Playtime: 13 Hours
To be honest, we would all like "The Callisto Protocol" better if it weren't for "Dead Space", a game that revolutionized and defined survival horror. And yes of course that game is the obvious role model, but for me that doesn't mean that the alternative Dead Space has to be bad.
Although it never comes close to that classic, "The Callisto Protocol" looks incredibly good, has a really well-mixed sound and the atmosphere is insane. Just like the staging in the cutscenes is very well done. I've now been playing the game for almost a year after its release and fortunately haven't had any crashes, bugs or other really annoying technical errors or problems. Everything ran smoothly for me.
The problems I did have with the game only started halfway through. Although I liked the idea of the combat system, creating a mixture of dodging, melee and ranged combat using weapons and a special ability, this became more annoying than exciting in the boss fights and when there were too many enemies. And just as the intermediate bosses are repeated too often later in the game, the gameplay itself is also too repetitive, despite the short playing time of just under 13 hours. I would have liked a few puzzles to break things up.
However, the level design has made an effort to offer a lot of variety despite the limited space of a prison on an ice planet. And I think that worked. I was never bored by the visual presentation and finding the way worked well even without a map or anything similar. Which brings us to the most important thing: how scary is the game, especially compared to its role model? It's been a while since I played "Dead Space", but back then it was the scariest game ever for me. "The Callisto Protocol" never quite comes close, but there were definitely some moments when I held my breath and didn't want to look around the next corner. Overall, the game does a good job in my opinion.
So in the end I'm relatively satisfied and can't really understand all the bad reviews.
To be honest, we would all like "The Callisto Protocol" better if it weren't for "Dead Space", a game that revolutionized and defined survival horror. And yes of course that game is the obvious role model, but for me that doesn't mean that the alternative Dead Space has to be bad.
Although it never comes close to that classic, "The Callisto Protocol" looks incredibly good, has a really well-mixed sound and the atmosphere is insane. Just like the staging in the cutscenes is very well done. I've now been playing the game for almost a year after its release and fortunately haven't had any crashes, bugs or other really annoying technical errors or problems. Everything ran smoothly for me.
The problems I did have with the game only started halfway through. Although I liked the idea of the combat system, creating a mixture of dodging, melee and ranged combat using weapons and a special ability, this became more annoying than exciting in the boss fights and when there were too many enemies. And just as the intermediate bosses are repeated too often later in the game, the gameplay itself is also too repetitive, despite the short playing time of just under 13 hours. I would have liked a few puzzles to break things up.
However, the level design has made an effort to offer a lot of variety despite the limited space of a prison on an ice planet. And I think that worked. I was never bored by the visual presentation and finding the way worked well even without a map or anything similar. Which brings us to the most important thing: how scary is the game, especially compared to its role model? It's been a while since I played "Dead Space", but back then it was the scariest game ever for me. "The Callisto Protocol" never quite comes close, but there were definitely some moments when I held my breath and didn't want to look around the next corner. Overall, the game does a good job in my opinion.
So in the end I'm relatively satisfied and can't really understand all the bad reviews.