Space, solitary protagonists, monstrosities that have very little to envy to those "appreciated" in any film by David Cronenberg. A single description for two games that clearly demonstrate and represent the renewed love of video games for adventures set in the immense silence of the cosmos, even better if in a horror sauce, as in the case of The Callisto Protocol and Dead Space Remake, ready to debut respectively on December 2nd and next January 27th.
Two unquestionably similar productions, which, on the one hand, represent a welcome return that winks at a probable future, and on the other, the bet of a team yes to the debut, but made up of old wolves from sea which, not surprisingly, have decided to sail on an already known route.
Space and horror, in fact, a combination that Glen Schofield and Scott Whitney know well, already at the helm of the Electronic Arts saga to which their new creature, the eldest daughter of Striking Distance Studios, is indisputably and undeniably debtor.
So many points of contact, so let's find out what they are similar to, what they are not in Dead Space Remake and The Callisto Protocol .
The fugitive and the engineer< /h2> The first difference that comes to mind cannot be defined as positive. It's not because, trivially, Jacob Lee is not Isaac Clarke. Or, to put it in other terms, the fugitive from the maximum security prison located on the surface of one of the moons of Jupiter does not seem to possess an ounce of the charisma of the taciturn engineer with his face and body constantly protected and hidden by a thick armor.
The protagonist of The Callisto Protocol, at least from what has been shown in the trailers published so far, beyond the classic bad boy face with a criminal record, does not show off a character design that pierces the screen. To be honest, to use a hyperbole, the good Jacob almost looks like a character created in a hurry with the editor of any RPG. The perpetually frowning gaze helps to cushion this feeling, there is no doubt, but the current feeling is that behind it is lacking a narrative background deep enough to fascinate the gamer. The situation of Dead Space Remake is quite different. Already in 2008 the Electronic Arts production could count on a charismatic protagonist enough, but in this makeover things will get even better. For the occasion, in fact, Isaac Clarke has gained the ability to dialogue with NPCs, a feature that marks the evolution of the genre, and of video games in general, and which will allow the plot of the game to follow totally new paths, offering new ideas and details about the protagonist's past and psychological depth.
In a very similar way, although also from this point of view it is difficult, and even unfair, to venture into overly audacious predictions, the narrative fabric of The Callisto Protocol currently seems to lack the spark, the quid necessary to stand out not only from the direct source of inspiration, but more generally from certain now inflated topoi, especially when applied to a sci-fi context. Where Dead Space hid the dark and sinister cult of the Brand, the production of Striking Distance Studios seems less shrewd in offering the gamer a context attentive to detail and possibly able to develop on other media as well. But above all on this point, as anticipated a little while ago, we will be happy to be proved wrong once the game is published and will be able to reveal everything it really has to offer.
The Callisto Protocol has nothing to envy graphically to the competitor, with extremely convincing facial animations and light effects On the narrative front, the numerous points of contact between the two video games are obvious and clear, which beyond the repercussions actual events and the misadventures that the two protagonists will experience on their own skin, aim to touch the same emotional chords and to leverage atmospheres that are also aesthetically very similar. Scenarios entirely covered in steel and metal, soft lights that cast disturbing shadows, far from reassuring noises that chase the avatar wherever he goes and of course jump scare in profusion, are the main ingredients that feed each setting of the two games.
Profusion of dismemberments
Exploration in The Callisto Protocol Also in terms of gameplay there are similarities and small differences between Dead Space Remake and The Callisto Protocol.
Although they may have different names and origins, the fetid creatures that Jacob Lee will have to face in his epic story are not very different from the Necromorphs, the shapeless beings that infest the USG Ishimura. After all, they are still limping lumps of decomposing flesh with the innate ability to survive even in the face of progressive and serious dismemberment.
In this regard, there is a big difference between The Callisto Procol and its source of inspiration, a feature that could determine the fortune of Glen Schofield's game. Indeed, the aberrations that infest Callisto's surface have the nice habit of replacing lost limbs with other extremities that are even more lethal and dangerous for the safety of the indomitable fugitive. The essentially immediate and indomitable evolution of the enemies to be faced will represent a difficulty that should not be underestimated, a factor that contributes to the extreme violence that the game will offer the gamer copiously, in many ways even higher than that offered by the direct competitor.Jacob, in fact , will be able to rely on a gravity gun that will allow him to throw objects of the scenario against the monstrosities and, in turn, the latter against the conformity of the current setting. Uncovered electric cables, rotating blades, metal presses, anything is needed to get out of trouble and eliminate, once and for all, the creatures that infest the extraterrestrial prison.
Not only that: The Callisto Protocol will focus much more intensively on hand-to-hand combat. Where in Dead Space Remake the close attack will represent the last resort, often useless among other things, Jacob is a more than decent fighter, also strong in the ability to handle different tools to eliminate the threats that stand in front of him.
For the rest, from the camera to the gunplay, everything seems extremely similar to what Dead Space Remake will offer, which in turn will exploit the renewed power of today's hardware to (almost completely) eliminate loading times and to allow greater freedom of exploration, since Isaac will now be able to hover in the air whenever he finds himself in a zero gravity environment. This, translated, also means new areas compared to the original and the possibility of approaching backtracking in a completely different way than in the past.
A glance can be deceiving. Dead Space or The Callisto Protocol? Without context, in some cases, you have to look twice at the same image to understand which of the two games it refers to. On balance, it is undeniable that we are faced with a duo of productions that leverage very similar characteristics, in an attempt touch the same emotional strings of those who hold the pad in their hands. Of course, perhaps it is difficult to identify historical precedents in which two such similar games entered the market with such a close temporal distance, but it is quite evident that in the coming months we will be invaded by adventures set in space precisely because, together with those I dance feudal Japan, the audience longs for titles with this precise setting.
