One of the biggest surprise reveals at The Game Awards 2020 was the announcement of The Callisto Project by Glen Schofield, former head of Sledgehammer Games and creator of the classic survival horror franchise Dead Space.
The Callisto Project is being developed by Schofield's latest development team, Striking Distance Studios. The developer had a few things to say regarding the goal of The Callisto Project, as well as some more details about the upcoming game in an interview with IGN published yesterday.
Hot off the heals of The Callisto Project's reveal trailer, Schofield told IGN the project began when he met with Krafton, the publisher behind Player Unknown's Battlegrounds, and offered up the idea for the game and forming a new studio. Once everything was agreed upon, development started with one goal in mind: to scare players.
The Callisto Project is being developed with the intent of being the scariest game on next-gen platforms, according to Schofield. Reflecting on Dead Space, he recognizes the game's cult status, with Dead Space being seen by many fans as one of the scariest games released during the PS3/Xbox 360 generation. Striking Distance intends for The Callisto Project to be seen the same way, with it taking advantage of the power of the latest gen hardware by using light and sound to help with the game's immersion.
In addition, Striking Distance Studios intends to make use of haptic feedback in the PS5's DualSense controller. Schofield also mentions the ability for players to hear the wind and other small details in an environment as one possible cool addition thanks to next-gen controllers.
Since the release of Dead Space 3 in 2013, horror games in space have been few and far between. With the genre going in all sorts of directions thanks to the rise of indie horror games, the Silent Hill series going dormant, and the Resident Evil games taking a more action-oriented approach at the time, fans have been clamoring for a sequel to the Dead Space series. Those hopes came to a crashing halt with the closure of Visceral Games, and the team dispersing to different developers and projects.
While not much else is known about The Callisto Project, fans can look forward to more info being revealed by the developer on December 17. The Callisto Project seems to be in good hands, and may be the next space survival horror game fans have been looking for.
The Callisto Project is in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
Source: IGN