The co-creator of Dead Space is back in a new horror game, set in the universe of PUBG. Expected for 2022, the title will have the heavy task of extending the imagined universe in a Battle Royale, and that's no small feat. We take stock of what we know.
A single player and survival horror game in the universe of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, aka PUBG, that's not common. If there's one announcement we didn't expect at The Game Awards 2020, it's this one. And yet, this is the assumed objective of The Callisto Protocol.
A futuristic game, but related to PUBG
No Battle Royale here, but a fully solo game, and moreover located in the (very) distant future! In The Callisto Protocol, we play a prisoner who was incarcerated in a prison on Jupiter's moon, Callisto.
In 2320, when the human species has appropriated a large part of the galaxy, an alien invasion undermines its expansion efforts. What is the connection with PUBG then? The answer is simple: the global storyline will take concrete elements from the hit Battle Royale, and explain what happened to the millions of players who fought on Earth for years. The universe of the title will also tell why humanity has come to lock up its prisoners on other planets, and what happened to our dear Earth.
The creator of Dead Space on the move
While a remake of the very first Dead Space was announced this summer, The Callisto Protocol comes to be placed in front. And for good reason: we find Glen Schofield, former vice-president of late-Visceral Games, and also co-creator of the Electronic Arts franchise.
After the closure of his old studio, he founded Striking Distance Studios, also made up of former Dead Space developers, but also industry veterans. Since then, Krafton, who manages the PUBG license, has entrusted them with his universe to imagine a big-budget game.
An exclusively “next-gen” AAA game
At a time when many games are still being released on PS4 and Xbox One consoles, such as Halo Infinite or soon Horizon: Forbidden West, The Callisto Protocol is one of the few titles not yet to have been announced as cross-platform. We are therefore heading towards a game exclusively available on PS5 and Xbox Series X | S (as well as on PC), with what this means in terms of graphics and technical possibilities.
The title benefits above all from an “AAA” budget, a large production which gives hope for a particularly painful horrific adventure for sensitive souls.
A real horror game
If the Resident Evil saga turned into an action game, the survival-horror genre could only count on Dead Space or slightly more confidential (and independent) titles to support it.
In The Callisto Protocol, the developers promise a first-rate horrific experience, and will take into account the additions that the PS5 and Xbox Series benefit from, especially at the technical level. Light effects, 3D audio… but also the DualSense and its haptic feedback features.
"We really want to try to make the scariest game on next-gen platforms," ​​says Glen Schofield.
Waiting for his next appearance
Absent from the radar for several months, The Callisto Protocol should be released - if all goes well - in 2022. Until then, we especially hope that the developers of Striking Distance Studios will keep their promises, while realizing the expectations of Dead fans. Space.
Whether in terms of atmosphere, gunplay, or simply sensations, the game will have a lot to do to impress the gallery, beyond its plastic. On our side, we can already imagine finding the impression that Dead Space had made on its release in 2009, when each corridor, each decor could hide a horrible alien. The narration will also be important in order to concretize the marriage with the universe of PUBG, but also to live up to its illustrious elder. Answer, in a few months.
Dead Space: the remake will not reappear until next year
