Wow this was such a bummer to play.

To be fair and name positives, obviously the game is absolutely gorgeous. The cast, especially Josh Duhamel and Sam Witwer gave it their all with what they were given. Aspects of the story, (while incredibly predictable) were entertaining. The setting of Callisto is a smart one for a horror sci-fi story.

Alright now if you will indulge me I want to rant about the bad stuff. Try and Break down some stand outs things that bothered me.

Combat is the prime example because it is absolutely garbage. It prioritizes melee combat over all else with some gun-play mixed in. In 1v1 encounters they are boring repetitive and too easy even on the harder difficulty. Throw more enemies into the mix you will be fighting the camera and attempting to predict when to dodge because you can't see the enemies when they attack you half the time.

The dodging mechanic itself is just weird. All the controls feel off but dodging in particular is so odd the game provided two tutorials in order to explain it.

I have read online that some find this combat system deep. I don't see how. Dodge, Dodge, Dodge, 3 hit combo, repeat. That is it. You don't need to do anything else.

Guns feel generic and lack impact when fired. None of the guns feel unique when considering the sci-fi setting. 2 shotguns, 2 handguns and 1 assault rifle. This wouldn't be a problem if the last 2 chapters of the game didn't start prioritizing guns against beefier enemies and the final boss.

There is a really bad stealth sequence involving what I would describe as "discount clickers" that got on my nerves just because of how slow you move while crouched. Was able to stand in the middle of the room and just knife kill every enemy that walked up to me.

Enemy variety isn't lacking, but unique enemies showing up in combat is. There are a fair amount of enemy types but they don't seem to ever want to show up during most combat encounters.

There are some unique set piece moments but most of the game has you walking through hallway like level design. It doesn't feel worth it to explore because the game doesn't give you room to do so.

Finally the parts of the narrative that bother me. Pacing is super off. They spent all this time and money on these facial animations and they barely utilize them for story purposes. The actual plot doesn't start moving until well after you have left the prison. Most of the actual interesting story bits are stuck being collectible audio logs. The game also ends with a tease/cliffhanger for a sequel which felt very half assed. Almost like it was a last minute inclusion.

Thank you if you read through this. It felt therapeutic to write this down. I have seen some people say this game is only getting a bad rep because it doesn't live up to Dead Space and I disagree. I think it DESERVES a bad rep for not being a good video game. If this is your jam honestly I am very happy for you but for me by the end I was both mad and disappointed.

TLDR: Bad combat and boring level design doesn't scare me, it makes me angry.