The Callisto Protocol Review (PS5)-
"I have been seeing a lot of hate and criticism aimed at this game online here lately and while I definitely don't think that the game isn't flawed, because it is, but it is a worthy contender especially coming from a new studio. The team who made the game should feel proud of this as their first game, I mean no debut title is going to be a 5 star hit right? Well, the critics have cut no slack on the game and I see their point in some respects, I choose to give it a little more positive praise as it is DEFINTELY playable, not to mention it looks gorgeous on PS5.
The game follows Jacob Lee, a poor sap who seemingly ends up carrying unknown contraband and is aggressively apprehended for it. Claiming his innocence falls on deaf ears and he is sent to the worst penal colony in the galaxy, Black Iron Prison, where only the hardiest and worst criminal offenders wind up. But it doesn't take long after Jacob's arrival to realize there is something very wrong happening in the shadows of the prison prior to his arrival.
The story is cut and dry. Yes, it is basic and yes, you will be able to see every plot twist coming a mile away and probably be able to correctly guess how the ending will play out. Yet, the story is intriguing enough and despite some repetitive mechanics looping throughout, the grotesque creatures and gory death scenes is what will have you in awe. Make no mistake, this is one gory game. And yes, it is scary. My hair stands up on my neck every time I think I hear one of those spider creatures with the 4 limbs coming my way, and just like in Dead Space, they could pop out anywhere anytime. One thing this game has even more of is the awesome and horrifying death scenes, where you will see Jacob get bit in two, or his whole skull caved in , or even witness both his limbs being torn off while he screams in agony. I personally love the gore, it is a horror game, after all. If you are squeamish, stay away from this one. There are also many areas where you have to carefully walk through infested zones, where these nest like cocoons could potentially hatch an evil minion at you and likely scare the hell out of you in the process that are extra disgusting. The dev's did a great job at sound effects as these aforementioned areas feel extra squishy and nauseating. The game (like Dead Space) encourages players to stomp on any enemy that is downed to possibly retrieve ammo or health and the juice that flies as you do this is extra gross. Jacob is one fella I would not want to be in these corridors.
The combat is clunky and is probably the most critiqued point of the game for many. While the melee is effective, the slow and almost robot-like wind-up Jacob must undergo to even partake in this move can feel extra slow and at some critical moments, altogether unresponsive. I remember fighting 2 separates bosses where my inputs were delayed and this can quickly lead to death, because death comes very easily on Medium difficulty. The guns are average at best but don't have the punchy feel we were promised they would. There are several spread out in the game and some are very miss-able, but ultimately they all feel the same when shooting and there is something very wrong with that considering a shotgun and a tactical pistol differ in many ways. There are numerous upgrades to each and perhaps this is why my play through weaponry felt unrealistic and all the same.
The game actually has a sizable 20-30 hours to it which may not sound like much but there are several sections where optional exploration is available. The environment reacts nicely to Jacob as he smashes and waylays his way through it and the graphics are simply on point. The story is lacking sorely, and is completely potentially predictable. The monsters are creepy as hell, but the scares never get quite as high as I remember my time with Dead Space being but there are some tense moments in Callisto Protocol. All in all, it is a solid first attempt at a triple A survival horror game from a debut studio, and it shows it's Dead Space love on it's sleeve. But that's not a bad thing, right!?