The Callisto Protocol is not scary.

It feels inaccurate to call this game a horror game. I think it would be more appropriate to call it an action game with horror aesthetics. Everything about it is trying to look creepy and gross but the game itself doesn't scare, not in any real sense of the word. Rather than dreading confrontations with enemies, I was actively looking for them so I could stomp them and pick up credits to upgrade my weapons to keep the slaughter going. Jacob, the player character, does not exhibit fear in a way we can see. The focus of the gameplay is almost entirely on melee. Aside from two bosses, you can play the entire game using the stun baton. And don't get me wrong - it feels awesome to whack the hell out of the grotesque bastards you're facing. But it's just not scary.

I say that because I think people wanted to be scared by The Callisto Protocol (and without a doubt, the makers wanted you to be scared too). And whether it's a fair expectation or not, players were expecting a new take on Dead Space. I tempered my expectations going in and thus have been spared the disappointment others have experienced. I really liked this game and think it's cool as hell. It's absurdly gorgeous, it feels great, it sounds great, and the art design and direction is fucking awesome. It just is.

It's so hard for me to refrain from defending this game. It got a really bad deal. Maybe gamers expect more these days but dude, this is not a bad game. It's actually great. It falls short in a lot of ways but it really sucks that it's attracted such negative press. It's an underdog. And that makes me want to defend it. Because I want more; I want another game that follows up and delivers even more. But with the sales figures being reportedly lower than the publisher had hoped for, I feel like we're not going to get it.

So in considering the sales figures expected by the publisher, it implies a large budget. I haven't looked it up so maybe it wasn't much but I'm guessing this was a damned expensive game to make. It sure looks like it was expensive. But I'm wondering how much of their budget went into the graphics versus the development of gameplay systems and writing. Because it's very shallow on both those fronts.

The story is decently engaging but just doesn't really have enough meat on its bones to generate the kind of studious interest that you'll find with a game like Dead Space. In that game, I always want to learn more; I want to read every text file and listen to every audio file. Not so with this game. I was fine forgoing investing the time to examine those and just letting the cutscenes and character dialogue tell me the story instead. That said, I did still invest that time and there wasn't much to it. Some of the audio files are surprisingly short. You can just tell there wasn't a lot of time put into fleshing out the lore and story. But even so, the real catalyst of the story is the characters. Elias and Dani, the two allies you find in the game, are effective at engendering attachment. There are touching moments with them and they're very well-acted.

The gameplay is satisfying but there just isn't enough to do. Combat is too easy because of the dodge mechanic's inherent nature and there are no puzzles other than one single one involving a fuse to open doors. That's it. And I don't need a puzzle in a game like this but the setting of a story like this will inevitably require solving problems that must be solved by means other than, or independent of, the use of a weapon. There's also only one boss type of enemy and you come across it frequently. But even this enemy is not challenging. Dodge, shoot, dodge, shoot, melee, and repeat. And this boss enemy is a slight variation of the base enemies, of which there are four, but these four enemies have no real differentiation between them. Some hit harder, some hit faster, and some have a meager ranged attack but that's it. There's also a clicker-type of enemy that can hear you but can't see. However, these enemies can be killed just as easily as the others and by the same means so their deafness is redundancy at best. This enemy is also abused through the frequency in which it appears.

All of this is to say The Callisto Protocol is a good game. Again, it's cool as hell. But it feels like the vast majority of resources were put into making the game look good - and my god does it look good - rather than fleshing out the game itself. There is a great game somewhere in here but we've instead gotten the skeleton of one.

I truly hope there's another game and I hope the subpar sales don't force the studio to shelve any plans they have for a follow-up if such plans exist. I want them to have another chance at delivering on the promise that The Callisto Protocol offers.

At the end of the day, I will definitely play this game again and I personally got enough fun out of it that I didn't have buyer's remorse. I've seen a lot of complaints about the game costing $70, but when you just look at it and see the universal quality of its components, I fully understand why it costs as much as it does. I understand a product is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it but I appreciate the time and resources that clearly went into The Callisto Protocol. I don't think anyone can fairly accuse the developers of not caring. I think they just misallocated their resources. And you know what? At least they released a finished game. That's more than most developers these days can say.

Once again, I find myself at complete odds with the consensus around a game. It’s something that happens more often than you’d think. Off the top of my head, over the past couple years alone it happened with State of Decay 2, with I Am Alive, with American Nightmare, Ninja Gaiden: Razor’s Edge, with The Stanley Parable. Kentucky Route Zero, Battlefield 4, Outlast, Scorn, Alien: Isolation, Yakuza 0, Tacoma, The Suicide of Rachel Foster, Void Bastards, Wreckfest. Very recently, Deathloop. It probably happened more times than these. Now, it also happened with The Callisto Protocol.

In stark contrast with the game’s reception, I had a great time with this game. Maybe it received a massive post-launch patch that I’m not aware of (in which case it’s more of a case for patient gaming than anything else), but regardless, I enjoyed almost every single minute I spent in its universe. To start off with the obvious, the game is visually stunning. This was to the actual detriment to the development team, since it made its cost balloon so much that it condemned it to commercial failure. But as a consumer, this was an impressive showcase of visual fidelity, one that made me stop and to admire my surroundings and take screenshots more often than I’d care to admit. There’s a highly dark cinematic tone to The Callisto Protocol that is impossible to ignore, and that sometimes actually goes a bit overboard considering that some cutscenes interfere with gameplay flow. But it’s a tradeoff I was more than happy to concede, when all was said and done.

Another thing that impressed me was the combat, which I had heard some horror stories about. It takes a bit of getting used to even though it’s as simplistic as they come (an aspect some may not enjoy), but once you do, its focus on melee makes it a brutal, visceral, punchy (pardon the pun) and ultimately satisfying affair, even if there isn’t exactly a satisfying level of variety to enemies - and a couple of variations are actually annoying gameplay wise. This - the melee focus - is easily what sets The Callisto Protocol apart the most from its influences, which are so blatantly worn on its sleeve that one can almost claim copyright infringement and win a court case. Indeed, so many things - setting, animations, health meter, upgrades, set pieces, dismemberment, stomping on enemies for items - are ripped right out of Dead Space’s playbook. This isn’t exactly surprising since both games come from the mind of Glenn Schofield, but still, at times, the similarities are almost a bit too uncanny. So it’s great to have melee combat - its biggest gameplay aspect - to function as a clear differentiating factor between both. It’s a welcome spin on the formula, and one that in a survival horror infused with tight inventory management adds a tangible layer of proximity tension. And tension is precisely another area where this game excels, specifically because of how often if forces you to confront enemies head on in tight spaces. This is a direct consequence for the push for melee, and combined with the game’s interesting dodging mechanic, it accounts for some really unnerving, at times even unexpected moments when you’re in the thick of it.

One more positive aspect worth mentioning is the story. It isn’t by any means groundbreaking or even original, but it is well told, well laid out, and well paced, with quite a bit of environmental storytelling to boot. Again it’s all a bit derivative and formulaic, but it’s done effectively enough to keep you engaged. Most characters have a couple of traits that make them interesting one way or another - and voice acting is quite good across the board -, so the whole narrative, fuelled by a typically gruesome dark atmosphere, becomes something you soak up naturally as you go through the environments, all of which are very well telegraphed (good thing too since in a bold move, the game doesn’t feature any mapping or waypoint system). If there is a specific criticism to be made here is the fact that the Callisto Protocol sort of shoehorns you into the DLC in order to get the full story. I will never, ever condone this practice regardless of how much I enjoy a game, and I think here, too, this was in very poor taste.

A quick last note to bring up the game’s not-so-positive aspects. There are a couple of glitches throughout - things like texture pop in, assets disappearing in front of your eyes, getting stuck in a certain place or mechanical hurdles. They never happen often enough to become a nuisance, but they’re still worth mentioning as the experience isn’t visually or mechanically flawless. Character movement could also do with some work. I understand wanting to put some weight into it (similar to what Red Dead Redemption 2 did), but Jacob is simply too sluggish in his motion which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. There’s also a puzzling insistence on QTE events for a specific type of enemy you encounter, which in my book doesn’t belong in most games, let alone the survival horror genre. Finally, there are inconsistent rules sprinkled throughout the game when it comes to running, vaulting and climbing that should also be ironed out. Stealth can sometimes be a bit illogical as well (normally in your favour), but I’ll give it a pass here because few things feel as satisfying as stabbing one of those mofos from behind.

The Callisto Protocol loses a few points mainly due to its derivative nature. We’ve played something very similar - and in my opinion better - to this in 2008, and a remake for that game just came out this year. It’s probably easier for me to overlook this fact than it is for most people, because I highly value the standout creative mind behind both efforts, but the game draws heavily not just from Dead Space but from other sources as well. In this regard, it can be looked at as a ‘been there, done that’ kind of experience. But if that’s the case, the question to ask is if you enjoy the influences it draws from. And if you do, chances are you will end up enjoying this as well. Survival horror is one of my favourite genres in gaming, and this directly informs my time with The Callisto Protocol. Flaws and all, I found my playthrough truly satisfying, and something I would recommend to any fan of the Dead Space formula. 8.5/10

[TL;DR Game not scary due to the abundance of irritating issues, But it's satisfying to beat monsters over and over]

The game is pretty fun to play, But it's lacking a LOT. I'll start with my grievances. I'll start by saying I could talk someone's ear off about all of these points, but I'll try to condense them. One of the first things I noticed was the annoying camera work. Jacob takes up a large portion of the screen and often when dodging, will dodge into where the camera is and completely cover the screen for a couple seconds (Seconds that are crucial to not dying). He also always seems to turn left when getting off ladders, even if it makes more sense to turn right. Next the save points are Terrible. I thought I could get away from them, because there is a manual save option, but the manual saves only save at points where the autosaves are available, not where you were when you saved, so there's little point. The dodging is pretty easy to learn, but apparently there's a perfect dodge window which only slows down time for a sec. Keep in mind you also slow down during this time and can't get a quicker swing in or something. There are sections where it feels like Jacob and the NPC's have the patience of a toddler, because they will give voice lines prompting you to move forward, while you are trying to explore, or heaven forbid upgrade your weapon before a fight. (Which you will have to do multiple times if you die due to the crappy autosave locations). The story was really boring and uninteresting, & I'm not sure why. There are moments that feel like they should be emotional, but fall flat. The overall story feels half baked and the worst part about that is that the cutscenes are unskippable, even on new game+. I would rather watch a loading screen than the cutscenes again. The monster variety is also lacking, especially the bosses(6 bossfight with 2 boss types). There's 5 ways to kill something, melee, gun, environment, stealth, QTE(Grievance in & of itself). However, due to lack of storage space you end up spending most of the actual fighting with the one melee weapon you have on hand.(Especially on harder difficulties) I could go on, but My last grievance is my greatest, and that is that it just isn't scary. There are times that I thought "Oh man, this is going to be scary", only to end up annoyed at something, or at best a simple jump-scare (Which didn't often land when I played day 1 with stuttering, or had timing completely off, even after stutter fix) Minor enemy spoiler warningwhen I saw the Blind enemies were introduced, I thought it would totally be a tense section, but you can totally stab an enemy right next to another one without it so much as turning your way. And when I did get caught I was only angry because I then had to use my GRP on the hundreds of spike walls that were placed everywhere for no known reason (I have a theory that they were place holders that were never replaced by logical hazards)

Positive things that I liked about the game. The combat is pretty fun if repetitive fights don't annoy you. The dodging is very simple, but can easily be messed up in the heat of battle, so it's not too easy. They've patched out a few of my initial grievances. The sound design is great and makes the hits feel like they have an impact as powerful as Jacob makes them look with his swings. When you get the hang of the monster's patterns it's pretty fun to just beat them up & use combos. The setting was pretty cool. There were sections that felt like a playground, mainly the areas with a bunch of nonsensical moving parts the defeated enemies with. I can't put my thumb on it, but I keep wanting to play the game again (Although when I do I usually remember why I actually didn't) The baton changes color when you upgrade it. I personally don't care (Like at all) if a game has High quality realistic graphics, but it's apparent that that was an important part of this game. I have my graphics low so the game doesn't crash (which it often does), but from what I've seen it is a very graphically substantial game. I think this game had too much potential to be something really cool/fun/notmindnumbinglyannoying and it hardly rose to any of it's potential. Hopefully striking distance has learned a thing or two.

Gameplay: 7.75/10 The gameplay for the first half of the game was great. The main issue was that new enemy types didn't offer much extra challenge. You just repeat the same combo and you are fine with just about every enemy. I sometimes found the dodging mechanic a bit inconsistent, but overall I enjoyed the greater emphasis on melee combat that this game had.

Presentation: 8.5/10 The game looks great. The lighting and ambiance of fear that was present in Dead Space carry into this game, but it definitely has fewer jump scares, and overall the enemies in this game don't invoke as much terror as in the Dead Space games. Story: 7.75/10 The story unfolds quite slowly and then it just rushes at the end. I wish more twist were revealed and there was more time for them to set in. Also the very end of the game is very abrupt. How it ends makes me feel like the developer is really saving up a lot for the sequel or the production got rushed and cut short.

Overall Score: 7.8/10 If you like Dead Space or you are a fan of cinematic horror games this is a game for you. If you are looking for a big survival challenge running off of just a few bullets to make it by this is less a game for you as even the hardest difficulty offers a weak challenge.

Gameplay= Mechanics, gameplay options (freedom), repetition, goals, difficulty

Story= plot, engagement, characters, world-building

Presentation= graphics, animation, environment/character design, Art direction, Script, music

Im giving it 6/10 and after i finish the DLC which suppose tied the ending , i've changed it to 5/10

Pro

• Josh Duhamel carried the game (nice voice and acting)
• I like the weighty gameplay (every hit felt like an impact)
• Graphic nice
• Environment and visuals nice
• Sound effects

Bad ( a lot but just type a lil bit )

• What a bland , predictable , boring story (your typical greedy corporate want to have control over things they shouldnt)
• A lot of things left unexplained
• Horrible ending ( typical everything in your head kind of story yikes )
• boring boss battle ( dodge hit dodge hit profit)
• higher difficulty make the enemie super sponge ( no point unless u like to otorture urself with the repetitve combat)
• melee combat certainly not for everyone
• awful performance, PC heat up like crazy and casually FPS drop

Allright theres lot i need to rant but im tired typing. Last i want to call out is the plot . They did Jacob dirty . why? he always fall. with Elias ? fall. With Dani? again fall. Thought he learned it after 1-2 fall, nope, he casually fall again likes 5-6 times. it almost comical ! Ive facepalmed so hard.

And yeah, he killed like everything that move, only to get ambush by freaking robot and dragged back to his initial spot at the start of the game. whatttt? no wayyyyy? what a cheap a** plot.

Aight im done. so i guess sequel with Dani try to exposé the evil corporate? Please do betterrrr

The Callisto Protocol landed on PS Plus at the perfect time for me. I had just finished up some other games and I had been waiting for the price to drop on this because I wanted to try it for myself, despite the less than stellar response it received. So I jumped in straight away and even though it’s derivative and not a perfect game I still ended up having a pretty good time.

The Callisto Protocol was met with a mixed reception which I think was in big part to the wrong expectations. I think people were expecting a literal Dead Space clone, which this game is a ‘spiritual successor’ to, but it’s kind of a different experience. The Callisto Protocol is a very deliberate, focused, linear experience. It’s the type of game that is constantly trying to nudge you forward and doesn’t offer much in the way of exploration or backtracking. It’s also not a straight up third person shooter. It’s more intimate than that and focuses a more on melee than shooting. So if you haven’t played it yet I would recommend throwing your expectations out the window. Go into this open minded, let the game do what it wants to do and try to enjoy it for what it is.

It didn’t make the best first impression on me as I had to get through the agreements and a DLC advertisement before starting but that was quickly forgotten when I was hit with those impressive visuals. Wow, this game looks good. The characters, environments and attention to detail are some of the best I’ve seen. It’s also really graphic and gory. Sound is top notch too and the game works well. I only noticed a few small issues the whole game. (Occasionally a dead enemy limb would go nuts on the ground and a few times I broke some glass and there was no sound to go with it. Enemy and friendly AI aren’t too sharp as well). It is an impressive, polished game that pulls you into its world and atmosphere.

However, despite this it has a big issue, it’s just not scary. The jump scares just do not land. They wash over you while you barely manage to let out a ‘meh’ in response. It gets worse as the game goes on because they keep trying it and it changes from ‘meh’ to ‘this is annoying.’ There is no proper build up or creativity and the game isn’t creepy either. But I think there is something The Callisto Protocol can succeed really well at and that is making the player feel uncomfortable. This game is dirty and gross. The gore is detailed and in your face. The atmosphere is thick, heavy and oppressive. The camera is up close and so is the combat. The way you move feels heavy and deliberate. There are a lot of tight spaces. It’s claustrophobic, intimate and unpleasant. It is not a world you want to be in. Perfect for a horror game and was enjoyable in the worst/best way when playing in the dark without distraction.

So The Callisto Protocol looks and sounds really good and while it may fail at being scary or creepy it succeeds at creating discomfort. But how does it play? I would say it’s like a pizza that doesn’t quite have enough toppings. You walk or run slowly through linear areas, picking up items, stopping to upgrade your gear and sometimes wander into little extra side areas. You can hop over some waist high things, climb up in some spots, crawl through vents and squeeze through tight spots. It’s fine but get’s repetitive and needs variety. I think this game might actually be a bit too long. It feels like the developers were worried about it being too short and decided to pad it out. I don’t want to go in too far to avoid spoilers but there are many bits throughout the game that overstay their welcome. One section in particular is a later part that strongly encourages stealth and it just drags on, especially when the stealth in this game is very basic. I think the game could have been shortened and/or tightened and had some stuff replaced with puzzles (which this game doesn’t have). The other issue is too much lazy stuff we’ve seen a lot before, like – get the power back on, find the keycode, find a fuse, getting separated from the other characters, etc.

I’ve seen the combat be described as simple and just dodging left and right and mashing attack. I think you could play the game this way but you would be doing yourself a disservice and making things more frustrating (Dodging is too simple and should require more timing though). You are meant to be aiming for perfect dodges and you also have a block, counter hit and heavy attack on top of your basic short melee combo. Often after some melee hits you’ll get a chance to do some quick lock on shots with your guns too. Speaking of guns, that’s the other major part of combat. You shoot at enemies like a regular TPS and you can sneak in some shots up close in melee range too. So it becomes about juggling an enemy or small group of enemies by mixing these two killing methods and it’s pretty satisfying. Then on top of this you have a GRP (telekinesis) that can throw objects or enemies and of course there some conveniently placed, but repetitive, gory traps to send foes into. It reminded me a bit of MadWorld (Wii), which is never a bad thing. You also have a limited inventory space, ammo isn’t super common and your telekinesis requires time or an item to recharge. This means you’re forced to mix these three elements (guns, melee and telekinesis) together, with a little stealth thrown in, constantly for the best play experience and it’s not a bad recipe.

Overall I think the gameplay has an enjoyable, solid base and even some sauce and cheese, it just needed some quality toppings. The combat needs a little more strategy. The game needs more enemy variety and more weapon variety – both melee and guns. It should be more demanding when it comes to blocks and dodges. It is a good time, even with repetition setting in too early and some occasional frustration. I think if the developers build on this gameplay in a sequel we could have something special.

The last thing to discuss is the story and it’s just good enough, but nothing to write much about. I think it is typical sci-fi, horror stuff with pretty decent world building. This doesn’t bother me too much for two reasons. First is that it is carried by some really good performances and visuals. Second, this type of experience is also carried more by the atmosphere, moment to moment action and character interactions rather than some bigger narrative and/or deep lore. It’s fleshed out a bit through audio logs found throughout the game and there’s some good environmental story telling. The locations are very detailed and you get a good sense of what the spaces were like and how they were lived in, along with what recently took place there. The biggest sin this game commits as far as I can tell is that the ending is somewhat incomplete and left to the DLC.

The clearly talented developers at Striking Distance Studios didn’t deserve for The Callisto Protocol to be dunked on. I think it deserves a lukewarm to quite positive response, with high hopes for a sequel or follow up. I think if they can push a sequel in the right directions, maybe even make it a survival horror game, then there is the potential here for something exceptional. As The Callisto Protocol currently is, I think it’s a solid, but not top tier horror game and I think I’m going to grab a physical copy for my collection. I’d recommend it to almost all PS Plus subscribers and most big horror fans. For everyone else maybe wait for a bit of a price drop.

7.0/10

Just an extra note: This review is based on a single normal playthrough but I liked it enough that I’m considering a second run. I haven’t played the other modes or DLC. Also I obviously just played the game more recently so it’s likely that it is in better shape now than it was at launch.

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 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.

The Callisto Protocol is, quite plainly, Dead Space. I haven’t played the 2023 remake, but the lineage is unmistakable: the color palette, camera work, movement, audiologs, and even the signature body stomps are all here. The introduction is solid and does a good job explaining why the protagonist has what is essentially a traffic-light health bar embedded in the back of his neck.

The presentation is strong overall. Characters are impressively sweaty, and there are some familiar faces among the cast. Visually, the game rarely disappoints.

Gameplay leans far more toward melee combat than Dead Space did—thankfully without any Souls-like influence. Blocking with the “back” input is common in fighting games, but I can’t recall seeing it used this way in a third-person action game. Once you acquire a pistol, you can chain a combo that auto-aims at stunned enemies, which is surprisingly useful.

Weapons can be upgraded, and it’s nice that upgrades are reflected visually in a logical way: a stability upgrade adds a foregrip, for instance. You also get a telekinetic glove that lets you pull objects—or enemies—toward you like a Jedi. That mechanic was everywhere in early 2000s games, but everything eventually comes back around.

There’s no experience system, just credits, which are used to upgrade weapons and the glove. Inventory space is extremely limited, and since there’s very little backtracking, excess items are best sold rather than hoarded.

One design choice I thought we had left behind around 2010 is constant forced transitions. Every few minutes you’re squeezing through tight gaps, crawling through vents, or slowly prying open doors by hand.

Enemies can mutate if not killed quickly, becoming stronger—something Resident Evil 4 experimented with in a different form. Once you finally get your suit and step outside, the snow is genuinely impressive: not just a flat texture, but something with real depth and volume.

For much of the early game, you’re guided over the radio by another inmate, Elias, who repeatedly finds reasons not to accompany you. I fully expected a betrayal, but instead he simply dies shortly after you escape together.

You later discover the prison’s warden is still alive and sabotages your escape by shooting down your ship. This is followed by a lengthy stealth section involving blind enemies. If you fail to sneak, you can still fight your way through, so it’s not especially punishing—and you can also take them down stealthily. The amusing part is how much noise Jacob makes while doing so, without any of the enemies reacting.

At this point, the game starts to resemble The Order: 1886: visually compelling, mechanically simple but functional, yet not truly excelling in any single area. The first boss—the two-headed ogre—illustrates this perfectly. It looks great, but the fight boils down to dodging attacks and shooting it until it dies.

Because Dani mentions reliving memories through the implanted chip, I expected a twist suggesting that everything was a dream or someone else’s memory. Instead, the story plays out fairly straight: a shadowy organization attempting to “evolve” humanity by experimenting on prisoners after discovering an alien lifeform.

The upgrade system is a bit deceptive. Using telekinesis to throw enemies into spikes or fans is extremely effective—I cleared the entire transporter arena by repeatedly tossing mutated enemies into a fan without firing a single shot. This strongly encourages investing heavily in telekinesis. However, that strategy doesn’t work on bosses, and neither does melee combat, making those upgrades far less useful in the endgame.

The final boss is good, despite its flaws. It’s so massive that it’s hard to read the battlefield, especially with suicide enemies constantly spawning. You’re clearly meant to throw them at the boss, but if you don’t, they’ll kill you—and the boss itself can one-shot you. Still, the weak points are clearly signposted, and among similar “tyrant”-style bosses, this was one of the more enjoyable ones. It’s also the only fight where I found the automatic pistol genuinely useful, since ammunition conservation is no longer a concern.

In the ending, Jacob accepts responsibility for his smuggling operation, which enabled the outbreak on Europa and led to the death of Dani’s sister—the recurring cube imagery from his visions finally makes sense. He sacrifices himself to save Dani. There is DLC that seemingly alters or continues this outcome, but I have no interest in playing it.