Summary
When Striking Distance Studios’The Callisto Protocollaunched in 2022, it carried the heavy burden of being a spiritual successor toDead Space, complete with a sci-fi horror setting, grotesque creature design, and a focus on atmospheric tension. Unfortunately, despite its cinematic visuals and technical polish,The Callisto Protocolstruggled to deliver on the same levels that not only definedDead Spacebut also made it a modern standard for sci-fi horror. Now, Bloober Team’s upcoming survival horror gameCronos: The New Dawnis considered to be yet another spiritual successor toDead Space, but it will need to avoidThe Callisto Protocol’s biggest fumblesif it hopes to achieve greater success.
WithCronos: The New Dawnnot only sharing DNA withThe Callisto ProtocolbutDead Spaceas well, expectations are understandably high for it to rise above the former and at least be on par with the latter. WhileThe Callisto Protocolmight have specialized in style,Cronos: The New Dawnneeds to deliver on substance. There are a number of different things it could do to not just mimicDead Spacebut also improve uponThe Callisto Protocol’s approach, but narrative, combat, and enemy variety are arguably the most important elements it needs to target.
How Cronos: The New Dawn Can Avoid The Callisto Protocol’s Biggest Mistakes
Cronos Needs to Deliver on the Story Front Where The Callisto Protocol Fell Short
One thing that was most intriguing aboutThe Callisto Protocolwas its premise. Set in the year 2320 on Callisto, one of Jupiter’s moons,The Callisto Protocolsaw players assuming the role of Jacob Lee, a cargo pilot working for the United Jupiter Company. During a transport mission, Jacob’s ship is boarded by members of a group known as the “Outer Way,” which triggers the ship’s crash landing on Callisto. Both Jacob and Dani Nakamura, the Outer Way’s leader, survive the crash but are apprehended by Black Iron Prison’s security and incarcerated without trial. Jacob then awakens to find the prison overrun by mutant creatures known as “biophages,” which leads him on a journey to uncover a conspiracy involving the UJC’s experiments with alien larvae to accelerate human evolution.
WithCronos: The New Dawnnot only sharing DNA withThe Callisto ProtocolbutDead Spaceas well, expectations are understandably high for it to rise above the former and at least be on par with the latter.
Unfortunately, despite such a compelling premise, the story overall felt a bit derivative, unoriginal, and predictable, drawing heavily from the same sci-fi tropes players have likely seen in other games and even films. Character development was a significant shortcoming as well, keeping players from forming meaningful bonds with many ofThe Callisto Protocol’s characters. Finally, there was limited lore and worldbuilding inThe Callisto Protocol, despite a convincing atmosphere, making the game more about the present conflict than the past that created it.
Fortunately,Cronos: The New Dawnalready looks to improve on this area whereThe Callisto Protocolfell short, with itspost-apocalyptic 1980s Poland settingand time travel and a mysterious organization known as the Collective at the heart of its story. While not much else is currently known about its story,Cronosalready looks setup for something with more depth than whatThe Callisto Protocoloffered, but whether that turns out to be the case remains to be seen.
Cronos Should Ensure It Has More Variety in Its Combat Than The Callisto Protocol
A shallow story is one thing, but perhaps an even greatercriticism ofThe Callisto Protocollies in its combat. For some reason,The Callisto Protocolplaces a significant emphasis on melee combat, despite being a spiritual successor toDead Space, which prioritized ranged dismemberment mechanics.The Callisto Protocolalso lacked enemy variety by and large, making combat feel repetitive, and its AI was far too predictable to maintain the suspense of what should be tense combat moments. As such,Cronos: The New Dawnneeds to ensure it offers players plenty of variety in its playstyle and enemies.
Cronos: The New Dawnis currently slated for a 2025 release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
IfCronos: The New Dawnwants to succeedwhereThe Callisto Protocolfailed, then it needs to get the fundamentals right. That means combat that doesn’t get old after the first few encounters, a fleshed-out story that actually makes use of its worldbuilding, and enemy encounters that keep players thinking instead of simply going through the motions.The Callisto Protocolalready showed what happens when a game looks the part but lacks the depth to back it up, andCronos: The New Dawncan use its stage as an opportunity for a better performance.
