The Callisto Protocol Reviews

The Callisto Protocol is ranked in the 34th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Kakuchopurei
Tony Tudin
50 / 100
Dec 6, 2022

Rather like a beat 'em up, you're just going through a bunch of linear corridors, fighting and dodging your way out of prison hell. That in itself is more frustrating than fun because of the overall poor design. So why pay triple-A price for a watered-down sci-fi horror game experience?

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6 / 10.0
Dec 5, 2022

The Callisto Protocol is my biggest disappointment this year. While it nails the aesthetic and is one of the most beautiful games I’ve played this year, it misses the mark in almost every other department. I think it can be refined to at least be more fun, but in its current state, the story and gameplay weigh down this new entry to the survival horror genre from the potential it so obviously has.

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Dec 5, 2022

This intense, gory horror game is steadfastly old-fashioned and lacking in internal logic – but it's fun anyway

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GameMAG
Top Critic
6 / 10
Dec 5, 2022

If you still really want to play The Callisto Protocol it would be wise to wait for any upcoming updates and significant price drop.

Review in Russian | Read full review

EGM
Top Critic
Dec 5, 2022

The Callisto Protocol feels like a throwback title, for better and worse. While the Dead Space comparisons are unavoidable, director Glen Schofield's return to survival horror does bring with it several new concepts, but many, like the melee combat system, suffer from poor execution. Still, if you're looking for a fun, B-movie disaster story with some famous Hollywood faces and a more straightforward, linear single-player experience, you could do worse-at least until the Dead Space remake launches next year.

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6 / 10
Dec 5, 2022

The Callisto Protocol is a good game that falls short in almost every department of being a great one. Predictable story, gratifying-yet clunky combat mechanics and a lack of variety hold back what is an otherwise visual and audible spectacle. Dead Space has cast a long shadow since its release in 2008 and The Callisto Protocol can’t emerge from the depth of its superb darkness.

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7 / 10.0
Dec 5, 2022

The latest game from the creator of Dead Space called The Calisto Protocol is an experience full of ups and downs. When the game tries to take the Dead Space route, it offers a heartwarming and entertaining experience. But when it tries to act differently, many problems appear. The repetitive combat system and the fight with the bosses are among the main problems of the game, which have severely damaged the game experience in the final sequences. The Callisto Protocol definitely has a lot of potential that the creators could not use well and with their wrong choices during the development, they have caused a lot of damage to this title. With all these interpretations, this title can still be offered to those interested in the Dead Space series and the horror and survival genre and hoped that if a sequel is made, its problems will be resolved. Things like voice acting and game graphics are among the commendable parts of this work.

Review in Persian | Read full review

7.6 / 10.0
Dec 4, 2022

The Callisto Protocol is a very delicate Dead Space-like game: excellent horror atmosphere, outstanding graphics, and a fairly good combat experience, but the actual content is difficult to meet the high expectations of players. I was very disappointed after playing it, because it's hard to imagine such a highly anticipated work being so mediocre, it could have been a better game.

Review in Chinese | Read full review

7.8 / 10.0
Dec 4, 2022

The Callisto Protocol fails despite a solid overall performance on its high ambitions. You have to give the studio some credit for the creative approaches, especially for the gameplay and atmosphere but there is a constant lack of a final touch through the whole game, which often lets the gameplay end in frustration and boring/repetitive sections. Horror Fans with lots of endurance should still get it for the PlayStation 5.

Review in German | Read full review

5 / 10.0
Dec 4, 2022

Good graphics and lighting can only go so far and unfortunately, there is absolutely nothing else here worth getting excited about. The Callisto Protocol is this generation’s The Order: 1886. It could have been great. There are flickers of greatness here. But in the end, this turns into a great big disappointment.

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Wait
Dec 4, 2022

The Callisto Protocol excels as an atmospheric survival horror title, at least in its early parts of the game. However, because so many of its inconsistent combat mechanics could’ve used more balancing, the aspects that made the title stand out ultimately worked against it. Moreso, the unsatisfying conclusion squanders the mystery that’s been set up at the start of the title with its impressive cinematic cut-scenes. I commend Glen Schofield and his team for sticking to the overall concept and experimenting with new mechanics, however, many of these creative choices snowballed into a frustrating time for random horror fans looking for a good scare.

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5.9 / 10.0
Dec 3, 2022

The Callisto Protocol is a gorgeous mess. I cannot recommend it at the full launch price. The combat is miserable, and the story is simply not interesting. If you are a massive fan of survival horror it lets you down by not being scary either, instead relying on jump scares the entire time.  It is highly competent technically though, and I hope the team at Striking Distance gets more time for their next title, which very well could be a sequel to this one.

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6 / 10.0
Dec 3, 2022

So many good ideas went into making this game, and it leads with such a strong opening. Unfortunately, The Callisto Protocol can’t help but fumble in the second half. As disappointing as it may be, the game will definitely appeal to some players, and the flaws shouldn’t be glaring enough to stop those who loved the game’s opening to see it through to the end, though they might be disappointed.

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7 / 10
Dec 3, 2022

The Callisto Protocol isn’t the greatest horror title ever, but it still has some wicked cool moments to witness. There are stutter issues with the frame rate on PC, the combat does get repetitive and the story is largely forgettable, but the general atmosphere and hand-crafted set pieces are worth experiencing.

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8 / 10
Dec 2, 2022

Although the game suffers from some flaws, they are pretty mild. The Callisto Protocol is visually stunning, but unfortunately, the gameplay is mildly mediocre.

Review in Czech | Read full review

6.5 / 10.0
Dec 2, 2022

It’s pertinent to note that there have been many reported issues of crashes and fluctuating frame rates when entering a new area. I did encounter one crash in my playthrough, but nothing that disrupted my experience. With that said, The Callisto Protocol is an old-school game where everything was more simple (a lackadaisical story, straightforward linearity, basic upgrades) with a coating of some of the most impressive PlayStation 5 graphics I’ve seen.

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Dec 2, 2022

It's a shame that, despite looking great and having a good concept at its core, some poorly-executed ideas lead to a frustrating experience overall. For a new studio to produce a brand new IP is obviously a mammoth task and commendable, so here’s hoping the team get another chance to get a grip on this universe and tighten up the experience.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 2, 2022

The Callisto Protocol gave me nightmares. It's the best horror game of the year, and a bright new contender in the survival horror genre.

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M3
Top Critic
Dec 2, 2022

The Callisto Protocol is stylish and entertaining space action that doesn't reinvent the wheel. Rather, the entire foundation of the game is built on tried and tested concepts and we hadn't objected to a bit of innovation.

Review in Swedish | Read full review

7.5 / 10.0
Dec 2, 2022

The Callisto Protocol clearly gets its inspiration from the older Dead Space games, thanks to co-creator Glenn Schofield being the director on the game. The survival-horror action is being presented very convincing here, with nice visuals and thrilling audio design. Sadly the gameplay is more of mixed bag, with a lot of ups and downs. Whilst not being perfect, Callisto Protocol nonetheless is a fun ride that every survival-horror fan should at least put on their radar.

Review in Dutch | Read full review