The Callisto Protocol looked to "real-life examples of horror and gore" during development

It's sounding like The Callisto Protocol is going to go all out on gore for the game, as it's apparently been inspired by "real-life examples of horror and gore."

The Callisto Protocol is set to launch at the end of 2022, and so far, it's not looking like a game for the faint of heart. Thanks to Geoff Keighley, we got our first look at gameplay last week at Summer Games Fest which had plenty of limb dismemberment and body stomping. Now, in an interview with PCGamesN, chief creative officer at Striking Distance Studios Chris Stone has explained some of the inspirations for the game.

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Unsurprisingly, Stone namechecked titles like Silent Hill and Resident Evil as "obvious influences," but noted that the team has also taken "a lot of inspiration from movies like The Thing and Event Horizon." And Stone also said that French and Korean cinema were also pretty influential, saying both are "really stepping up their game in the horror genre."

Slightly more controversially, however, Stone said that the game has also been inspired by actual gore and horror. "We've found ourselves looking at a lot of real-life examples of horror and gore," said Stone, who also served as animation director on Dead Space. "While these were a lot less fun to research, it was some of the most memorable and valuable content when it came to creating realistic visuals and experiences."

As pointed out by PCGamesN, Mortal Kombat 11 previously drew ire due to developers also studying real-world gore during its development. Hopefully the appropriate care is being put into place at Striking Distance Studios to deal with looking at this kind of imagery.

Aside from the choice to be inspired by real world horror and gore, a big chunk of inspiration obviously comes from Dead Space, created by Glen Schofield, who's now directing The Callisto Protocol.