The Callisto Protocol was long billed as the spiritual successor to Dead Space by Visceral Games, especially because it was being designed by Dead Space creator Glen Schofield. However, the game eventually flopped when it launched in December 2022. On Wccftech, Kai Tatsumoto gave it a 7.2/10:
While an incredible looker in screenshots and death scenes, The Callisto Protocol suffers from a lack of intriguing content that makes the twelve-plus hour journey through Black Iron Prison worth two, even perhaps one single playthrough. Crafting and skill trees are both minimal in nature (with both costing a heavy amount of credits where players might only be able to fully upgrade two or three weapons in the full playthrough) while melee combat and combat encounters as a whole feel largely scripted. The horror elements stand out as reason alone to play Striking Distance’s debut horror game, but you might want to find yourself getting thrown back into Black Iron Prison rather than see the journey through to the end.
Why did the game turn out to be so disappointing? Well, Glen Schofield himself believes it’s because it should have been delayed, but publisher Krafton refused. Speaking in a video interview with YouTuber Dan Allen Gaming, Schofield said:
I wanted about three and a half more months and I was led to believe for about three or four months that that’s the way it was going to be. In October or September 21, I was told that we were going to get the time, just no regrets. That was the term that was being used, no regrets, just put whatever you want into the game. Then January comes around, and some of the folks come over, and they just said no, it’s December of 2022, and I was like, it’s not going to get done, and it’s going to cost you more money. It’s not like it costs you less money because you’re getting it out three months sooner. If you want it done, I got to accelerate everything by three and a half months, which means I need to jam people on here. If I need 20 people, I actually get 30 or 40 because that learning curve will not adjust.
Glen Schofield left developer Striking Distance Studios nearly a year ago. In the above interview, he explained he wanted to focus on his health and taking care of his daughter.
