The Callisto Protocol: A Lost Opportunity In The Space

The hype. The use of this anglicism is relatively recent. However, Hype is one of the oldest and most common enemies of the player. In this analysis of The Callisto Protocol we tell you if the title of Striking Distance Studios is really worth it or on the contrary does not endure the pressure as a spiritual successor of a work that many we applaud in 2008: Dead Space.

Comparisons can be odious, but sometimes they are necessary and inevitable to place key references on the table. Glen Schofield, formerly responsible for that franchise, seeks to establish again in the terror Sci FI. To do this, follow the silhouette of the engineer Isaac Clarke. A priori, the main reasons why The Callisto Protocol could rise as the perfect successor. The tribute to the great work of the missing Visceral Games. From the first moment, I have tried to analyze it keeping me away from the memories of the USG Chimera. I always try to look at the good things that a video game can offer, above its defects and beyond its condition or budget.

Ferry Negro

Even so, The Callisto Protocol has disappointed me in general terms. First, the combat system, based on the melee, does not have as much weight as they said. At the beginning, it seems interesting to dodge and block attacks by moving the left joystick. This action has relevance at the beginning, when we only have a bar to defend ourselves and shortly after we get the basic gun. The depth increases slightly by incorporating the possibility of shooting on the enemy once several blows previously chained. Later, achieved different weapons and sufficient ammunition, the melee ends up losing interest, relegated to specific situations where we must dodge or hit by obligation, for example against certain special enemies or bosses. In some moments, if we are close to a wall, we can embed our enemy to finish it. Therefore, a more varied or complex auction system would have been thanked. The short-distance combat mechanics of the Uncharted could be a good example. If Jacob Lee, the protagonist, were able to read the environment more taking advantage of objects and architecture of the stage to hit or get rid of the enemies, this would have been a correct way to enrich the confrontation of proximity. Then, another key element of combat is the GAR, similar to the Isaac Clarke kinetic module. We can use this device to launch enemies against certain elements of the stage. There was much talk about creativity and improvisation when eliminating them but in practice it is not so much. In fact, the game puts us on a warning constantly with visual indicatives to use the gar. Many rooms, curiously, adorn their walls with skewer panels, on other occasions large fans. When we enter a room, and we see these elements we know in advance that we are going to suffer an ambush (it does not fail, bugs always come out) ruining the scare or the surprise factor. For this reason, not only should they have introduced more variety of elements in the scenarios to improvise deaths. They would probably also have to be better integrated into them, in their structure, to be credible. As I said, many rooms are decorated with skewers and huge fans where they are supposed to be because it is an ordinary area. For example, it would make more sense that they were in a machinery or maintenance room. In normal sections they could have made use of the crystals of a window, for example. Similarly, we also have too many objects to launch enemies as an impromptu weapon, beyond explosive hypes. Likewise, ending biophages is relatively simple with the GAR and sufficient ammunition. Most of the time we can avoid fighting by fast track. We can make them levitate in the air and throw them through any hole or empty of the stage.

At the moment we can attend comic situations, with enemies that die suddenly when placing them on an element outside the main scenario and other unexpected behaviors. In this way, confrontations lose tension and the sensation of vulnerability, signs of the Survival Horror, is questioned.

Even so, I must positively appreciate other details, such as Jacob's control. The character transmits a heavy movement, even when he runs and hits the enemies. On the other hand, the armament design does not stand out too much but the modular nature of weapons. Within the same body, we exchanged pieces when we select another different weapon from the one we have equipped. Also, improvements in these weapons are remarkable, which are integrated once generated in a kind of 3D printer. Some phases the game invites you to use stealth. These moments have been wasted, creating excessively simple situations to overcome, with blind enemies, literally speaking. Once again, we found another element that could have given much more than, as an ingredient to enrich the gameplay and tension during the game. It should be noted that there are not much variety of situations or memorable moments during fighting. Some have criticized his linear personality. All games are linear, to a greater or lesser extent. However, once again, it is not that linearity itself, but the way to reduce sensation. In Dead Space we advanced for the USG Chimera and felt that real advance, because we had different objectives that we were fulfilling linearly, but we felt they served for something: activate the vital systems of the ship. In The Callisto Protocol this progression is repetitive, we always perform the same mechanics to advance between zones: locate the fuse that allows us to open a locked door or recover the access chip of the body of a dead security guard. Finally, we arrive at the argument. The story recycles many elements of his brother Dead Space. This detail can personally influence each one. In this way, it can be contemplated as a tribute to the past, or simply an easy opportunity to take advantage of a successful formula as a claim. The story, the main character, even the circumstances and evolution of the infection are too similar. On the other hand, narrative tactics to try to surprise are topical and sometimes absurd because they do not flow into anything. Relationships with the rest of the secondary characters are unbelievable and lack interest. Likewise, he abused the audio recordings too much to expand the story. A resource that ends up feeling as an element to download responsibility to explain a story in an elaborate way. With all this, we must add failures of different kinds. The version I have played is that of Xbox One and I do not know the performance in the rest. During the game I have experienced loads of late textures and strange shadow games, especially in dark areas. Graphically, the game can be described as remarkable, with some more striking parts than others. Jacob Lee is designed with great detail and is a joy to contemplate blood splashing in his body during fighting. However, the most serious failure is found in the audio and conversations. There are several lines of dialogue that are not heard, voices that are heard lower than others and inexplicable changes of location in them. In this way, we find voices in Spanish and others in English. Similarly, we witness a great decompensation with the sound of voices and the movement of the lips during dialogues. As a result, the general sensation that The Callisto protocol leaves is that it could have been much better. It is complicated when, in addition, it, with its history, its protagonist and mechanical constantly forces to look at the past and its direct comparison. It has some elements that work, such as the control of the character, the progression of objects and inventory management. The deaths of the protagonist at the hands of his enemies are also notable, sequences with a good level of crudeness. The melee and the stealth do not state. These details make the combat system end up not revealing themselves as satisfactory as other third-person action games, such as The Evil Within or The Last of Us. As survival horror does not stand out, being below other titles. During his first bars he plays fleetingly with psychological terror, a facet that does not explode. The topics, the feeling that we are not as vulnerable as it seems and the absence of adequate voltage levels, typical of gender, throw by land the possibility of sneaking among the best.

Even with everything, The Callisto protocol is not entirely bad. He has ballots to become, over the years, in the classic worship video game. The influence, its creator, the characters and dialogues of series B, along with their shortcomings and peculiarities are ingredients for it. Hopefully some errors can be solved with the launch of several patches. Today, the sensation that transmits is that of a video game released without finishing and with haste, with good ideas that would have to have been polished and better exploited. Note: We have made this analysis with a copy of the paid video game of our pocket