Of all the new franchises that have sprung up over the past couple of years, The Callisto Protocol is the one that I least expected to get a spin-off, but also the one that I most hoped would see its universe expanded upon. With that said, a top-down, action-roguelike wasn’t where I expected the series to go.
Developed by Striking Distance Studios, [REDACTED] Takes place in the maximum security prison of Black Iron, situated on Callisto, the frigid moon of Jupiter. The facility’s inmates have all mutated horribly and overrun the penitentiary. As one of the surviving guards, players must do whatever they can to fight off the grotesque hordes, survive, and make it out alive.
As stated in the opening, [REDACTED] is an action-roguelike from a top-down perspective. It’s essentially a twin-stick shooter, with a heavy emphasis on taking advantage of the environment and making use of various powerful buffs and enhancements that can be acquired throughout play. Gameplay is typical for a roguelike, each run, or attempt at escape starts with a new prison guard, limited in weaponry, equipment, and abilities, and sees them push as far through the facility as possible before either escaping or succumbing to the horrors that now roam the halls.
On death, almost everything is reset. Any new upgrades or weapons are lost, with only the various currencies that can be acquired retained. These currencies are then used between runs to purchase various permanent upgrades, in turn making future escape attempts easier. There are seven currencies in total, each one governing its own upgrade path, while also occasionally having additional requirements such as completing a run to further lock off progression.
There’s a ridiculous amount of variety when it comes to these different unlockables. Over 40 perks can be purchased and equipped (although only a few at any one time), with many of them having multiple levels to them. Weaponry comes in many deadly forms, ranging from standard-issue pistols and shotguns to all manner of melee offerings, each having its own unique quirks and playstyles associated with them, while also having several upgrade levels to master. What’s perhaps most impressive is that this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to variables that can be tweaked and manipulated as you progress through the game.
The map itself is a sequence of small to medium-sized rooms, littered with obstacles such as explosive barrels, drops into bottomless pits, and various other nasty things that you don’t want to get caught up in. Many of these can be used to your advantage. Each guard is equipped with a GRP, a powerful, but limited-use ability that can send enemies flying across the arena. It’s perfect for launching groups of foes over the edge of walkways, or into the many hazards of Black Iron.
Upon clearing a room of any mutated inmates, a token appears that grants a random ability to either shooting, melee, or dash. These often bestow powerful upgrades and elemental effects to your arsenal and are invaluable for powering up mid-run. Each room has multiple different exits to choose from, with the contents of the next usually being hinted at by whatever symbol is above the door. This allows for a small degree of planning throughout any given attempt, carefully choosing from the available options to pick what could be the safest, or most lucrative path towards the exit.
Along the way, players will encounter other survivors, who are also attempting to make it off of the moon alive. None of them ever seem to be particularly happy to see you, either. These encounters set up another of [REDACTED]’s mechanics. The potential to turn each run into a race between the player and the other survivors to the exit. They’re typically always a room or so ahead of you, however, this is where the environmental control station comes into play.
Another one of the tweakable systems present in the game, allows for certain abilities to be triggered periodically to halt a rival’s progress. This could be to slow them down, or even stop them dead in their tracks for a period of time. Inflict some damage on them or make them more vulnerable when you do encounter them. Regardless of which option you choose, though, at one point or another, they have to be dealt with.
These pseudo-boss fights are frantic and difficult, especially in the early game. Each rival has a similar set of abilities to that of the player, and they make frequent and deadly use of them. Managing to defeat one, however, bestows big rewards and makes escaping from Black Iron a far simpler task than otherwise.
This cycle of running through the prison with a new guard, gathering as many supplies, and making it as far as possible is the core gameplay of [REDACTED]. As I mentioned before, it’s typical of the genre, but it’s hard not to be impressed with the sheer amount of variety and choice on offer here.
When it comes to how all of this is presented, it’s unusual when you consider the style and tone of the source material that it’s working. The Callisto Protocol went down the gritty and realistic route, with impressive lighting, scenery, and effects. [REDACTED] has gone almost entirely in the opposite direction. A cell-shaded aesthetic, with a graphic novel-style spin to the visuals and a punk rock soundtrack by Mutato Muzika. It’s very light-hearted and relatively jovial when compared to The Callisto Protocol. If it weren’t for the place names and occasional reference to the survival horror title, it would be easy to mistake them for being completely unrelated to one another. It’s largely a surface-level association between the two games, however, and you do not have to have played one to enjoy the other.
For the most part, [REDACTED] is an incredibly enjoyable and polished experience. Aside from one soft lock in the first hour of the game that had me restarting, my time with it was flawless. It runs extremely well on the Series X, never once noticeably dropped below a buttery smooth 60 frames per second. I found that the opening few hours could be a bit of a slog at times. It’s very hit-and-miss as to whether a run will get very far and be worth the time investment, or whether it dies early on due to the lack of available upgrades and the random nature of the perks that can be acquired. The first hour of the game felt like I made no progress at all.
Once this hump has been gotten over, however, and you start to recognise what perk combinations work together and how to balance the risk and reward mechanisms that the game employs, it becomes an incredibly enjoyable experience. I did find the soundtrack to be a little on the repetitive side. I enjoy some punk as much as the next person, but I found that this got old fast, and it wasn’t long before I had the volume turned down and a playlist on in the background instead.
All in all, [REDACTED] is a great roguelike with plenty for fans of the genre to get stuck into.
[REDACTED]: A Relentless Sci-Fi Roguelike Dungeon Crawler from Striking Distance Studios – https://www.thexboxhub.com/redacted-a-relentless-sci-fi-roguelike-dungeon-crawler-from-striking-distance-studios/
Buy [REDACTED] on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/redacted/9p153bg8qmnq
