The eerily beautiful preview event sent icy chills down my spine and made my trigger finger itch properly.
It”s a day like any other in the orbit of Jupiter. The year is 2320 and Jacob Lee is once again on his way to deliver supplies to the colonised moons of the gas giant. The view is as breathtaking as the pay is poor, which is why Jacob also likes to take goods on board that are not on the delivery note.
So far he has been able to keep his little extra income a secret, but on this morning he might have been better off staying in bed. When he loses control of his freighter on approach to Callisto, Jupiter”s second largest moon, he doesn”t yet know that the subsequent crash landing will be only the smallest of his problems.
I don”t know about you, dear readers, but with these two paragraphs alone, the premise of The Callisto Protocol has already cast a spell over me. And that”s not even mentioning the mysterious virus that turns all the inmates of the “Black Iron” penal colony into gruesome mutants (called biophages, or life-eaters).
In our last preview you could already read how masterfully developer and Dead Space creator Glen Schofield knows how to scare us with light, shadow and a particularly tricky soundscape in his latest work.
Today we”ll be talking about the finer points of the combat and upgrade system and why The Callisto Protocol is already one of my highlights of the year after the recent preview event.
Clever design
The first sly smile crosses my lips when one of the developers grabs a mutant with the GRP (their interpretation of a Gravity Gun) and hurls it against a wall. The nasty monster is promptly impaled on it, but still rattles menacingly away. Then the gentleman at the mouse grabs a metal canister lying around and hurls it full force against the mutant”s skull – bonk!
During the next few minutes, various body parts fly and countless fountains of blood spray through the area and it becomes unmistakably clear to me once again that this is bloody slasher fare for adults, as the USK”s Ab-18 seal also proves. Nevertheless, Callisto Protocol will be released here completely uncut.
Next time, the corners of my mouth shoot up at the demonstration of the fluidly animated dodge and block mechanics . Using the directional button, the protagonist dodges or skilfully blocks the mutants” bestial blows. With repeated left clicks, he then strings together several melee combos.
Personally, I love combat systems based on good timing, and Callisto Protocol seems to play right into my hands here. This is also supported by the fact that successful combo series reveal weak points into which we can then put a bullet with a timely press of a button. Since ammunition for our handgun is as rare as it is expensive, this melee-bound aiming aid seems like an excellent design decision to me.
Firepower from the 3D printer
As we should rather invest our painstakingly kicked out Callisto Credits from enemies in upgrades anyway. Occasionally there are tube-shaped machines hanging on the wall where we can have equipment upgrades “printed out” for a fee.
The aforementioned BI-55 pistol nicknamed “Hand Cannon” thus gets higher penetrating power, stability and ammunition capacity. The energy storage of the GRP (Gravity Restraint Projector) can be increased as well as its kinetic force for flinging enemies and objects around.
Our trusty all-purpose mallet, which looks like an electric cricket bat, has only a basic damage rating according to the display, but the other symbols I was able to catch indicate at least two more aspects that can be upgraded – possibly including blocking power.
In addition, we are allowed to buy and sell consumables at the machines. In addition to ammunition and so-called energy converters, these include GRP batteries and the (expensive) injectors that we use to refill Jacob”s health meter on his convict collar. Just like Dead Space, all UI displays in The Callisto Protocol are projected directly into the game world.
Day of the Tentacle
Despite all the admonished economy measures, we can of course also aim manually and shoot off individual limbs of the monsters. Ideally, they will fall at our feet and can be effortlessly kicked until the loot trickles out of them. On the other hand, if things go badly, a bunch of tentacles will sprout from the stump and try to smooch our face off.
If we don”t shift gears quickly now and shoot the squirming little worms to pieces, the critter mutters before our eyes Not only does it grow a new arm or head, but the entire body transforms into something even more vicious.
This almost evolutionary monster design extends throughout the entire game. While most of the antagonists continue to hint at a human origin, the longer you play and the stronger they become, the more they differ not only in the length of their limbs but also in the grotesque shapes they squeeze themselves into. Exceptions such as the nasty little worms that jump right at your jugular only confirm this rule.
The most striking variants include a three-armed humpler with an almost turtle-like snapping mouth and a monster with a stretched-out back that walks in reverse on all fours – and on walls and ceilings, ew! To make matters worse, the creature can also turn invisible, which the game”s developer briefly stopped by pulling it towards him with the gravity bracer and then hitting it with the paddle.
Editor”s verdict
When The Callisto Protocol is released on 2 December 2022, we could be in for a real scary hit. Nevertheless, despite all the enthusiasm, I am still tormented by some unanswered questions. For example, enemies seemed to have relatively predictable attack patterns that our host could comfortably avoid. Just in case, however, there are three difficulty levels to choose from.
It was also noticeable that despite the many atmospheric in-game interludes, there were emphatically few facial animations to be seen, almost as if they wanted to hide possible deficits here. The few we know from the trailers seem at least a little wooden.
And finally, of course, there is the question of the quality of the plot. I find the premise incredibly exciting, even if it won”t win any prizes for originality. But what about the narrative structure? Does it keep us interested? Are there any surprising twists? Are illegal bioweapons experiments or aliens to blame for everything? How is the director involved in all this and where does the eponymous protocol come into play?
Only our test will be able to answer all these questions, but one thing is already certain: I”m incredibly keen on this world, this gameplay and this wonderfully creepy Jupiter moon!
