An unnamed convict traverses a lunar prison that has been breached by some sort of galactic catastrophe. The steel corridors are shrouded in darkness, save for the neon glow of computer terminals. Each step is tentative, as throbbing monstrosities (other prisoners, mutated into abominable forms) threaten to emerge from every crack.
Few versions of Hell loom larger in the imagination than the haunted, abandoned space station. You are alone in the dark, far from home and haunted by the horrors that have seeped from the cosmic void. Steve Papoutsis has been obsessed with this bleak fantasy for years: he worked as a producer on the late Dead Space series, which condemned players to their own abandoned Nostromo. Coming to consoles and PC later this year, Callisto Protocol is billed as a spiritual successor to that franchise. Papoutsis is back in charge and wants to show us how terrifying the final frontier can be.
“The challenge with things like supernatural horror is that there are no clear rules about how things work,” says Papoutsis. “We like scenarios that are a little more relatable and visceral for the players. When it comes to sci-fi weapons and monsters, there are a few ground rules players can count on. That way we can focus more on the excitement and keep the players on their toes.”
The weapons in The Callisto Protocol are heavy, unwieldy, and chronically low on ammo, forcing players to rely on some eccentric methods of killing. See that massive fan blade humming in the corner? Enter an aggressor and prepare for the guts. Papoutsis is especially proud of those cringe-worthy moments: “Callisto is an incredibly dangerous place, and the environmental kills are a great opportunity to reinforce that idea with players,” he says. “Environmental hazards help keep the action fresh over time, as players are constantly looking for things to use to their advantage. Every encounter in every environment is a new challenge. Because this is a game of survival horror, players are always trying to outdo each other, and environmental hazards are also great options when players find themselves in particularly difficult situations.”
I can only hope that the deeper we get into Callisto’s protocol, the more disturbing it will be. One of the things I remember most fondly about Dead Space is the way it told its story; how little by little we found out what was so wrong with that cursed ship. Papoutsis sticks to the plot, saying only that a “mysterious outbreak” has infected our poor fellow recluses, but he does say that the enemies we’ll encounter are all ancient earthlings overwhelmed by something we don’t understand. “The creatures are humans that have been transformed, so we wanted them all to have that little bit of humanity,” he says. “That makes them even more terrifying.”
Callisto Protocol is out on December 2nd on PC, PlayStation 4/5, and Xbox.