PLEASE NOTE: This article contains MASSIVE Spoilers for The Callisto Protocol. Proceed at your own risk.
Because there is currently no official information regarding a possible sequel for Striking Distance Studios’The Callisto Protocol, it’s a good time to highlight what it succeeds at and what its main pain points really are. While the gameplay loop is more interesting than average survival horror games, largely due to the many combat options that allow players toforge new weapons inThe Callisto Protocolor upgrade existing ones, its newly constructed universe probably needed a bit more to work with. The base story for this new IP does make a point about the consequences of human experimentation and constant research for improvement, which largely refers to a philosophical movement called transhumanism.
Even then, afterThe Callisto Protocolreveals the origins of the biophage infection, the focus is shifted more to the characters involved than the universe at large, and that’s because something is missing from it.The Callisto Protocolcan feel more like the personal story of Jacob Lee than a new IP telling a tale of how humanity may be dooming itself in an imaginary future, but there are too few characters in the game to provide that broad spectrum of possibilities. Not only that, but this survival horror title also lacks more game-defining bosses that can help with its core loop and also its storytelling, whereas the final product basically just has one boss fight.
RELATED:Why The Callisto Protocol’s Finale is Bittersweet
Why The Callisto Protocol Should Have Featured More Characters and Bosses
Some players who went through the entire game might be confused as to why there are only threemajor character deaths inThe Callisto Protocol, but the reality is that there are not too many major characters to kill, in the first place. An argument could be made that the most impressive death would have been that of Dani or Jacob himself, but the former leaves Black Iron Prison with an escape pod, whereas the latter is seemingly able to escape thanks to Doctor Mahler.
Additional characters could have doneThe Callisto Protocola great service because their own experiences and lives could have played a big part in how the biophage infection affects life as a whole, let alone that of mankind. Dani does succeed at being the moral compass of the story and bringing that more sensitive side to life through her search for truth, whereas Jacob is more aptly portrayed as the character embodying survival instinct. Hypothetical prequels could explore the events on Europa or maybe even those of the Callisto colony where the original outbreak occurred, and that’s a good way to tell stories from different perspectives.
As for the gameplay side of things, additional bosses could have expanded uponThe Callisto Protocol’s lore and the already healthy pool of enemy types. This would have been important to see because the biophage virus evolves rapidly, to the point that vastly different outcomes can be achieved with different hosts, creating outlandish creatures that also have wildly dissimilar capabilities. Instead, the game focuses on how Captain Ferris becomes the so-called “Subject Alpha” Warden Cole was looking for, and he becomes theonly boss inThe Callisto Protocol.
More bosses would have helped expand the universe of the game in creative ways, while also offering a more diverse experience to fans of the horror genre, perhaps drawing inspiration from franchises likeResident Evil.The Callisto Protocolfalls short of these important factors, and that can make the overall experience feel more bare-bones than it really is. Ultimately, building on the game’s foundations with future titles could help mitigate that, but if that is not the plan, thenThe Callisto Protocolcould have indeed been much more with extra time in the oven.
The Callisto Protocolis out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.
MORE:Why Callisto Protocol’s Two Head Goes from One of Its Best Monsters to Most Annoying
