Game Review--The Callisto Protocol (Xbox One)

"Though killed by security forces during the outbreak, the body was transported to the Black Iron lab, forming the basis of the original research program."

--Dr. Caitlyn Mahler, The Callisto Protocol

Very much inspired by Dead Space--the third-person style, the way the firearms display remaining ammunition, the foot stomp mechanic, the isolated science fiction setting, and the extraterrestrial pathogen are all very similar in each game--The Callisto Protocol is a focused single-player game in an era of open world and multiplayer emphasis.  It does at times have a lot of visual or thematic parallels to other iconic stories like Resident Evil or Aliens, but the game executes what it does well with its gameplay and atmosphere, standing apart as its own artistic work.  The story is not anything spectacularly innovative or woefully underdeveloped.  The Callisto Protocol's narrative is enough to ground its atmosphere, which is one of its strongest aspects.  It is set on Jupiter's moon Callisto (Jupiter IV), reportedly the third largest moon in the solar system and the second largest of Jupiter itself.  What the plot does with this setting is not especially innovative even as it is sufficient for holding the game together.

Production Values

Graphically, the game unfortunately suffers on the Xbox One; I do not know if its visuals and performance fare any better on current generation consoles.  Sometimes the textures lose a great amount of detail for a few minutes, and the game stuttered in some cases, as if an aging computer was running it poorly.  There is also extreme motion blur as evidenced by some of my screenshots (this can be eliminated with photo mode from the pause menu.  Aside from all of this, the art style is handled well, as generic as it sometimes can be.  Some enemy designs truly seem pulled right out of Resident Evil with the biophage transformations.  More competent than the graphical consistency is the voice acting by Josh Duhamel as Jacob Lee and Karen Fukuhara (Suicide Squad, The Boys) as Dani Nakamura.  With such few characters, voice acting needed to be excellent, and on this front the title succeeds.  Still, by far the greatest part of the game is the combat.

Gameplay

As much as it imitates its inspiration, not everything in the gameplay is transplanted from another game.  There is a dodge mechanic that is an addition to the Dead Space formula.  All the player has to do is tilt the left stick left or right and Jacob will evade practically any physical blow from an enemy, including from some of the later bosses.  This is especially helpful with the bosses that can devastate you with only a handful of strikes.  With smaller foes, Jacob can attack from a distance with firearms ranging from pistols to an assault rifle or use the GRP, a gravitational manipulation bracelet-like device that can pull enemies in its grip and then hurl them.  The GRP is a mechanic also loosely inherited from Dead Space (where this function was called Kinesis), but this is not so with the expanded melee system where you can use a stun baton to beat limbs off of biophages and, eventually, trigger a lock on option to shoot them up close with whatever gun is equipped.

Searching in non-mandatory rooms will sometimes lead to new weapon models that can be scanned at a 3D printer called a Reforge.  At these stations, one can also purchase upgrades for equipment, sell scavenged machine parts, or buy consumables like ammunition.  There is not an enormous amount of freedom to explore.  Usually, a few rooms will be available or very minimally placed outside of the path to the main objective, but new weapon models, more Callisto credits, and other objects like audio files, health packs, and bullets are there for the taking.  Overall, The Callisto Protocol is antithetical to the massive world maps that dominate many games today.  It is fairly streamlined in its level progression.

Story

A pilot named Jacob is unexpectedly incarcerated in Black Iron Prison, a facility on Callisto affiliated with the United Jupiter Company, when his ship is boarded and crashes onto the surface of Jupiter's second largest moon.  Soon after he receives an implant (this game's version of the RIG from Dead Space), the prison falls into pandemonium when an unspecified event releases prisoners and reveals hints of an infection among the population.  Jacob is forced to work with Dani, the woman who invaded his ship, to search for an escape from this prison that is supposedly meant to reform its inhabitants.

Intellectual Content

For most of the game, Jacob is isolated from most uninfected people and is alone in the premises, but the faux optimism about inmates bettering themselves exuded in holograms from the warden (late-game revelations show that this is insincere on his part) and the progressively evident experimentation on the populace affirm that Black Iron is no place for broad rehabilitation.  The possibility of rehabilitation aside, prison itself is inherently unbiblical (the punishments always relate to the likes of execution, selective amputation, limited lashes, financial damages, temporary servitude, or exile) and it is independently, obviously far worse than any punishment short of prolonged physical torture.

It does not have to involve sexual abuse like in America or pathological experimentation like in the The Callisto Protocol, but either prison in abusive circumstances or prison sentences for life are among the most oppressive legal penalties human societies have invented, having nothing to do with the humane punishments they allegedly offer over the Biblical ones.  To merely keep someone alive in boredom and seclusion for a potentially long lifetime is clearly far harsher than the basic death penalty, even without the physical or sexual abuse that some Americans show their emotionalistic support for.  Pathological experimentation like that of Black Iron or any other such cruel treatment only makes prison worse than it is.

Conclusion

Delving into body horror rather than cosmic horror despite its setting, The Callisto Protocol reaches for the heavens and does not quite do enough to cement itself as a truly excellent story, but it does offer great gameplay.  If you liked the mechanics of Dead Space and are content to weather less developed lore, here is a game that is very, very similar to its spiritual predecessor from 2008.  Other than the location and a handful of added mechanics, its narrative and gameplay are close imitations of that renowned science fiction horror game that led to two sequels and, as of now, a remake.  The Callisto Protocol is a modern successor to a classic that is at its best when it comes to the combat system with its dodges, baton strikes, and firearm lock-ons.  A sequel could establish a more vibrant world for the horror to continue.  Alas, based upon its financial performance records, such a thing might never be produced.

Content:

 1.  Violence:  The Callisto Protocol has plenty of blood and gore between its frequent limb removals.

 2.  Profanity:  Words like "fuck," "bitch," and "bastard" are used.