A Story Analysis of The Callisto Protocol

[@SpecShadow]

nice to see Starkiller getting honest job as prison guard

[@shazmodeus2795]

yeah but he went full sith... you never go full sith.

[@koerel]

When he came back as infected my first thought was "Ah, so this game has a Wesker as well."

[@bigbangrafa8435]

@@koerel It's the Necromorphs from Dead Space being used in a godhood quest by executives from a Corporation that is a mix of Umbrella from Resident Evil and Weyland-Yutani from Aliens. All of It with the architecture of Star Citizen/Starfield and the androids from Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, although they behave as the androids from Alien: Isolation. Oh, and your character has a immortal rival that is totally not Wesker, and a misterious asian woman that is totally not Ada Wong helps you on the path. This game isn't ABOUT zombies, IT IS A ZOMBIE. It cannot decide what It Is and what It wants to do, so It ends up being mediocre at every single level. Feels like Cyberpunk 2077, a game lost trying to be many others and losing any chance of having an identity in the process.

[@Slymufasa1510]

Unfortunately for him it wasn’t as honest as he thought

[@Slymufasa1510]

@@koerel nice

[@HumbleMonarchJ]

I feel like if they let you explore and get to know prisoners, guards, and what black iron prison is like before the disaster it would add more to the story, and also show Jacob grieving over Max more, and gone deeper into Elias, Dani's, and other characters plots. It would make the story feel a little more different from dead space. And they should've made the enemies attacks different. All of the enemies attack patterns are slow, and the only way u can really get killed is from a surprise of an enemy or being overwhelmed by too much enemies. The bosses weren't even hard, they just did a lot of damage. But the game wasn't the best but it's good if u want a cool fun experience, see amazing graphics, gore, and the amazing actors. It feels like it does better as a movie other than a game tho. 7.5 out of 10 in my opinion

[@apollo209]

Fully agree! It would also be good for character depth if they included personal dialog (over the radio) between the main character and the other cast during game-play. 4:10

[@killurbob3295]

They should of let you exist in prison for about an hour, would of added more to the game

[@techelitesareadisease8816]

Yup, it should've been a slower burn on the start. Have the infection also not immediately turn the whole place over (I understand the Warden had essentially ensured the facility was falling apart, but we really don't see much resistance from the guards at all aside from Ferris in the control room frantically ordering his men around). Something kind of similar to DS2 where its pretty clear that, despite the Necromorphs absolutely rampaging through the place, it is clear you aren't basking in the aftermath of the chaos and destruction, you're nearly at the center of it.

[@HumbleMonarchJ]

@@techelitesareadisease8816 yeah. I agree. I don't think it's bcus TCP was short tho since all the DS games are like 9-12 hrs long too. It was really depending on how they started like u said, and also how fast the infection spread. It was just an overwhelming start

[@HumbleMonarchJ]

@@killurbob3295 Fax for sure

[@LegaLImmigrnt]

My main issue with the story is how characters pop in and out of the prison like with Ferris the main antagonist. Sure the guy kills Aliza and is at the start but he's never seen through out the game he just pops in and out for boss fights and dramatic scenes. The Warden however shows up thought out the story in holograms and audio logs slowing revealing his insanity making him feel like he's part of a bigger plot(duh) while Ferris is nothing but a jobber. I wanted Ferris to show up more like the Warden does taunting us in order to remind us that this guy was after us, chasing us, and there's nothing we can do to slow him down truly showing how far superior he is, instead he's just bulletproof and forces us to fight him with our meaty body's until his final form.

[@paulallen2680]

Bro disappears on chapter 2 then came out of nowhere to kill one of the side characters😂

[@hydradominatus3661]

Yeah he should’ve been like Mr X, constantly hunting you down, keeping the pressure on you, forcing you to make detours as well as engaging in smart resource management since you never knew when he could funnel you into an area full of enemies

[@bigmactominay9795]

@@hydradominatus3661 don’t think they could develop that without getting sued by capcom

[@sequin_sandman7149]

@@bigmactominay9795 not literally Mr. X, just a constant threat like Mr. X was.

[@CountChokcula]

@@hydradominatus3661 he should've been a handsome jack

[@dylantortosa7678]

Hey Gingy, actually at 10:27, according to the audio series Callisto Protocol: Helix Station, it actually does confirm that you can implant memories into other individuals through their technology. You got it spot on. Also, that series does provide some backstory, although I don't believe that important story context should be explained outside the game itself, but I thought you'd should know. Keep up the great work!

[@dylantortosa7678]

P.S.- This also applies to the security robots as well since they can access memories as well to identify individuals.

[@mariobadia4553]

It's almost like that should have been in the game but the developers got lazy just like they did with designing god-awful combat system.

[@dylantortosa7678]

@mariobadia4553 combat is 50/50 for most so I won't blame you for not liking it. I kinda dig it but yea it needs a few tweaks. Like Gingy said a few refinements in the core mechanics and we can look back on TCP1 as a stepping stone for a franchise

[@Its_Ghost]

@@mariobadia4553 its like 6 episodes there full length podcast they are too big for a game its basically just a good audio book put headphones in and just listen

[@shazmodeus2795]

The story in this game reminded me so much of The Expanse seasons 1-3. The Expanse: a mysterious alien thing was discovered while mining on Jupiter's moon, Io. A shady secretive cabal exposes a large population of an asteroid colony to the thing just to watch what happens and to learn. They try to blame the attack on the Outer Planets Alliance (OPA). As the story progresses you discover that the shady cabal is trying to use the thing to evolve humanity. Callisto Protocol: a mysterious alien thing was discovered while mining on Jupiter's moon, Callisto. A shady secretive cabal exposes a large population of a colony on Europa to the thing just to watch what happens and learn. They try to blame the attack on the Outer Way. As the story progresses you discover that the shady cabal is trying to use the thing to evolve humanity.

[@SpaceMan-1998]

In The Expanse, the alien thing was actually discovered on Phoebe, one of Saturn’s moons. They then later moved it to Io to do research on it. But yeah, lotsa similarities here.

[@jameswest6232]

As a concept, I like the idea of melee combat in a horror game since it forces you to get up close to monsters and potentially reinforces hectic, caught on the back foot feeling. The problem here is that the combat is so bare bones that it feels like a bad rythme time game

[@chuckmann7127]

The game feels confused whether it wants to be a dismemberment shooter like Dead Space or a melee combat oriented zombie survivalist like Dying Light.

[@Lucivius27]

There was an older indie game that is Dead Space inspired but melee I just forgot the title of it as it was many years ago.

[@mattd5240]

Condemned did a pretty good job with horror melee for the time.

[@GoBuddieGo]

One way they could've improved the melee combat would be giving us a dedicated dodge button similar to The Last of Us 2. Dodging in this game is fine with one opponent but throw in several and it can at times be a tad annoying.

[@DinoDave150]

@@Lucivius27 Was it Negative Atmosphere?

[@alexhuynh7563]

I don't even have any interest in half the games you review but I watch ALL of your videos because of how clearly you explain things. Your ability to communicate with words is extraordinary. Thanks for another great video Gingy!

[@Destroyerofnations]

I honestly really hope they don't give up on this. The story and universe is interesting so far and the art style for all the weapons, gear, armor, etc. is just amazing. This series really has potential to be among the greats.

[@Revan-eb1wb]

how is the story interesting? It is a generic zombie /evil scientist / guys in suit story. Nothing original

[@techelitesareadisease8816]

@@Revan-eb1wb I hope in the event of a sequel they lean more into the fact that this is an alien disease. Totally change up the enemy design, with the explanation being that Black Iron's strain of the biophage was practically on life support due to all the testing they were doing with a limited supply before the outbreak. Don't just do fungus-zombies.

[@Revan-eb1wb]

@@techelitesareadisease8816 I doubt that this game even gets a sequel. so I wont bother and waste time about thinking how it could continue

[@techelitesareadisease8816]

@@disintegr8er_232 lore legitimately means nothing if the aesthetic doesn't match. The infected could be put in a fungus zombie film set on modern earth and you wouldn't think "oh alien." Look at how unique the necromorphs were, look at how generic the biophage zombies are. Lean into the fact these are spawned from alien weirdness. Make them not look like a generic zombie infection.

[@Destroyerofnations]

@@Revan-eb1wb If that's all you got out of the story then I'm sorry to hear that. What I saw was a shadowy cabal of cult like members putting people through hell to see who comes out on top to further Mankind's evolution. Using companies like the UJC to not only test this but have ample subjects It doesn't have to be wholly original, which is practically impossible nowadays, to be interesting.

[@StarkeRealm]

One of the original concepts for Dead Space was a prison escape. This is still, somewhat, visible in the structure of the final game, with the overall plot focusing on escaping the Ishimura. So, the idea that Callisto feels like a replication of Dead Space 1 probably comes from Callisto being (effectively) a rough draft of Dead Space 1.

[@suraventri2544]

That would've been cool, a space ship prison is always fun.

[@theonetruezog555]

If they do extend the story into a sequel, it’d be interesting to explore Dani as a playable character. The fact she escaped gives the writers the option to expand the world building in a new location, and her CORE data link with Jacob opens up a ton of narrative potential. Maybe she can still communicate with him, or maybe she gets the occasional memory bleed into her consciousness. Jacob’s fate at the end of TCP is uncertain; Dani could bring her character arc full circle by going on a quest to find him. He could even be captured by the Circle to be experimented on as the new Subject Alpha and become the antagonist. There’s a lot of potential with what was left at the end of the game.

[@matodragonespor5000]

Something I wish is that the game could take a little more time to develop its characters and environment. I think that it rushes the sotry sometimes, for example, at the begining, Jacob gets arrested, spends a few minutes in his cell unconscious and everything has gone to hell already. Imagine if the game did something similar to Riddick Escape from Butcher Bay or Deus Ex Criminal Past DLC, and let you see the live in the prison, talk with other prisoners, guards, plan some kind of escape, reach some sewers or maintenance tunnels and then you see there's something down there and when you try to flee whatever is chasing you, you get captured by Ferris, and then the biophages attack.

[@Lajakill]

Early in Dead Space's development, the setting of being trapped in a prison was at the forefront, until it was later dropped for the Ishimora, I feel that Callisto Protocol tried to shoehorn in that original premise too much. The studio wanted to create Dead Space again, but wasn't able to take anything that made that series unique and amazing. It feels like Callisto Protocol got the leftovers in regards of the story and world.

[@BedroomBully88]

They should’ve just made “Not so dead space”

[@VincentGonzalez-k2j]

Bro can’t even spell ishimura correctly 🤡🤦🏽‍♂️😭

[@bradysmith4405]

I haven’t played this game yet. I do kinda like that they set it all in our solar system without faster than light travel though. I feel like our solar system is sorta underutilized in sci-fi. Especially because ftl probably isn’t even possible no matter how advanced we get.

[@nhlcbj]

It feels like a lot of AAA games are trying way too hard to be like movies they leave the fun parts of the gameplay by the wayside.

[@iramak4195]

I mean its a type of storytelling I see no issue with that. It depends on how you do it.

[@nhlcbj]

@@iramak4195 i agree, in Callisto’s case I was thinking it would be like the original Alien in terms of tone and plot. From what I’ve heard all the action bits take it in the opposite direction. Another example is GOW Ragnarok; I wanted to like it as much as the last game but the writing and especially the dialogue killed it for me. It went from being a Norse epic ala The Northman to a mid range marvel movie. It wouldn’t bother me nearly as much if games didn’t cost $70 a piece and renting from a video store was still a option. It’s like buying a more expensive movie ticket, you’re gambling wether you’ll enjoy it or not. I’m replaying Ghost of Tsushima right now and it hits that balance between game and cinema perfectly imo. Part of it is design and the other part is personal taste. In the end you like what you like.

[@Ar1AnX1x]

the thing I love about Dead Space's story is that despite it being very narrow and short, it's perfect and intentionally leaves as much as it can to your imagination and this trick of leaving it to your imagination is perfect for Horror and specially Cosmic Horror because we humans are great at making something we don't understand way more scary than it actually could be, specially if you have a decent imagination its gonna run wild with the little information the game gives you, and the other great part of it is that its already based off of other Masterpieces like Alien and Event Horizon, it's a lot easier to make a great story if its inspired and based on other already perfectly working stories.

[@blackzero1956]

I'd be surprised if while playing anyone thought of there being a potentially more disturbing story than what Dead Space turned out to be. Those Brethren Moons are fucking creepy.

[@StayUPFreddie]

Alien and Event Horizon are classics. Such good movies.

[@CountChokcula]

dead space 1 wasn't a short game lol

[@Ar1AnX1x]

@@StayUPFreddie Event Horizon is one of the original lovecraftian horror movies, this was back when lovecraftian horror wasn't mainstream as far as I know.

[@Ar1AnX1x]

@@CountChokcula the game is long but the story is compact, and that's a good thing, its intentionally like that, lovecraftian horror is about leaving thing to your imagination rather than explaining everything.

[@rodneyabrett]

For me it was more about how the story was told than the story itself. You can still tell a generic story in a really interesting way. The characters didn't feel lived in that world. They almost felt like they weren't even there. Might as well have all been hologram recordings. I don't know if the actors were expensive by the hour, but they were barely around.

[@houseofwolves1967]

First, also if you didn't know the callisto protocol was what dead space was originally supposed to be before it was changed to dead space.

[@redluke8119]

Damn you did beat me

[@arg_9584]

That’s cool

[@GamersRowTheFourth]

Thank god we got dead space instead

[@666slateran666]

What does this even mean?

[@liquidsweg4858]

@@666slateran666 callisto was originally what the story and such of dead space was supposed to be but they went into a different direction

[@solonocphoenix]

In my opinion the story started in the end of the game, it's like they going for to turn this to a series, i really hope they do CP2 :)

[@WaveForceful]

I agree, just as the game felt like it was getting started, it ended. It did have great moments though. The blind enemies were great fun to fight.

[@enocescalona]

one of my main problems is that Warden Cole and Dani are honestly idiotic: 1) Cole is allowed to do whatever he wants...just because. He actually should have just continued testing, they might have gotten a breakthrough, but the game seems to portray him as having succeded with his "Alpha" monstrosity. All he needed to do is test if say, Ferris can react well enough. That is it, no need to destroy the billion dollar prison for stupid reasons. People even say he's mad, like the space illuminati and yet they allow him to do it? It just happens just because. 2) Dani acts unlikeable and then we are supposed to think she was a good person? She hypocritically boards Jacob's ship with armed people, blatantly willing to kill. Jacob fights back by spacing her and yet he's the bad guy to her and acts all "don't trust him." She basically mocks and desecrates Elias's corpse. And again, we are supposed to think Jacob is actually bad because he unknowingly sent helped the virus spread? I am at least glad you aren't saying he's the "main antagonist" for literally doing his job.

[@chuckmann7127]

So there are a bunch of questions I have about this game's story that I want to see if chat can answer. 1. Is the infection a parasite or a virus, and how does it spread outside "facehuggers"? 2.Why was Jacob asleep for the entire outbreak? Presumably the outbreak took place over a day or two so he should have been awake by then. 3.Why did the Warden want to imprison Jacob? 4. How did Dani find Jacob's ship and why did she specifically assume he was hauling bio-weapons. 5. There are people shown outside frozen mid action; how did this happen? If the planet was so cold to the point that people would instantly freeze to the elements, Jacob and the other infected could not survive outside. 6.What is the stuff on the walls? It's clearly supposed to be something like the "corruption" from Dead Space, but I saw no explanation.

[@vatanak8146]

it is a virus who use the larvae as its main spread vector

[@pokumoku2092]

Disclaimer: I haven't actually played the game myself since my computer is a bit of a potato. This is just from stuff I've read and this video. 3. The Warden imprisoned Jacob as a way to attempt to tie up loose ends. Jacob and his partner Max knew they were smuggling nasty stuff around, and Max was connecting the dots to the various outbreaks, so when Jacob fell into the Warden's lap he took the opportunity to get him out of the way. If you meant "why didn't the Warden just have Jacob killed," uhhhhhhhh..... probably because he's a video game villain and therefore contractually bound to make questionable decisions. I don't know. 4. Much like Max, Dani and company had also seen connections between outbreaks and Jacob's delivery routes. Presumably, they'd checked shipping records in affected areas and seen that a certain ship had made deliveries shortly before the outbreaks started. That doesn't really explain the jump from "hey, this guy keeps showing up beforehand" to "he's delivering bioweapons;" maybe the areas with outbreaks didn't get much traffic, so there's not many other ways the pathogen could have been snuck in? Again, I haven't and in practice can't play the game, so I don't know if there are more concrete answers or data I don't have that would point to them in audio logs/dialogue.

[@chuckmann7127]

@@pokumoku2092 First answer makes some sense. However, there was only one off-world outbreak so Dani could not have connected Jacob to multiple outbreaks.

[@DrWolfensteinz]

To point 2, I imagine the shock of the CORE implant install and his subsequent flatlining and revival really took a toll on his body.

[@jonathonmaxwell2973]

Also most likely COrE impact might be highly illegal since since he shouted you suppose to be a doctor right before the they put it on.

[@0verWay]

Similarities to Dead Space aside, I feel like they crammed the entire story and lore of 3 games into 1. Imagine they'd taken Dead Space 1 to 3 and crammed it all in a 7 hour game. The story itself in CP isn't bad, but it feels waaaaay to crammed and the pacing is way too much off. The entire outbreak happened way too fast, they could've built in more prisoners trying to escape; more security forces (some trying to restore order, some trying to escape) etc. Imagine if you could've chosen to help guards or prisoners against each other and the monsters, or hell: sacrifice them to bypass harder sections to reduce enemy counters and so forth. The story could've been a LOT more to also help the game differ from Dead Space even further. There's already a prison-horror-action game that mastered this craft: The Suffering. Callisto could've been like that game, but in space.

[@winstonsmith3703]

Man the story of the audiologs (helix station) is so much better then the actual games story... Was really hoping it would be of similar quality.

[@vladimirvojtaml]

Agreed this game arguably focuses on the wrong thing. The outbreak is what takes center stage and the way it is presented is frankly boring. We do not see anybody else than the 5 main characters and that itself makes the world feel dead. Everybody else is just brainless Biophage for you to kill. Why not insert some segments where you could help prisoners or guards? Then this would be later explored with each having different outcome later in the game. If we could see the world and its inhabitants that would make us care. We should also see how Black Iron operated before the outbreak. Dead Space did a great job of worldbuilding though logs, characters and environment. I wanted to see how world looks without the Markers turning everybody to crazy people and Necromorphs. Calisto could be great if the game would allows us to connect to the world but sadly it does not. Same for the Black Iron prison. I do not care about the place at all. We never experience anything about the prison apart from the CORE installation. There was so much potential to show us how bad the prisoners are treated and how the scientists torture them with the injections of the larvae and various experiments to control them.

[@Gingy]

Yeah I never mentioned it but 100% Helix Station was incredible.

[@mariobadia4553]

@@Gingy you should tell us that the developers didn't really give a s*** if they put literally zero effort into the game story and writing. Hell they put zero effort into the boss fight since you only fight the same guy four times and then you fight a s***** final boss that was obvious from the beginning. They also put no thought into the extremely bare-bones really combat. You know it really seems like they forgot how to make a game be a good video game instead of a good looking interactable movie.

[@Revan-eb1wb]

agree. Helix station was great and it was super interesting. THe game's story how ever is so generic and boring

[@samt5716]

As far as Callisto's air goes, I'm thinking its probably just supposed to be really thin like the air at the top of mt everest. So you could be fine if you aren't moving around too much and don't require as much oxygen.

[@theGazzer]

Brooo its been like 5 days (if that) since the game came out and youve already finished it and made a god teir analysis. I swear youre a speed runner bro

[@crowvizion9588]

It’s been one day lmao

[@SubparLiberator]

book inbound: I feel like im one with the minority of people who have been enjoying the game BUT im really happy you mentioned the PUBG relationship being axed late in development, because it seems like they didnt really know where to go with the whole story. let me explain- Spoilers- I called the twist within the first few minutes when Jacobs uses the callsign "Charon" in the intro. Charon being the ferryman of the dead, it couldnt have been more obvious he was transporting the larve/bio pods. HE EVEN KNOWS THIS as shown by a cutscene at the very end of the game, but they play straight it all the way through like he has no idea his involvement. They even go as far as to detour through the ship w danny and check the cargo as this little "see he wasnt involved after all. gotcha" moment. making the guilty piolt reveal later cheap. also you mentioned elias and how his arc seemed out of place. I thought the same thing. He shows up as one of the only alive and uninfected in the block, and never actively contributes. He gives jacob all the weapons, and somehow always meets us at the main goals even though its like we always have to detour through danger. The classic "i need to man the controls. Ill see you there" split up set up. One odd thing i noticed was the first how elias whos whole thing is knowing the prison inside and out, but the first elevator takes us down instead of up. He says youll just have to take the long way. Why didnt Jacob go up? I say its because Jacob obviously DOESNT know his way around and im convinced elias didnt actually exist in the original story. Later Elias gives him a hologram through the underground, but he never sends any use info from the computers he "has" to stay back for? surely theres a map in the system. But that wouldve provides a marker system like dead space, and with the game being so linear, it wouldve shown hard. When falling in the elevator he says to jam the brakes. There just so happens to be a bar in front of us, almost like jacob is talking through him for us the player. When getting to the dome overlook he says "tell us what you see so we can help" as though jacob has an audience other than just him? these weird things go all the way until we free Danny and then it all changes when she acknowledged Elias, after that they cram in this murder-self defense story and kill him off. i believe elias was supposed to be a nicole-type character from the OG dead space. A guide who is never reallly alive. That would explain his character being so half-baked. Jacob emphasizes rubbing his head for the first hour or so of the game at multiple points. Elias says straight up that "they scramble your brain, but you get used to it" The cliff hanger at the end with Jacob and the Dr. saying there may still be a way off before a jump scare also lessens the sacrifice to keep sequels open. almost exactly like DS3s ending. Theres plenty more, but ill stop there. If im mistaken please let me know, because some things really felt out of place. Like 3 stories in one that just settled out to "lets just do dead space again", leaving the story shallow

[@braedenhogencamp1325]

2:02 to make a correction here. It's noted that Callisto protocol was the original idea for dead space. The original idea for dead space was the scifi prison break in a zombie apocalypse and slowly changed into scifi ship repair in a zombie apocalypse.

[@austinclark5278]

I personally love the game but they mossed the ball on somethings. But i think this franchise still has potential and shouldn’t be scrapped. I hope they learn from mistakes made and improve on sequels if it gets one.

[@WaveForceful]

It’s getting dlc that expands the story but yes if needs a sequel. Great game and has great potential.

[@discoinferno701]

I feel like this game should’ve been longer and had a hour or more buildup in black iron before the outbreak starts to establish characters and the setting and maybe doing what the dead space remake is doing and make black iron a seamless interconnected place and maybe having a hub where survivors and the cast can catch a break and maybe give you the option to get to know the characters and give it a nice rhythm like the first dead space game of repairing and exploring a part of a ship and then heading back to the tram and cut to the next chapter

[@simongravel7407]

I really wanted to meet more survivors.

[@jakub3451]

In one of the audio logs you can hear that they shut down teraforming in middle of it. Since callisto has storms it probably has some kind of atmosphere. But you probably cant breath in it for long.

[@masterzoroark6664]

And if ya wanna game that is set somewhere near Jupiter and with quite intriguing lore- I recomend Barotrauma. You are a pilot of a submarine on Europa, fighting strange aquatic aliens, interacting with several factions (including two odd cults), fighting for your life as your submarine gets puncutred, boarded or sabotaged, delivering valuable or dangerous cargo and trying to get into the deepst parts of the European Ocean

[@csam9167]

Approuved , Barotrauma is nightmare fuel and complicated in solo but a gem

[@masterzoroark6664]

@@csam9167 as someone who lost like 3 submarines- I can agree, it's fkin annoying in solo. But I do love the idea behind the world and lore you can read about (plus speculations on several things involving the wildlife)

[@csam9167]

@@masterzoroark6664 i prefer solo for the atmosphere ... if i remember correctly. Its been a while since i didn't play. But i remember that with my friend we were like 3 and it was too wholesome like "we come this far. We're gonna make it !" And not the absolute nightmare that it should have been

[@masterzoroark6664]

@@csam9167 Never played with people before, if it comes to Barotrauma- but from Gmod rp expiriance, ya really need people to get into character if you wanna make things feel scary. OR well, situation needs to be so fucked that everyone is geniuenly shitting their pants

[@matijasostojic4288]

Praise the honk mother.

[@Stormmblade]

You missed some audiologs, because it was stated that a few billions were spent to terraform Callisto only for it to be cancelled partway to completion. Hence there probably is oxygen in the atmosphere, just in too low a pressure to breathe longterm (like on Everest). It is disappointing that there wasn't more worldbuilding done in terms of the scope of Humanity outside of Callisto, but granted it's an isolated prison in the middle of a zombie-ish virus outbreak, that's kind of to be expected. Here's hoping the story content fixes that and expands on the characters

[@theonetruezog555]

I’d accept that as a viable explanation for Jacob breathing without a mask in the beginning and Elias succumbing to his injuries instead of asphyxiation, but it doesn’t explain why Jacob has such a fraught battle with his helmet visor. The game is trying to create tension that he is seconds away from death, before oxygen regulation is restored. It seems totally incongruous with the other examples.

[@matijasostojic4288]

@@theonetruezog555 Actually i saw that scene as the Mask or helmet Being damaged in such a way that it just sealed the suit completely And he wasn't getting any oxygen.

[@theonetruezog555]

@@matijasostojic4288 interesting take, to me though it looked like the visor was jammed and his face was completely exposed to the elements before the visor glass came down. If there was oxygen to breath he should’ve been able to take it in rather than choke to death. Feels like an oversight on the devs’ part just trying to get a dramatic space suit cliché in.

[@matijasostojic4288]

@@theonetruezog555 But why would he pry it with a knife. To me it was looked kinda Like it was sucked to his face or sealed completely And when he used the knife he pried it Open so it could properly close without suffocating him. Sort of Like if You would suck a glass to Your face And it would stick on but the moment You separate it from Your face even a little it Pops off.

[@chomosuke0720]

My favorite part was the end when Jacob said "Winner winner chicken dinner"

[@pegaferno4429]

YES! 23 minutes of quality! Can’t wait to start this

[@pegaferno4429]

2 seconds in: “Dammit”

[@sulimanthemagnificent4893]

50/50 odd's this ain't going to fulfill it's potential, 60-80% of the community have gripes with ALOT of the game, if it isn't popular, and isn't selling, it isn't getting a sequel.

[@ВладиславБулаев-л3э]

Dead on arrival. Big shame.

[@bsnook981]

I hope he eventually does the metro trilogy. I have no words for how much I enjoys those three games.

[@blink8120]

I don’t remember when I found your channel but I’m glad I did. You’ve quickly become a channel that I watch new videos right away! Keep up the insightful analysis and looking forward to the next!

[@creamboyfuengshwei]

It's such a shame too because I love the look of everything, and the immersion - like how Jacob keeps all the weapons visibly on him. And the graphics my god. Get a better story and gameplay and you're set.

[@simongravel7407]

I took well over 50 screenshots, some in-game, some in photo mode.

[@bigbrother6505]

When I saw the warden talking about humanity not being able to survive out in space it made me think of the Ousters from the Hyperion Cantos they basically modified themselves genetically and mechanically to be able to survive the vacuum of space

[@caseygoddard]

The real moon of Callisto only has 12.6 percent the surface gravity of Earth. They could make up some excuse like "magnetic boots" to explain why low gravity isn't an issue onboard space ships or inside the prison complex, but once your out on the surface this fact should have really come into play. Specifically, having to navigate around chasms and fences should have been trivial since you character could vault over them with ease. It could have been an interesting change of pace from a gameplay standpoint...more of an open sandbox arena...also, zombies coming flying at you through the snowstorm would have been absolutely terrifying.

[@torrentarrow9097]

Honestly I am interested where the story goes from here like sure it was bland but I always like mysterious alien stuff and always like to see it more explored and explained over time

[@ahmadarshad100]

Man when the game launched first thing on my mind was your video on it and its finally here

[@wood1066]

They did release 6 audio episodes on their channel leading up to the release of the game that has a lot of world building.

[@dragonbornexpress5650]

Cool story; Why couldn't they put those in the game?

[@wood1066]

@@dragonbornexpress5650 because each one is over 20 minutes long. It was basically a prequel movie like Dead Space Downfall.

[@ridleysomeliana-lauer5814]

Well… the DLC seems to have firmly shut down the idea of a sequel, unfortunately

[@Marwin08]

No, Dani is still alive and Jacob could still be saved

[@ridleysomeliana-lauer5814]

@@Marwin08 Jacob is very much not able to be saved lol

[@danielgeronimo5538]

Imagine if Ferris becomes the "Hunter" of Callisto Protocol, which evolves as the game goes. First a thinking person, thus easier to evade. Then he mutates and turn into a monster identical to the monster pursuing Isaac

[@Melodiio]

while i do really like this game you summed up my thoughts on the story and small holes perfectly 😭💕 and while i do love dead space i really hope they do branch out and surpass what they did to really make it its own thing

[@SalKhayer]

I wonder if game devs and writers watch videos like this one to understand their endusers better. This video is MASSIVELY valuable for any prospective game dev. Great constructive criticism, and not just talking about the problems but rather proposing solutions and looking ahead to the future of the IP.

[@masterzoroark6664]

Idk how much of Visceral is in the studio who made Callisto Protocol, so far I know there is one- the writter for Dead Space (I think)- and my thinking is that people gave Callisto so much clout just because this one person, disregarding that Dead Space was a group venture, it was not just a One Man Show And it shows in the lost potential of this game- the overcinematicised gameplay, the story that's "skin deep Dead Space" and the game that isn't even scary. Yeah, people still have some hope- since Negative Atmosphere is still in works - but at this point I think people should just go buy and play Signalis if they want an intriguing story, horrible monsters, horror and no hand holding. I will stand by this- Signalis is far more worth your time than Callisto Protocol. Addendum: excuse me... what the fuck is the lore of PUBG? And why does it have "Deep lore" ? It's a fkin BR title, all it needs is a small snipet explaining why people kill each other. Big storytelling doesn't work in BR titles- they are too scaterbrained and too unfocused to do a coheasive story. If someone wants a big, deep story- then sorry, you can't make a BR game, unless you want to deal lore as cards or some other outside the game method.

[@lolilikedragons3528]

Lol as soon as i heard the callisto protocol use the "from the creators of dead space" marketing tactic, i immediately wrote it off untill it came out. Back4blood did the same thing and flopped and here we see this game do the exact same thing and fkop. Nice to see i was proven right :)

[@dogus4728]

There's around 30 people from Visceral

[@ReichLife]

@@lolilikedragons3528 Not really valid comparison. Callisto protocol does what Dead Space, only though skin dip. Back4blood? That felt like a scam in comparison to Left4Dead.

[@masterzoroark6664]

@@ReichLife Tho both still tried to piggyback on associated success of previous game. Idk about Callisto, but Back4Blood failed due to how Turtle Rock managed the game, seen some say that Valve was the reason why L4D held together so well. For Callisto it might have been closed to a way too lofty idea or an idea that works better for non-interactive medium

[@DewaKrishna_]

Might just me but a BR game having in-depth lore isn't always necessarily a bad thing. A good example is Apex Legends, the writing and lore is there and substantial enough for the people who care to enjoy it, but they don't forcefully shove it in your face if you just want to play a BR game

[@SmoughTown]

Great video but I interpreted a couple of beats different: Mahler's change of heart isn't strange because you find an audio log of her, sounding horrified by the Warden's actions re Europa and the Protocol. In essence she is lad based, and while is fine experimenting in a closed environment, she finds the idea of unleashing the virus to be 'madness'. This also ties into subject zero - this was a result of the original outbreak 75 years ago in arcas - so again she didnt have anything to do with Europa, she was just building off a past tragedy.

[@Gingy]

Hey Smough glad to see you here. I may have worded things a bit wrong but my intention was to say “Dr Mahler having a change of heart may sound strange but it’s actually not”. I think I’m hindsight maybe rewording the script and providing evidence with the audio log may have helped prevent this confusion. Apologies for that, and great job on the Elden Ring content. Your consistency is unmatched.

[@SmoughTown]

@@Gingy Not at all dude, I think it's a great video and had your video bookmarked for the moment I finally finished the game (I found the stealth bit to go on too long). Thanks so much my friend, it's crazy you even recognise me, always been a massive fan. Thanks so much for the years of stellar work!

[@Charlie-cq3qb]

i found the max difficulty really made the game a lot better, like 5 times better, the combat was so much closer and a lot more tense, because of how quick something could fly around the corner and fuck you up, the grunts seem to throw a lot more mix ups in the fighting, which will catch you out very often.

[@brendonobrains]

I’m glad that people are accepting of the game, even with its early issues with story and performance. I think a sequel can definitely help. Definitely expand the political implications of the UJC and Black Iron, the Outer Way and the space-wide reveal of the infection that was released on Europa and Callisto. And also the combat. DEFINITELY improve the shallow puddle that is combat.

[@brendonobrains]

also, I think we can be confident that a DLC will be coming that continues Jacob’s story

[@LucciClubStudios]

Thank you big dawg for making this video I didn’t want to buy the game but I sure as hell wanted to know about this story tho

[@jfkshotfirst636]

Unfortunately for this game, it's dlc pretty much killed any and all hope for a sequel with the main character as spoilers alert. He dies or has been dead, so there can be a sequel just not with him. Maybe Danni, though.

[@jasonyang6875]

nice video, just pointing out that in the beginning you mentioned Europa as a planet, but it's actually another moon of Jupiter, not planet.

[@thearizonaranger4079]

There were 6 boss fights, Wich 4 of them were the two headed infected 💀💀😭

[@Scrappy_ill_fold_ya_Doo]

The podcast gives a backstory to everything leading up to this game. Apparently, some mugger was trying to rob Elias of his wife's wedding ring. He killed the mugger (in self defense), but was still sent the prison. The podcast has great reviews and definitely expands the story and made everything make sense. What they should've done was put everything in the podcast as recordings or gave us a separate game, kind of like MGS V ground zero.

[@ivantsang2156]

Need a DLC as a security guard character in this game for part of the story

[@brunopelletier5701]

also it really sucks that you cant listen to audiolog on the fly you have to stay stuck in the menu

[@DrWolfensteinz]

I don't know why they did that as it was something that was in Dead Space. Didn't even bother to stop to listen to them as it felt like the flow of the game was suffering for it.

[@suraventri2544]

Apparently you can on PC by tabbing out? Dunno about controller, I never tried :/

[@opticalduck2587]

I feel like from the first hour or 2 into the game you could absolutely tell where the story was going

[@charlesmartiniii1405]

I mean its almost beat for beat dead space, and that halo flood movie with the prison. I mean this stories been done alot

[@petercraigg1]

Is that Sam Witwer? The guard holding the protagonist with the telekinesis? And I think Dani played on that show "The Boys" that super hero show were the super heros are the bad guys and there's a superman knock-off called homelander.

[@DrWolfensteinz]

Yep, Sam Witwer plays Captain Ferris. Dani is played by Karen Fukuhara, who does play Kimiko in the Boys.

[@willhopkins8210]

Callisto: "Hey man, can I see your notes?" Dead Space: "Sure, but change it a little so it's not obvious."

[@serlistogiette4168]

Somehow I pieced together the full story like 1/3 into the game and I was very proud of myself.

[@BradyRamaker]

Dead Space 1: what if Resident Evil, but Aliens and the Thing? Callisto Protocol: what if Dead Space, but Resident Evil?

[@tento4_]

I really like your analysis overall about the game Your optimism is very thoughtful

[@iprovedthem5527]

I salute you for finishing this because the combat is such a huge chore and I managed the first four chapters before dropping it. I watched a couple of videos that summarized the story of the game and the DLC and it's a real shame because the story has potential even if it is just a blatant rip of Dead Space stealing elements from all 3 games. I guess Glenn and Steve had a few good ideas each and didn't think beyond those.

[@Hated1977]

Literally in the first scene when they tell you to check the cargo hanger for a yellow light, I looked at my buddy and said I bet he was the reason the outbreak on Europa happened cuz of the radioactive symbol on the containers. Then we laughed because there's no way they'd make it that easy to guess the plot. Then made it halfway and only saw the med supplies and I actually double guessed my self but then the vision in Danis memory and I was laughing my ass off I couldn't have been the only one who saw that shit coming in the first 10 minutes of the game it was so cliché but for some reason I still really enjoyed the game even with its flaws I'm hoping the dlc does some good for the game.

[@Marluxia73]

12:40 I do think a sequel could “iron” this out. I see what you did there lol

[@mrsgtshepardxd6193]

4:32 As for the air conundrum. I chalked it up to something like the Avatar where the air is sort of there but poisonous. I mean their mask they wear at the beginning of the game are damn near identical to the ones in Avater. plus I believe it was mentioned at one point humanity was trying to terraform Calisto.

[@jeffumbach]

It's still super inconsistent as it's supposed to cold enough that people froze standing up yet when Jacob awakens on the crashed ship which was not sealed up (especially not after Farris cut his way in) Jacob shows zero issues breathing nor do any of them seem to be feeling the cold at all as this video showed.

[@Viscte]

Well, Callisto actually has a fair amount of oxygen in its atmosphere. Also recently scientists believe the moon also has an ozone.

[@John-nb6ep]

Looks like this game is destined to go down like like The Order 1886 with it's popularity and reception.

[@dragonbornexpress5650]

Probably not THAT hated, but I don't think this game is getting a sequel.

[@alexanderpadilla2832]

I personally enjoyed the game but it sucks seeing how it was unable to deliver the expectations people had. I sometimes wonder how these things happen when an experienced team who have been making games make something so promising but end up short especially knowing a good amount of devs made the OG dead space. I hope this game gets a sequel and show how awesome this series could be.

[@shakedown3268]

I actually enjoyed the story of Callisto Protocol, though I wished some things got more light shed on them instead of being left ambiguous, maybe that's because they might make a sequel 🤔

[@jinmusic3669]

Honestly, if they fleshed out more parts of the story like everyone else says, it definitely would’ve been a great experience. Also, it doesn’t feel scary at all despite being a horror survival game. Between the atmosphere, the combat system, and even the enemies, there really isn’t that fear and desperation that dead space has throughout the entirety of the game.

[@Sm0k3turt]

The first sentence of this video is perfect. Nice job Gingy

[@Dizaster1995]

you know i never gave the story of callisto much thought (mostly cause i thought it was fine to be honest) but after seeing this i CAN see the issues, but i still enjoy the game regardless ^~^

[@zombiewerewolf9189]

Same here. I didn't bother looking up any of the reviews of this game because I wanted to avoid spoilers and form my own opinion. The game has its flaws but I still enjoy it. Can't wait for New Game+.👍

[@ragemonkey117]

Wasn't the Callisto Protocol confirmed a couple months ago that it was the first draft for Dead Space?

[@haquielpersonal9775]

0:17 Your opening statement to this video is exactly how I felt after completing this game. So much potential, so wasted.

[@MarvelousPhilly]

Yeah, I'm not surprised at this being compared so much to Dead Space. I mean, look who made it. But obviously, more effort was put into the first DS than this. And that came out 2 whole damn generations ago. Other than that, I don't know. I like the game, and I'm enjoying playing it. Just hope they keep this going. Learn from this one, and hope the sequel turns out a lot better.

[@odeon6139]

Tried at one point to reconcile the incoherent and inconsitent oxygen problems with the terraforming efforts, perhaps responsible for a somehow breathable yet harsh atmosphere (like in high altitude or on top of mountains) but when your world building is less convincing than Total Recall's (the OG one) and the infamous scene where Arnold is "suffocating" on Mars' surface while oxygen slowly fills the atmosphere, you gotta ask what's this "renewal of survival horror" IGN, Gamespot and the VG press worldwide lambasted us with for months up to release

[@goomba4200]

Gingy, wtf the game just released. Jk amazing work as always.

[@WaveForceful]

The game was way too short. It ended just as it felt like it was just getting started.

[@deananderson6896]

It felt so much like dead space I kept looking for a plasma cutter upgrade. I also kept having this weird feeling like maybe someone from visceral games made this and since they didn't have the license rights to dead space this is what they could do instead. I also admit I actually thought this could have been in the dead space universe say 300 years before Isaac Clark time. But while the ending was good it killed that idea. Thank you for the video.

[@simongravel7407]

I just made a Google search and Callisto's gravity is more or less 1/8 of Earth. For the game's event to make sense either on Callisto or Europa, one has to assume that the main component of a terraforming project is to install a huge gravity amplifier near the moons' core... LOL

[@suraventri2544]

Eh they had gravity on the ship, so a scifi gravity machine on the planet isn't much of a stretch

[@thirdwordbird3011]

The experiment in BIP was basically a Battle Royale. I think you might be right in saying the IP's were severed very late in development

[@Imdruu]

I was wondering what the story was in this game and kept thinking in my head if you made a video about this game. Literally as soon as I boot up KZbin I get this. Respect the grind and amazing content man!

[@toaolisi761]

Theory#1: the prisoners in Black Iron Prison are PUBG winners. Also, Dani as the protagonist would be interesting. 100% agree with the analysis.

[@thezenithrage1006]

GREAT IDEAS! IF WE could see how they died we could get hints and clues! Like a batman arkam detective vision investigations.

[@Arirezz]

The paramo reference is actually to do with mt paramo in South America, the fastest observed area of evolution, little tid bit for you but exceptional video nonetheless

[@miongskie]

It wasn't less really, it just has that feeling of wanting more and I believe or hope that this is gonna be a trilogy or something to expand on it.

[@paisaboy1173]

PLEASE DO A ANALYSIS OF SIGNALIS!!!

[@BiteSizedProduction]

The most interesting thing in Dead Space 1, IMO, is the plasma cutter AKA the first weapon you're given. Isaac is a engineer, and his weapon is a tool he rigged to cut off limbs from necromorphs, which I have yet to see ANY game set the tone like that. He is not a guard, or enforcer, or anything like that, he BARELY managed to put together something to fight back, he stomps on corpses and beats them with his heavy suit. How could a pilot do the same? While yes, Isaac can pull some feats out of his ass (shooting asteroids), you could reasonably let it pass since he could reasonably understand some parts of it and just hope it works, but Callisto heavily lacking in creativity.

[@Its_Ghost]

i actually agree a ton they should of showed earth or jacob doing some runs back and forth showing how advanced the human species is by showing Europa and callisto like maybe show a the normal side of callisto and then that way u set up ur just a regular guy and then have the crash which makes where u get taken in more depressing ,i noticed there's no human earth stuff even in all the audio logs there all born Europa or some other place i haven't found one that said earth which made me think maybe did earth fail also the ending made me mad because u can tell the "True" ending is coming in the dlc where jacob escapes setting up phase 2 but also the 5 confused me because they just appeared it feels like they expect u to know all this stuff but they don't really explain anything but also there on a moon show the dang moon the hanger part was beautiful i wish there was more outside exploring the actual planet

[@BigBoyMan01]

MY MAN. The game just came out. Did you find a way to compress 10 hours into one?

[@dylantortosa7678]

He did this with God of War Ragnarok he must be immortal and requires no sleep

[@nickscott9379]

Honestly I didn’t play dead space at all. So this was my first experience with a story like this and I enjoyed it, and I was SO HAPPY this wasn’t just another over the shoulder “open-world” game cuz that has gotten so boring to me. But yeah the game is definitely lacking in some areas. I’m also not the best gamer but at the beginning I found the combat to be challenging and satisfying once I got comfortable. It’s was better then just “L1 block-R1 spam” lol love the vids!

[@Tonyrole]

Seems most people didn't like it because they constantly kept comparing it to Dead Space. Since I never played it that might be why I enjoyed the game. Even went through it a 2nd time for the Plat

[@unblessedcoffee1457]

We needed to spend like a month or so in the prison seeing how awful it was, similar to how Butcher Bay starts.

[@nathanhammond5376]

Hey man, love your videos. When are you putting out the Mass Effect 3 video?

[@sno7599]

m8 is uploading so much with such high quality, can't wait to look back on this comment when he has a mil subs

[@garretwoeller7669]

If they make a sequel I want better melee option like a shove and a get off of me option when the swarm like shaking off several grapple attempts

[@pipedreamsz]

The mask issue you bring up is actually quite easy to guess the solution for. It is referenced several times in audio recordings and elsewhere in the story that originally the UJC was attempting to terraform Callisto at some point, having already spend potentially many billions of credits in development. By this logic we can determine that a large portion of Callisto's current artificially created atmosphere is actually oxygen and nitrogen based meaning very little greenhouse effects and possibly even colder weather than is traditionally seen on callisto given that it has an atmosphere that can be experienced now. The snow we see is even potentially oxygen snow. It may be temporarily (very temporary, a few seconds at best) breathable air but the extremely low temperatures would cause extreme difficulty breathing and would eventually freeze anything with water content solid. The inside of the prison likely operates at standard earth atmo pressure and therefore has a relatively high pressure gradient compared to the outside causing the sudden change to suck both Jacob and Elias out the hatch. The reason the cargo ship didn't suffer this when the hole was cut is because it likely operated in a purely O2 environment meaning lower pressurization requirements to allow Max and Jacob to breath. The temperature gradient between the inside and outside would also protect the inside environment from any massive changes quickly, meaning yes, Jacob would be able to breath for a little bit longer than outside. The mask he was given also apparently has some sort of advanced thermal regulation that prevents him from freezing to death. The least sensible thing about the environment would be the storms we see as the sun is too far away at this point to cause the temperature and pressure gradients needed for this. Alternatively jupiters magnetic field could cause this granting protection from deep space radiation. Adding onto this, Europa would be uninhabitable for the same reason because of the radiation zone around jupiter where high energy particles circulate. I agree that the game feels incomplete. To me it just seems like and overly long prologue of some sort where we are introduced to the world, given some key details and then told to kill some zombies. I almost expected the game to continue when Mahler activates the reactor safeties and tells jacob there may be another way off the moon. It seemed like the prologue had finished and the true horror was about to begin.

[@hashen_chamal]

The connection to PUBG is the biggest plot twist.

[@Nade_Kiyari]

🔥🔥🔥 very cool video Gingy

[@cun7us]

I agreed with about 80% of what you said but overall a pretty good analysis. I do think however, that this game should be judged on its own merit rather than compared to Dead Space, even though it's basically a spiritual successor made by the same people. It holds its own quite well. I had some issues with the combat and very tight linear design, as well as the re-used 2-head boss, and the final boss was just like G3 from RE2 remake. Besides those things, I really enjoyed it and I hope they explain more in the DLC.