The Callisto Protocol is regarded as the spiritual successor to Dead Space, one of the best horror games of all time. Hence, players expected something exceptionally scary, and the bar was set pretty high. Has the new game lived up to expectations?
- 1. The new Dead Space?
- 2. Release date
- 3. Story and cast
- 4. Gameplay
- 5. Reviews
The new Dead Space?
Both Dead Space and The Callisto Protocol represent the rather niche space horror genre, so comparisons were inevitable. However, an even more important link between those games is the involvement of Glen Schofield. He was virtually the reason why Dead Space was created. Schofield, inspired by the Even Horizon movie, pitched the idea of making a game combining horror and science fiction. This idea led to releasing three outstanding video games. It’s no surprise that many fans were rubbing their hands after learning that the new survival horror is directed by the co-creator of Dead Space.

The release date and platforms
The Callisto Protocol premiered on December 2, 2022. For a brief moment, players thought that the initial release date would be delayed until February 12, 2023. Luckily, it was just a misunderstanding resulting from using the wrong data format on the Epic Games Store page.
Even though Glen Schofield stated that The Callisto Protocol was meant to be “the scariest game on next-gen platforms,” it’s available on both eighth and ninth-generation consoles. You can play it on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, and PC.
Story and cast
The Callisto Protocol follows the story of Jacob Lee, who is incarcerated in prison on the eponymous moon. Things go from bad to worse when a mysterious disease turns other inmates into bloodlust monsters. Jacob has to fight his way out of the moon and uncover its dark secrets, including the fate of the original Callisto colony and a cult that tries to affect the evolution of humankind.
We can see some familiar faces in Callisto Protocol. The protagonist is portrayed by actor and model Josh Duhamel, known from Transformers movies and some video games, including Skylanders: SuperChargers and Call of Duty: WWII. The Callisto Protocol cast was also joined by Sam Witwer, Karen Fukuhara, and James C. Mathis III.

Gameplay
In The Callisto Protocol, players control Jacob from a third-person perspective. The protagonist can engage in both ranged and melee combat, yet a player is often forced to fight at a close distance, which helps build the atmosphere of constant threat. The game is full of gore, such as brutal death scenes every time Jacob runs out of life. This level of violence led to some problems. For instance, The Callisto Protocol’s release in Japan was canceled because the game couldn’t get rated.
Reviews
In conclusion, is The Callisto Protocol a worthy successor to Dead Space? Its visuals are stunning, so you can definitely get shivers while exploring Callisto and looking into the moon’s dark corners. Hence, Glen Schofield’s new release provides players with a scary and brutal experience that most horror survival genre fans have counted on. On the other hand, not everything is perfect. Technical issues affecting mainly PC players lowered the game’s scores significantly. Fortunately, some of those problems have already been addressed. As a result, the performance should be much better than on the release day.
Another thing that some players may complain about is the game’s length. If you’re looking for a time-devouring experience, you might be disappointed. It takes approximately 10 hours to complete The Callisto Protocol, while finishing all the possible in-game activities takes around 14 hours. However, if you’re a survival horror fan, you should give it a try. And you’ll get a chance to decide if it’s as good as Dead Space soon because the remake of this cult classic is scheduled for release on January 27, 2023.