The Callisto Protocol™ Reviews

Cons: * Game contained Denuvo @ launch which is why I didn't buy it until now. * Game contains EOS (Epic Online Services). * Game is very poorly optimized. There will be a good bit of stuttering during gameplay and when I check my GPU / CPU utilization logs, neither is maxed out or even close - CPU usually running 30-60% utilization. GPU around 60-75%. 32GB of RAM, never gets close to maxed out. The graphics look fantastic but I can see why a number of people really struggled to run it at all. When I turn about 90 degrees, that's usually when I'll see a bit of stutter. Game is loaded on an NVME drive as well so texture loading isn't an issue. I suspect the game engine itself is just struggling in a general sense. * THE GAME'S ENDING - (and I'm referring to the "Final Transmission" DLC - was terrible) - I can totally see why it was a financial failure and there were a bunch of layoffs at the studio. Better learn how to write better endings, folks. The "Final Transmission" ending killed any interest I had in a sequel. * The game dev went with AMD instead of NVidia for the upscaling tech so no DLSS in this game, sadly. * Half the time at least when I launch the game it launches to a black screen that I have to login to Windows as another user (switch user) to close the process and then re-launch it. Again, it's clear this game was not very well optimized or debugged. * The game seems to struggle with true "Fullscreen" mode - I think this ties in with the aforementioned issue of it not wanting to launch sometimes. Seems to launch better in "Fullscreen Border" mode, but that is well-known to have lower performance than true Fullscreen. * When it comes to the combat system, which is where I see a lot of complaints from gamers, the dev team was likely going for a frantic, chaotic system. I don't mind it that much, but it definitely could use some refinement - if more than one enemy engages you, it's very difficult to manage because the movement system is so slow and clunky. If it had smoother movement and a better dodge mechanic it wouldn't be too bad. The fact that you can't smoothly switch weapons in combat (it's slow and clunky and nearly impossible in close quarters with multiple enemies, usually leading to deaths that would be very easily avoidable if you could grab another weapon out of your holster without the game canceling the process constantly). * There's a section in the game where you have to slide through a sewer passage at high speed and a mechanic where you have to avoid the fan blades as they turn in that section - you can barely see anything and one touch and you die - this is a game mechanic that I have always detested - you have to give the player some leeway - one touch and the player dies? All that type of mechanic does is infuriate the player and break immersion as it is mostly outside of their control unless they know that thing is coming. Another section where you're falling and they don't tell you that it transitions from a cutscene to an actual playable scene, so you just go splat until the checkpoint respawn where you have to try to control your character as he's falling and this area as well you can barely see the holes open up or move far enough distance to avoid hitting them - these sequences are just awful - all they result in are cheap deaths where the only result is ticking off the player and ruining immersion - developers really should get away from these types of situations. Just make these into cutscenes, or give the player some survivability so it's not a one mistake and you're dead situation. If they don't know it's coming they'll absolutely die on the first several encounters and just end up irritated. * Similar to the above there are combat encounters where, even on lower difficulty, one hit and you're dead such as with the robot security drones - you have no cover and have to fight them at times and one hit and you're dead - the game, at times, is so unforgiving that it totally ruins any immersion the player may have had. I saw a comment on another review where someone said it was as if these game devs knew how to make graphics but it was their first try at making a game - that definitely comes through bigtime here for this point and for the number of bugs in the game. * Switching weapons in combat can be frustrating - in the back half of the game there are more frantic situations with more enemies where you are going to run out of ammo in guns and need to switch weapons versus reloading and switching weapons is not very quick or intuitive and can lead to more "cheap deaths" simply because the mechanics are so clunky. * The "Fan Traps" in the vents in the later levels...wow that was a really bad idea that makes no sense at all and again, like the earlier aforementioned situations where you have one-hit-and-die mechanics, all these did was infuriate me and make me want to lower the review score. Not even remotely fun. Pros: * Excellent graphics & graphical lighting effects - easily one of the best I've played in terms of just the visual quality. Kudos to the dev team on that. Animation quality is also exceptional - you can tell they must have mo-capped basically everything which was very well-done. * Building on the above, the sound quality is fantastic - the whole movie / quality feel of the situation of the game's narrative they just did an awesome job of. You really feel like you're there. * Game has had Denuvo removed. Hope they learn something from this as the game is a well-known financial failure at this point - many gamers will not purchase games that have Denuvo in them. If you make a good game, people will buy it. Be consumer friendly. Don't put anti consumer DRM that affects performance in your games and prevents people from ever truly owning the product and that's exactly what Denuvo does - makes the player dependent on Denuvo servers which is nonsense. That's why I don't pay for any game that has Denuvo. * I like the main character in the game, Jacob, he's pretty cool, seems like a reasonable dude that you can relate to. * I really liked the style of the game - it's a relatively linear game where you can still do a little exploring for some extra gear / supplies, and I really like that - it flows in a way where it feels like you're in a movie. I think the open world stuff is fun sometimes but I don't dislike linear games at all. This game was really well-constructed in terms of just the gameplay style and the way the story was told. * The view out into space from certain parts of the map are really cool and well-done - the views of Jupiter up close as you're orbiting it is just awesome. I love space stuff, so it's great to see newer games like this do such a nice job of rendering space-related objects. * Enjoyed the parts with Jacob & Dani during the game when they finally warmed up to each other and worked together. * The game's story up to the end was pretty darn good and had me completely roped in throughout, particularly the sections where Jacob was working with Dani - I was actively rooting for both of them to survive and get through things. Too bad they completely wrecked this franchise with the final ending in the "Final Transmission" DLC. * Game was not "woke". * No extra launchers required. Game Length: ~10 hours for the base game, and around ~2-3 hours for the "Final Transmission" DLC. Final Rating: 5/10 - Overall, factoring the "Final Transmission" DLC into the score. As noted above, I had a really good time for most of the game but holy heck does the "Final Transmission" DLC completely ruin it.

The first thing I saw when I started up the game was a request for permission to access my location. Why the heck does it need to know that? The next thing I saw was a screen showing me the DLC I should buy. Is this a Ubisoft game? They padded the hell out of this game because every time you open the door it is like a cutscene of several seconds. That doesn't sound like much, but there are A LOT of doors that need to be opened and each one is as sluggish as the last. As for combat, it is just waves of damage sponges that never seem to end in some rooms. It gets old very quickly. I guess this could be an alright game if you get it on very deep discount and want something totally mindless to play while zoned out or stoned.

I don't understand why this game is on 66% on review. It was fun to play! I think if you like Dead Space, you gonna like this one to.

Good story terrible game... unless you like getting ganged up on and killed in sections that take an hour to progress and then have to start over all for you to die again to the same 9 clicker rip offs that killed you the first time and never having med injectors to even give you a fighting chance, in summary its a really pretty game and has an great story and is fun in moderation but if your not a fan of doing the same thing 30 times in a row i highly suggest just watching a play through on youtube.

Absolute broken travesty of a game. I launch the game for the first time, it keeps showing popups of things I "unlocked" and then shows me ads for DLCs that I can buy. I have to click on the Main Menu to actually see the main menu after that. Graphics settings are broken af. If you change any setting, some graphics options like upscaling and ray tracing options disappear and then you have to select a preset like Ultra for those options to re-appear. Applying options requires you to click and hold the "Apply" button for a few seconds. This confused me as just clicking on the button didn't apply my changes like in most games. Also only AMD's terrible FSR2 is available, no DLSS. I started the game and there is horrible shimmering and broken graphics everywhere. I cannot continue with this travesty and am refunding.

No clue what the bad reviews are on about, the only thing I see worth complaining is the manual save system. Which frankly seems to be done on purpose for preserving your autosaves so that they aren't deleted. The action feels pretty solid, normal on maximum security. Combat is easy to understand, not sure why people are complaining. Story is interesting enough, nothing ground breaking, but ♥♥♥♥ I've done so much scifi almost nothing suprises me anymore. Encounters aren't difficult 1 on 1 but being careless gets you killed, subjecting you to the true game slop horror of: actually enduring the auto save feature. Seriously, that's all I see that could be called annoying for real. Character is "slow", because horror, he's not supposed to be Sonic. I could nock the game for advertising to me upon first launch, but it's talking about itself and it's extra content. Weirdly capitalistic if you ask me, as someone who heartedly enjoys working on what they love, but come on guys triple F games do the same and aren't getting half the flack for it. I honestly have to wonder if 66% on reviews is souly because people are decidedly shallow enough to be disappointed in a game that was given no chance to shine due to peoples ridiculous expectations. If I wanted Dead Space the Againatening, I'd just play Dead Space... again.

story wise was good but the guns and gameplay was very mhm and half of the time i just use my stun club and the blocks is a bit off at times so u will get bs hits but besides that i think this game gets over hated for no reason it not the worse game in the world but if u like story go for it and for the dlc dont bother playing it so bad

Recommended but with a big caution. Knowing all we know about the history and updates with this game kinda sorta had me intrigued and try it for myself. It couldn't be as bad as so many have said. Like many others, I was dying for a new Dead Space. And for the first 66%-75% of the game, it was alright. It wasn't Dead Space exactly but it's close. They want you to focus more on melee instead of guns. The camera slow panning around the player to show environments and cool stuff all in one shot- just like Dead Space. The combat took some adjustment but I got used to it (sorta). Josh Duhamel did an excellent job carrying most of it by himself- he was a great Issac. Reminded a lot of the movie Phone Booth where one character is the center of it all. It works here pretty well. But then the last 25% of the game was a complete slog. Having to fight 5+ enemies at once with the system in place here made it absolutely infuriating, (In case you're wondering - the part where you need to reset three breakers is where is started). The number of enemies are WAY too much. Just trying to run away so I can heal myself became a giant chore, same with simply reloading weapons. I wanted to quit playing because it felt so unfair. It got to the point where I went from medium difficulty to easy, turned on all assists but it still felt frustrating. Then there's the upgrades. I upgraded the grip glove thinking I was going to use it a lot when I feel like I should've put it all into my melee weapon and 1 ranged weapon instead. But I really didn't use the grip glove as much as I thought I would like in DS. No way to reset any upgrades so that made things much less fun. Wasted money. Resources and cash are incredibly tight throughout the game. I always searched everywhere I could but many times there's nothing there or nothing worthwhile. I felt poor the whole time playing, just like real life! I'm going to recommend it only if you do the following: -first time start on easy. -upgrade only your melee weapon and 1 ranged to the max. -Choose which assists you want (I chose auto aim so the camera auto locks to the closest enemy which was very helpful). -Pray it all works out. Maybe I would've had a better third act if I played that way. But then again I think if the game was just designed better overall with more ammo and cash along with a faster and more fluid combat it would've been a much more enjoyable game.

Krafton? More like sh@t0n. REALLLY wanted to recommend this game, but I just can’t. Managed to somehow miraculously finish it, but will probably never pick it up again. Don’t even wanna try the dlc. Why? The game will literally just hide/delete HOURS worth of saves/progress from you. Sometimes you can get it back by starting a new game & waiting till it generates a new autosave. If you’re lucky, that’ll make the older ones reappear. On my 3rd run (happened every playthrough btw) for achievements I unfortunately wasn’t that lucky. Game is too far from its release date to have any issue this game breaking. It would be an amazing game if it wasn’t for this bs. I loved the graphics, story & mechanics. Melee combat took some adjustment though. 5/10!

[h1]It's Not Dead Space[/h1] Everyone had sky-high expectations when the first trailer for The Callisto Protocol dropped, and it was quickly labeled as the next Dead Space. Unfortunately, it failed to live up to the massive hype. At launch, the game was plagued with performance issues, stuttering, bugs, and a broken save system. Combined with heavy criticism of the melee combat and a weak story, it faced a wave of negativity. Because of this, I decided to wait. Picking it up on sale about two years later turned out to be the right move. After tons of patches, most of the technical issues were fixed. So, is the game actually good now? Well, it’s a mixed bag. [b]Where the protocol gets it right:[/b] • [b]Next-Gen Graphics:[/b] The visuals are easily the standout feature of the entire experience. It looks absolutely incredible with everything maxed out. From the dimly lit, terrifying corridors to the sweat dripping off Jacob Lee’s head, the level of detail here is amazing. They really outdid themselves in the graphics department. • [b]Terrific Sound Design & Audio:[/b] The audio work is right up there with the graphics. The voice acting, the terrifying monster noises, the unsettling background ambience, and the heavy punch of the weapons are all of the highest quality, creating a great atmosphere. • [b]Awesome Gore:[/b] As a horror enthusiast who loves high-quality gore, this game completely delivers. The developers clearly spent a massive amount of time on this system. Jacob can die in some of the most brutal, grotesque, and creatively disturbing ways imaginable. Poor Jacob. • [b]The Combat is Fun:[/b] This might be controversial since so many people hated the gameplay, but I actually liked the combat system. It is heavily melee-focused and lacks depth, but once you learn the rhythm of dodging, perfect dodges, and counters, it gets a really nice flow. Combining the melee combos with the firearms made the fights intense and provided a great survival experience, in my honest opinion. [b]Where the protocol fails:[/b] • [b]Very Linear & Scripted:[/b] The game is incredibly linear with very little room for exploration. You just follow the main path, and while there are a few side rooms for collectibles and upgrades, they are never far away. A lot of the encounters are heavily scripted to feel cinematic, which completely kills the tension on repeat playthroughs. • [b]Lack of Variation:[/b] Halfway through the game, you really start to notice the lack of enemy types. The game just throws the exact same enemies at you over and over again, which gets boring. The same goes for the weapons, which mostly serve as an extension to your melee, and the bosses, which feel incredibly spongy and repetitive. • [b]Not That Scary:[/b] As a horror veteran who has been hardened by decades of scary movies and games, this game never managed to actually scare me. It has some tense moments and a few jump scares, but it never crawls under your skin—at least not for me. • [b]Generic Story:[/b] The story is your standard, highly predictable "sci-fi horror in space" trope. It’s not strictly terrible, but it is very generic and bland. It’s a shame, because a compelling story could have really elevated the experience. • [b]Zero Replay Value:[/b] Once you finish the campaign, you have seen everything this game has to offer. I had to play through it multiple times to hunt down all the achievements, and it became an absolute chore. I highly recommend sticking to just one playthrough. • [b]Scummy DLC Practices:[/b] Selling the actual "true ending" of the story behind a DLC paywall is a terrible direction for the industry. To make matters worse, they even locked a bunch of the unique death animations behind paid bundles, which just feels incredibly greedy. [b]The final verdict:[/b] At full price, The Callisto Protocol is definitely not worth it. However, if you pick it up on a sale like I did, the experience is decent now that the technical launch disasters and the broken save system have been patched. If you love sci-fi space horror and don't mind a linear, melee-heavy ride with zero replayability, it is worth checking out. It’s far from the next Dead Space, but it still is as close as you will get.