semiconscious
Member
& yet another perfect epitaph for this gen...
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The Callisto Protocol |OT| Galaxy of Terror
- Thread starter tommib
- Start date
Secret of Evolution
Banned
Near the end.
Atmosphere and graphics are pretty great. Lighting in particular is the best I've seen (after, of course, turning off HDR on my PS5 and running the game in RBG mode on my Oled, because the game is still broken). Environmental storytelling is shit 90% of the time, which is the biggest disappointment for me. Vast majority of the game is just hallways or small rooms with not much interesting going on in them other than some dead bodies and maybe a 5 second audio log. And the game forcing you to stay in menu for audio logs, JFC, this shit was solved over a decade ago why do they rebreak it. Granted the audio logs are only 5 seconds long. Yawn. Story itself is basically nonexistent, hinting at an interesting beat or twist every 3 hours or so. Audio logs themselves are the bare minimum of interesting.
Combat is bizarre. Biggest problem is the super limited enemy types. That one section has you killing blind dudes for hoooouuurs. THEY CAN HEAR YOU!! except when you're stabbing a fool directly next to them, and then stomping on the fool's corpse for loot right next to them. Felt like I was playing Baby's First Splinter Cell in those areas. Seems like they either 1) didn't think through enemy mechanics very well or 2) the game was too frustrating with normal mechanics and they didn't have a fix so said "fuck it, they can't hear you stabbing other enemies now, problem solved." Seems like sneaking/stabbing would've been easy choices for upgrade paths but whatever. Also, the grabby dudes that pop out at you from the pods are a dumb idea when there's basically no way to mitigate it. Adds nothing other than unneeded QTEs. Speaking of which, half way through the game I set the QTE to only need one press, yet the grabby dudes still require mashing (or so it appears). Sigh.
I'm fine with the dodge/dodge/hit/hit/hit/shoot cycle. It has some novelty to it. There should probably be a dodge or roll button (with a cooldown I guess). Have only played post-patch so I assume combat is improved. Rarely need to heal, feels like most situations are either an easy victory or crushing slaughter (particularly the fucking drill ride). The indicator for force powers still confuses me, as does it requiring you to go into the menu to use its consumable. I've only been running with the pistol and shotgun you get for free. Not sure if the other guns are good but 1) it doesn't seem to matter and 2) making you pay for a new gun is some dumb shit when credits are at a premium. Should've made them refundable to spend and try out other stuff.
Meh, lots of small dumb shit that shouldn't be in a AAA game. 7/10
Atmosphere and graphics are pretty great. Lighting in particular is the best I've seen (after, of course, turning off HDR on my PS5 and running the game in RBG mode on my Oled, because the game is still broken). Environmental storytelling is shit 90% of the time, which is the biggest disappointment for me. Vast majority of the game is just hallways or small rooms with not much interesting going on in them other than some dead bodies and maybe a 5 second audio log. And the game forcing you to stay in menu for audio logs, JFC, this shit was solved over a decade ago why do they rebreak it. Granted the audio logs are only 5 seconds long. Yawn. Story itself is basically nonexistent, hinting at an interesting beat or twist every 3 hours or so. Audio logs themselves are the bare minimum of interesting.
Combat is bizarre. Biggest problem is the super limited enemy types. That one section has you killing blind dudes for hoooouuurs. THEY CAN HEAR YOU!! except when you're stabbing a fool directly next to them, and then stomping on the fool's corpse for loot right next to them. Felt like I was playing Baby's First Splinter Cell in those areas. Seems like they either 1) didn't think through enemy mechanics very well or 2) the game was too frustrating with normal mechanics and they didn't have a fix so said "fuck it, they can't hear you stabbing other enemies now, problem solved." Seems like sneaking/stabbing would've been easy choices for upgrade paths but whatever. Also, the grabby dudes that pop out at you from the pods are a dumb idea when there's basically no way to mitigate it. Adds nothing other than unneeded QTEs. Speaking of which, half way through the game I set the QTE to only need one press, yet the grabby dudes still require mashing (or so it appears). Sigh.
I'm fine with the dodge/dodge/hit/hit/hit/shoot cycle. It has some novelty to it. There should probably be a dodge or roll button (with a cooldown I guess). Have only played post-patch so I assume combat is improved. Rarely need to heal, feels like most situations are either an easy victory or crushing slaughter (particularly the fucking drill ride). The indicator for force powers still confuses me, as does it requiring you to go into the menu to use its consumable. I've only been running with the pistol and shotgun you get for free. Not sure if the other guns are good but 1) it doesn't seem to matter and 2) making you pay for a new gun is some dumb shit when credits are at a premium. Should've made them refundable to spend and try out other stuff.
Meh, lots of small dumb shit that shouldn't be in a AAA game. 7/10
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begotten
Member
Just accept the buyers remorse on this game and move on with your life.
ManaByte
Banned
So I'm not allowed to enjoy a game?
Nickolaidas
Member
What I dislike about the combat of this game is due to numerous factors.
A) Due to being based on melee fighting, it subconsciously makes you want to engage monsters in melee, while in traditional horror fashion, you are afraid of close combat because in 99% of SH games, you are at a disadvantage when in close combat. So basically, you are not afraid of monsters closing in on you on CP, because that's where you can actually fight them.
B) Combat is repetitive in a way that is completely mechanical. Dodge, Dodge, PUM PUM PUM. Dodge, dodge, PUM PUM PUM. Dodge, dodge, PUM PUM PUM. Unlike in Dead Space or Resident Evil where actual aiming is involved, or strategy in the way you blow up the limbs of your foes to kill them or impede their combat abilities, in CP you basically do a glorified Quick Time Event, which masquerades itself as combat. Left, Right, Click click click. Left, Right, Click click click. There's no strategy involved, no aiming, nothing. Just do the five-step dance at the right time and you'll be fine. Even the firearms which are added afterwards have automatic headshots enabled, so the game basically plays itself for you. I find it especially ironic that you try to take a cheap shot at the 'cinematic 3rd person' games' combat, when CP's combat is exactly that. A cheap cinematic experience with QTE to help it from feeling completely automated.
C) No enemy variety. This must be one of the most barebones bestiary I've ever seen in a SH game.
D) The A.I. is nowhere near as good as it was advertised. Enemies spot you and then attempt to charge in your face and beat you into a pulp.
If you like it, kudos to you. But this doesn't mean the combat doesn't have fundamental flaws that rub people the wrong way.
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consoul
Member
I'm enjoying the game quite a lot, but it sure has flaws. It's frustrating, because it's so close to being a very good game, but it's let down by half-arsed design.
The second fight against ol' two-head & friends is just rubbish. Difficulty is fine when you feel the only thing holding you back is your own skill (see Elden Ring), but the boss fights in this game are just poorly designed.
The second fight against ol' two-head & friends is just rubbish. Difficulty is fine when you feel the only thing holding you back is your own skill (see Elden Ring), but the boss fights in this game are just poorly designed.
Grildon Tundy
Member
Badlucktroll
Member
I keep getting my ass handed to me by the two headed dudes. I beat the one on the train thing, but the second one in the smaller space i can’t beat. I only have pistol ammo. I HATE in games when i have to replay an entire part because i don’t have enough ammo for a boss. Any tips?
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Con_Z_ǝdʇ
Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
Craft some ammo! Isn't there a printer right in front of the fight?
Badlucktroll
Member
There is in front of the first fight with a two head, but not the second, where i am stuck
Con_Z_ǝdʇ
Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
It would help if you could describe the place better. You may find explosive objects around you can throw.
Badlucktroll
Member
Con_Z_ǝdʇ
Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
There is one explosive canister in one of the buildings. Grab it with the GRP and throw it. There are also tons of blue containers in that area that will have ammo inside. Run away, keep your distance!
kittoo
Cretinously credulous
I 100% did not consider that.
Wait dont those creatures explode in your face if you grab them?
rofif
Can’t Git Gud
Combat is not bizarre. It's just bad
Con_Z_ǝdʇ
Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
No. Just on impact when you throw them.
Sleepwalker
Member
I'm playing this right now and I'm digging it, got the gun, the glove, etc. I just got to a part where they introduce the long neck enemies that basically look they come out of foreskin so i call them that but I digress. There's one part towards the end of the section where you have to lower down and there's 3 enemies waiting for you there and I keep getting rekt lol, I have ammo and all but I get past 1 maybe 2 and the third ends me. Any ideas?
njean777
Member
Just beat it and I liked it a lot, I can see the frustrations on the melee aspect as I feel like if the developers had wanted that to be more at the fore front they should have made the melee combat more fluid. Being able to be hit by enemies while in animations was baffling to me. Good game overall other than the questionable melee. Cannot wait for the dlc.
Does anybody see Sony maybe buying the franchise and making this an exclusive? I could see it as of how cinematic the game was, idk just a random thought off the top of my head.
Does anybody see Sony maybe buying the franchise and making this an exclusive? I could see it as of how cinematic the game was, idk just a random thought off the top of my head.
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consoul
Member
Just finished the game, and enjoyed it, despite its issues. Not gonna replay it though.
While the Dead Space comparisons are obvious, I find it pretty remarkable how much this game borrowed from Resident Evil 4. Not just its over-the-shoulder third-person gun/melee action, inventory management and commerce system, but specifically:
Tentacle parasites bursting out of bodies.
The platform fight with mobs dropping in.
Wall-climbing crawly enemies that turn invisible.
Snakes hiding in resource boxes.
The player death sequences are RE4-inspired too (with equal parts tLoU).
If you're gonna steal, steal from the best I guess.
While the Dead Space comparisons are obvious, I find it pretty remarkable how much this game borrowed from Resident Evil 4. Not just its over-the-shoulder third-person gun/melee action, inventory management and commerce system, but specifically:
Tentacle parasites bursting out of bodies.
The platform fight with mobs dropping in.
Wall-climbing crawly enemies that turn invisible.
Snakes hiding in resource boxes.
The player death sequences are RE4-inspired too (with equal parts tLoU).
If you're gonna steal, steal from the best I guess.
Sleepwalker
Member
I played a bit more, I'm really digging it so far. Can't wait to keep going tomorrow. I like the combat for what it's worth.
_Idea_of_Evil_
Member
So glad I ignored all the noise sneering at the game. When anyone asks me how Callisto Protocol is:
Finished it a few days back and I loved the entire ride. Definitely in for NG+ next month and the story dlc they release later.
It was also a great way to exacerbate my appetite for the Dead Space remake.
And lol at the hate towards the combat. It's straightforward and satisfying.
Finished it a few days back and I loved the entire ride. Definitely in for NG+ next month and the story dlc they release later.
It was also a great way to exacerbate my appetite for the Dead Space remake.
And lol at the hate towards the combat. It's straightforward and satisfying.
Inviusx
Member
Well I just finished it after a week. Really cool game, great production value 
Combat was fun, weighty I enjoyed it but there were some frustrating parts like the moving platform fight where you have to fight 4 waves of mutated enemies. Took awhile to figure out the trick there.
The story was very derivative and predictable but you need to setup so much with a new title like this that I think it puts a good case towards a sequel being great!
Overall, I'm happy with my purchase here. Great game.
Combat was fun, weighty I enjoyed it but there were some frustrating parts like the moving platform fight where you have to fight 4 waves of mutated enemies. Took awhile to figure out the trick there.
The story was very derivative and predictable but you need to setup so much with a new title like this that I think it puts a good case towards a sequel being great!
Overall, I'm happy with my purchase here. Great game.
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kittoo
Cretinously credulous
What galls me the most, now that I think about it, is that they could've done so much more with the setting.
Imagine traveling to different facilities on callisto, different types of environments (underground, above the surface, in the subsurface ocean). Maybe even places and colonies or cities on callisto where more people were still alive. Story where there was still communication from earth/orbit station.
And this is just off the top of my head. Instead we got fucking vents for half a game.
Imagine traveling to different facilities on callisto, different types of environments (underground, above the surface, in the subsurface ocean). Maybe even places and colonies or cities on callisto where more people were still alive. Story where there was still communication from earth/orbit station.
And this is just off the top of my head. Instead we got fucking vents for half a game.
Werewolf Jones
Member
When you get to that area with trees and shit and you just walk along metal platforms alongside the tree tops... L.
John Marston
GAF's very own treasure goblin
I had the same issue with ammo then focused on upgrading the GRP and just forced pushed everything in spikes or out of map.
Also reaching for a drink or a cigarette puff while playing is way scarier than the jump scares
OsirisBlack
Banned
The melee combat is a bit simple but you can mix it up. I mean block sweep beat shoot. Shoot limbs off stomp as they crawl. Grip and toss…. I kind of feel like the people complaining about the combat are doing it wrong.
_Idea_of_Evil_
Member
Low ammo is standard in survival horror games.
Maybe it has more to do with your playstyle? I main'd the baton over guns for most of the game. Ammo was never an issue as I used them mostly for emergency scenarios; by endgame I was using a variety of guns for fun and never felt that ammo drops were too scarce.
Sleepwalker
Member
OP got banned nooo
I'm thru to chapter 5. Loving it, been playing in small bites.
I'm thru to chapter 5. Loving it, been playing in small bites.
Topher
Identifies as young
saintjules
Gold Member
I've seen a lot of conflict about the combat. I'm going to buy it soon to check it out for myself:
DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
Danjin44
The nicest person on this forum
DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
Man, sucks. such a loveable guy too. You cant be talking about me........ SadgeHe couldn't stand the fake outrage and the artificial drama anymore. Quite funny that i write that to you.
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Sleepwalker
Member
Shame, he was one of the good ones.
Badlucktroll
Member
Ristifer
Member
That’s how I feel as well. I read so many negatives about the combat and how frustrated people were when the game released. Now that I’ve played through it, I’m wondering what the hell they were talking about.
I can understand wanting to blast through enemies with a plasma-type weapon or something, but the melee is easy to use and is satisfying enough. I’m honestly confused by these reactions. I can understand not liking the constant hallways and claustrophobic shimmying through vents, but that’s such small potatoes.
Also, those complaining about low quantities of ammo… lol. I remember my first survival horror game, too.
Nowadays forum posters and internet social media posters seem to be complainers ..
Agent_4Seven
Tears of Nintendo
That's not small at all and the main problem of this game - extremely simplified game and world design, which also limiting gameplay loop and not allowing combat to be something grander and better than just dodging attacks and doing the same combo + GRP the whole game. What's in the game right now combat-wise is fine and satfisfiying enough, that's true, but at the same time it's just a teaser of what this game could've been, given SDS had more development time - 1,5-2 more years at least.
Ristifer
Member
Must be different for me then, because I found the complaining about small areas and shimmying to be extremely overblown. The combat doesn’t need to be grand. It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel. It’s a typical corridor experience. I think people were expecting something grander and were disappointed when it didn’t happen that way.
Agent_4Seven
Tears of Nintendo
Not when you compare the game to a 15 year old game from X360/PS3 which was way better in terms of core and level design.
But it's trying to reinvent the wheel, cuz Dead Space in terms of combat was anything but the melee combat. That's why in TCP you have a combination of two and even Glen said, that they were trying to take a different aproach from Dead Space, which didn't had a melee option for combat. There's no option for dealing with the crowds, there's no option to fight repetitive bosses in a different way but doing the same shit you did with regular enemies, there's no unique enemy/boss encounters with set pieces, there's no different and memorable bosses to fight with... the list goes on.
Expecting at the very least 15 year old game design wasn't something you should expect from a Dead Space successor and people who made it? I've said it already, it's not a bad game by any means, it good and even great in some aspects and for what it is, but I wish I could've said something different than that about it. I mean, I'm sorry but.... that's the truth. TCP is scaled down a lot in comparison to the first Dead Space (not to mention Dead Space 2) even in more ways than one. They can't fix it with the DLC (only make some small QOL changes and fix performance/CPU utilization), cuz it's needs a far better sequel for that which we'll get in like 5 years from now... if we're lucky? And that's the saddest part about it actually, if they'll even get a chance to work on a sequel.
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Hobbygaming
has been asked to post in 'Grounded' mode.
Yup there's also plenty of health and bullets in the last boss fight area when you run away and actually have time to pick them up
Hobbygaming
has been asked to post in 'Grounded' mode.
This. I was baffled by the reception of this game by reviewers. I bought it anyways at release and I'm so glad I did
Foilz
Banned
I'm about 2 hours in and haven't had a single stutter or issue. The visuals are stunning!! I don't know what everyone is bitching about when it comes to this game, I'm having an absolute blast with it. I've had a few slight jump scares and so far I've enjoyed the combat.
How could anyone be upset about the smaller hallways, vents and overall level design but then love alien isolation (which was a ton of fun)
Amd 58003xd,amd6900xt,32gig ram
How could anyone be upset about the smaller hallways, vents and overall level design but then love alien isolation (which was a ton of fun)
Amd 58003xd,amd6900xt,32gig ram
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Ristifer
Member
The comparisons are natural, but it doesn't mean they're trying to reinvent the wheel. Having melee combat isn't trying to reinvent the wheel, just because it wasn't the focus of a 15 year old game from the same developers. I still have yet to see how it's difficult to deal with multiple enemies in this game. People keep saying this, but it's survival horror. You're not meant to be blasting through everything. That's the point. If you have to run away for a few seconds and try to use your GRP, ammo, or just melee one at a time, then that's how it goes. If you have to shoot environmental hazards like gas tanks, that's your choice. Again, there are choices. Is it repetitive? Yeah, most gameplay loops are repetitive. I'm not saying it's perfect. You're quoting me and arguing as if I'm saying it's flawless, which is something I never stated. I said that shimmying through tight spaces/vents is a lame complaint. Same with the jump scares complaint. I haven't actually jumped because of a game since Eternal Darkness, and that was 20 years ago.
The game definitely isn't perfect, but I'm still having a blast with it. I was expecting more Dead Space, and that's what I got. It's more streamlined, no doubt about that. And there are many improvements that could be made. But my initial point still stands. I don't see how the melee isn't effective. It's supposed to frustrate you and make you feel a bit helpless. That's the entire point of having it as the focus. If people don't understand this and just think that a plasma cutter will be the saviour, then you can play the DS remake.
Honestly, if the sequel needs to introduce some new things, then that's not a crime. Maybe there will be a sequel, and maybe there won't. We will have to see. For now, I have no problems with this game being what it is, warts and all.