The Callisto Protocol is imperfect, but it has some redeeming qualities throughout and an effort has been shown toward buffing out its more tedious moments. Nothing can be done about the fact that The Callisto Protocol’s shimmy sequences make a good chunk of its gameplay, but elaborate death animations can now be skipped, and manual reload animations are significantly quicker. Likewise, The Callisto Protocol’s weapon quick-swap is much faster. Performance issues had marred the experience more than it needed to, but it is now in a relatively pleasant state.
Last month, The Callisto Protocol released a patch fixing many of these issues while also debuting its New Game Plus mode. This mode was unavailable at launch and was thankfully added a while earlier than previously scheduled. Reportedly, there are months of new content planned for The Callisto Protocol leading into this summer, and it will be interesting to see how the game shapes up by that point. Unfortunately, The Callisto Protocol’s New Game Plus mode may have still launched too late for anyone enjoying the game to be excited about it now, and the same might be said about its other post-launch content.
Why AAA Games Need New Game Plus Modes Right Away
By the time AAA games finally receive a patch with New Game Plus, fans have already disembarked from the hype train and moved onto other highly anticipated releases. God of War Ragnarok has this New Game Plus issue as well, and while the Norse folklore epic from Santa Monica Studio was a Game of the Year contender, it is still favorable to start a new playthrough in New Game Plus if players can because it means they can hang onto their upgrades, loot, and open-world progression.
Similarly to a game not having skippable cutscenes, this has the potential to make players want to wait until the update releases at some point in the future when they will inevitably be caught up doing something else and find that they no longer have the same drive to hop into a new playthrough. Players’ time is valuable, and a game asking players to come back to it later on for another identical playthrough can be unfavorable.
Of course, if a game was received incredibly well, then fans might be excited to start a new playthrough immediately without New Game Plus available or hurry back to it once it does. However, The Callisto Protocol in particular had a bad reception at launch, and a New Game Plus mode does not seem like nearly enough of an incentive for players to return to it. Either way, the launch of Motive’s Dead Space has now pushed The Callisto Protocol aside in almost every consideration.
Dead Space Remake’s NG+ Makes The Callisto Protocol’s Look Abysmal
It would seem like putting this update out around the time of Motive’s Dead Space remake would be a boon since it could encourage fans to return to The Callisto Protocol instead, but the Dead Space remake’s New Game Plus itself entirely eclipses The Callisto Protocol’s. The Dead Space remake’s New Game Plus offers a unique playthrough with secret collectibles, new phantom necromorph enemies, an alternate ending, and another opportunity to unlock master override clearances. This only applies if players had fashioned the master override clearance at the end of the ‘You Are Not Authorized’ side quest.
Rather, The Callisto Protocol’s New Game Plus is players’ cookie-cutter game mode that lets them bring their equipment and upgrades into a new playthrough. That is not to say that every New Game Plus needs an alternate ending and other features to be effective or meaningful. But it does not help that The Callisto Protocol tries as hard as it does to be Dead Space and still manages to fail so spectacularly, even when comparing their New Game Plus modes.
The Callisto Protocol is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.