, but players can learn to anticipate them because they arrive at comparable moments. Each time a cutscene begins when protagonist Jacob Lee opens a door, for example, players can expect that a biophage will lunge into frame. Players can get desensitized to these moments shortly because they all happen within cutscenes, and they occur frequently enough that players can quickly soften any edge that they had going into The Callisto Protocol. That said, The Callisto Protocol is not terribly scary.
Interestingly, the same has been said many times about Dead Space. This is arguable, of course, and many fans may think differently, but the general consensus is that it's more gory and action-packed than many other games that would belong to the survival-horror genre. The Callisto Protocol and Dead Space are mildly similar in this way, even though both do try to instill fear into players. However, while The Callisto Protocol’s jump scares seem cheap and uninventive, Dead Space manages to hit a sweet spot with jump scares that make its horror more effective.
The Callisto Protocol’s Squeeze-Through Jump Scare Falls Flat
The Callisto Protocol has one jump scare in particular that fails to land, and that is chiefly due to the jump scares that are attempted beforehand. This jump scare occurs within one of The Callisto Protocol’s countless shimmy sequences, where Jacob inches past a cocooned biophage that rests dormant, but then its eye opens when Jacob passes. Jacob also makes a passing remark about the biophage that writes it off casually, and he does not notice or acknowledge that the biophage reacted to his presence.
This may have provided a ripe opportunity for Striking Distance Studios to scare players while their guard was down, but because players are constantly shoving themselves through narrow gaps, it is another moment of tedium they have to endure instead. On top of that, this jump scare was shown in one of The Callisto Protocol’s trailers, meaning that if anyone had seen that trailer they would have known to expect it in the game at some point.
Motive’s Dead Space Milks Its Single Squeeze-Through Sequence
Rather, Motive’s Dead Space features a single squeeze-through animation in and utilizes it in the best way possible. Taking place in Chapter 3: Course Correction, the entire shimmy sequence is not terribly long, but all the while players are treated to a tight angle on Isaac as he pushes himself through a narrow gap in massing dead tissue.
It is here that a necromorph is seen scurrying about through a fan duct, which Isaac reacts to. Isaac continues to press himself through the gap and as he is about to step out into an open room he is surprised by a reanimated corpse that is protruding from the wall with its entrails dangling from its stomach.
The corpse reaches out at Isaac after the camera pans past him before going limp again, and it is a simple yet effective moment because of its rarity. Dead Space is certainly a game caked in blood and guts, but it does have some genuinely tense moments with enemies silently approaching players from behind or suddenly appearing through nearby ventilation ducts.
Perhaps what dilutes its horror most is the fact that players have a diverse arsenal in Dead Space, and therefore any threat seems manageable. Much of the game’s horror is also psychological, but that is intended to underscore Isaac and Nicole’s emotional drama more than anything else.
Dead Space is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.