Judas, the highly anticipated debut from Ken Levine’s Ghost Story Games, is set to release early next year. It has been hailed as something of aspiritual successor to theBioShockseries, mainly because of Levine’s past asBioShock’s creator, but also due to the two games' obvious similarities.
In this way,Judasis reminiscent ofThe Callisto Protocol, theDead Space-inspired game that launched in late 2022.The Callisto Protocolbears some striking similarities toDead Space, mainly in terms of presentation, premise, and overall aesthetic. Just likeJudas,The Callisto Protocolcomes from the creator and executive producer ofDead Space, Glen Schofield, which naturally heightened its perception as a spiritual successor to the sci-fi survival horror classic. Unfortunately,The Callisto Protocolmet a mostly negative reception, which was not helped by the fact that it launched just a month before the critically acclaimedDead Spaceremake. Hopefully, history will not repeat itself withJudas.
It’s worth noting that Schofield did not work onthe second or thirdDead Spacegames. This contrasts Levine’s history withBioShock, as he was the creative director for the entire series.
Judas Can Succeed Where The Callisto Protocol Failed
BioShock 4has been shrouded in mysteryfor quite some time now. Since its announcement, little to no real information has been revealed aboutBioShock 4, and fans have been subsisting on rumors and speculation when it comes to even the game’s most basic aspects, like its setting and place within the broaderBioShocktimeline. A lot of this uncertainty stems from the fact thatBioShock 4is coming from Cloud Chamber, an internal 2K Games studio that hasn’t yet established itself within the gaming landscape.
Thismirrors the connection betweenThe Callisto ProtocolandDead Spacebut with some key differences. For one thing, last year’sDead Spaceremake came from EA Motive, a studio that had previously released the well-receivedStar Wars: Squadronsand theStar Wars: Battlefront 2and thus already had a solid reputation in the industry. More significant is 2023’sDead Space’s identity as a remake of the original 2008 title, meaning that players had a better idea of what to expect.
The game also had nostalgia on its side: if someone was already a fan of the originalDead Space, chances are they would get something out of the remake, even if it was just a trip down memory lane.
Why Judas Has a Better Chance of Succeeding as a BioShock Inheritor
For assimilar asJudasandBioShockseem to be, it’s crucial to note that the former is taking massive steps to separate itself from the latter. For one thing,Judas' outer-space setting is radically distinct fromBioShock’s settings of Columbia, Rapture, and the rumored Antarctic city ofBioShock 4. There’s also the matter ofJudas' roguelike format, which will almost certainly make for a notably different gameplay experience compared toBioShock.
Then there’s the matter of howBioShock 4will differentiate itself from the rest of the series. As a brand-new entry rather than a remake,BioShock 4is expected to make attempts to distinguish itself from its predecessors, establishing not only a new setting and story but also meaningful gameplay innovations. This means that, no matter what,Judaswill probably be significantly different fromBioShock 4, as well as theBioShockgames that preceded it.
These factors separateJudas' release circumstances from those ofThe Callisto Protocol.Callistowas extremely similar to the originalDead Spacein terms of setting and narrative premise, which might have worked in its favor if not for theDead Spaceremake launching around the same time, which set the stage for an unfavorable comparison. Time will tell, but ifBioShock 4andJudasare sufficiently distinctfrom one another, then both games have a better chance of being well-received respectively, with audiences appreciating their similarities rather than lamenting them.
Judas
WHERE TO PLAY
Judas is a sci-fi first-person shooter game made by BioShock creator Ken Levine that’s set on a massive spaceship called the Mayflower.
