Analysis of the Callisto Protocol, tension, blood and sweat.

Krafton’s title takes us back to the golden age of deep space survival horror.

Glen Schofield He had been away from the genre for years. survival horror. The executive producer of iconic Dead Space has returned to the style that launched it after a 13-year absence. After the success with dead space, Glen Schofield has spent years working with Call of Duty, but to our delight, he’s back. In The Callisto ProtocolGlen Schofield’s hand is very noticeable, as co-director and producer, so it was obvious what we could expect from this title.

Callisto, the most terrifying moon.

The Callisto Protocol It places us in a future where humanity has colonized part of the solar system. We are Jacob Lee (voice and face of actor Josh Duhamel), a space freighter pilot seeking to leave this life of homelessness with a lucrative mission. We travel with Max, a friend and partner, in our freighter to the prison of Ferronegro. The prison is located on the moon Callisto, one of Jupiter’s satellites. But just before reaching their destination, insurgents led by Dani Nakamura (played by actress Karen Fukuhara known among other things for her role in The boys as Chemical), they will attack our ship.

The attack will make us plant at the foot of the prison and our partner Max, die. Without really knowing how or why Nakamura like us, we will end up locked up in prison without further explanation from the authorities. However, the lockdown is short-lived as an incident wreaks havoc in Ferronegrosomething bad is ravaging Callisto and we will have to fight for our survival.

Escape from Black Iron

the prison of The Callisto Protocol It is a labyrinthine building, full of deadly traps and metal. We will have to drag ourselves through all its intricacies in an attempt to reach a ship that allows us to get out alive. This will take us to many different parts, such as the waste treatment area, the laundry, the medical laboratory and even the outside of the prison and an old colony clandestinely.

The game is great in that setting, the detail of the areas is treated to the maximum. Every place of the decor it has its own personality, but without clashing with the global context. Everything has a common thread in terms of design concept and use of materials or textures. Therefore, they are very identifiable and they don’t become repetitive or monotonous. In addition, the third person camera gives us a perfect view of everything that is happening around us.

Listen or you died

The Callisto Protocol It is full of grotesque enemies who will try to kill us. We will have to fight our way through the blows and the shots. The horror is served, and even more so when you don’t know where the danger comes from. It will be necessary to pay attention to the sounds to be quick to detect the threat. The work on the sound level is incredible, the atmosphere of stump it generates, especially playing with headsets is amazing. More than terror, it’s a game of tension. Our character is quick and nimble, but not so much when we’re in action. It is true that the answer character in turns and in combat, he is slow compared to enemies. But I think it’s designed that way on purpose, which gives the fight depth and complexity, in addition to generating this state of alarm constant in the player.

The moment you start diving with all the meaning in the title, this slowness or coarseness of Jacob Leed’s movements ceases to be a problem. Naturally, we will refine the earsince we will see ourselves going through metal parts with a lot of sounds of Not oh squeaks that they will make us 200% alert. We will start anticipating where the enemies are coming from only with hear them better position themselves for an attack. The work of the sound section is sublime.

Iron, sweat and bullets

The Callisto Protocol try to have a survival component without being 100%. On our walks through Ferronegro, ammunition never ceases to be present and if combined with melee combat there is no shortage of it. The same happens with health packs, we will often be on top. The problem comes more from the management of Inventory. Most of the game we will only have 6 slots to store things and that is a real challenge. You have to choose between transporting ammunition, medical care or equipment to sale and get credits Calliste.

About combat, we said that our character moves awkwardly, but that’s not a problem. The Callisto Protocol is a title that combines several styles. For one thing, it has a hack and slash part, with some pretty interesting melee combat. it will be ours tool principal of annihilation. Once we have entered the controls for dodging, everything will be easier. Dodge attacks and wait for an opportunity to smash your head in with a the sink of hierro or an electric baton, will be our best asset. This slow movement will not be a problem if we anticipate the approach of the enemy thanks to the sounds that surround us.

The man does not live by bullets

We will also have at our disposal a wide range of weapons, a tactical pistol, a hand cannon, an assault rifle, a sawed-off shotgun or a prototype thereof. However, despite so many weapons at our disposal The Callisto Protocol is not a shooter. It will be very difficult to advance only with shots. First, because the enemies or bosses are very tough and can sustain a full magazine, and second, because the game mechanics themselves will prevent this. We will have sectors where the enemies will be upon us and we will not have the ability to not found the gun quickly. To top it off selecting or changing weapons and reloading is extremely levelsurely thinking like that so that the title does not become a third-person shooter.

improve and evolve

As to how to improve our characterThey do not exist as such. We can only improve the weapons you have. For this we will have to collect credits Callisto from all corners. We will have some points where there will be a kind of printer 3d armaments. Their main task is to create weapons through models that we give them or apply improvements to them. It will also be possible to print ammunition or packs of life. These 3d printers are very present for my taste and break a little with the concept survival Game.

A horror movie

Regarding the level design The Callisto Protocol it’s a game direct. But that’s not a problem. I don’t particularly feel the game is tedious, boring, or lacking in exploration. although it is a game cinematographic there corridor(reminds me a lot in this at the Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, another great game, by the way), we will have open areas to explore. The level design goes hand in hand with the cinematic concept of the game.

In virtually every area we have secondary branches where you can find credit Callisto, weapons or weapon blueprints. Also, in these little offshoots we will find recordings that will help us unravel the truth that lies in this whole story. The only thing I’m missing is maybe an area to move on, let’s assume a challenge in the form of puzzle; thing we had in dead space but which is nevertheless much less present in The Callisto Protocol.

sweat and blood

Finally, the Title it’s a real pleasure to watch. It is a pampered game in the graphics section. For starters, the character face modeling is incredibly detailed. During the game we can see a definition of the face and gestures quite incredible. The sweat and the sangre they will flood everything as they go. The textures of the title have a lot of quality, the clothes of the characters has incredible detail and definition, reflexes very well applied, splashes everywhere and stains that will make the feeling of immersion even greater.

CONCLUSION

The Callisto Protocol It’s a title that brings us back to the forefront of a genre that, in my opinion, is often poorly approached. Ambient spatial and the survival horror fits very well, but it can fall into clichés and the expected, repetitive or indescribable things. However, this is not the case with the Callisto protocol. Nail spectacular setting, with a vintage graphic work, combined with a refreshing and innovative gameplay in terms of combat, make us an excellent title. The complete absence of a center which breaks the immersion in the game, with a to cross of life and a storyteller balls integrated into the game are a success and a wink dead space. Plus, that gory touch that fights have, with members fly and sangre everywhere for Tarantino, They give the title a lot of personality.

We also have a good variety of enemies that combine so that one fight is never the same as another. Its level of difficulty is quite high and we will die a thousand times. On the technical level there is not much to reproach the title, it is a work next generation 100% despite being intergenerational. It is true that the title has some output bugs such as unsynchronized or untranslated voices, problems with the menus or with the graphics optionswhich however does not spoil the experience. For us, the ride on Callisto is over, but we look forward to a sequel on another moon of Jupiter.