The Callisto Protocol

This is a continuous problem with video games in the horror genre, but it needs to be said: blood, guts, and grotesque images aren't inherently scary.

What makes games like Dead Space and Alien: Isolation landmark successes within the horror genre is not the blood and guts spewed across the screen, but the genuine terror that comes with exploring the worlds they've created. It's the fear of being caught, wondering what it was that made that sound, or the outline of something disappearing into the shadows. It's not redundantly smashing a gross looking corpse with a hammer as it growls at you.

Callisto Protocol is...okay. The environment and setting? Love it. I'm a sucker for Science Fiction Horror. Cast? Good. Basic premise? Prison planet is a touch cliché but it can work. The story? Eh...I can forgive some of the more derivative plot points and how much it borrows from Dead Space. But what I can't forgive is the boring pacing and repetitive combat that the game forces you into.

Want to sneak past enemies? Nope. They pop out 1v1 and you beat them to death. Every time. Want to find creative ways to solve problems or avoid hordes of creatures? Nope. Go here, open this door, kill that thing, unlock that room, repeat. The environments and corridors begin to all look the same (splattered with blood, echoing with screams). The combat begins to feel like a chore (you're not afraid of the creatures, you're just annoyed you have to beat another one to death...again) and that's *if* the combat mechanics work. If any CP creator is reading this-please realize that I would rather have little to no combat (like a Dark Pictures Anthology game or Outlast) in which I'm just avoiding death versus a game where I stumble into a room and have to begrudgingly kill something so I can move to the next room and do it again.

Horror is not gore. We don't get scared of something gross that growls and vomits up junk. Maybe the first time you see them it's unsettling. The second and third time the shock wears off. By the third hour of gameplay you'll roll your eyes at how annoying and disinterring you find them-and this is one of the biggest draws of the game (there's no puzzles, no side quests, no real RPG elements).

CP focused on the frosting and forgot about the cake. It's lots of blood, shrieks, screams, and gross creatures, but without the underlying gameplay, combat mechanics, and tone that make a horror game worth playing, CP just ends up feeling hollow and never delivers on the terror that it promises.

This game has a Story line that I'm into. I'm most of the way thorough but dang, this game is Tough. It takes a while to get the hang of. I gave this a 7 because I was hoping for more jaw dropping cinematic sequences. This game isn't very scary, but I'd call it survival horror. It really is a lot like Deadspace but not as scary. The Mechanics overall aren't that great and the action is pretty repetitive but it's hard to put the controller down. I'm a true story gamer and need to find out how this ends.

I'm not too much into recording reviews when the minimum is so much lettering and I'm done.

Right of the bat I'll start by saying a had loads of fun playing this game. The combat is satisfying, the gore is truly next-gen and the story is solid. I don't think I need to say anything about the graphics because it speaks for itself.

Even though it has a bunch of positives, there's the negatives as well. Repetitive gameplay, lack of enemies, easy boss fights (except for the last one) and underdeveloped combat.

But even with the negatives the game gave me memories of the PS3 and XBOX 360 era, and that's good in my opinion, I would define the game as "simple" but believe me simple isn't easy to make. The game doesn't try to change a formula or to be innovating and I respect that, especially nowadays with just dumb and meaningless "innovations" to try and catch the public's attention. Making it simple was the right way to go for me. And god bless them for not including a online marketplace or anything online related.

I played on the PS5 and the game didn't have trouble running just a few dropped frames here and there but solid performance. (Just writing this part because apparently pc players are having a bad time) Overall it was truly a work of love and most importantly I got what I expected. Exited to see new work from the studio's involved in this project.

I rated this game a solid 7. I was really hoping for more space and less planet, but the whole prison planet thing is cool. The visuals are fantastic, story is good but feels rushed and predictable "oh no... not the same thing happening again and again, who'da thunk it", and gameplay is a bit chunky "character movement is slow and robotic " I can't stand the movement when crawling through vents, or squeezing through tight spaces- they take way too long- I went to the bathroom and popped a corn dog in the microwave waiting for my character to exit a tight squeeze area". Combat needs a lot of help "it's more methodical than anything", and running isn't really running... it's more like a fast paced Sunday stroll in the park with grandma taking a 5 minute rest at every park bench". It's also not as jump scary as Dead Space; I was really hoping for that. I think most of the horror aspect comes from when you need to run or get out of the way of something and it feels like you're walking in place waiting for grandma to figure out where she put her purse. Multiple times I was yelling at my character because he's too slow. I guess you just have to stay in super close quarters in combat. I'm sure the developers designed it that way though.

Overall a good game; Something was definitely missing though. More story, more content, more locations, maybe just clean up some of the game play... I don't know to be honest.

I will play the sequel if they make one.

I anticipated the arrival of the game.. When I played I enjoyed a lot of elements in it. Combat was both visceral and fun. The graphics were amazing... Then, as the game lagged on it started to show its flaws.

Combat became more and more clunky and obviously swayed in favor of the monsters.. meaning , Jacob could not execute the moves for the buttons I was hitting..it seemed I was doing something wrong... turns out .... I wasn't . It's the game. It became beyond challenging to carry out the simplest of combat moves... normally in a game it takes you a bit and you get the hang of it but here You will find yourself fighting the controls more than the monsters.. unfortunate outcome to this otherwise pretty cool theme.

Calisto beared some similarities to dead space but is hollow compared to the meaty gameplay of the grand daddy of space horror.

It makes me think this was the lamest of the dead space crew that came over to the new game company.. the guy that works on the controls part is laughing sitting over at EA... saying " let's see your game be good without my buttery controls scheme dbags" lol

Thankfully the new dead space came out shortly after and I was able to redeem my belief that good games CAN have it all... controls...graphics... and be entertaining. Forget this one guys. It's a bargain bin game.. get dead space the remake..it'll provide you with countless hours of horror fun and you won't have to fight the controls to be successful. 60 bucks wasted.