The Callisto Protocol (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S) is a survival horror sci-fi adventure from the creators of Dead Space. How is it? Let’s talk.
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Hey and we're back with another episode Of before you buy that show we give you Some straight up gameplay and our first Impressions of the latest games Releasing as usual it's me Jake and Today we're talking about the Callisto Protocol finally uh this is an action Survival horror sci-fi game from the new Striking Distance Studios uh headed up By one of the creators of the original Dead Space this looked to kind of be the Next generation of Dead Space you know Inspired by it but something else and Also just a good old-fashioned Straightforward video game a linear Adventure where it's fun and cool stuff Happens right I was really excited for This one and uh Callisto protocol is Full of hits and a few misses it doesn't Really Master any aspects of what it Does and some of it disappoints but I Thought it was an okay ride I'm gonna be Harsh on it but I still recommend Playing it if you like these types of Games definitely but maybe wait if There's some other stuff you gotta play First for reasons that I'll talk about In a bit I enjoyed this game way more Than some other people people I spoke to Who played it uh but it is a complicated One and before we jump in Just note that I've been playing a review copy for a Few days on Playstation 5. this is all PS5 footage and it's spoiler free if
You're watching this video near the Game's launch the PC version seems like It is having major performance issues For some players uh so keep that in mind It does not seem to be in an acceptable State for a lot of people which is not Great so depending on when you're Watching this video consult some Steam Reviews or some patch notes before Diving in but the game itself the best Thing I can say about it right off the Bat on a high note is that it's like Dead space but with more sci-fi and also A dash of the underrated Chronicles of Riddick escape from butcher Bay like You're basically a space trucker this Guy Jacob Lee who ends up crash landing On Callisto and gets thrown right in a Spooky space sci-fi prison it's pretty Cool there's cool robots and like prison Guards and stuff and you're not there Long before things go wild these Zombie-like biophage monster creatures Attack and the prison is thrown into Chaos and then you escape and go on like A 10-ish hour sci-fi horror Adventure The camera is close to the character and You slowly walk your way like through Narrow hallways finding health and ammo And saving it as much as possible to Survive navigating your limited Inventory all that you know like Jacob Moves like a survival horror tank you Can Sprint but that's really it enemies
Will bust out of vent shafts or pop Through floors or jump out of Windows at You and you can engage them in one of a Few ways you can Crouch but it's really Slow and you'll very very rarely have an Opportunity to stealth kill an enemy Despite a few sections the main stuff is Shooting and melee shooting is pretty Great it's not very complicated most Enemies you just kind of Blast away at But it's satisfying there's pretty quick Aiming the there's good feedback add a Nice amount of Gore and visual effects The game incentivizes you to get off a Quick shot here and there because after A melee combo a little on-screen Indicator will pop up for you to Quick Aim and fire some heads pop off arms can Fly off and it's nice I found myself Head shotting enemies that spit Projectiles at me because it's hard to Move out of the way of them and uh Taking off an enemy's arm sometimes Means they won't swing at you as much in A combo it's not the most strategic Thing you might have been expecting a Little bit more but it's nice to see it All kind of visually represented you Mostly just Blast away with a certain Few couple of enemies that have tentacle Spots that pop out that you need to Quickly take out because they'll get More powerful weapons pack a punch too And uh ammo is somewhat limited for some
Of the games so firing usually feels Like a big deal that's good that's what I was hoping that's how it should be now Melee you'll either love it or you'll Hate it it starts off uh it seems pretty Awesome the game starts off really Strong but about halfway through once The enemy encounters start getting Getting a bit more complicated it loses Steam and feels a little rough but I Still didn't really mind it throughout It's awkward you know Jacob doesn't Control that great and there's uh not a Great way to Quick turn but hits are Slow and crunchy and satisfyingly brutal Finishers look pretty awesome and it's All very cinematic but it's uh you know It's also very much set up for One-on-one encounters and they can Almost feel like quick time events Thanks to a really weird Dodge mechanic It kind of works like an exchange an Enemy swipes at you twice and then you Whack them three times and then rinse Repeat with little variations here and There the Dodge mechanic is weird man It's literally hold left or hold right Before they hit you and you will Dodge And then for the next hit just move in The opposite direction it sounds like it Makes sense it's a little more weird and Feel I don't hate it it's fine but it Feels like one of the more half-baked Elements of the combat along with
Holding back to block uh which I didn't End up using much it's all fine it's Okay it's not great but it gets Messier When you handle more than one enemy Because you're not really set up for That but thankfully there's more tools There's telekinesis that's the third Pillar of combat and it's thankfully Simple and straightforward you have Limited uses uh with it but you can pull Enemies towards you and then throw them You can throw them into each other or Off a ledge or onto spiky walls which Are everywhere for some reason because It's a video game uh it's easy to Control and it's pretty satisfying the Game forces you to use all three of These things to win and it's never clean And it always feels a bit janky but not Enough where I got mad at the game it's Okay it has moments it can be tense it Can be challenging it can also be Tedious and it can sometimes be [ __ ] But again I didn't hate it it's survival Hardy so I don't mind having some Gameplay mechanics stacked against me Personally but you might not like it It's a lot of trial and error and some Sequences that seem simple and easy you Can easily get screwed up and you're Forced to repeat it a bunch of times Until you get it exactly right shoot That enemy turn right a bad guy pops out Of a closet hit him three times and then
Run away and then use your telekinesis To grab an exploding barrel and throw it At them I found myself actually kind of Hooked on repeating a section quite a Few times to get through it perfectly The death animations are really over the Top and excessive and cool like Jacob's Head will get blown off or he'll get his Eyes stabbed out anything you can think Of but they do get a little old after Dying a million times but it's not that Big of a deal you collect money from the Environment and downed enemies to spend At these vending machines to 3D print New weapons and ammo and weapon upgrades Each weapon comes with a little upgrade Tree and it's simple but it's good it All gets the job done and weapon Upgrades to me felt pretty worthwhile You know worth earning and satisfying I Found myself hoarding as many things as I could sell at the vending machine with You know the pretty limited inventory to Get the most for my Loadout the weapons Are pretty good but I did find two were Kind of Fairly unnecessary like they Just seemed extra didn't really do Anything too different and uh weren't Really worth carrying the extra ammo for It's good to have choices but I stuck to My Mains really and it was fun to see Them all the way through the upgrade Tree because you get some pretty cool Alternate fire modes there are also
Audio logs that uh you can find and Collect in the environment and they Provide background for the story the Story that is uh pretty simple it There's not a lot of payoff to it a few Things you can see coming and some Really simple stuff that has been done Before like straight up in the game that Inspired this one Jacob as a main Character doesn't have too much to him But it's a fine performance at least by Actor Josh dumel also uh the champ Sam Whitworth who you've probably seen in a Lot of games like days gone is in this And uh that is cool I really like it Ultimately though the story doesn't Amount to too much you know it's not the Worst it's just simple kind of typical Sci-fi just good enough to get you going Through it I think I really just like The game more for the experience rather Than the story or particular things like I had fun just going through a Straightforward Adventure levels look Really really cool they did a good job Like doing interesting spins on stuff We've seen in sci-fi before you know Sci-fi prison with robot guards we've Seen that a million times before but it Was pretty cool and distinct here snowy Space Planet space shanty town space lab Space Factory again stuff we've seen but I really liked slowly trudging my way Through these places the level of detail
Is insane and lighting is great the use Of darkness really does a lot of heavy Lifting for creating a good sense of Dread the scares kind of wear off by the Second half of the game unfortunately Because of some cheap reused jump scares And not a lot of enemy types though the Game does my least favorite thing just Kind of one repeating mid boss type Through the whole second half of the Game and then one not great and boss a Little anti-climactic there still there Are some really cool moments some Surprises some real really scary Hallways and scenarios that are very Claustrophobic and stress inducing in Some creative ways and when you're going Through it with the lights off and some Good headphones on it can be really Really immersive the sound is really Something else enemies sound nasty but From far away that's where things get Really unnerving like gross squishes Distant howling scrapes banging on metal It's like a haunted house basically and It's pretty solid even down to small Stuff like crawling through a vent shaft Sound weighty and realistic it's Impressive it also looks incredible PC Again I haven't had experience with but On PS5 it's a looker it's got a Performance and Fidelity mode Performance mode knocks down the Lighting a little bit from what I
Noticed but I still found it to be Pretty great looking and impressive and Immersive all around characters look Pretty lifelike the faces are nuts the Gore is absolutely nasty the lighting And the fog and the Shadows are on point And hide enemies well and the snow is Really realistic too now it's not a Super long adventure uh like I said it's Super linear and you know other than Just sometimes you turn left and find More ammo or a collectible down a Certain dead end hallway and you make Your way back that's really it expect Like 10 ish hours depending on how good You are and there are three difficulty Modes and uh straight up that's it so Obviously at launch for some folks That's a hard sell for how much full Game prices are these days so uh some Things are coming down the line like a New game plus mode but right now it's a Bare Bones package and as much as I Enjoyed the ride I didn't feel the need To replay it again right away or Anything so if it sounds like I'm hard On this game it's because I really love These types of games I will always root For a traditional ass video game and I'm Still glad I played through this one Reviews are all over the place so Definitely check out a few everybody's Opinion is different form your own I'd Say if you like these types of games
Just play it at some point especially uh Once the PC version is fixed but that's It before you about you know how this Goes by now right I'll give you some Pros some cons and some personal opinion And now I want to hear yours down in the Comments what do you expect from this Game did you jump into it immediately A Lot of people are already formulating Opinions on the first couple of hours I'd say see through to the end before You commit but there is some cool stuff Here though so let me know like one of Your favorite moments or a big surprise Or a scare or just something in the Environment let's talk about anything The Callisto protocol down in the Comments we'd love to hear from you guys If seeing this gameplay and hearing some Info helped you out at all clicking the Like button helps us we would appreciate That but that's it thank you guys very Much for watching and we'll see you next Time Foreign
