‘The Callisto Protocol’ Reviews Are In, And They Are Concerning

We have reached the last few high profile releases of the year, and The Callisto Protocol was a game that many were looking forward to, a survival horror outing that seemed like it would be a spiritual successor to Dead Space.

But now that reviews are coming in, it seems to be falling short of that series, and while reviews are…okay, a few major critics and outlets have given it unusually low scores. The Callisto Protocol is currently sitting at a 76 Metascore, a ways off from the 86 of Dead Space, the 90 of Dead Space 2, and closer to the 78 of Dead Space 3, which was viewed as a series low point, before Visceral was eventually dismantled.

My friend Skillup, whose tastes I trust pretty explicitly at this point, positively roasted the game in his review:

Elsewhere, we’re seeing a number of high profile outlets in gaming give The Callisto Protocol some of its lowest scores:

IGN – 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.”

Game Informer – 6/10 – “These various problems aside, though, The Callisto Protocol is still doing a lot of what Dead Space did, for better and worse. And to that end, there are moments of fun, even if, in contrast, they’re light on genuine terror. I’m okay with The Callisto Protocol being another version of its spiritual predecessor, but it struggles to nail even the basics. As a result, I’m underwhelmed, annoyed, and disappointed. 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.”

VGC – 6/10 – “The Callisto Protocol delivers the violence, intensity and horror that lives up to its Dead Space predecessor, but with deeper strategic combat. However, a cliché story and lack of original ideas means that it has one tentacle stuck in the past.”

That isn’t to say there isn’t any praise. Here’s a somewhat shocking perfect 10/10 score from Dextero:

“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.”

The Callisto Protocol is being released about two months ahead of the Dead Space remake from EA, but so far, it does seem like you may be better sticking off with the original than the “spiritual successor” here. It may find its fans, but this is not shaping up to be a last minute industry megahit, if most of these reviews are to be believed. We’ll see what fans make of it as it heads to the wild.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.