Callisto protocolComing to consoles and PC next month is a horror game that looks and plays a lot like Beloved Empty room Franchise. And how Empty room, Callisto protocolI’m going to show some gnarly looking deaths, both for you if you screw it up and bite it, and for your alien enemies if you slaughter them. However, some of these gruesome and terrifying death animations will be locked behind the game’s season pass, new details reveal on the game’s Steam store page. And that’s kind of stupid and weird.
In the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty plus two, almost every game released, big and small, contains a mix of DLC, paid expansions and season passes. That’s the way things work these days. It’s been this way for so long that most of us hardly realize how much shit publishers are trying to sell us all beyond the actual game. But then a company sticks death animations behind a paywall, and it’s a good reminder of how silly and greedy the gaming industry can be some days. Case in point, yes apparently some death animations in the upcoming horror game Callisto protocol are only available to players who purchase the Season Pass.
As discovered by VGC, over on the horror game’s Steam page are updated details on what you get when you buy the different versions of the game and the season pass. and according to what is stated on Steam, 25 different death animations will be sold through two different DLC packs. 13 of these animations are for the main character of Isac Clarke Jacob while the other 12 are additional enemy death animations. The Season Pass is included with the Digital Deluxe Edition, which costs $80 on PC. (The base game costs $60.)
Here’s what the text currently says on the game’s Steam page:
The season pass includes:
Outer Way Skin Collection: Wear the armor of the Outer Way, an underground insurgency that takes on the UJC as you fight to survive the horrors of Callisto.
Contagion Package: Discover the ultimate survival horror experience with a new mode, Contagion. With reduced ammo and health drops, an adjusted difficulty level and permadeath – there is no second chance to escape the Black Iron Prison or the horrors that lurk beneath the surface of Callisto. The Contagion Bundle also includes thirteen new Jacob death animations and the Watchtower Skin Collection.
Riot Pack: Venture into a previously undiscovered area of Black Iron Prison and fight your way through waves of brutal enemies. Collect credits to upgrade your weapons or forge new ones and survive the onslaught for as long as possible in Riot, a brand new mode. The Riot Bundle also includes twelve new enemy death animations and the Engineer skin collection.
Story DLC: Delve deeper into the terrifying mysteries of The Callisto Protocol.
To be clear, there’s more to the Season Pass DLC than just death animations, and the game comes with its own unknown amount of grisly kills. So it’s not like people who just buy the base game and skip the DLC are missing out completely. But it seems very silly to lock death animations behind a paywall of all things, especially in a horror game that has spent much of its marketing showing just how violent and gory its kills will be in the full game.
Some might not care, or suggest it’s just a small portion of the content, kept away from people who just buy the vanilla game. But I can’t help but wonder what happens when this, like DLC and Season Passes more broadly, becomes the norm. This isn’t even the first time a publisher has charged players for additional animations. Sega did it earlier this year as part of the publication of Sonic origins.
What happens when this becomes another thing we all come to terms with? What other “small” parts of the game can be cut out of the main version and sold separately? Additional reload animations? Extra empty dialog? Additional landscape elements to make the levels look less boring? Seems silly, but we’re literally watching publishers lock animation behind DLC and paywalls. What’s next? I’m afraid to find out.
Callisto protocol Coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC on December 2nd.
