Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 19
  2. Negative: 2 out of 19
  1. Dec 1, 2022
    90
    A spiritual successor to Dead Space that blends and riffs on ideas from the best horror games of recent years, with plenty of blood and guts to go around, though a lacklustre plot is its one minor flaw.
  2. Dec 1, 2022
    85
    AAA-class sci-fi horror game that's appeared after a long while. The lingering story created among people who have turned into bizarre monsters is the attractive element of the game. The battle balance and level design are somewhat disappointing, but it is still a fun enough game.
  3. Dec 24, 2022
    82
    The Callisto Protocol is not going to revolutionize the genre, but it does bring some interesting ideas to the table -most notably the melee combat- that add some welcome variety to its gameplay. It could have shot higher though if it wasn't for some missteps.
  4. Dec 12, 2022
    80
    Overall, The Callisto Protocol is a third-person shooter set on the moon of Jupiter with a horror and suspense-based story. Including well-known actors to aid the story was a good choice as it gets you more connected with them. While the PC port originally had some issues with stability, the issue seems to have been mostly corrected at this point and is playing well on my PC. If you are a fan of Dead Space I would give this a try.
  5. Dec 2, 2022
    80
    The long-awaited horror action is very contradictory and you can either love it or hate it. Anyway, probably no other game deserves the 18+ label as much as this one. It decides whether you just want an adrenaline-fuelled brutal action ride, or if you expect something more from the game than an interesting, but by the end, just a primitive massacre.
  6. Dec 1, 2022
    79
    Gory and moody, The Callisto Protocol doesn't mess with the survival horror formula, instead embracing all its beats and clichés to tell a grim sci-fi tale that drips with menace.
  7. Dec 8, 2022
    76
    The Callisto Protocol is a very delicate Dead Space-like game: excellent horror atmosphere, outstanding graphics, and a fairly good combat experience, but the actual content is difficult to meet the high expectations of players. I was very disappointed after playing it, because it's hard to imagine such a highly anticipated work being so mediocre, it could have been a better game.
  8. Dec 1, 2022
    75
    In space, no one will hear you scream... with joy or anger? Building on the rock-solid foundation of the first Dead Space, The Callisto Protocol dodges the photocopy with its intense, difficult, but not as precise melee combat as we would have liked. Despite a certain lack of audacity, Striking Distance managed to steal Saturn's rings in order to slip them on the ring fingers of sci-fi horror lovers. Fasten your asteroid belt, the Space Mountain gore will shake you up, even if the trip turns out to be as imperfect as it is classic.
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  1. I'd probably enjoy it more on PC than console. But the thing is, it's not just that the game runs badly. There are a bunch of smaller annoyances I noted on both platforms. Enemies might grow tentacles as a prelude to mutating into something worse, and you're supposed to shoot or smash them to stop it - except I could never tell when I actually managed it. The different varieties of enemies don't make substantially different noises, so you can't quickly read a situation as you can in, e.g., Left 4 Dead. If you start inputting your dodge too early, the game defaults back to movement controls and you start to strafe, which is annoying. The quick-kill prompt just flat out doesn't appear if you have your gun out, but your gun is also your torch so you have it out almost all the time. I was looking forward to The Callisto Protocol, and I want this dog to hunt. I don't think it can right now.
User Score
5.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 294 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Dec 3, 2022
    0
    Giving it 0 because:
    a) Denuvo
    b) shady season pass c) crunching d) unplayable dog-excrement port on PC e) review embargo lifted during
    Giving it 0 because:
    a) Denuvo
    b) shady season pass
    c) crunching
    d) unplayable dog-excrement port on PC
    e) review embargo lifted during the release day

    Such awful practices has become a norm nowadays which is really sad.
    Full Review »
  2. Dec 3, 2022
    1
    I cant believe that PC version is so bad. Graphics very good but it is not enough. Very poor mechanics. Very unstable gameplay on PC.
    AAAA
    I cant believe that PC version is so bad. Graphics very good but it is not enough. Very poor mechanics. Very unstable gameplay on PC.
    AAAA game? It is a f-ing joke.
    Full Review »
  3. Dec 3, 2022
    1
    AVOID BUYING PC version!!!
    Buy and play any console version if you can - they both are great 8/10, but PC version is a blatant scam!
    AVOID BUYING PC version!!!
    Buy and play any console version if you can - they both are great 8/10, but PC version is a blatant scam!
    Constant stutters from 120 FPS down to 2-5 FPS every dozen of seconds without any bottleneck (~60% CPU load and ~80% GPU load). Even during cut scenes.

    What makes it even worse, is that it appears devs perfectly knew about unplayable state of PC version all the time, but instead delaying release or at least issuing warning they just put review embargo till release date and knowingly released completely broken product - unplayable for most and with noticeably spoiled gameplay experience for those lucky few who do not get game breaking stutters every few seconds...
    Wait for a fix and discount at least 50% before considering buying this pile on unplayable...
    Full Review »