Going into this game with all the negative press surrounding it had my expectations low. Word of mouth hit this game HARD. That being said.. it's actually pretty good. But it's not without its faults. The graphical fidelity in this game is really really good 99% of the time. I didn't crash once in my 10 hour playtime. The fidelity mode is harsh on this game. A 30fps target feels more like its hitting 20-25 most of the time. The motion blur is easily the worst part of this game, visually speaking. Whoever designed it to look like this might need to get fired bro. It looks like actual dog shit. This game already struggles with being visually readable in combat, but add a 30fps cap and this disgusting motion blur, and its an absolute clusterfuck. Seriously, the motion blur actually destroys this game visually, and its so weird because you only need it on to smooth out the game when its running at 4K. But the blur is so bad it literally makes the resolution look fucking WORSE SOMEHOW. Performance mode with no motion blur is the way to play this game.
For what this game does right, it's actually a lot. First off, the use of haptic is actually amazing and adds so much to the experience. When using your stun baton, you feel this really sick mechanical whirring, mixed with the animations and sound design, it really feels convincing and less like a weightless video game melee. If there's a nearby monster causing a ruckus while you're going down the stairs, you feel the vibration of that rickety staircase that might collapse on the next step you take. Haptics are more immersive than I've experienced with other PS5 titles.
Art direction is also very solid, and the last of us influence can be felt.
Gore is pretty good, but the death animations are meh. Sometimes they're mildly disturbing, other times you just kinda die. I was expecting more horrifying and brutal death animations like the ones in dead space, but they're serviceable.
The combat is clunky, to say the least. There's no feasible way to create distance between yourself or the enemy with a back step option or quick 180 feature to retreat for reload or anything like that. Not to mention your character likes to run as slow as he can for the entire game, up to the last 30 seconds of gameplay where he reveals he's been able to sprint the ENTIRE TIME. I wouldn't say it's underdeveloped though, it's very satisfying & only as repetitive as you make it for yourself, because I had more fun with it when I remembered all the other abilities I had at my disposal. Combat can be really hard to read visually sometimes, from the camera shakes etc. It can sometimes get in your way, and lead to your death which is frustrating.
There's some cool concepts, like the lock on feature to chain baton & gun attacks for quicker kills.
The worst is when the game tries to be a shooter though. But instead, there's a select few enemies you have to just empty all of your ammo on to kill because its basically suicide to try to land even one hit on them. This game should have played to its strengths and doubled down on the melee combat, using guns more as a last resort than anything else. But again, its serviceable. Worldbuilding is cool, and when you step out of the tight corridors to see the entire planet of jupiter in the sky it's genuinely amazing. I would have liked to spend more time outside in this game, because that's where I feel like it's at its best.
Story is a solid 6-7/10, minus the really bad DLC bait at the end. Above average, held my interest, and had decent dialouge. It is definitely not scary at all though, even the jumpscares are pretty weak, coming from someone who gets scared really easily. That's all I can really say about that. The Callisto protocol is really immersive, has great graphics, an interesting world, and lacks a little bit of depth in combat. But it's still fun. Something you can play once and be entertained by. If you have ps+, it's worth picking up this October.
For what this game does right, it's actually a lot. First off, the use of haptic is actually amazing and adds so much to the experience. When using your stun baton, you feel this really sick mechanical whirring, mixed with the animations and sound design, it really feels convincing and less like a weightless video game melee. If there's a nearby monster causing a ruckus while you're going down the stairs, you feel the vibration of that rickety staircase that might collapse on the next step you take. Haptics are more immersive than I've experienced with other PS5 titles.
Art direction is also very solid, and the last of us influence can be felt.
Gore is pretty good, but the death animations are meh. Sometimes they're mildly disturbing, other times you just kinda die. I was expecting more horrifying and brutal death animations like the ones in dead space, but they're serviceable.
The combat is clunky, to say the least. There's no feasible way to create distance between yourself or the enemy with a back step option or quick 180 feature to retreat for reload or anything like that. Not to mention your character likes to run as slow as he can for the entire game, up to the last 30 seconds of gameplay where he reveals he's been able to sprint the ENTIRE TIME. I wouldn't say it's underdeveloped though, it's very satisfying & only as repetitive as you make it for yourself, because I had more fun with it when I remembered all the other abilities I had at my disposal. Combat can be really hard to read visually sometimes, from the camera shakes etc. It can sometimes get in your way, and lead to your death which is frustrating.
There's some cool concepts, like the lock on feature to chain baton & gun attacks for quicker kills.
The worst is when the game tries to be a shooter though. But instead, there's a select few enemies you have to just empty all of your ammo on to kill because its basically suicide to try to land even one hit on them. This game should have played to its strengths and doubled down on the melee combat, using guns more as a last resort than anything else. But again, its serviceable. Worldbuilding is cool, and when you step out of the tight corridors to see the entire planet of jupiter in the sky it's genuinely amazing. I would have liked to spend more time outside in this game, because that's where I feel like it's at its best.
Story is a solid 6-7/10, minus the really bad DLC bait at the end. Above average, held my interest, and had decent dialouge. It is definitely not scary at all though, even the jumpscares are pretty weak, coming from someone who gets scared really easily. That's all I can really say about that. The Callisto protocol is really immersive, has great graphics, an interesting world, and lacks a little bit of depth in combat. But it's still fun. Something you can play once and be entertained by. If you have ps+, it's worth picking up this October.