The opening day of Gamescom was stacked with trailers and announcements, including a look at The Callisto Protocol‘s gameplay, which left some wondering whether it wasn’t more The Last of Us than Dead Space when it came to combat and stealth mechanics. Despite the more obvious comparisons to Dead Space, what was shown seemed to have borrowed more DNA from the likes of The Last of Us than fans might have expected given past reveals. Even so, the gameplay looks to have taken strides away from its base inspirations and is cultivating its own engaging identity.
Since its initial reveal, The Callisto Protocol has been referred to by many as a spiritual successor to the Dead Space series. This is largely due to The Callisto Protocol being helmed by Glen Schofield, the co-creator of Dead Space, as well as the commonalities between the two IPs, including their science fiction settings, horror elements, and visual designs. However, the dynamic between the player and enemies as shown in the gameplay trailer at this year’s Gamescom are more similar to The Last of Us‘ stealthy, rhythmic combat than to the chaotic, brutal battles of Dead Space.
After a short opening shot of the game’s protagonist using telekinesis to break a box and pick up a healing consumable, The Callisto Protocol‘s gameplay trailer transitions into a combat encounter. Immediately, the player crouches and slowly moves towards an open area inhabited by several shambling, stuttering enemies. The camera work and movement animations used here are all quite reminiscent of The Last of Us. There were stealth mechanics in Dead Space 3 – which practically killed the franchise – but they were so sparsely utilized they were practically useless. Once entering the encounter area, the player is shown sneaking up behind an enemy and performing a stealth kill, another maneuver that seemed uncharacteristic of its predecessor, before moving on to full-blown combat.
The Callisto Protocol’s Combat Combines Brutality And Stealth
If the Gamescom gameplay video is any indication, The Callisto Protocol‘s combat will be an almost rhythmic balancing act between melee weapons, firearms, and some form of telekinesis. Telekinesis will be a familiar feature to Dead Space fans, but here it is mainly used against enemies themselves, while Dead Space‘s Kinesis can only be used on objects and parts removed from enemies. The Callisto Protocol‘s telekinesis allows players to grab enemies in an instant, restraining them, pulling them closer or pushing them away. This is often coupled with environmental hazards for gruesome kills, as evidenced by the trailer. Between the stealth mechanics and increased focus on telekinesis, it’s clear that the combat in The Callisto Protocol and Dead Space are substantially different.
Another major difference-maker is the design and functionality of The Callisto Protocol‘s enemies. Dead Space is known for confronting its players with horrifying undead monstrosities that never yield and scarcely die, forcing players to use quick, clever thinking to disable their movements. This gimmick has seemingly not carried over to The Callisto Protocol (at least in the same fashion), and the enemies shown here were more like the generic Clickers of The Last of Us. The player in the trailer was able to dispatch them with ease by repeatedly slamming them into hazardous objects, and guns and melee weapons appear to be equally effective, with the gunplay and close quarters combat maintaining the Last of Us feel in their camera movements and animations. Whereas Dead Space‘s protagonist was typically on the back foot and struggling to survive, The Callisto Protocol appears to provide players with ample opportunities to more easily overcome their foes.
The Callisto Protocol‘s new gore engine generates a level of gruesome detail that helps to facilitate a level of intensity, but that work can only take combat so far. This trailer’s combat seemed somewhat trivial, and while toying with the game’s telekinesis looked fun, it alleviated much of the threat without any effort on the player’s part. Since, like Dead Space, The Callisto Protocol employs chiefly diegetic UI, it was difficult to discern whether there were limitations on using telekinesis in combat, but one would hope so; and this showcase may well have been meant to show a wider array of combat options in a compressed timeframe, so the final pacing could be different. While it currently appears to be caught between the foundations of The Last of Us and Dead Space, The Callisto Protocol‘s first priority should likely be the preservation of what both franchises do best: instilling their players with fear.
