If like me you hold Dead Space in a high regard within the horror genre and you’ve been waiting a long time for anything Dead Space, then you might just be in luck this December with The Callisto Protocol. Developed by Striking Distance Studios which is led by Glen Schofield, the man in part responsible for the original Dead Space games and having plenty of expertise from working on the Call of Duty franchise.

Callisto is a third-person survival horror game which takes place 300 years into the future. Jacob Lee finds himself thrown into Black Iron Prison, located on Jupiter’s moon, Callisto. You’ll be trying to uncover secrets and piece together the story of Callisto whilst fighting off hordes of grotesque, mutated monsters.

Callisto is quite literally a “current-gen Dead Space but not actually Dead Space” game. If you enjoy those games, then you will most likely be in for a treat should you decide to pick this one up.

DISCLAIMER: I have not yet completed The Callisto Protocol and these ramblings are of that I’ve played so far. I’m a big fan of Dead Space and survival horror in general and have clocked around 17 hours within Callisto at the time of writing this review.

I have spent a fair amount of time in photo mode as this game visually looks stunning throughout. This review will avoid spoilers and all screenshots used are my own.

Story

Callisto delivers its story to the player in drips and drabs. You will have your usual cutscenes and cinematic moments where you may meet characters and they clue you in on the recent events. You can also find audio logs by ripping cores out from the skulls of deceased bodies. These give you more of an insight into past events that have happened and possibly clue you up on how to avoid a similar fate or tackle a certain type of situation.

The story definitely takes a “back seat” so far. Whilst there is one here, I don’t feel that it is the focus of the experience. The atmosphere and combat are the clear main focus throughout the experience.

I won’t say too much else here as to avoid the dreaded spoiler territory.

Gameplay

The Callisto Protocol provides you with a variety of ways to disperse mutated freaks, whether that be using a shiv during a stealth kill, blowing off body parts with your trusty sidearm or shotgun should you find the related schematic for it.

There’s a GRP wrist attachment thrown into the mix too, allowing you to pick up objects and enemies for a more creative way to disperse enemies.

Picking enemies up and throwing them into a fan or spikes never gets old and the GRP becomes a useful tool, especially when dealing with multiple enemies. If you are lucky enough to be near an explosive tank, these are fun to pick up with the GRP and make quick work out of multiple enemies.

Couple this with a rather cool dodging system (that takes some practice to get used to, especially when facing multiple enemies) and you have a fun and somewhat challenging experience on your hands.

Whilst being a very linear game in nature, you do have what are described as “Beta Paths.” As with any game in the survival horror genre, it’s important to make sure you explore every nook and cranny to make sure you don’t miss any useful items!

You can find crates with items in and with a keen eye, can even spot hidden paths for more goodies and sometimes if you’re paying attention, you’ll spot hidden little boxes tucked out of the way that need to be grabbed with your GRP attachment.

Keeping an eye out for items is key, as you’ll need as many Callisto Credits as you can carry to upgrade your weapons when you reach a Reforge station.

Upgrading weapons is a must. Giving you the ability to add more damage, hold more ammunition and combine different attacks, it’s going to be useful the further you progress.

The HUD (heads up display) is all displayed in game, so no need to pause and break immersion. You have something called a “core” implanted in the back of your neck which tracks your health, which is restored with a “health injector.”

These are kept in your inventory, and should a situation arise where you need to use one, you will need to find a safe spot to do so as it takes time to inject yourself. You’ll be lucky to be able to use one within combat.

Sadly, it isn’t without some minor personal gripes. You are tasked at times with needing to go somewhere to fix something or open something to continue.  At times, this requires a lot of shimmying or crawling through vent spaces to get around and whilst it can be cool or unique depending on the situation, it does ultimately begin to feel tedious at times.

Atmosphere

Striking Distance have nailed the atmosphere in Callisto. All the small design choices come together nicely, giving you an experience that feels tense throughout and terrifying in certain moments.

Brilliant sound design and lighting really add to the experience. I can’t help but take my time with this and soak in the atmosphere. Pair the sound design with some rather impressive lighting and you have a game that’s pleasing to look at.

The character models are very detailed, as are the monsters you face. Cutscenes look especially amazing and are a joy to watch.

Atmosphere is where this game really does shine and although you are somewhat “safe” when you are near a Reforge station, it certainly doesn’t feel that way.

A lot of attention to detail like water leaking down walls or the echoing sound of metal structures crashing down in the distance help to build up a believable world so well.

Final Thoughts

Overall, The Callisto Protocol delivers what it’s intended to in the way of an unsettling sci-fi romp that can feel really smooth (for the most part) playing in performance mode.

Stunning visuals aside, performance is where the game falls short in places. Nearer my final hours of the game, I’ve had an occasional stutter here or there and this weird split-second glitch where half of my display went solid black.

Striking Distance are currently working on fixes, and it seems to be PC that is most affected by these issues. From my own personal time with the game, I haven’t encountered anything too serious or at least nothing that makes me want to put the game down.

I would just like to note here that other people are having worse (or better) experiences, so yours may differ from mine.

There is also a notable lack of Ray-Tracing in the Xbox Series X version, which is apparently already being worked on according to the Callisto Game’s Twitter account, but the game still looks gorgeous without it.

Based off my personal experience with The Callisto Protocol so far, I’d find it hard not to recommend it to a fellow survival horror fan. However, you might be better off waiting to pick this one up, or even ask for it for Christmas, as there seems to be some minor and some major issues differing from player to player.

My experience has been mostly good aside from the few minor issues I mentioned previously, but Striking Distance are already working on fixes for issues and have already launched one update with more to follow.

Overall, Callisto is a solid experience that is absolutely worth your time and I’m excited to wrap it up and start a second playthrough, but it will be worth checking the official Twitter to see where they are at with fixes before you decide to jump in.

I’ll have to draw an obvious and overused compassion to finish and repeat what I said at the beginning of this review but, if you’re a fan of Dead Space, then you’ll most likely enjoy this.

Side note: there is DLC planned and a free update coming in February of next year too, there is also a very cool prequel podcast named The Callisto Protocol: Helix Station that is absolutely worth a listen if you do plan on jumping into the game.

The Callisto Protocol is a great start to what could grow into an amazing series.