5 Essential Dead Space Elements That Appear In The Callisto Protocol

The Callisto Protocol comes from the minds that spawned the Dead Space franchise, and it has more than a little in common with Isaac Clarke’s horrifying adventures. That isn’t to say it doesn’t have plenty of original ideas, but there are several mechanical, narrative, and visual nods that fans of EA’s premier horror franchise will recognize. Here are the biggest overlaps between the two. 

It Stars An Everyman

Jacob Lee, like Isaac Clarke, isn’t a soldier or trained fighter. He’s a cargo ship pilot who crash-lands on Callisto, which leads to his arrest and imprisonment. We don’t know why his arrival put him on the wrong side of the law, only that he “didn’t get a warm reception on Callisto,” according to Striking Distance. Although he can use a gun well enough, don’t expect Jacob to mow through the biophage with tactical precision. You’ll often survive by the skin of your teeth, which fits Jacob’s portrayal as the unluckiest regular joe in the galaxy. 

The UI Remains Entirely In Universe

Dead Space’s signature diegetic UI carries over with all HUD elements represented on Jacob’s person. That includes the health bar on his prison neck collar, weapons displaying ammo count via holograms, and Jacob visibly carrying up to two guns on his person. Calisto also displays pick-ups such as ammunition and crafting materials outside of menus.

The Foot Stomp Is Back

As seen in Calisto’s Summer Game Fest trailer, Jacob can crush enemies and objects with a weighty and impactful stomp. Expect to put Jacob’s boot to good use as you ground the biophage into gooey bits. After all, dropping a creature with bullets doesn’t always mean it’s down for the count. 

You Can Still Dismember Creatures

Relieving the biophage of their limbs remains a crucial strategy to immobilize or disarm them. You dismember enemies using firearms or by hacking limbs off with melee weapons. However, like Dead Space, losing an arm or leg won’t instantly nullify them. Instead, their behavior changes, and they may become even more erratic in their assault. To learn more about The Callisto Protocol’s combat, check out our exclusive video interview breaking down gameplay. 

Kinesis (Kind Of) Returns

Jacob wields a weapon called the GRP (an acronym with a yet-to-be-announced meaning), a physics gun used by prison guards to herd mobs of inmates from a distance. It fires an anti-gravity field capable of yanking objects and lifeforms towards you or pushing them away similar to Dead Space’s kinesis ability. Since enemies are held in place while ensnared in this field, you can freely aim them towards a landing point. We saw one satisfying display of this tool when Jacob lifts a foe to toss it into a large industrial fan, producing a shower of blood. 

The Callisto Protocol launches on December 2 for PlayStation and Xbox consoles and PC. Click the banner below for more exclusive features and videos.