It is a new hope in the horror genre. The Callisto Protocol rises like a beacon to become the reference for fear and awe. The legendary Glen Schofield returns having shaped the success of Dead Space, repeating a formula that will take us to a moon of Jupiter, where no one will hear our screams.
Jacob Lee takes over from Isaac Clarke as the helpless protagonist who finds himself faced with nightmare beings. The Sideros maximum security prison has become a horror that no one wants to experience, but that we will experience on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One and PC in this same 2022.
Release date
Presented for the first time in 2020, during The Game Awards gala, The Callisto Protocol showed what has been, so far, his first and only advance to date. The work of Striking Distance Studios has not officially confirmed a date for its arrival, although through the report made by Game Informer we know that the goal is that in 2022 it arrives to our screens.
Development News
Founded in 2019, Striking Distance Studios is based in San Ramon, San Francisco, and is the studio in charge of developing The Callisto Protocol. The title is his first project, framed in the AAA field, specializing in “the creation of immersive and thought-provoking experiences.”
All in all, the greatest value that the company possesses is the direction by Glen Schofield, creator of dead space Y founder of Sledgehammer Games, a studio owned by Activision that has worked on the Call of Duty saga. About 150 industry veterans are working on The Callisto Protocol and the work has been approved by Krafton for publication.
We are talking about the company responsible for PUBG and about TERAworld hits. One of the commitments acquired by the study is that The Callisto Protocol it would be set in the battle royale universe, several hundred years in the future. However, recently Schofield confirmed that the separation between both video games is total.
science fiction space horror
The truth is The Callisto Protocol it is framed within a recognizable scheme and is sustained through bases that are very familiar. With Glen Schofield at the helm, we can perfectly recognize the similarities to Dead Space. Survival, action and horror are the ingredients to make our legs shake as we turn every corner.
We are in the year 2320, on Jupiter’s moon Callisto, and we put ourselves at the controls of Jacob Lee. The actor in charge of interpreting the protagonist is Josh Duhamel, who has participated in other works such as Jupiter’s Legacy or Call of Duty: WWII.
The maximum security prison Sideros, governed by the United Jupiter Company, is the scene in which we will find ourselves, after Jacob arrives with his ship. The worst of all is that practically all the inhabitants of the place have become the creatures called Biophage. Mutated humans who have nothing to envy the fearsome necromorphs.
Without knowing exactly what has happened, Lee will have to delve deeper into Sideros to find out what is going on. The problem is that our protagonist is nothing more than a cargo pilot with no combat experience, so he will have to go through many difficulties to survive.
Constant tension is one of the sensations that Striking Distance Studios seeks to constantly run through our body. Design Director Ben Walker explains that “we want feel afraid of lonely enemies“. Therefore, there will be practically no moment of respite.
the design of fear
The work that we are going to find behind The Callisto Protocol it’s almost mathematical so that we don’t want to look at the screen. For example, in the case of the Biophage they have been built from the concept of “designed realism”. It’s an idea the studio has generated by taking a scanned human model and twisting it in the most grotesque ways.
This will result in impossible and intimidating bodies, familiarly reminding humanity that those people once had, but generating great rejection. For this reason, we will have different models of Biophage, some being more resistant, like tanks, and others more elongated and disturbing.
To give these beings even more realism, Striking Distance has used real police videos for their work. Of course, gore will be the order of the day, with brutal executions for enemies and for Jacob himself. “We want him to feel brutal and scary and intimidating,” explains character director Glauco Longhi.
Glen Schofield has pointed out that he wants us to feel fear even when opening a simple door. One of the most powerful weapons when creating a creepy setting will be The Apprehension Engine. We are talking about a unique instrument created by composer Mark Korven (The witchResident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City) and guitar maker Tony Duggan-Smith.
Therefore, we will be able to hear sounds of the pieces of the Biophage falling to the ground once we cut them down. Schofield is clear that “when we talk about audio design in a game like this, it’s 50% of the game. It’s like a mechanic, a feature…”. On the other hand, the scenarios are not exempt from this particular vision.
Some of them will be designed in such a way that we will be able to see a well-lit area, transmitting a sense of securityto realize that we are entering the most dangerous area of the prison.
Gameplay and game modes
Defined as a “survival horror” title, The Callisto Protocol It will test us at all times. Everything indicates that we will have to use daily tools such as weapons to be able to defend ourselves against the Biophage. If you follow the trail seen in dead spaceface-to-face confrontations with these beings will be the usual trend.
Of course, everything indicates that we will have to manage our resources very wisely so as not to waste a single one. The inventory management will be essential to have any chance of advancing on the moon Callisto.
backward compatibility
Yes ok The Callisto Protocol is coming to PS4 and Xbox One, no type of backwards compatibility function has been indicated for the PS5 and Xbox Series versions. It is unknown at this time if there will be a free update, a paid update or neither.
Minimum and recommended requirements
For now, the requirements that our PC must meet have not been revealed so that The Callisto Protocol look your best.
Trailers and images
The Callisto Protocol It is presented as one of the great titles to put the finishing touch to this 2022. The sensations it transmits are terrifying and surely more than one ends up turning on the lights or playing during the day so as not to tremble so much with the experience.