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Callisto Protocol | Review Thread

What Scores do you think Callisto Protocol will get?

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    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 10-20%

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  • 20-30%

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  • 30-40%

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  • 50-60%

    Votes: 1 4.0%
  • 60-70%

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  • 70-80%

    Votes: 16 64.0%
  • 80-90%

    Votes: 8 32.0%
  • 90-95%

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  • 95-100%

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  • Total voters
    25
  • Poll closed .

Draugoth

Gold Member
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Game Information​

Game Title: The Callisto Protocol
Platforms:
  • Xbox Series X/S (Dec 2, 2022)
  • PlayStation 5 (Dec 2, 2022)
  • PlayStation 4 (Dec 2, 2022)
  • Xbox One (Dec 2, 2022)
  • PC (Dec 2, 2022)
Trailer:
Developer: Striking Distance Studios
Publisher: Krafton

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic:

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MetaCritic (PS5):

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Critic Reviews:​


Ars Technica - Alessandro Fillari - Unscored
This breakout horror game stumbles occasionally, but it still stands tall as a thrilling survival-horror experience.

AusGamers - Steve Farrelly - 8.7 / 10
From the initial prison sequences through to deep underground spaces where you'll be navigating an old, abandoned colony to the surface of Callisto itself, the game serves up a terrifying feast for the eyes.

Checkpoint Gaming - Luke Mitchell - 7.5 / 10
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.

Dexerto - Andrew Highton - 5 / 5
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.

Digital Trends - Giovanni Colantonio - 3.5 / 5
Despite some cumbersome combat systems and performance issues, The Callisto Protocol successfully builds on Dead Space's legacy

Everyeye.it - Giuseppe Carrabba - Italian - 7.8 / 10
Certainly a "good first" for Striking Distance Studios

Game Informer - Wesley LeBlanc - 6 / 10
If you wanted anything more out of this second crack at making a new sci-fi IP in survival horror, or something markedly different that acknowledges just how far gaming has come since 2008, The Callisto Protocol is not your answer.

Game Rant - Dalton Cooper - 3.5 / 5
The Callisto Protocol is an excellent game while it lasts, but it's missing important features that would have propelled it to the next level.

GamePro - Dennis Michel - German - 66 / 100
The Callisto Protocol is an atmospheric graphics blender that can only compete with Dead Space in a playful way.

GameSpot - Jordan Ramée - 5 / 10
Though it starts off on a strong note, The Callisto Protocol's focus on action-heavy spectacles fails to adequately explore its horror and overcrowds its weak combat mechanics.

GamesHub - Nicholas Kennedy - 3 / 5
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.

God is a Geek - Chris White - 8.5 / 10
The Callisto Protocol is violent and brutal, with stunning visuals, but it's intimacy causes a few problems that are hard to be overlooked.

IGN - Tristan Ogilvie - 7 / 10
The Callisto Protocol is a satisfyingly gory spiritual successor to the Dead Space series, but it’s ultimately more of a striking modern mimic than a scary new mutation.

INVEN - Suhyung Jung - Korean - 8.5 / 10
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.

Inverse - Joseph Yaden - 6 / 10
The Callisto Protocol succeeds as a desolate and brutal survival horror experience in its opening hours. But the second half is hindered by massive difficulty spikes and clunky melee combat.

Metro GameCentral - Nick Gillett - 6 / 10
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.

MondoXbox - Giuseppe Genga - Italian - 8.5 / 10
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.

PC Gamer - Shaun Prescott - 79 / 100
Gory and moody, The Callisto Protocol doesn't mess with the survival horror formula, instead embracing all its beats and clichés to tell a grim sci-fi tale that drips with menace.

PSX Brasil - Bruno Henrique Vinhadel - Portuguese - 85 / 100
Superb in setting, visuals, sound and other technical parts, The Callisto Protocol is impressive from start to finish and a brutal experience that is lacking these days. Although it is not perfect and some problems can be noticed, as well as the lack of content beyond the main campaign, there is a lot of quality showing that the game delivers what was promised.

PlayStation Universe - Adam Byrne - 7.5 / 10
First out of the gate in what will be a bevy of survival titles in the coming months, The Callisto Protocol is a solid maiden effort from developer Striking Distance Studios and one that has laid the groundwork what is hopefully to come.

Polygon - Michael McWhertor - Unscored
The Callisto Protocol could have borrowed a few more lessons from its spiritual inspiration, and further refined its mechanics to make a game that plays as good as it looks.

PowerUp! - Leo Stevenson - 5.5 / 10
If you were hoping this would be the second coming of Dead Space, you’ll need to wait for next year’s remake.

Press Start - James Mitchell - 8 / 10
The Callisto Protocol is a modest starting point for what I hope will flourish into another heavy-hitting horror franchise. It's gory and gratuitous, with an endlessly satisfying combat system. But the lack of enemy variety scares, and surprises, even if engaging, stop it from being the horror game masterpiece it's trying to be. Despite all of its shortcomings, it's an immensely enjoyable romp that's left me desperate for more.

Push Square - Liam Croft - 7 / 10
The Callisto Protocol is a consistently good game that, when it's at its best, gives many of the survival horror greats a run for their money. However, there's no getting around the fact the game has very little to truly call its own.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Alice Bell - Unscored
The Callisto Protocol isn't that scary and has potentially annoying combat, but it would still be pretty fun if it didn't run like your three day old reheated takeaway.

Screen Rant - Leo Faierman - 2.5 / 5
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.

Shacknews - Donovan Erskine - 8 / 10
The Callisto Protocol is a deeply immersive sci-fi horror experience that firmly grabs you at the start and doesn’t let go. While this immersion shows its cracks during the transition into new areas, it’s not enough to ruin the overall experience.

TheGamer - Andrew King - 2.5 / 5
It's a shame that The Callisto Protocol is so uninteresting at its core. Though it looks gorgeous on the surface, a dozen hours of nothing special can have a clarifying effect.

Xbox Achievements - Richard Walker - 80%
An unflinchingly violent and gruesome survival horror that ratchets up the tension from the get-go and doesn't let up, The Callisto Protocol is superlative stuff, and a must for anyone with even a passing fancy for Dead Space and its ilk.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Looks like a 3/5 from Games Radar.



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Edit:

Google cache has the full review, looks like they put it up early accidentally.



Pros​

  • +
    Looks incredible
  • +
    Great sci-fi world building

Cons​

  • -
    Horrible combat
 
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Agent_4Seven

Tears of Nintendo
I voted 85 for my prediction.

Guess we know now why they were crunching. Probably still has some enjoyable content but I'm not biting at $70 with this much competition. Will keep an eye on it for the future.
 
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GenericUser

Member
Well, maybe it's time to ragna-rock. No way I'm going to pay full price for this.
Shame, I'm a huge huge survival horror fan and the game looked very promising.
 
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decisions

Member
Is it strange that I feel I have become so disenchanted with review scores that this makes me want to play the game even more? I know I'll probably regret it but after seeing Ragnarok get a 94 I'm not really sure what I'm even expecting an MC score to mean anymore. I think Ragnarok was a great game, but has obviously glaring issues such as excessive hand-holding, terrible pacing, and level design that overstays its welcome far before you can complete all of the game's content. If the game had less hand-holding, less puzzles, less scripted sequences where you do very non-God-of-War things, and less repetitive side content would it have gotten a lower MC score from these same outlets?
 

LordCBH

Member
Saw it coming when I saw that thread on the review embargo date. But damn it still hurts…they said and showed so many right things. The trailers looked great, the gameplay looked great. But man….
 

Needlecrash

Member
Its jank as fuck. I didn't want to say anything when the one low score review popped up recently with everyone thinking it was the reviewer. But its not...up to par.
Fucking hell. You're one of the reviewers I trust the most. Welp, canceling my PS5 pre order and putting that to Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII instead. I'm not gonna pay $70 for AAAA jank.
 
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ahtlas7

Member
Yup, middling scores for a ho-hum experience, it would seem. I’ll pick it up down the road in the discount bin.
 
I guess in this case, the release day review embargo wasn't a good sign.
^This is the case most of the time.

So much info was held back and that’s usually a major red flag.

IGN giving this a 7 is a very bad look because they over score games most of the time IMO.

A 5 from gamespot …. Going to save my $70 and wait for a discount.
 
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Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
I'm personally still planning to buy this day one because looking at most reviews they liking the atmosphere and horror but they hate the difficulty which was kind of same deal with original Evil Within but I enjoyed that game a lot.
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So far these reviews give me no reason to skip this game.
 
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