Dead Space clone and those who feel it's far too different. The truth, of course, lies somewhere in the gore-infested middle.
Aesthetically, it’s clear that the game took a lot of inspiration from the team’s first foray into Dead Space. In fact, many mechanics are outright just the same, giving the impression at first. However, major changes to the gameplay made sure to set the game apart from its predecessor.
Melee Combat
Perhaps the biggest difference that players will immediately notice is the focus on melee combat. The Callisto Protocol locks the player into a locked-on dueling mechanic to fight enemies up close and personal. The workhorse of the game in this regard is the trusty “stun baton.”
There is a surprising amount of depth to the combat system, showcasing things such as different grips, stances, and even attack cancels. While an ambitious move, it’s clunky a lot of the time and the focus on melee combat alienates many players who expected Dead Space vibes.
Dodging
Another new aspect of the melee system in The Callisto Protocol is the dodging mechanic. This mechanic allows players to weave in and out of enemy strikes and rewards perfect timing to punish enemies with devastating attacks. Think the NES sports game classic Punch-Out but with fungus zombies.
The end result is a lot, well, dodgier than most players comfortable with. The tutorial does a rather poor job of explaining how the dodge mechanics works, and it’s less a matter of discovery for the player to find this out and more frustrated that this wasn’t intuitively shown through gameplay.
Loot
There’s a lot more item variety in The Callisto Protocol than Dead Space. Loot is how players find upgrades for their guns, melee weapons, and armor. With how much of the game is spent in combat, it’s a smart move to reward the player with something tangible. This incentivizes the player to take risks on higher difficulties, especially when low on resources.
Some weapons are given to the player via story events, while others need a weapon schematic to craft at the Reforge station. Hand cannons, telekinesis modules, modified shotguns, and assault rifles are a hefty reward for the pioneering player.
Gun Modularity
A positive addition, it has to be said, is the modularity of guns in The Callisto Protocol. In addition to the typical upgrade system, there’s a surprising amount of variability with how the player can kit out their ranged weapons. The changing of weapons tends to be done before entering a boss fight.
Sadly, despite the interesting gunplay, there’s not a lot of emphasis on it throughout the game. The nature of the game makes it so that melee encounters are forced on the player, so it makes the gun modularity an unfortunate casualty. Still, when the guns go blazing, The Callisto Protocol does pick up.
Stealth Mechanics
Although there were some minor stealth elements in Dead Space, it’s not a clearly defined mechanic like it is in The Callisto Protocol. In fact, this is where the influences from third-person shooter games like The Last of Us are more apparent, as the stealth mechanics are very similar.
Stealth kills when done properly, guarantee a one-hit kill on most enemies. When the player is low on ammo or surrounded by enemies, a stealth approach becomes necessary to progress the story. For a game with a usually faster pace, these sections offer a sort of respite for the patient player.
Lack Of Enemy Variety
Dead Space immediately set itself apart from the Resident Evils and Silent Hills of the world with its own unique nightmare fuel monster, the Necromorph. These abominations of the human form were terrifying due to their tenacity, still slashing after the player with two limbs blown clean off.
There are 15 different Necromorphs in the first Dead Space alone. Sadly, the Biophage in The Callisto Protocol isn’t nearly as creative as The Marker in Dead Space. Most of the enemies faced will be slight variations of the garden-mill sprinter zombie. After the 100th kill, they start to blend together.
The Security Robots
While there is a lack of variety in common enemies, one addition not present in Dead Space is the addition of security robots. These change the game from a beat-em-up to a stealth section, as most players would be wasting their time confronting the overpowered robots and their weapons.
This is a welcome change of pace at first, but unfortunately, a lot of players quickly realize this is the only other real enemy type in the game. It’s a shame as with such a massive prison setting, mixing up the formula with different variations of the security robot for different floors would have been interesting.
Running Away Is Not A Real Option
Yes, there are certainly ways to retreat from a fight, but unlike Dead Space, The Callisto Protocol doesn’t really have escape as a real option unless it's scripted. The game’s tight hallways and hordes of enemies coupled with the auto-lock dueling mean players will have to be in a scrap.
This by itself isn’t a major issue and can make for exciting gameplay. However, the repetition of the combat coupled with the lack of enemy variety makes a section of players pine for the days when encounters were optional. The Callisto Protocol restricts a lot of the player’s freedom as a result.
Lack Of Ludonarrative Gameplay
In Dead Space, Isaac being an engineer was a major aspect of his character. Everything he did in the game made perfect sense for an Engineer to do. He swung clumsily with brute force, his weapons were all mining tools, and even his suit was meant for mining, not fighting off undead hordes.
The missions also tend to focus on Isaac accomplishing engineering tasks that make good use of all his various mining equipment. Repairing generators, traversing zero gravity environments to fix a satellite, it’s this kind of thing that made Dead Space immersive. Jacob Lee, however, doesn’t really do any “cargo pilot” things in the story, making for a less memorable protagonist.
Linearity
Perhaps the most strikingly disappointing aspect for survival horror fans was the revelation that The Callisto Protocol was a tightly tuned linear experience. Instead of the dynamic and interwoven setting of the Ishimura, the beautifully macabre and gritty Black Iron Prison is sadly not a place meant for exploration.
There are huge setpieces, with plenty of gorgeous dioramas to look at, but the player can’t participate in them. In fact, doors will literally lock behind the player as they progress. If they missed anything before, too bad, it’s gone until a new game is started. This linearity really hamstrung fans of Dead Space, and new gamers wondering what the hype was all about.
