Following a promising pre-release hype cycle, The Callisto Protocol is receiving extremely negative reviews on Steam due to performance issues. Announced in 2020, The Callisto Protocol gained considerable traction as a sci-fi horror game from Striking Distance Studios, featuring the directing efforts of former Dead Space producer Glen Schofield. However, shortly after its release, the game may be faced with a multitude of problems.As reported by IGN, The Callisto Protocol is facing overwhelmingly negative reviews on Steam in light of significant technical issues. Even though some considered Callisto Protocol more promising than Silent Hill 2's upcoming remake, the game's rating on Steam currently sits at an abysmal 29%, with many reviewers citing massive stuttering and framerate issues. Notably, only the PC version of the game seems to be affected, and although some users on Steam have reported fixes, or even a lack of problems in the first place, others describe staggering technical issues even on high-end builds. The Callisto Protocol's Twitter account recently declared that developers are aware of the issue, and intend to release a patch to rectify it.
The Callisto Protocol's Poor Performance Makes Its Other Issues Worse
The reported stuttering errors on PC aren't the only problems facing The Callisto Protocol. Even with the game running perfectly, some reviewers have given it a mixed reception, noting that the title suffers from an overall lack of variety, and that The Callisto Protocol's close-quarters melee combat leaves much to be desired. Additionally, it has been argued that in spite of the game's lofty promises and leveraging of former Dead Space talent, it ultimately fails to live up as a spiritual successor to the iconic space horror game.
The Callisto Protocol is far from the first game to release with technical errors, but these flaws join several other issues fans have taken with the title. Some players have also objected to the game's Season Pass offerings, especially the promise of new death animations, as well as features missing from The Callisto Protocol on launch, such as New Game+. The title's director is already considering a Callisto Protocol sequel, but it seems like there are multiple issues to address with the first game before such a project can start.
It should be mentioned that in addition to technical issues and questionable Season Pass material, developers at Striking Distance Studios have also admitted to working long overtime hours on Callisto Protocol. Following previous cases of crunch and poor performance on release, as has been seen in games like Cyberpunk 2077, it may stand to reason that poor working conditions for the game's developers could be at least a partial cause of these PC problems. In keeping with official statements, however, players hoping for improvements to The Callisto Protocol can only hope that the game's next update will arrive swiftly.
Source: IGN, The Callisto Protocol/Twitter