The Callisto Protocol’s reveal trailer turned heads and churned stomachs at The Game Awards 2020, but the game’s influences go far beyond the obvious Dead Space comparisons, as developer Glen Schofield revealed it also draws heavily on Asian horror cinema and games for inspiration. Striking Distance Studio has promised The Callisto Protocol will be a terrifying experience on consoles and PC, but beyond the reveal trailer, The Callisto Protocol‘s early stage of development means there isn’t much to go on at the moment. For now, horror game fans can make some assumptions about its story and gameplay based on the developer’s listed Asian horror inspirations.
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The Callisto Protocol’s reveal offered very little information to go along with the trailer, leaving players to speculate exactly how Striking Distance Studio will deliver on its promises. The connections between The Callisto Protocol and Dead Space, both worked on by many of Striking Distance Studio’s current development team, were pretty evident in the trailer. Gloomy shots of a horrifying monster and a desolate prison in outer space hid many hints at the game’s pedigree. But what else will inspire The Callisto Protocol?
When the question of The Callisto Protocol’s influences was broached during a recent Q&A, Striking Distance Studios was quick to list off a plethora of films and games that inspired its take on survival horror. There were nods to the usual sci-fi classics like Alien, Event Horizon, and Prometheus. Yet the most fascinating examples were how The Callisto Protocol related to Japanese and Korean horror movies. Schofield listed Train to Busan, The Grudge, and The Ring as inspirational horror films and focused quite heavily on the Japanese horror classics Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4 in terms of video games.
What The Callisto Protocol’s Influences Mean For The Horror Game
While there was no question that sci-fi classics like Aliens and Event Horizon would make an appearance on the list of The Callisto Protocol‘s influences, the inclusion of several Asian horror films suggests something more about its theming and pacing. Asian horror films like The Ring and The Grudge focus on the intensity of emotion in their scares. There is often an element of body horror, and anyone who has seen The Callisto Protocol’s trailer will know that it offers that in spades. There is also an unknown quality to the monsters that hunt protagonists in Asian horror, with secrets slowly revealed throughout the film or game. This may hint at a focus on narrative discovery and player exploration. Regardless, it will be interesting to see if The Callisto Protocol takes a more personal and connected take on survival horror as a result of this connection to Asian horror cinema.
The connection between The Callisto Protocol and the best of Resident Evil reveals a lot about the kind of horror Striking Distance Studios is looking to bring forth in 2022. Japanese classic Resident Evil helped pioneer horror games that focused on claustrophobic spaces, limited resources, and puzzle solving. Listing this as an inspiration for The Callisto Protocol makes a lot of sense given the game’s setting, Black Iron Prison. Prisons are tight, unforgiving spaces where players could find themselves trapped between bars an any number of sci-fi horrors. Resident Evil 4’s inclusion on the list suggests there will be a little more focus on action and that the control scheme will be a little more modern than Resident Evil’s tank controls. While other Western horror games have dipped into Asian horror cinema for inspiration, like the 2005 horror game F.E.A.R., it remains to be seen how next generation graphical fidelity contributes to the scares.
There is still a lot to learn about The Callisto Protocol, but it is clear after Striking Distance Studio’s Q&A that the game’s influences suggest a fascinating combination of Eastern and Western horror. The potential for claustrophobic scares and otherworldly powers is high. While it will be interesting to see how Asian horror staples work into a sci-fi setting, the possibilities are wide open. Here’s hoping there aren’t too many terrifying little girls running around The Callisto Protocol’s Black Iron Prison.
Source: Striking Distance Studios/Discord
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