The Callisto Protocol Reviews
The Callisto Protocol is mediocre at best with nothing to brag about as every aspect of the game like story, ending, boss fights, visuals and pretty much everything else is below the standards of 2022.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Aside from one or two overly frustrating encounters, we’ve truly enjoyed our time with The Callisto Protocol. And over time, we’re sure it’s going to get better. This is a mighty debut for Striking Distance Studios, and we can’t wait to get our hands on an improved sequel or something entirely new from the studio in the future. We wholeheartedly recommended The Callisto Protocol to horror fans open to brutal close-combat encounters, but some might want to wait until features such as New Game Plus have been added and certain issues have perhaps been ironed out. With a solid update or two, it will be essential.
Its a shame that the combat do let the game down when you face multiple enemies and you will face multiple enemies a lot. Otherwise the game is stunning, one of the best looking games out there, and story scenes are well directed with the aid of life-like characters.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Playing The Callisto Protocol made me feel like I'm wasting my time and I rarely feel that way when I play video games. With simple and repetitive combat and a world that's completely void of tension yet still filled with absurd amounts of violence, it can go suck an egg.
The Callisto Protocol is a raw and brutal sci-fi survival horror with extremely physical, challenging, and visceral combat and a first-rate graphical compartment. Even if it feels inadequate from a narrative point of view and its linear structure smacks of somewhat dated game design, the overall result is still convincing and it manages to keep interest high until the end. Definitely recommended if you love survival horror and claustrophobic sci-fi settings.
Review in Italian | Read full review
There’s a solid game at the heart of Black Iron Prison, but every opportunity the game gets to subvert expectations or do something new is instead a moment of deferral to one of Callisto’s many inspirations. It’s nice to see Callisto try to be a new brew, synthesised from many parts, but an entirely new vision would have stuck around in the bloodstream a little longer.
If you were hoping this would be the second coming of Dead Space, you’ll need to wait for next year’s remake.
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.
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 brings high-def sci-fi horror to current-gen consoles, but it suffers from a lack of dynamic gameplay ideas outside of its gore.
AAA-class SF horror game that appeared after a long time. The lingering story created among people who have turned into bizarre monsters is the attractive element of the game. The battle balance and level design are somewhat disappointing, but it is still a fun enough game.
Review in Korean | Read full review
The Callisto Protocol might be treading familiar ground, but it does so with such mastery that it turns it to sacred ground. It perfects the goals that Dead Space first set out to achieve, reaching the peak of the survival horror genre when it comes to gameplay, art direction, storytelling, and — of course — horror.
Considering that it is the first work by Striking Distance Studios, the level reached by The Callisto Protocol is certainly very high. We are looking at one of the best audio-visual experiences of this generation, surrounded by gameplay that is anything but trivial and a truly noteworthy atmosphere.
Review in Italian | Read full review
What The Callisto Protocol lacks in truly original ideas it more makes up for in presentation and atmosphere. A game this polished and confident from a newly formed studio that had to work through a pandemic is nothing short of impressive. While it won’t change anyone‘s mind who didn’t like the spiritual predecessor Dead Space, this brings back unsettling space horror at its peak.
Review in German | Read full review
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
