For years now, The Callisto Protocol has invited comparisons to the 2008 survival horror classic Dead Space. From the camera perspective and a lot of the combat through to the atmosphere and setting, it all screams silent protagonist Isaac Clarke and his great stomping boot. Wanting to emulate that tense undertaking 14 years later is understandable — particularly as it comes from one of the game’s original creators — but it’s a double-edged sword. In creating a tribute to a masterpiece, it already has a supremely solid foundation to work with. However, The Callisto Protocol has little it can really call its own.

While it does take place on a moon’s surface rather than a spacecraft, the Black Iron Prison still attempts to capture the look and tone of the USG Ishimura. With its dark hallways and nightmarish inhabitants, a range of similarly designed weapons make up much of main character Jacob Lee’s inventory, and there’s still room for a rip-off of the Kinesis ability. The immersive HUD is a button press away, and your health ticks down on the outside of Jacob’s suit all the same. It’s like you’re playing the first few hours of a sequel, where the gameplay feels familiar before the developer begins to introduce some new ideas.

Whether this is actually a bad thing or not is difficult to judge because it makes for a game that’s consistently good. It’s certainly unoriginal —…