The Callisto Protocol landed on PS Plus at the perfect time for me. I had just finished up some other games and I had been waiting for the price to drop on this because I wanted to try it for myself, despite the less than stellar response it received. So I jumped in straight away and even though it’s derivative and not a perfect game I still ended up having a pretty good time.
The Callisto Protocol was met with a mixed reception which I think was in big part to the wrong expectations. I think people were expecting a literal Dead Space clone, which this game is a ‘spiritual successor’ to, but it’s kind of a different experience. The Callisto Protocol is a very deliberate, focused, linear experience. It’s the type of game that is constantly trying to nudge you forward and doesn’t offer much in the way of exploration or backtracking. It’s also not a straight up third person shooter. It’s more intimate than that and focuses a more on melee than shooting. So if you haven’t played it yet I would recommend throwing your expectations out the window. Go into this open minded, let the game do what it wants to do and try to enjoy it for what it is.
It didn’t make the best first impression on me as I had to get through the agreements and a DLC advertisement before starting but that was quickly forgotten when I was hit with those impressive visuals. Wow, this game looks good. The characters, environments and attention to detail are some of the best I’ve seen. It’s also really graphic and gory. Sound is top notch too and the game works well. I only noticed a few small issues the whole game. (Occasionally a dead enemy limb would go nuts on the ground and a few times I broke some glass and there was no sound to go with it. Enemy and friendly AI aren’t too sharp as well). It is an impressive, polished game that pulls you into its world and atmosphere.
However, despite this it has a big issue, it’s just not scary. The jump scares just do not land. They wash over you while you barely manage to let out a ‘meh’ in response. It gets worse as the game goes on because they keep trying it and it changes from ‘meh’ to ‘this is annoying.’ There is no proper build up or creativity and the game isn’t creepy either. But I think there is something The Callisto Protocol can succeed really well at and that is making the player feel uncomfortable. This game is dirty and gross. The gore is detailed and in your face. The atmosphere is thick, heavy and oppressive. The camera is up close and so is the combat. The way you move feels heavy and deliberate. There are a lot of tight spaces. It’s claustrophobic, intimate and unpleasant. It is not a world you want to be in. Perfect for a horror game and was enjoyable in the worst/best way when playing in the dark without distraction.
So The Callisto Protocol looks and sounds really good and while it may fail at being scary or creepy it succeeds at creating discomfort. But how does it play? I would say it’s like a pizza that doesn’t quite have enough toppings. You walk or run slowly through linear areas, picking up items, stopping to upgrade your gear and sometimes wander into little extra side areas. You can hop over some waist high things, climb up in some spots, crawl through vents and squeeze through tight spots. It’s fine but get’s repetitive and needs variety. I think this game might actually be a bit too long. It feels like the developers were worried about it being too short and decided to pad it out. I don’t want to go in too far to avoid spoilers but there are many bits throughout the game that overstay their welcome. One section in particular is a later part that strongly encourages stealth and it just drags on, especially when the stealth in this game is very basic. I think the game could have been shortened and/or tightened and had some stuff replaced with puzzles (which this game doesn’t have). The other issue is too much lazy stuff we’ve seen a lot before, like – get the power back on, find the keycode, find a fuse, getting separated from the other characters, etc.
I’ve seen the combat be described as simple and just dodging left and right and mashing attack. I think you could play the game this way but you would be doing yourself a disservice and making things more frustrating (Dodging is too simple and should require more timing though). You are meant to be aiming for perfect dodges and you also have a block, counter hit and heavy attack on top of your basic short melee combo. Often after some melee hits you’ll get a chance to do some quick lock on shots with your guns too. Speaking of guns, that’s the other major part of combat. You shoot at enemies like a regular TPS and you can sneak in some shots up close in melee range too. So it becomes about juggling an enemy or small group of enemies by mixing these two killing methods and it’s pretty satisfying. Then on top of this you have a GRP (telekinesis) that can throw objects or enemies and of course there some conveniently placed, but repetitive, gory traps to send foes into. It reminded me a bit of MadWorld (Wii), which is never a bad thing. You also have a limited inventory space, ammo isn’t super common and your telekinesis requires time or an item to recharge. This means you’re forced to mix these three elements (guns, melee and telekinesis) together, with a little stealth thrown in, constantly for the best play experience and it’s not a bad recipe.
Overall I think the gameplay has an enjoyable, solid base and even some sauce and cheese, it just needed some quality toppings. The combat needs a little more strategy. The game needs more enemy variety and more weapon variety – both melee and guns. It should be more demanding when it comes to blocks and dodges. It is a good time, even with repetition setting in too early and some occasional frustration. I think if the developers build on this gameplay in a sequel we could have something special.
The last thing to discuss is the story and it’s just good enough, but nothing to write much about. I think it is typical sci-fi, horror stuff with pretty decent world building. This doesn’t bother me too much for two reasons. First is that it is carried by some really good performances and visuals. Second, this type of experience is also carried more by the atmosphere, moment to moment action and character interactions rather than some bigger narrative and/or deep lore. It’s fleshed out a bit through audio logs found throughout the game and there’s some good environmental story telling. The locations are very detailed and you get a good sense of what the spaces were like and how they were lived in, along with what recently took place there. The biggest sin this game commits as far as I can tell is that the ending is somewhat incomplete and left to the DLC.
The clearly talented developers at Striking Distance Studios didn’t deserve for The Callisto Protocol to be dunked on. I think it deserves a lukewarm to quite positive response, with high hopes for a sequel or follow up. I think if they can push a sequel in the right directions, maybe even make it a survival horror game, then there is the potential here for something exceptional. As The Callisto Protocol currently is, I think it’s a solid, but not top tier horror game and I think I’m going to grab a physical copy for my collection. I’d recommend it to almost all PS Plus subscribers and most big horror fans. For everyone else maybe wait for a bit of a price drop.
7.0/10
Just an extra note:
This review is based on a single normal playthrough but I liked it enough that I’m considering a second run. I haven’t played the other modes or DLC. Also I obviously just played the game more recently so it’s likely that it is in better shape now than it was at launch. I forgot a couple of points too - The bosses are underwhelming and it has a cool photo mode.
The Callisto Protocol was met with a mixed reception which I think was in big part to the wrong expectations. I think people were expecting a literal Dead Space clone, which this game is a ‘spiritual successor’ to, but it’s kind of a different experience. The Callisto Protocol is a very deliberate, focused, linear experience. It’s the type of game that is constantly trying to nudge you forward and doesn’t offer much in the way of exploration or backtracking. It’s also not a straight up third person shooter. It’s more intimate than that and focuses a more on melee than shooting. So if you haven’t played it yet I would recommend throwing your expectations out the window. Go into this open minded, let the game do what it wants to do and try to enjoy it for what it is.
It didn’t make the best first impression on me as I had to get through the agreements and a DLC advertisement before starting but that was quickly forgotten when I was hit with those impressive visuals. Wow, this game looks good. The characters, environments and attention to detail are some of the best I’ve seen. It’s also really graphic and gory. Sound is top notch too and the game works well. I only noticed a few small issues the whole game. (Occasionally a dead enemy limb would go nuts on the ground and a few times I broke some glass and there was no sound to go with it. Enemy and friendly AI aren’t too sharp as well). It is an impressive, polished game that pulls you into its world and atmosphere.
However, despite this it has a big issue, it’s just not scary. The jump scares just do not land. They wash over you while you barely manage to let out a ‘meh’ in response. It gets worse as the game goes on because they keep trying it and it changes from ‘meh’ to ‘this is annoying.’ There is no proper build up or creativity and the game isn’t creepy either. But I think there is something The Callisto Protocol can succeed really well at and that is making the player feel uncomfortable. This game is dirty and gross. The gore is detailed and in your face. The atmosphere is thick, heavy and oppressive. The camera is up close and so is the combat. The way you move feels heavy and deliberate. There are a lot of tight spaces. It’s claustrophobic, intimate and unpleasant. It is not a world you want to be in. Perfect for a horror game and was enjoyable in the worst/best way when playing in the dark without distraction.
So The Callisto Protocol looks and sounds really good and while it may fail at being scary or creepy it succeeds at creating discomfort. But how does it play? I would say it’s like a pizza that doesn’t quite have enough toppings. You walk or run slowly through linear areas, picking up items, stopping to upgrade your gear and sometimes wander into little extra side areas. You can hop over some waist high things, climb up in some spots, crawl through vents and squeeze through tight spots. It’s fine but get’s repetitive and needs variety. I think this game might actually be a bit too long. It feels like the developers were worried about it being too short and decided to pad it out. I don’t want to go in too far to avoid spoilers but there are many bits throughout the game that overstay their welcome. One section in particular is a later part that strongly encourages stealth and it just drags on, especially when the stealth in this game is very basic. I think the game could have been shortened and/or tightened and had some stuff replaced with puzzles (which this game doesn’t have). The other issue is too much lazy stuff we’ve seen a lot before, like – get the power back on, find the keycode, find a fuse, getting separated from the other characters, etc.
I’ve seen the combat be described as simple and just dodging left and right and mashing attack. I think you could play the game this way but you would be doing yourself a disservice and making things more frustrating (Dodging is too simple and should require more timing though). You are meant to be aiming for perfect dodges and you also have a block, counter hit and heavy attack on top of your basic short melee combo. Often after some melee hits you’ll get a chance to do some quick lock on shots with your guns too. Speaking of guns, that’s the other major part of combat. You shoot at enemies like a regular TPS and you can sneak in some shots up close in melee range too. So it becomes about juggling an enemy or small group of enemies by mixing these two killing methods and it’s pretty satisfying. Then on top of this you have a GRP (telekinesis) that can throw objects or enemies and of course there some conveniently placed, but repetitive, gory traps to send foes into. It reminded me a bit of MadWorld (Wii), which is never a bad thing. You also have a limited inventory space, ammo isn’t super common and your telekinesis requires time or an item to recharge. This means you’re forced to mix these three elements (guns, melee and telekinesis) together, with a little stealth thrown in, constantly for the best play experience and it’s not a bad recipe.
Overall I think the gameplay has an enjoyable, solid base and even some sauce and cheese, it just needed some quality toppings. The combat needs a little more strategy. The game needs more enemy variety and more weapon variety – both melee and guns. It should be more demanding when it comes to blocks and dodges. It is a good time, even with repetition setting in too early and some occasional frustration. I think if the developers build on this gameplay in a sequel we could have something special.
The last thing to discuss is the story and it’s just good enough, but nothing to write much about. I think it is typical sci-fi, horror stuff with pretty decent world building. This doesn’t bother me too much for two reasons. First is that it is carried by some really good performances and visuals. Second, this type of experience is also carried more by the atmosphere, moment to moment action and character interactions rather than some bigger narrative and/or deep lore. It’s fleshed out a bit through audio logs found throughout the game and there’s some good environmental story telling. The locations are very detailed and you get a good sense of what the spaces were like and how they were lived in, along with what recently took place there. The biggest sin this game commits as far as I can tell is that the ending is somewhat incomplete and left to the DLC.
The clearly talented developers at Striking Distance Studios didn’t deserve for The Callisto Protocol to be dunked on. I think it deserves a lukewarm to quite positive response, with high hopes for a sequel or follow up. I think if they can push a sequel in the right directions, maybe even make it a survival horror game, then there is the potential here for something exceptional. As The Callisto Protocol currently is, I think it’s a solid, but not top tier horror game and I think I’m going to grab a physical copy for my collection. I’d recommend it to almost all PS Plus subscribers and most big horror fans. For everyone else maybe wait for a bit of a price drop.
7.0/10
Just an extra note:
This review is based on a single normal playthrough but I liked it enough that I’m considering a second run. I haven’t played the other modes or DLC. Also I obviously just played the game more recently so it’s likely that it is in better shape now than it was at launch. I forgot a couple of points too - The bosses are underwhelming and it has a cool photo mode.