The Callisto Protocol

A wonderfully exhausting exercise in futility is probably the best way of describing The Callisto Protocol as no matter the strength of my own resolve, I was constantly on edge and reveling in those fleeting moments where the game allowed me to breathe following yet another life-threatening fight. The constant fear and dread incited by the phenomenal visual and sound design are only complemented by the compelling story. The Callisto Protocol is, hopefully, the start of an exciting new franchise, and is another sign that survival horror is anything but dead.

The Callisto Protocol continues Dead Space's legacy in a very competent manner. It might very well be the beginning of a new series, because the most important thing - scaring the player - works very well here.

The Callisto Protocol is a formidable adventure, very linear (in a good way), that knows how to drink from Dead Space but finds its own way. It's a shame that introducing some items to its Season Pass limit its life so much and that its second half isn't quite as inspired. But what a good time I've had.

An intense atmospheric adventure with an intriguing premise, The Callisto Protocol delivers a solid horror game that focuses largely on its satisfying combat. It doesn't have much variety and is lacking a bit of creativity, but it makes up for that with impressive visuals and disgusting, intimidating monsters. It might not meet the expectations of its obvious inspirations, but The Callisto Protocol lays a strong foundation of terrifying atmosphere and crunchy combat that makes it satisfying and spooky nonetheless.

The Callisto Protocol is a decent spiritual successor to Dead Space that's often too careful. The intense action and visual beauty isn't bad at all. But the lack of originality in both story and gameplay are obvious.

Dead Space 4 in all but name, except with no puzzles and surprisingly little suspense. The Callisto Protocol has plenty of gritty action but that’s not quite enough to sustain interest for its entire duration.

The Callisto Protocol isn’t scary. It isn’t fun. It isn’t entertaining, fascinating, or mildly enriching. It lays a self-entitled claim to Dead Space’s stylistic and mechanical elements yet wields not a single one with grace, instead performing a crude pantomime. It’s mechanically unpleasant, bereft of a single original idea, and hostile to its own players. There's literally one jumpscare tactic reused at a rate best described as pathological. It's got some damn nerve wanting to be seen as a worthy successor - it can't even rival the weakest of pretenders.

I don't understand bad reviews, I finished the game and I think it is a great horror game. To my opinion it is better than Dead Space and Remake. Until this day I was not playing because of bad ratings but give it a shot and decide yourselves.

“Oyunda düşman çeşitliliği oldukça az, silahların vuruş hissiyatları birbirine benziyor. Peri mekaniğine alışmak başlangıçta zor, ancak alıştıktan sonra rahatlıkla uygulanabiliyor.”

Um bom jogo de survival horror, porém não muito mais do que isso. Definitivamente, não superou os clássicos jogos de Dead Space.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

When I first learnt about The Callisto Protocol and the fact that it was being helmed by the creators of the original Dead Space - one of the greatest survival horror games of all time AND one of my absolute favourite games of all time - I couldn't help but become very hyped about the upcoming new survival horror IP that promised to deliver something truly great. Never could I have anticipated that this game would go spectacularly down in flames as one of the absolute worst games of 2022. Despite all the fantastic trailers that showcased The Callisto Protocol's rock solid graphics and art design, the actual graphics and performance of the game is unapologetically atrocious. I barely got an hour into the game before the game crashed. That's not even mentioning the fact that the framerate dropped phenomenally during the first combat encounter. This is all in consideration of the fact that The Callisto Protocol is strictly a linear game and has only one job to do - to transition the player down a series of corridors and rooms that don't facilitate a great deal of exploration. As for gameplay, The Callisto Protocol is superbly underwhelming in every sense of the word. Combat is simply deplorable as it relies on melee weaponry and an overly simplified, yet ineffective dodge system that doesn't even work properly. Exploration is non-existent. The layout of most levels is dull and sequential. For example, my progress after two hours was gated by the placement of an infuriating lunge monster that leeched my health and as I was out of healing items, I simply couldn't progress any further. By the way, I was also playing on the easiest difficulty setting. Why anyone would play The Callisto Protocol through to completion is beyond me. The game is a colossal failure in every sense of the term. There's simply no enjoyment to be had, just endless amounts of disappointment at the prospect of what could've been. It really saddened me deeply that this game failed so badly. From it's abysmal narrative, it's atrocious technical performance, and lastly it's questionable linear design which stripped it of any great potential, The Callisto Protocol represents a blemish on a year that saw standout titles like God of War: Ragnarok and Elden Ring rise to prominence amidst a plethora of other games that defined 2022 as one the best years for videogames.