Each comparison made betweenDead Space,The Callisto Protocol, andResident Evil 4is slightly unfair or obvious when gameplay design and how far inspiration has trickled down from game-to-game is considered. One of the reasons whyThe Callisto Protocolwas received as poorly as it was around its launch was due to it trying to emulate what madeDead Spacespecial, but not having enough of its own identity as an original IP—although a rocky launch with tons of performance issues did not help it, either. That said,The Callisto Protocol’sResident Evilcomparisonswere at least unexpected.
TheResident Evil 4remake recently shared more footage ofa Ganado whose decapitated body sprouts a flailing Plagas tentacle. Any fans of the originalResident Evil 4will remember this enemy well, and likely have memories of hopping back into Leon S. Kennedy’s attache case in order to equip a meticulously placed flash grenade. This particular kind of enemy is intriguing due to how it instantly mutates in front of the player, and often randomly upon an enemy’s regular death.Dead SpaceandThe Callisto Protocolhave both adapted this design since, and they are all interesting to compare to one another.
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One thing is clear—if there was never aResident Evil 4, other classic third-person survival-horror games likeDead Spacewould have never been made, at least not in the same form.Resident Evil 4is seminal for myriad reasons, and its memorable features have been seen in numerous games since. In many different titles, players can find the same mechanics and designs molded in new ways, or stumble across subtle references and nods to them.
Dead Spacein particular has been unapologetic in its inspiration drawn fromResident Evil 4, and withThe Callisto Protocolbeing in direct influence ofDead Spaceit is obvious how much hold over the survival-horror genreResident Evil 4still has to this day. That is why theResident Evil 4remake is such a hotly anticipated game, and it will be interesting to see how the remake reimagines the original with modern sensibilities that it has amassed from its last two remakes and last two mainlineResident Evilinstallments.
Resident Evil Villagelooks to have been of service to theResident Evil 4remakein terms of art design and its rural landscape, for example, but knife parries and other input-based mechanics were needed to supplant the originalResident Evil 4’s relatively outdated gameplay design. Now that more has been shown from the remake, it is interesting to see how it compares to the most recent survival-horror games to have been released.
Resident Evil 4’s Plagas Creates a Perpetual Sense of Dread
Players may remember an homage to the Plagas-infected enemies in the more recentResident Evil 3remake, which featured an enemy that is not infected by the Plagas parasite itself, but still has a Nemesis-infested zombie that can tentacle-strike players. This is essentiallyhow the spontaneous Plagas tentacle mutates inResident Evil 4, and this enemy will be reprised in the remake.
Dead Space’s own necromorph enemies featured a couple different real-time mutating types, including the Infectors that crawl around on the ground or fly before finding a corpse to infect with their proboscis, creating a particularly fearsome necromorph if players are unable to interrupt it. However,The Callisto Protocol’s biophages have an opportunity later in the game to sprout short tentacles from their chests, which indicate to players that they are about to mutate into significantly tougher foes.
This too can be interrupted if players act quickly with several shots to the chest or with a well-timed and well-placed combo finisher, but it is in these comparable mutation animations that all three games share connective tissue. It will be exciting to see how faithful theResident Evil 4remake stays to the original, and it will be equally exciting to see how the remake influences third-person survival-horror games in the future.
Resident Evil 4launches on March 24 for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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