5/5 ★ – LCSnoogs's review of The Callisto Protocol.

The combat is really fucking good. It takes the arsenal of Resident Evil 4 with a sci-fi twist, the sci-fi telekinetic ability of Dead Space (called the GRIP in this game), and adds a new, deeper melee combat system. Each is satisfying and fun to use, and combining them together is even better. Each has their own weakness which will make combining them a useful strategy: using melee to conserve ammo or handle enemies when they get close, using guns to kill enemies before they get too close, and using GRIP to manage spacing or to throw enemies into a trap for an instant kill. It has me itching to play more even though I've already played through this game twice. The game has a strong atmosphere. It put me on edge in a way that only The Evil Within was able to achieve. There are some good jump scares both scripted and created through combat that help create that feeling. It provides a good amount of challenge while keeping me vulnerable enough where a few mistakes would end me. The deaths are shockingly gory and varied. It's can be both fun and disturbing to watch. The devs bring a fucked up sense of humor to the gore at times that delighted me. There are two amazing set pieces in this game that kept me on the edge of my seat with one being a call back to one of my favorite moments from Dead Space 2. The story is kept pretty minimal. It opens with several questions that aren't addressed until the final two chapters. The focus of the characters is just escaping the prison and getting off Callisto. The answers are satisfying, but I wish they did more with the characters to create a deeper connection with me. I will say that playing again after beating it did lead to some moments coming off differently with the new context of how it ends. It filled in the characters a bit more. They fill in the world through audio logs and employee files which reveal some fucked up details about how the prison was being run. This all came together really well. It's a standout in the genre, and one of my new favorite horror games. I would put it next to Dead Space 2 which is my favorite of that franchise. I'm happy to have gotten a new Resident Evil 1 style horror game with Signalis and a new Resident Evil 4 style horror game with The Callisto Protocol and both of them knocked it out of the park.