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[kiphalfton]

Got only about an hour in, and the game kept crashing.

However, from what I did play it seems like all style and no substance.

- The melee combat is pretty bad, and using the left control stick to dodge makes no sense
- Over reliance on QTE's (and on top of that repeating the same QTE)
- Extremely linear
- Feels like it's one step away from a walking sim with how basic the combat is

Having played Ryse and about half of The Order: 1866, this game falls right in line with both of them. Interesting concepts, that had really bad execution.

I paid $5 for it, and I still may not beat it...

 

[adamsapple]

The funniest thing about this whole fiasco is that the original creator of Dead Space made this game, and then a new team came in and made a much better game with the dead space remake released just a few months after.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Keep Ryse’s name out your mouth

Order 1886

 

[Zuzu]

I played around 30 minutes the other day after claiming it via playstation plus. Felt like playing an interactive movie. Anyway I uninstalled it because the level of gore was disgusting to me.

 

[Pejo]

Man I thought I just got unlucky with the crashes, good to hear it wasn't just me.

 

[Zadom]

I’m a few hours in and enjoying it with no crashes on PS5. If you have PS Plus give it a shot. But keep in mind I really liked the Order 1886 and I love Days Gone. I don’t really care if others hate a game and maybe few agree with my taste in games.

 

[Lunarorbit]

Excellent comparison op. Great graphics, horrible game play. I remember being excited about this one cause the guys from dead space were starting a new op.

Read the reviews about how lazy the combat was. Holy shit... how did they spend all that money and come up with left/right dodge and qtes?

Who in playtesting didn't tell them the truth that this game is not fun at all. Even worse it's boring

 

[skit_data]

I wrote this sorta LTTP review in the "Callisto Protocol is free on PS+" thread:

Finished my playthrough the other day, took about 10-15 hours in total.
Yeah, what to say...

Callisto Protocol is a very mixed bag with some truly puzzling decisions made in regards to the gameplay design and at times some truly impressive graphics (I noticed the upper back of my PS5 was pretty damn warm after playing it for a few hours, something I can't remember noticing with any game before this).

The more I played it the more I realized it's actually more akin to TLOU1 than Dead Space in terms of gameplay.
That might sound promising at first but personally I consider TLOU1 to be pretty mediocre in terms of gameplay. But TLOU1 has something that Callisto Protocol lacks: well written characters, narrative and one hell of an ending.

Callisto Protocols story is very forgettable and feels like a mashup of standard scifi-horror plotpoints mixed with a bit of Shutter Island. Wierdly enough, it still manages to be confusing because the characters don't actually exchange meaningful information that could have been some kind of clue about what they were going for.
It also has a Bioshock 1 end game boss that just.. doesn't do anything but make you wonder what the hell they were thinking.

Still, it was still worth playing IMO, because it made me realize what works so well in Dead Space.
It's really hard not to compare the games due o the release dates and the very similar aesthetics plus Schofield being Callistos director. But Dead Space is by far the better game, both the original and the remake.

There's some good gore, some "damn this game looks pretty damn good"-moments and very well crafted sound design. It's just waay too animation heavy, playing it feels like constantly battling Jacobs desire to finish the animation caused by the players input 2-3 seconds ago. This is what makes it feel like less like Dead Space and more like the worst aspects of TLOU1 and Hellblade: Senuas Sacrifice with some shallow, generic sci-fi horror sprinkled on top.
Maybe it could've held it's own if it just felt a bit better to play and stuck the landing story wise.

It's a 6/10 game for me. A fine game to finish in a weekend since it's "free". Would've been pretty damn pissed if I had preordered it with the expectations I had before release.

 

[semiconscious]

my take:

just recently gave the game a try, & walked away after a few hours absolutely stunned. that its development was overseen by the same guy who helped create the far superior 'original' title that, 15 years on, callisto's nothing but a pale imitation of, only makes the whole thing worse. callisto's an almost shockingly bad game. it truly does feel like a triple-a game produced by an ai that'd processed a batch of survival horror games beforehand. eerily uninspired & soulless...

 

[drotahorror]

At least Ryse and Order were fun. TCP was a chore to play.

 

[RPS37]

Hey did you know this is free on PS Plus right now?!

 

[Kupfer]

Having played Ryse and about half of The Order: 1866, this game falls right in line with both of them.

Great games you mention there! Maybe I should try Callisto Protocol based on this recommendation.
I know it isn't a good game with a bad gameplay loop, but maybe it's fun for it's visuals and story when playing on easy, just to slide through?

 

[Cr1ptkeeper]

No. The Order was fun and had top notch graphics.
Callisto was not fun for me and certainly doesn't has top notch graphics.

 

[GymWolf]

The order had better gameplay and ryse had better story.

It's somehow worse than both.

 

[ManaByte]

How can you tell someone never played Ryse? This thread.

 

[STARSBarry]

I had fun with both Ryse and The Order 1886. Not with this turd.

Its like they got the gameplay the wrong way round, I'm supposed to be weak up close and dangerous at distance, that's how dread works I'm horror...

In this game I'm at my most dangerous when when I'm slapping whatever horror in the face with a stun baton. Meaning I'm not afraid of anything because I'm constantly charging towards them, and sorry but the melee is just not fun, I feel like im playing baby's first fight night with the dodging.

 

[fran.fernandez]

No crash on my side.
And is the first time I clear a game that I didn’t “buy”. lol. All those ps plus games , game pass, download -> play some minutes -> next.

I did enjoy it .

 

[Giallo Corsa]

The order had better gameplay and ryse had better story.

It's somehow worse than both.

Aye.


This game just feels...empty, it's a container for something that isn't really there if that makes any sense, all show and no substance and it's way, way worse than both the order and Ryse - at least those games had a nice story and characters, Callisto on the other hand is full of boring cliches and for as much as it tries to create a specific atmosphere it falls flat on its face since there's absolutely zero of it.Everything feels like a horror-themed park ride.

Also : a game where it takes more shotgun blasts to kill an enemy compared to...a stun baton, you just gotta LOL - they really wanted to make you use their QTE melee system it seems xD, horrible, horrible stuff.

I'm playing on Hard and i've reached the elevator ride on chapter 8 - everything just falls apart and goes to show that A) the gameplay system mechanics are an absolute joke and B) they didn't playtest this properly.
i'm just gonna drop it, shit's just not fun

 

[BbMajor7th]

Well, I at least finished The Order 1886 - not a great game by any stretch, but graphically it was leagues ahead of its contemporaries. TCP I dropped after about two hours. Boring level design and forgettable writing brought even lower by a cavalcade of design decisions so baffling they beggar belief. Visuals-wise, it's not really not putting the hurt on any of the major players either, so yeah, put me in the 'worse than both' camp.

 

[GymWolf]

Aye.


This game just feels...empty, it's a container for something that isn't really there if that makes any sense, all show and no substance and it's way, way worse than both the order and Ryse - at least those games had a nice story and characters, Callisto on the other hand is full of boring cliches and for as much as it tries to create a specific atmosphere it falls flat on its face since there's absolutely zero of it.Everything feels like a horror-themed park ride.

Also : a game where it takes more shotgun blasts to kill an enemy compared to...a stun baton, you just gotta LOL - they really wanted to make you use their QTE melee system it seems xD, horrible, horrible stuff.

I'm playing on Hard and i've reached the elevator ride on chapter 8 - everything just falls apart and goes to show that A) the gameplay system mechanics are an absolute joke and B) they didn't playtest this properly.
i'm just gonna drop it, shit's just not fun

It was even worse on release.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Ouch.

I’ve been debating on whether to buy the Digital Deluxe version off Humble for $23, but this thread is kinda changing my mind. It seems like a shoe in for a cheap Bundle deal or free giveaway anyways.

I don’t mind slumming it with some dumb fun (Order 1886, Ryse, Redfall), but there is such a thing as being too dumb.

 

[Ceadeus]

Yeah it's basic, I made it to little more than half the game. I didn't expect puzzles and a labyrinth when I bought the game.

My expectation was that the graphic were to be good and the atmosphere to feel like event horizon. So you're that space prisoner, crawling around a place going to hell and it's good enough for me. Some of the animations are recycled quite a bit but beside that the game is good for a playthrough.

 

[Bennytehsmeghead]

Eh, I disagree. Callisto is genuinely good, but it is flawed.

 

[kiphalfton]

Great games you mention there! Maybe I should try Callisto Protocol based on this recommendation.
I know it isn't a good game with a bad gameplay loop, but maybe it's fun for it's visuals and story when playing on easy, just to slide through?

Probably; seems like production values are decent at the very least.

But I only play like 10 games per year; if it didn't make me feel guilty I could be playing some other game I've been putting off, I'd probably play through this game.

Hey did you know this is free on PS Plus right now?!

Unfortunately don't have PS Plus anymore.

How can you tell someone never played Ryse? This thread.

Out of the three, it's the only one I beat.

Bare bones combat, extremely linear, excessive use of QTE's.

If you liked it, more powerful to you.

 

[L*][*N*K]

As someone who hated both of those games, I
Will skip this one. Thanks.

 

[Bennytehsmeghead]

Ouch.

I’ve been debating on whether to buy the Digital Deluxe version off Humble for $23, but this thread is kinda changing my mind. It seems like a shoe in for a cheap Bundle deal or free giveaway anyways.

I don’t mind slumming it with some dumb fun (Order 1886, Ryse, Redfall), but there is such a thing as being too dumb.

Dude, it's worth it. Don't let this thread fool you: It's NOT this gen's The Order 1886. The game is what it promises.

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Dude, it's worth it. Don't let this thread fool you: It's NOT this gen's The Order 1886. The game is what it promises.

What did it "promise" ? "AAAA" gaming ?

So, everyone else is wrong and you're right, would that be a correct assessment ?
Both The Order AND Ryse had - at the very least - likeable and charismatic characters and a story that you could follow, the Callisto protocol on the other hand is filled with unlikeable characters, a banal/cliche' space horror story that tries soooo friggin' hard not to be Dead Space to the point of being insulting, an absolutely moronic melee system and absolutely zero atmosphere even though the gfx are pretty OK.

Shit man, Both Ryse and The order feel like AAAA gaming compared to this shit - something which if you told me before release i would have laughed you off, i mean, it is from the Dead Space creator but they somehow managed to fuck this up majestically, it feels like they almost did it on purpose FFS, it's that bad and i really don't get it.

Let me put it simply : I bought Wanted : Dead a couple ofmonths ago, another shitty 2023 game and yet, from a gameplay and fun factor point of view it's still better than Callisto protocol

 

[Krappadizzle]

My buddy bought it for me for Christmas. I think I put 2 hours into it and just quit. I didn't hate it, but I wasn't really enjoying my time with it either. I would like to return to it one day, but I'm in no rush to. Kinda how I felt about The Order 1866 too.

Ryse was awesome though, that game was way better than people wanted to give it credit for. Didn't wow me by any stretch, but it was and still looks great today and it's inoffensively a mediocre action game that can look slick. I've spent more time on shittier games, that's for sure.

 

[Rudius]

Does it has top of the line graphics, good music and atmosphere? If not, it can't be compared to Ryse and The Order.

Edit: also zero "politics"

 

[Chuck Berry]

Fuck man I LOVE how divisive this game is and it'll only increase over time

I dont know if I'd put it with the Order and Ryse, but it's definitely in the same sorta ballpark. Forever underappreciated, hated by most but those that love it (Im one of em) love the shit out of it.

 

[Bennytehsmeghead]

Fuck man I LOVE how divisive this game is and it'll only increase over time

I dont know if I'd put it with the Order and Ryse, but it's definitely in the same sorta ballpark. Forever underappreciated, hated by most but those that love it (Im one of em) love the shit out of it.

Me personally, I'm a sucker for Spacebound Horror, and though stuff like Dead Space, Alien Isolation, White Chamber and Signalis are much better, Callisto is still a solid attempt. The main game, not the Final Transmission DLC. That DLC is everything the haters accused the main game of being and more.

 

[R6Rider]

Another topic where I can share how fun the combat later in the game is when you get more abilities and weapon upgrades.

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

Well OP that's an interesting take......zero crashes on PS5 and i'm almost done with the story, and aside from the first 2-3 encounters where i had to get used to the dodge mechanic, im loving it. I think most of the hate this game gets is from people trying to play it like it's Dead Space. If you do that, you'll hate it.

 

[Games of Today]

Keep Ryse’s name out your mouth

Order 1886

Take that smiley and shove it up your gladiator skirt. lol

 

[Chuck Berry]

Me personally, I'm a sucker for Spacebound Horror, and though stuff like Dead Space, Alien Isolation, White Chamber and Signalis are much better, Callisto is still a solid attempt. The main game, not the Final Transmission DLC. That DLC is everything the haters accused the main game of being and more.

I think for a first game its a pretty crazy accomplishment and still one of the most visually impressive titles this gen to me.

The DLC was....something thats for sure. At least the kinetic hammer was dope.

 

[lughnasadh123]

Finished it up a few days ago and overall, it's a good game with great ideas and some weird design issues.

Unlike some here, I loved left and right to dodge feeling very intuitive to do. Sadly it's forced alternating input limits freedom on how you want to dodge (meaning where you wind up at), doesn't reward perfect dodges that I know of, and often times can be a massive pita with multiple enemies. Also sometimes it's annoying to have to reorient yourself after a dodge. Or readjust your aim again on something. Last boss in particular was just a slog because of this.

Thankfully the last part is mitigated a bit by a telekinetic throw that gives you some breathing room or a nice instant kill when tossing something into spikes. Downside being very limited to use at times, especially when you need it the most. There's upgrades for it like other things, but goddamn do they get expensive fast.

Bonus items from stomping dead zombs? Cool. Random stuff you might not always need or very low currency? Ehhhh. My top upgrade is well over 2000 points but here's 6. Big fucking whoop.

Feast or famine with health injectors. Sometimes I was swimming in them. Sometimes couldn't find one to literally save my life. Same with fabrication stations to make something or sell some junk out of my very, very limited inventory for much needed credits.

Melee was...fun. Hits looked very satisfying to dish out while also being able to work in a gunshot. Very limited, but enjoyable. Shooting was unfortunately very basic. I think the idea is to work all three together in combat with combos but it just doesn't flow as they probably originally intended. It's all just ok.

Environments to me are probably the best thing that bring back memories of Doom 3. Great atmosphere throughout while creeping around with excellent music and ambience background noises. Not the best story, yet just enough to carry you through the game.

In the end overall I think it's worth a playthrough as it's a better experience than just a list of it's weak spots would suggest.

 

[Bennytehsmeghead]

Well OP that's an interesting take......zero crashes on PS5 and i'm almost done with the story, and aside from the first 2-3 encounters where i had to get used to the dodge mechanic, im loving it. I think most of the hate this game gets is from people trying to play it like it's Dead Space. If you do that, you'll hate it.

Yeah, it's more akin to a hybrid between Doom 3 and Resident Evil 2 remake. Play it like Dead Space, you'll hate it. Play it the way the game is intended? Make of it what you will.

 

[VeganElduderino]

Great game and great Graphics.

 

[Games of Today]

Finished it up a few days ago and overall, it's a good game with great ideas and some weird design issues.

Unlike some here, I loved left and right to dodge feeling very intuitive to do. Sadly it's forced alternating input limits freedom on how you want to dodge (meaning where you wind up at), doesn't reward perfect dodges that I know of, and often times can be a massive pita with multiple enemies. Also sometimes it's annoying to have to reorient yourself after a dodge. Or readjust your aim again on something. Last boss in particular was just a slog because of this.

Thankfully the last part is mitigated a bit by a telekinetic throw that gives you some breathing room or a nice instant kill when tossing something into spikes. Downside being very limited to use at times, especially when you need it the most. There's upgrades for it like other things, but goddamn do they get expensive fast.

Bonus items from stomping dead zombs? Cool. Random stuff you might not always need or very low currency? Ehhhh. My top upgrade is well over 2000 points but here's 6. Big fucking whoop.

Feast or famine with health injectors. Sometimes I was swimming in them. Sometimes couldn't find one to literally save my life. Same with fabrication stations to make something or sell some junk out of my very, very limited inventory for much needed credits.

Melee was...fun. Hits looked very satisfying to dish out while also being able to work in a gunshot. Very limited, but enjoyable. Shooting was unfortunately very basic. I think the idea is to work all three together in combat with combos but it just doesn't flow as they probably originally intended. It's all just ok.

Environments to me are probably the best thing that bring back memories of Doom 3. Great atmosphere throughout while creeping around with excellent music and ambience background noises. Not the best story, yet just enough to carry you through the game.

In the end overall I think it's worth a playthrough as it's a better experience than just a list of it's weak spots would suggest.

The sickest level in this game for me was when you went outside into the blizzard. It literally felt like a new version of "The Thing".

 

[darkangel-212559]

I'm gonna get this next time week on Steam Deck and finally figure out just what is driving Gaf insane. Fun times!

 

[lughnasadh123]

The sickest level in this game for me was when you went outside into the blizzard. It literally felt like a new version of "The Thing".

Love that level. You're 100% right.

 

[Chuck Berry]

The sickest level in this game for me was when you went outside into the blizzard. It literally felt like a new version of "The Thing".

For me I got a ton of Alien 3 vibes throughout. Fury 151 baby, including Josh Duhamel's shaved head.

Also good call on the Doom 3 comparisons with the atmosphere and design

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Another topic where I can share how fun the combat later in the game is when you get more abilities and weapon upgrades.

Please tell me how to pass that fookin' Elevator part in chapter 8...on "hard" - shit hasn't been playtested properly brother, I got 40 pistol rounds, 30 shotgun ones, have the TK module almost fully upgraded but nope, the camera, camera glue on mode® when enemies get near you and the myopic FOV make it impossible, it's hair pulling stuff

And oh, I managed NG2 on MS difficulty so it's not like i shy away from masochistic games, it's just that this kind of difficulty spike coupled with one of the worst checkpoint systems of the last decade don't do the game any favours.

In fact, I'd go as far as to say that the most scary part about this trainwreck of a game is the checkpoint system - way, way scarier than any other Hollywood jump-scare and BbLeUUrGhhh meat squishy monsters that the game features.

 

[Little Chicken]

Not nice to dump Ryse in with those.

 

[R6Rider]

Please tell me how to pass that fookin' Elevator part in chapter 8...on "hard" - shit hasn't been playtested properly brother, I got 40 pistol rounds, 30 shotgun ones, have the TK module almost fully upgraded but nope, the camera, camera glue on mode® when enemies get near you and the myopic FOV make it impossible, it's hair pulling stuff

Was this the part where enemies come from different sides in waves and then you fight the two headed dude?

Biggest thing for me was doing the correct melee when it was stunned/downed. For the longest time I thought I could do a heavy attack and you had to do a light one to do the "special" hit on him. Take only a few shots and run along the outside. Also you can knock him into the wall for environmental damage.

I remember that part being tough.

 

[BouncyFrag]

Not nice to dump Ryse in with those.

Ryse is a solid game. Weird inclusion.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Ryse is a solid game. Weird inclusion.

Plus it was a launch title, which is EXACTLY what the other two should have been.

What is your avatar from? I love that actor.

 

[Hugare]

Another Callisto thread where I'll probably be the only one praising it

Couldnt finish either Ryse or The Order, while I've finished Callisto 3 times already. So clearly something worked for me.

For one, I enjoyed the gameplay. Its not crazy varied, but its satisfying af. You can finish the game just using melee (probably), just like you can finish Dead Space only using the plasma cutter. But that would be boring in both cases.

You can make combos with gravity glove + light attacks + strong attacks + finishing with a critical shot and etc. and it feels great. You can also use the environment to throw enemies at spikes and etc. to save ammo.

I'm gonna go there: to me, its better than the gameplay loop of shooting legs + arms in Dead Space. I've replayed the DS games recently, and tho there is much to love in them, gameplay wasnt part of it. It becomes automatic with 2 shots on the legs, 2 on the arms for the whole game and pretty much all enemies.

There's more enemy variety in DS 2, but they all die by the same formula: shoot legs then arms.

Story is good enough for what it is, and the pacing is good. Doesnt overstay its welcome. Just perfect honestly.

Presentation is sublime, tho. Amazing combination of tech and art. Sad to see that this universe will die with this game.

 

[BouncyFrag]

Plus it was a launch title, which is EXACTLY what the other two should have been.

What is your avatar from? I love that actor.

 

[ungalo]

I think Callisto is better as a game. But at the same time it's not even a next gen experience. Whereas the other two had the graphical leap at least.