The Callisto Protocol, the survival game and spiritual successor to the critically acclaimed Dead Space, has released this weekend. It's fair to say that things aren't going well.
The game was highly anticipated as it came from the co-creator of Dead Space, Glen Schofield, which brought survival horror to the forefront of modern gaming. However, day one release was off to a very rocky start.
Releasing on all major consoles and PC, users detected multiple bugs and issues with the performance.
With things seemingly running smooth enough on PlayStation, the same can't be said for Xbox and PC users. Reports say that the PC version of the game is practically unusable at this time, with major patches needed.
So apparently the Xbox version of The Callisto Protocol is performing worse than the PlayStation version for some reason, and the PC version is barely even functional at all
reverse Cyberpunk!— Paul Tassi (@PaulTassi) December 2, 2022
Bad reviews for The Callisto Protocol
Set on one of Jupiter's moons, Callisto in the year 2320, the game follows Jacob Lee (Josh Duhamel), who is trapped in a prison overrun by inmates infected by an unknown disease turning them into mutants.
The plot however, seemingly can't save early bugs with various major outlets slating it along with gameplay. While AV Club called it "deathly dull and unoriginal", Polygon called "it a step back" compared to Dead Space. It's important to note here that the last Dead Space game was nearly a decade ago.
IGN gave it a slightly more favourable review. They wrote that "occasional control annoyances, imbalanced combat, and a general absence of innovation result in a roughly eight-hour massacre that’s gratifyingly gruesome, but never quite as great as the series that inspired it."
Sadly also joining the ranks of people who were disappointed with the Callisto Protocol. It looks beautiful, but any tension it builds is overridden by frustration at its combat
— Lucy James (@lucyjamesgames) December 2, 2022
Luckily for fans of sci-fi survival horror games, they don't have to wait long until the Dead Space reboot releases next year. They can once again pin their hopes on the original series to bring out a stronger contender in the genre.
Things should improve over time with The Callisto Protocol in terms of bug fixes and patches. The creators can look to Cyberpunk 2077 with a bit of hope as the 2020 game has recently become a fan favourite after its disastrous launch two years ago.
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