I ended up going back on my earlier stance and decided to finish Final Transmission, the only DLC for The Callisto Protocol. Realistically, if I hadn’t played it now, I probably never would have. Even if I had returned later, I likely would have forgotten how to play the game anyway.

The story begins with Jacob experiencing mild amnesia for unclear reasons. He also starts hallucinating Elias, his deceased cellmate, which never occurred in the base game. The DLC introduces a “new” enemy variant — essentially the same security robot, but now overgrown with fungal material, which doesn’t change encounters in any meaningful way.

In response to complaints about the slow and repetitive vent crawling sections, the developers added traps inside the vents. Unfortunately, this change only makes these segments more frustrating, especially since checkpoints are not placed before entering them. At least the second encounter is easier once you know what to expect.

At one point, Jacob’s baton is replaced with a hammer, seemingly because the developers could not implement multiple melee weapons simultaneously. The hammer is extremely powerful in close combat and also doubles as a tool for breaking crates, making it arguably overpowered.

Credit where it’s due, the DLC does introduce a relatively original boss fight. While it is clearly inspired by the two-headed brute from the base game, this version incorporates ranged attacks, a stomp mechanic, and transitions between melee and ranged combat phases. In some ways, it’s actually more engaging than the original game’s final boss.

The final reveal answers the question of how Jacob survived — he didn’t. The entire DLC takes place within a lucid dream as Jacob lies limbless and dying, connected to life support while Dr. Mahler uses his implant to extract evidence. Personally, I don’t mind this ending. Unlike Dead Space, which became overly attached to Isaac as a recurring protagonist, this approach makes more narrative sense. It avoids the increasingly contrived scenario of the same character repeatedly surviving catastrophic events while conveniently losing their entire arsenal each time. More importantly, it preserves the impact of Jacob’s sacrifice. Given that The Callisto Protocol 2 is unlikely to happen, the conclusion feels appropriate.