The Callisto Protocol - From the developers of Dead Space

Will this game be good?

  • Yes

    Votes: 3 2.9%
  • No

    Votes: 27 26.2%
  • I hope so/Maybe

    Votes: 34 33.0%
  • Can't be worse than Dead Space 3

    Votes: 39 37.9%

  • Total voters
    103
I played it, it's a mess. It's not a bad game, but it learned nothing from Dead Space and became a generic experience.

I already knew the enemy variety was lacking, but the story is uncreative as well. There is no mystery like in Dead Space, it's just a bunch of generic sci fi tropes. You know how things are going to go after the first 30 minutes.

Combat works in theory, but in practice it's frustrating. I think the devs saw Dark Souls and got the wrong idea. In Dark Souls you can easily be killed by allowing yourself to be swarmed or getting caught in a trap. Same applies in Callisto, but difference is that in Callisto you're often fighting 3 enemies at the same time in a cramped corridor, meaning positioning is not possible, and they have unavoidable trap foes. One example has you climbing up a ladder, as you reach the top there's a grabbing trap that's impossible to avoid, if you're at low health you'll have to reload and use a medpack. You'll die, even on the easiest difficulty as you're put into situations where it's impossible to avoid damage. This is very different from Dead Space where being alert meant zero damage runs were possible even on high difficulties.

There is no map or guide marker. This wouldn't be a problem if the game was entirely linear, but it has some optional areas, and this game commits the sin of not making it obvious what direction will progress the plot. If you want to explore everything you will frequently backtrack. You might turn back three-four times as you doubt if you're about to miss something. This isn't new to video games, but it's egregious when Dead Space solved this problem with a guideline button 14 years ago.

It's one of those "cinematic" games where animations and movement feels not responsive enough. You'll do a lot of slow vaults, climbs, and sprints that seem to take too long and make anything but strafing in circles during combat a non option. Melee attacks also over commit. There's a section where you're fighting on a trap that moves back and forth like in certain Souls games. But in Dark Souls I can strike a enemy and turn around on a dime to avoid the trap. In Callisto Protocol I tried to melee a enemy that was in my safe spot to avoid the trap, the animation for the melee attack had me move unto the tracks, and I was stuck in the melee animation and got insta gibbed by the trap, having to reload last checkpoint.

There are issues here that can't be patched away.
 
I enjoyed the game. There was room for improvement, but the combat was pretty fun, and it kept me interested. The GRP could be a bit janky and unsatisfying at times. They should really work on making it feel better when you throw enemies or objects at enemies. More Omph, more bone crunching, more impact. I played on Series X, so didn't really have any issues. Minor hitching here and there on 60FPS mode, the recent patches probably helped that, but I already finished it. I think the game's issue for me was the universe wasn't super interesting. Unlike Dead Space I didn't really care to learn more about anything going on. There wasn't anything as interesting as The Marker.

The game looks pretty good visually even in performance mode on console.


x.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: Product Placement
Holy fucking shit. I played four hours of this shit and I can't continue.

I can't see shit. None of the textures have loaded and I applied the 1.08 patch. EVERYTHING IS JANKY AND JUMPY. This is absolutely fucking unacceptable. I had to disable the pro mode features just to get the frame rate to stabilize so I could ACTUALLY play the fucking game.

If the original dead space was this fucking shitty, it would have just been another footnote in shitty horror game history. How the fuck are games this shit allowed to be launched in the first place?

Edit : Let me elaborate even further.

I encountered the Vagina Go-Go-Gadget Dickhead monster for the first time and IT WASN'T FUCKING LOADED. I WAS QTE- ING AGAINST FUCKING AIR.

Fuck, I take it back. Dead Space 3 was better than this shit, at least that game only fucked up when you played the Multiplayer with a laggy fuck ( lmao those instant death space sequences in the no -death run were fucking impossible)
 
Edit : Let me elaborate even further.

I encountered the Vagina Go-Go-Gadget Dickhead monster for the first time and IT WASN'T FUCKING LOADED. I WAS QTE- ING AGAINST FUCKING AIR.
That sounds like one of the patches in the PS3 version of Dark Souls; particle effects and shit weren't loading. Most memorable part was fighting the Moonlight Butterfly, that thing's just fluttering around and then you lose over half your health from something that's literally not fucking there.
 
well, this game was a disappointment. i think the worst part is how the main character (Jacob) is treated like shit the entire game and somehow, we suppose to sympathize with not Karen Fukuhara when she was the one that put him in jail in the first place. the DLC is just a final slap on the face treating Jacobs suffering as some kind of joke.

>Can't be worse than Dead Space 3

kek.
 
I'm amazed this studio hasn't closed its doors yet.

DLC? I know many people who played this game but every single one of them despised this shit. So, who is going to play this rubbish?
 
  • Like
Reactions: name68126988
Yeah it looks like they really botched the dlc. It's likely going to torch the franchise, but if they somehow make a sequel with the main guy back Id like it if they pulled a robocop and made him one of those security bots.
 
I'm amazed this studio hasn't closed its doors yet.

DLC? I know many people who played this game but every single one of them despised this shit. So, who is going to play this rubbish?
There are layoffs currently happening right now for Striking Distance. Gotta get a archive.

The archive hates me, so here's a IGN article

Callisto Protocol Publisher Confirms 32 Striking Distance Studios Layoffs to 'Realign Priorities'​

Layoffs follow release of Callisto Protocol DLC in June.​


Taylor Lyles

By Taylor Lyles

Updated: Aug 2, 2023 3:14 pm

Posted: Aug 2, 2023 2:48 pm


Striking Distance Studios, the studio behind the 2022 survival horror and Dead Space spiritual successor the Callisto Protocol, has laid off 32 employees in what it's calling a move to "realign the studio’s priorities to better position its current and future projects for success."

Spotted first by X user @bogorad222 and independently confirmed by IGN, more than 30 employees were impacted by the recent layoffs.
Callisto Protocol was met with mixed reviews when it launched in 2022.Callisto Protocol was met with mixed reviews when it launched in 2022.
In a statement sent to IGN, a spokesperson for Krafton confirmed the studio had layoffs and that 32 employees were impacted.
Striking Distance Studios and KRAFTON have implemented strategic changes that realign the studio’s priorities to better position its current and future projects for success. Unfortunately, these changes have impacted 32 employees. Honoring the invaluable contributions of each departing team member with material support in the form of outplacement services and meaningful severance packages is our top priority during this difficult moment.

Striking Distance struggles forward​

Striking Distance was founded over three years ago and is led by Glen Schofield, the creator of Dead Space and co-founder of Sledgehammer Games. The studio was originally formed to create a narrative-driven game set in the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) universe, later revealed as The Callisto Protocol. However, in May 2022, Schofield revealed that The Callisto Protocol no longer takes place in the PUBG universe, stating that it “grew into its own world..”


However, when The Callisto Protocol was released, it was met with mixed reviews and several issues, from performance issues to studio crunch, and issues with crediting people who worked on the game. Additionally, it was reported that The Callisto Protocol failed to meet the sales expectations set forth by Striking Distance Studios’ parent company Krafton.
In our review of The Callisto Protocol, which we awarded a 7 out of 10, my colleague Tristran Ogilvie said “The Callisto Protocol is a satisfyingly gory spiritual successor to the Dead Space series, but it’s ultimately more of a striking
 
Last edited:
The story dlc is hot garbage like the base game. The twist at the end is the doctor kept your ripped in half body alive and the entire dlc takes place in your head.

Modern Gaming is dead and I'm a sucker.
I don't get why the need to such a cruel and pointless ending. It's multiple writing taboos being broken for what amounts as a single paragraph, and from what I read doesn't even reveal anything new that expands the world/characters that could have at least salvaged it a bit.
 
Shrieker has reported that Schofield has left Striking Distance.
Chief Executive Officer Glen Schofield is leaving, a Krafton representative confirmed Wednesday, saying he has “decided to pursue new opportunities.” Striking Distance’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer are also leaving. Krafton said all three departures were voluntary.

It was only a matter of time, especially when the Dead Space remake came out immediately after and shit all over callisto. I still cant get over how the games AI just stopped working if you picked up enemies and dropped them over out of bounds terrain like pipes and holes.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Gravityqueen4life
Back