Survival horror fans are set to have their pick of games as several titles in the genre have been announced. With an upcoming Dead Space remake on its way, fans may wonder where Glen Schofield’s other project, The Callisto Protocol, fits in the zombie monsters in space lineup. There are obvious similarities between these two games specifically, so does the new title stand a chance? Gamers who have had the opportunity to play hands-on demos of the game say yes it does, mostly because of its combat system.

The Callisto Protocol has all of the features of a space survival horror game. You play Jacob Lee, a prisoner in the maximum security Black Iron prison on Jupiter’s moon, Callisto. When the prisoners begin to mutate into horrifying monsters with some serious aggression issues, it’s time for Jacob to leave. Space horror has that unique setup of being hostile inside and outside. Jacob can’t stay in the prison with all of the monsters and he can’t just run outside into the frozen wasteland of a moon in space with no plan for escape. There’s also the added tension of moving through the bowels of a prison that was also used as a secret laboratory while monsters can pop out of nowhere anytime. As far as these elements go, The Callisto Protocol is on level ground with other survival horror games like Dead Space.

What has the potential to set the game apart is a combat system that forces players to get up close and personal with the mutants. Players need to use a mix of close-quarters combat and range shooting in order to take on one or more mutants. Though the mutants are not constantly coming at you in waves, stumbling across more than one in the narrow corridors or crowded landings can make things intense really fast.

While it may be tempting to rush in swinging, the mutants are a little too difficult to kill that way. Just shooting is not an option either because ammo is extremely limited in the game. According to the people who have played some of the extended demos, the best tactics are to bait the mutants to come to you in an attack. In close quarters, attack and land as many blows as you can, and then when they are missing some limbs, back up and shoot at their weak points. This can be done especially well using the PlayStation controller.

In the video below, Aaron Bayne described the experience of using the controller to his benefit during a 90-minute demo. Using the left analog stick to “dodge and weave like a boxer,” he was able to avoid blows before using the right analog stick to control an electrified baton to strike back during openings. He said that it made combat smooth and rewarding once he got the hang of it.

Combat like this can only be done with one enemy at a time, so crowd control is vital when more than one mutant is present. Luckily, you have a very cool device to use on this front. A gravitational glove called a GRP is used to lift and throw enemies away from you for crowd control. You can also use it to bring enemies or objects to you faster and control the flow of combat. Honestly, that looks like the most fun.

The Callisto Protocol has gone gold and will be making its way to fans on December 2, 2022. While the game looks fantastic aesthetically and mechanically, it is not created just for the next-gen tech. The game will be available to play on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Get ready to fight your way out of the nightmare prison!

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