The Callisto Protocol Overdoses on Combat and Underdoses on Dread

The Callisto Protocol wants to be a horror game about a prison planet overrun by monsters. It mostly succeeds at being a shooter about a man who walks around a lot and gets shot at. That is the contradiction at the center of Striking Distance’s debut, and it never quite resolves itself.

You play Jacob Lee, a prisoner aboard the Breach facility on Callisto, Jupiter’s ice-covered moon. The Breach is a research station turned penitentiary, housing the galaxy’s worst criminals. When an experiment goes wrong, the facility’s population is transformed into creatures called Drifter. The premise is grim and claustrophobic, and the setting supports it. The corridors are narrow, the lighting is dim, and the sound design sells the dread of walking through a place that has been abandoned by humanity and taken over by something else.

Trailer, via Striking Distance Studios.

The Setting

Callisto is the game’s best feature. The Breach is a sprawling, interconnected complex, and the level design rewards exploration. Side rooms contain audio logs, weapons schematics, and environmental storytelling about the facility’s history and the people who worked there. The map is dense enough that you can lose yourself in it, which is a compliment in a genre where linear corridors are the norm.

The problem is that the world is too big for the systems inside it. The Breach is populated by Drifter, but they are sparse in many areas. You will walk past dozens of empty hallways before finding a fight. The swing between tension and boredom breaks the immersion the setting otherwise builds.

Combat

Combat in The Callisto Protocol is competent but unremarkable. You have a melee weapon, a shotgun, a rifle, and a handful of special gadgets. The melee system is where the game shines. You can disarm enemies, grab them, and execute them with a finishing move. These moments are visceral and satisfying, even if they feel out of place in a game that also offers cover-based gunplay.

The problem is that the gunplay does not match the melee’s quality. Enemies are slow to react, and the shooting feels dull. The game leans heavily on cover mechanics, which makes sense for a horror game, but it also flattens the action. You spend more time crouching behind walls than you do moving fluidly through combat. The shotgun is the most fun weapon in the arsenal, but it is also the most inaccurate. It feels great when it hits, but it is frustrating when it misses.

Story

The plot is a standard sci-fi thriller. Jacob is a former soldier who was betrayed by his superiors, and he is trying to survive the outbreak while uncovering the truth about what happened on Callisto. The narrative is serviceable, but it is weighed down by exposition. The game relies heavily on audio logs, character dialogue, and cutscenes to deliver information, and it often feels like you are reading a report rather than experiencing a story.

The game also struggles with its tone. It wants to be a tense survival horror game, but it keeps leaning into action set pieces. The final act, in particular, shifts into a mode that feels more like a military shooter than a horror game. This tonal whiplash is jarring, especially after the game has spent hours establishing the dread of the Breach.

Performance

The Callisto Protocol launched on PS5, PS4, PC, and Series X|S. The performance across platforms is mixed. On PS5 and Series X|S, the game runs at a smooth frame rate, but the load times are long. On PS4 and PC, the frame rate dips during combat, and the game stutters in busy scenes. The PC version also has some technical issues, including pop-in and texture streaming problems.

The game’s visual style is stark and cold. The lighting is excellent, and the environments are detailed. However, the character models are dated, and the animations are stiff. The Drifter look impressive in motion, but they are repetitive in design. The game’s audio is a highlight. The sound effects are loud and unsettling, and the music builds tension effectively.

A Long Game

The Callisto Protocol is a flawed but ambitious game. It takes risks with its setting and its approach to horror, and it mostly succeeds in creating a memorable environment. However, the execution falls short in several key areas. The combat is average, the pacing is uneven, and the story is forgettable. The game is at its best when you are exploring the Breach and its secrets, and at its worst when you are locked in a firefight.

The game is currently available on PS5, PS4, PC, and Series X|S. The multiplayer mode, which allows players to invade each other’s campaigns, adds a layer of social interaction that the solo campaign lacks. It is a nice addition, but it does not rescue the overall experience.

The Callisto Protocol is a game that shows promise but fails to deliver on its potential. It is a solid, occasionally brilliant game that is let down by its flaws. The score reflects that balance.

game review · horror shooter · PS5 · Striking Distance · The Callisto Protocol