When it comes to horror, there are two things that are particularly terrifying: monsters, and the endless void of space where nobody can hear you scream. It goes wi?thout saying that combining these two things w?ill always result in a truly scary experience. 

Horror games set in space are a bit of a niche, and there are surprisi??ngly few that are worth playing. Of course there are some gems out there, and they never fail to leave you feeling that particular kind of fear that only the darkness of the universe can instill. The following 10 horror games set ?in space are sure to leave you feeling on edge.

Doom 3

Set on Mars in the year 2145, Doom 3 is technicall??y a reboot of the series and ignores all of the events from prior games. It’s semi-linear, and you don’t just encounter the usual horrors, but also a number of useful and friendly NPCs as well. 

Possibly the scariest thing about Doom 3 is how utterly dark it is, leaving you in a huge amount of suspense while expecting pretty much anything to jump out at you from around every co??rner. Originally, you’d need to choose between holding a weapon or holding the? flashlight, but the BFG editions put an end to this by making the Duct Tape Mod a standard feature. 

Alien: Isolation

As if trying to survive in space against a veritable army of murderous aliens wasn’t enough, Alien: Isolation added the horrifying gameplay aspect of mic detection. I will never forget the late nights I spent? holding in sneezes to avoid getting devoured (it never worked, and ??I woke up my family a lot), or equally the fun times running into a room while my friend played and shouting before quickly running away again while they died yelling obscenities. 

Sadly, this was only a feature on consoles, but the horror experience somehow managed to not be cheapened on PC either. Even if they can’t hear you, the aliens of Alien are truly scary to witness and trying to run away from them?? is something every gamer should experience at least once. 

Prey

Morgan Yu is the player controlled character in Prey, stuck a??board the ??Talos after the Typhon escape and wreak havoc in the confined space that only a spaceship can truly have. You need to survive encounters with various types of aliens, including those that can shapeshift into a clone of inanimate objects, which is enough to make you distrustful of literally everything around you. 

On the plus side, Morgan can learn the different abilities of the aliens in order to help her survive, which makes things slightly more tolerable. There are multiple endings, and which one you get depends on the choices you make throughout the main story, so this one is worth playing more than once to see al??l of them. 

Dead Space 2

It’s hard to decide between Dead Space and Dead Space 2 for a place on this list, because they’re both classics in the genre, but Dead Space 2 thanks to one particular scene involving eye surgery, and a dark take on an old children's rhyme. I will never not be uncomfortable when thinking about that scene, especially? when it goes? wrong. 

Outside of that one scene, Dead Space 2 has you playing as Isaac Clarke while trying to fight against not only a disastrous outbreak of Necromorphs, but also his own deteriorating mental health. Th??ere are puzzles to solve, and of course many heart-in-your-throat moments where screaming feels like the only option. 

Moons of Madness

Moons of Madness is described? as a “story-driven cosmic horror game where the scientific exploration of Mars meets the supernatural dread of Lovecraftâ€?on the Steam page, but it somehow manages to be even more traumatizing than Lovecraft, thanks to the deep psychological?? horror elements that are found in-game. 

You’re stuck on Mars and becoming more isolated and paranoid by the day, with little hope of being rescued any time soon. The paranoia you feel is worsened by the demons and spectres that appear before you, making you question what’s real and what’s not. Once yo??u’ve r??epaired the base, you’ll need to venture out into a landscape that’s somehow even darker, and I don’t just mean literally. 

Observation

Unlike other games on this list that have you playing as a human stuck in space, Observation places you in the middle of the story as a Space Station AI called SA?M. While operating SAM, you’ll need to figure out what happened to the crew, and why some of them have suddenly disappeared. 

To begin, your FOV is limited to what’s in fron?t of you wherever the crew have placed you, but eventually SAM b?egins to gain some sentient control by using camera systems on the Space Station, and through the use of small orbs that can move more freely. There’s also Emma, one of the crew members who remains, who works with SAM to figure out what’s going on. 

We Went Back

As if being stuck on a space station completely alone wasn’t scary enough, We Went Back throws a time-loop mechanic into th??e mix. It’s a short game and can be completed in just under an hour, but environments are ever changing, and the experience is something like an escape room. 

While there aren’t any aliens to fight or jump scares in We Went Back, the horror aspect is provide??d more by the total isolation and uncertainty. Even though you ?know there isn’t anything hell-bent on killing you, the fact that this is a dark and creepy space station is enough to make you wonder “but what if there was?â€? 

POLLEN

In the same vein of complete isolation games as We Went Back, POLLEN also sees you entirely alone as you try to figure out what happened to the previo?us occupants of a research station on Titan, one?? of Saturn’s moons. 

Again, you’re not going to get any jump scares or screams out of POLLEN, but it will give you that knot-in-your-stomach feeling that any good psychological horror can provide. It’s almost as though you gain a sense of paranoia, wondering what could be around the next corner, rather than what is. POLLEN can also be played using a VR headset, ??which I think would be enough to make me jumpy for a we?ek. 

The Callisto Protocol

Okay look, I know that The Callisto Protocol got off to a rough start and the initial reception wasn’t great, thanks to many performance issues and slightly janky combat. However, there have been updates since then and if you don’t mind the lin??ear gameplay experience, then it’s definitely worth a shot if you want a space themed horror game to play. 

One thing that I particularly love about The Callisto Protocol is that it throws the old “remove the head and it’ll dieâ€??trope out of the window, with enemies continuing to rush you even without anything attached above the shoulders. 

Iron Lung

Iron Lung is a 2022 submarine simulation game developed and published by the brilliant David Szymanski, and honestly works a little like a more terrifying version of Subnautica. I mean,? you’re exploring an ocean of actual human blood, so if that’s not enough to make you fe?el at least a little uneasy, I’m not sure what else to tell you. 

As you explore the blood ocean, you can take photos of significant things that you encounter, with things taking a dark turn as you start to capture images of giant skeletons, rock formations that shouldn’t exist in the same realm as physics, and artificial structures that look like buildings. It’s creepy, even i??f you don’t have to fight anything, and definitely worth experiencing. 

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Epic Games Store is well known for providing free games, and sometimes, those 100% off deals are just too good to pass up. August 22 will see the addition of hit KRAFTON title The Callisto Protocol and Gigantic: Rampage Edition. 

The two titles will be available for free?? between August 22 and August 29 and if you download both of them during this time, you’ll be getting $70 USD worth of content for absolutely free.

The Callisto Protocol initially released on various platforms back in 2022, and the reviews from players at the time weren't favorable. Players were left baffled by the juxtaposition between the spooky atmosphere and clunky combat, which focuses heavily on Melee patterns and combos. Admittedly, if you're wanting a Dead Space-esque, terrifying romp through a futuristic sci-fi horror, then it's understandable th??at being forced into close combat with repetitive infected and mutated foes is not going to light your world on fire.

However, The Callisto Protocol has received various updates and additions since its initial release, with New Game + and Hardcore Mode now included with the base game. There are ??also DLCs providing more animations and various modes to try out, although they don't come included as part of the free deal.

If you're looking for something linear to sink your teeth into, you're going to save yourself at least $59.99 USD by claiming The Callisto Protocol ?during its stint as one of Epic Games Store freebies of the week, and if you were put off by early reviews, maybe the post-launch upda?tes can win you over.

Gigantic: Rampage Edition is a 5 vs 5 Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) developed by Arc Games and released in April 2024. It’s described as “a premium and definitive release of the original GIGANTIC, which was released back in 2017. The game usually sells fo??r $19.99 USD, so this is def?initely a good deal.

In Gigantic: Rampage Edition, you get to choose your own unique (and sometimes adorable) hero and team up with four other players to take down your opponent's Guardian. The Rampage Edition includes everything from the original 2017 release, plus different game modes, cross platform play, new heroes including Roland and Kajir, new maps like Picaro Bay and a whole lot mo??re.

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While we were hoping for a spiritual successor to Dead Space, Striking Distance Studios' The Callisto Protocol didn't l??eave a huge impact on horror gaming. I didn't mind it personally, but according to director Glen Schofield, the team was under pr??essure to deliver ahead of schedule.

In a recent video from Dan Allen Gaming, the titular host sits down with Schofield to discuss his pretty lengthy career in the industry. One thing that did crop up in conversation was the development problems of The Callisto Protocol. That specific topic begins around th??e 12:32 mark in the below video.

Without mincing words, when asked whether more time was needed to complete the game,? Schofield replies �with slightly tired eyes �"yes, I did." He goes on to then say he wanted another three and a half months, adding that he was "led to believe" that that was going to be the case for the project. Alas, things didn't turn out that way, with the higher-ups insisting on a December 2022 release date.

"It's going to cost you more."

Schofield then makes a pretty interesting point about how rushing games out isn't an effective way to save money, saying that it actually costs a studio or publisher more. He explains that, as well as struggling to finish developing The Callisto Protocol in the allocated time period, it would necessitate him bringing on a ??lot more people to get the job done (30-40 instead of 20, he says). Hence, costs simply go up. Not to mention the additional expense of having to fix a broken game post-release, bu??t that's just my take.

Add onto that the impact it had on Schofield's health. Dan Allen says how stressful a job in the video game industry must be, particularly in that kind of situation. The director insists that he still enjoys what he does, though he does add that he's not sure how much more of it he could take, given that his career began in the early 1990s. It also seems that health concerns were one of the reasons he eventually left the company.

It's a shame The Callisto Protocol was something of a let-down, especially upon release. As I said, I did quite enjoy it, but I played it after the fact, once it had been patched and fixed up. Sadly, the resultant middling reception (the game has a review score of "mixed" on Steam) meant that Striking Distance had to lay off 32 employees last August. On the plus side, it looks like the studio may be working on a new game.

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Microsoft has revealed games that are coming to Xbox Game Pass in the first half of June 2024. Xbox Game Pass subscribers will get access to six titles in total, and the list is headlined by Octopath Traveler 1 and 2, alongside The Callisto Protocol.

Xbox Games Pass titles for June 2024 - Wave 1

Here are all the games coming to Xbox Game Pass in June 2024 during the first ??wave of announce??ments, and their arrival date on the service: 

• Octopath Traveler - June 6
• Octopath Traveler 2 - June 6
• Depersonalization â€?June 12
• Isonzo â€?June 13
• The Callisto Protocol â€?June 13
• Still Wakes the Deep â€?June 18

Octopath Traveler is actually not a new addition to the Game Pass, as it has previously been available on the service. The RPG game made its return at the same time when Square Enix finally released it for PlayStation consoles, six years after its original release in 2018 on Nintendo Switch. Octopath Traveler 2 was released in 2023, but not for the Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. It has now arrived on the platform and will be free to play for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. Both Octopath Traveler titles are known for thei?r storytelling, the unique Path Action gameplay, and the "HD-2D"? visuals.

Depersonalization is a tabletop RPG game from MeowNature with multiple endings ??and branching storylines. The game offers a variety of choices, with th??e story changing course as per a player's decisions. 

Isonzo is a WWI first-person shooter from BlackMill Games. The game takes inspiration for both its name and setting from ???the Battle of the Isonzo which took place on the Italian Front between 1915 and 1917. The game offers team-based multiplayer with up to 40 players on consoles. 

Krafton and Striking Distance Studios�The Callisto Protocol is a survival horror game, where players take on the role of Jacob Lee, a starship captain who must escape the Black Iron Pri?son, the Callisto moon, and all the horrors lurking within it.

The final game in the Wave 1 announcement is Still Wakes the Deep, which will be a day-one release on the Game Pass. The upcoming psychological, survival horror game from developers The Chinese Room, looks promising. The studio has showcased its storytelling process with Dear Esther in the past and is very much capable of producing another horror game to try out, after previously delivering the likes of Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture.

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The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance Studios has opened up some new positions for an upcoming project that's being built in Unreal Engine 5. It seems the studio is on t??he hunt for additional talent, just months after last Augu??st's layoffs.

As reported by VGC, Twitter user MauroNL �a games industry analyst �has noted that Striking Distance is embarking on a new venture. A total of nine vacancies have become available, with the studio inte?nding to create something brand-new?.

Some of the positions include a Lead Technical Artist, UI Technical Art?ist, Lead Gameplay Animator, and a Lead Gameplay Engineer. What this elusive project will be is anyone's guess ??at this stage.

Can only go up from here, yeah?

With 32 people being laid off from the studio and director Glen Schofield leaving last September, things didn't look good for Striking Distance. The Callisto Protocol should have been a slam-dunk, particularly with it being billed as a spiritual successor to Dead Space.

However, poor performance left people unimpressed with the developer's first release. While recent scores on Steam have it at "Mostly Positive," overall it remains "Mixed." Even with patches to fix issu??es, the damage appeared to have already been done.

Now that a new game is said to be in the works, maybe some will give Callisto Protocol another chance. Still, what's left of the team is still trucking along on something. Maybe the next one will be more of a success.

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While Striking Distance studios' The Callisto Protocol might've been just okay in the grand scheme of things, this wasn't enough to keep the studio trucking as it was. Following a series of layoffs, it would seem that even the top talent at Striking Distance is now setting off, including Glen Schofield himself. Bloomberg recently confirmed that Striking Distance's Chief Executive Officer Glen Schofield, as well as the chief operating and financial officers, would be voluntarily leaving the ?studio?? to move on to other projects.

According to Schofield, the situation is "bittersweet." He did say, however, that he feels that "the studio is in excellent hands," with the former Chief Development Officer Steve Papoutsis taking over as the Striking Distance Studios CEO. These departures are taking place after The Callisto Protocol received its final DLC chapter, meaning the project i?s fully wrapped up if nothing else.

The Callisto Protocol head leaves Striking Distance Studios

It was revealed early on that The Callisto Protocol was having trouble recouping its steep development costs. As the production of the game cost over $162M, it was a given that Striking Distance and its holding company, Krafton, would be hard-pressed to make Callisto work come hell or high water. Both hell and high water appear to have struck, sadly. Bloomberg reports that The Callisto Protocol had sold fewer than 2M copies by January 2023,?? whereas the game needed? to move at least 5M for its development to have paid off.

Being a spiritual successor to the original Dead Space, The Callisto Protocol wasn't shy about announcing this fact wherever possible. Glen Schofield himself cut his teeth on Dead Space as the project's executive producer, and it was clear that the game was banking heavily on appealing to the same audiences. The biggest issue was, perhaps, that an actual first-party Dead Space remake came out not long after The Callisto Protocol, only to end up being a superior title.

According to Krafton's representative, the studio's plan?s "remain unaffected," though there haven't ??been any announcements as to what they might be.

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Striking Distance Studios, the developer behind 2022's The Callisto Protocol, is laying off some developers. The company confirms it has left 32 employees go in a move to "realign" the stu?dio, for current and future projects.

Twitter user @bogorad222 first spotted LinkedIn messages discussing the layoffs and, in a statement sent to IGN, Striking Distance confirmed the news. The studio, known for 2022's The Callisto Protocol, says 32 employees are affected by the layoffs which were implemented "to better position it??s current and future projects for success."

"Striking Distance Studios and KRAFTON have implemented strategic changes that realign the studio’s priorities to better position its current and future projects for success. Unfortunately, these changes have impacted 32 employees. Honoring the invaluable contributions of each departing team member with material support in the form of outplacement services and meaningful severance packages is our top priority during this difficult mome?nt."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT7swHyN8FQ

Striking Distance suffers layoffs

The Callisto Protocol was released to lukewarm critical reception. Though it has garnered a dedicated following, it was previously confirmed that Callisto failed to meet Krafton's sales targets.

Striking Distance also mentioned that providing ex-employees with "outplacement services and meaningful severance packages" remains a top priority. However, this is not the first time the studio finds itself at odds with its employees. After the release of The Callisto Protocol, some e??mployees complained that they had not been credited for t?heir work. A post-launch update restored their omitted development credits.

The mention of "future projects" in the statement does suggest that Striking Distance is working on something new. Nevertheless, it appears the studio's debut title hasn'?t been the running start one would ?hope for.

The Callisto Protocol is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox ?Serie??s X|S.

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PlayStation owners will also get it early

While hype has definitely died down for Striking Distance Studio's The Callisto Protocol, fans will be pleased to hear that some cont??ent is coming very soon. As of next week, you'll be able to download "Final Transmission," which is said, as the title denotes, to be? the final chapter of the game.

A post on the official Twitter account describes the closing content as "heart-pounding," and adds that PlayStation owners can exclusively get hold of the DLC 48 hours early. This means they can receive access to the title's climactic chapter on June 27, while other systems ?will see it release on June 29.

When it launched in December 2022, The Callisto Protocol was met with a string of negative reviews. While touted as a spiritual successor to Dead Space, Glen Schofield's latest horror outing was plagued with technical issues. The?? studio did roll out updates to try and patch some of the major ones out, but it was? clear that fans were not impressed with the finished product on day one.

//twitter.com/CallistoTheGame/status/16698041??70734362625

At the start of 2023, the release received a New Game+ update, but outside that, not much has happened with The Callisto Protocol for some time now. For those that were after something that could plug a Dead Space-sized hole, Striking Distance's survival horror title left some feeling rather unfulfilled. Kind of like how Back 4 Blood was supposed to be a spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead, but was, ultimately somewhat lacking.

In any case, for anyone who did enjoy The Callisto Protocol, The Final Transmission DLC i??s definitely something to look forward to. Perhaps Schofield and his team will move onto a ?new project after this.

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Survive through space horror, again

If you wanted a reason to play back through a late 2022 game again this weekend, The Callisto Protocol just got one. Striking Distance Studios released a new update for The Callisto Protocol last night that includes New Game+.

After updating to the most recent patch, players who have beaten the game should have access to the New Game+ mode. You'll need an active save file from finishing the game, and you might need to restart The Callisto Protocol to see it. With New Game??+, you can carry over all your weapons, upgrades, and Callisto Credits from your previous run.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT7swHyN8FQ

Alongside the new mode, there's also a number of updates to the game itself. General performance optimizations have been made across all platforms, and multiple issues? where camera angles or paths could cause the player to fall through the ground ?have been fixed.

Players should also no longer take damage when vaulting over obstacles, making the environment a little less of an enemy. Other crash areas for specific platforms have been addressed, too. You can find the full patch notes on The Callisto Protocol subreddit here.

And now you're back, from outer space

The debut survival horror game from Striking Distance Studios has been gradually patching up its game since launch. The Callisto Protocol had some notable launch issues, some of which we experienced ourselves during our review process.

It's been nice to at least see some of the technical issues get addressed alongside new options like New Game+ rolling out. If you're someone who's wanted to do a second run through the space-jail horror experi?ence, this seems like a good reason to do so.

Striking Distance was also the subject of a recent report, where several former developers alleged their names were left off the credits for the game.

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Former employees, including some in senior roles, say they didn't make it in

Former employees of Striking Distance Studios, the developer behind The Callisto Protocol, say they were left out of the game's credits. A new report alleges a number of former developers were left off The Callisto Protocol's credits, without clear explanation.

GamesIndustry.biz's report cites several sources, including five former Striking Distance Studios developers who were left off the credits for The Callisto Protocol. Additional sources estimate roughly 20 people were left off, i?ncluding some in senior r?oles who made reportedly key contributions.

The sources also point towards an inconsistency in how Striking Distance credits people who worked on the game. Some former employees are listed as additional assistance in their respective departments, while others a?re grouped together in a miscellaneous category, and others left off. These omissions were described by one source to GI Biz as "egregious".

We've reached out to get comment from Striking Distance Studios. A representative for the studio did not return a request for comment to GI Biz for their report, which also covers concerns of crunch and culture at the studio. While one source tells GI Biz ??they enjoyed their time at the studio, another describes the omission as "an obvious F-U" to those perceived as disloyal to the studio.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT7swHyN8FQ

Credits in games

Attributing credit to developers has been a hot-button issue for a while now. As a 2020 Kotaku report outlines, credits can be used as a reward, or as a punitive measure. It's unclear what the reasoning may be for this reported omission in The Callisto Protocol.

The sci-fi survival horror title is the debut game from Striking Distance Studios, a development house founded by Dead Space veteran Glen Schofield. Our review of The Callisto Protocol found?? it had a solid concept, but was mired in technical issues and mechanics that didn't quite click.

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Mid Space

Sorry this review took so long! Our reviewer had the game crash on them on PS5 during the initial process: and after the performance patch. Meanwhile, I had a smoother experience playing The Callisto Protocol: but it didn't help all that much.

The Callisto Protocol (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Striking Distance Studios
Publisher: Krafton
Released: December 2, 2022
MSRP: $59.99/$69.99

At first, I was floored to dig more into this world. When your horror adventure starts off with a sci-fi plane crash and the main character (played by a confident Josh Duhamel, who recently did a mean rendition of Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Killing Joke animated two-parter) is hauled away by hulking robotic guards to prison, I'm in.

The initial mystery of Callisto Protocol is particularly intriguing. What is even happening in this universe? How are you going to escape? What's the deal with the organic Resident Evil-esque creatures? Being a prisoner immediately puts you at odds with this world and grounds you in it. The slow buildup is fun to play through, and the entire idea of "a prison escape with creatures" must have been a hell of a pitch. All of this is sold with fairly lifelike character models and some decent performances, but Callisto Protocol just doesn't deliver as time goes on, after the secret sauce is plopped on your plate. ??The more you progress, the less interesting things get.

As the creatures take the center stage, a few of them are more annoying than formidable. Callisto Protocol relies heavily on jump scares, which sucks away a lot of the legitimate tension when things start feeling artificial. You'll battle these creatures with a melee weapon (a crowbar, which is quickly tossed for a shock stick upgrade), and you'll get your first gun (a pistol) around an hour in. It has the whole survival horror suite: limited inventory, scarce ammo, the whole nine yards. There's even a dedicated sto?mp button that squishes out items from dead enemies, in a super (welcome) arcadey way.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2jrVnnefE8

On paper, this seems like a decent way to build a survival horror game, but the seams slowly disintegrated. The dodge system is utterly bizarre, for one. It encourages players to press a direction on the analog stick to dodge enemy attacks, alternating directions for subsequent strikes. One-on-one, Callisto Protocol feels manageable. But in the thankfully rarer sequences where more enemies are thrown in, it can get unwieldly because of the clunk, especially when?????????????????????????? deciphering enemy animations. Throwing QTEs in for good measure (you can turn them off in the options menu) is a risky? move, but another left hook I can dodge.

One very cool half-done mechanic is quick-firing, which can be done after a reticle pops up on-screen after a melee attack. It's essentially a quick draw shot that aims at a critical body part of an enemy, and it felt legitimately action-hero-cool to pull it off quickly, then weave another melee hit in afterward. Like every facet of Callisto, there's flashes of brilliance there to remind you that some of these developers worked on Dead Space.

If you like navigating messy systems, you might see it as a challenge, especially on normal difficulty or above (which is a great PS+ or Game Pass gamble, if that opportunity ever arises). I know I did! This is such a weird game to assess, because although I did adapt to it, it's mind-boggling how some of these mechanics passed the idea phase. It's like someone?? wanted to reinvent the wheel of how survival horror action systems should work, and no one told them "no." I can see why it's been so polarizing, and I have played worse, but alongside of the technical problems, it's clear that this game c?ould have used more time in the oven.

As I said earlier I played it after some patches were applied, and while I didn't have hard crashes or concerning framerate issues, I did encounter audio bugs (where some intense dialogue wouldn't even play, despite having subtitles for it). Also, having to remain stationary to listen to audio logs in 2022 is a choice. Checkpoints are? amateurish too: if you die, depending on the checkpoint, you may have to redo every single thing you did for minutes at a time, including slowly buying safe zone upgrade?s and waiting for them to 3D print.

Like many things that Callisto Protocol does, the linear structure could be a source of contention, but I actually enjoyed it. There's enough open world/live service games in the market as it is, and Callisto has some degree of freedom with hidden rooms or extra caches of ammo or upgrades: al?l with the mostly welcome burden of inventory management. When you have enough ammo to take on an enemy it feels like an achievement, because yo?u took the time to uncover a secret area.

If Callisto Protocol was able to get out of its own way (and was less glitchy at launch), it probably would have been an even bigger? hit. If they're aiming for a follow-up I hope they take a lot of the criticism to heart, because there's something here.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Further fixes in the works

[Update: Striking Distance Studios has released a second major update for the PC edition of The Callisto Protocol, focusing on PSO Caching and aiming?? to further reduce screen stuttering and improve overall performance. F?urther patches for both PC and console are in the works.]

Krafton and Striking Distance Studios have begun addressing the technical issues affecting sci-fi horror title The Ca?llisto Protocol �/em> The development team has already rolled out new patches on PC and console platforms, hoping to fix some of the bugs and g?litches plaguing the occupants of Black Iron Prison.

Goo Moon

During today's Summer Game Fest 2022 live stream, developer Striking Distance Studios and publisher Krafton showed off a fully uncensored version of its interstellar terror trip, The Callisto Protocol. Accompanying the trailer was the first raw gameplay footage, which shines a pretty miserabl??e, viscera-covered flashlight on the brutal space adventure.

//youtu.be/5oApNe6AwFo

The gameplay footage saw a protagonist picking their way through a terrifying space vessel, packed out, whackin' n' smackin' a bevy of disgusting, body-horror monstrosities. Clearly, fans of seeing the Dead in Space will not be disappointed when The Callisto Protocol final??ly launches, December 2, on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K5WqA3VcRo

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Ooey gooey sci-fi horror is back on the menu

Between EA Motive's Dead Space remake in January 2023 and Striking Distance Studios' new IP The Callisto Protocol on Decembe?r 2, 2022, sci-fi h??orrors fans are eating well.

During today's State of Play showcase, we got a fresh look at The Callisto Protocol's gameplay, which loo?ks familiar in an ooey, gooey, screeching body horror sorta way?.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysFqUiXBAd0

To quickly refresh you on the story, Josh Duhamel play??s Jacob Lee, "a cargo ship pilot trapped deep within Black Iron Prison." We're headed to Jupiter's "dead moon," Callisto, and we've got a nasty outbreak to survive and sk??etchy corporate secrets to uncover.

Just last week, we learned that the game is no longer set within the PUGB universe, as was originally the plan for Striking Distance and Krafton. As CEO Glen Schofield put it, The Callisto Protocol snowballed into "its own world, story, and universe." For the best,? right?

"Survival horror games have been my passion for decades, and I’m excited to take advantage of the latest consoles to take the genre to terrifying new places," Schofield said today. (If you've never seen it, Ars Technica has a great "War Story" with Schofield.)

Why not both?

It's wild to think that Dead Space came out in 2008 (good lord, it's been that long?), and that after an arguably much-needed hiatus, its vibe is living on with both a remake *and* a new IP coming back to back. I really hope EA Motive and Striking Distance both knock it out o?f the park, as I've been longing for a fleshy ret??????????????????????????urn to sci-fi horror in gaming.

The Callisto Protocol launches December 2, 2022, across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. There's mu??ch more to see in the coming months, but I'm rooting for it.

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The PUBG-verse isn't adding horror to its docket just yet

Upcoming sci-fi survival horror game The Callisto Protocol is branching out on its own. Today, Striking Distance Studios founder and CEO Glen Schofield confirms The Callisto Protocol is no longer in the PUBG universe.

Previously, Striking Distance's debut project was set in the same universe as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, or PUBG. That's not the case anymore, it seems.

"FYI @CallistoTheGame is its own story and world," Schofield tweeted today. "It no longer takes place in the PUBG Universe. It was originally part of the PUBG timeline, but grew into its own world. PUBG is awesome, [and] we will still have little surprises for fans, but TCP is its own world, story, and universe."

//twitter.com/GlenSchofield/status/152993005672571289??7

The upcoming game channels some strong Dead Space vibes, which makes sense given Schofield and other Dead Space veterans are on the project and open about its influence. In all honesty, it's probably a good thing that the team is free to do whatever it wants. Even if now, I'll never get the crazy Evangelion x Callisto Protocol crossover that would make my mind melt.

In space, no one can hear the Battlegrounds

The new game from Striking Distance, as mentioned, is being made by some Dead Space veterans. And from the sounds of it, it's definitely going for a similar mix of sci-fi and survival horror elements. The Callisto Protocol is currently Game Informer's cover story, and the digital magazine has some neat details about it.

This includes an every-man type protagonist thrust into an absolute hell-in-space. Creepy space-alien designs are on?? deck, too.

With the team at EA Motive also working on a Dead Space remake, this seems like a good time to be a fan of surviving untold horrors in space. The Callisto Protocol is due out on PC and consoles sometime this year.

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