Gaming

The Callisto Protocol review: Gory visuals, gory gameplay

Good form, but is there substance?

Published

December 13, 2022

Luigi Leonardo

What makes for a good horror title? More than a smattering of jump scares, critically acclaimed titles are often smooth assemblages of grotesque imagery, chill-inducing sound design, and foreboding background storytelling. By themselves, these elements can create an amazing film or series. However, a horror game needs so much more to be effectively scary.

Today, a lot of games rely on a bag of tricks — sparse resources, brutishly overpowered enemies, emphasis on sneaking — to keep players on their toes throughout the entire playthrough. Branching from a long tradition of similar games, The Callisto Protocol is the latest title to take on the genre. Can it leverage horrifying storytelling with tense gameplay?

Back to sci-fi basics

The sci-fi horror genre needs no introduction. Over the years, it has spawned several notable titles like Alien: Isolation, Prey, and Dead Space. Besides waving the flag of the genre, The Callisto Protocol also comes from Glen Schofield, the co-creator of the Dead Space series. With that distinction, the title should be primed for success. Or so one thinks.

As the name implies, the title takes players to the frozen climes of Jupiter’s moon, Callisto. Jacob Lee, played by Josh Duhamel, finds himself trapped inside Callisto’s Black Iron Prison. Coincidentally, both inmates and guards alike are getting infected by an unknown virus, turning them into mutating zombies. Like other survival horror games, the title features dark hallways and a limited array of resources to fight monsters.

A feast of viscera

Given its creator, The Callisto Protocol successfully recreates the dark and ominous atmosphere of its spiritual predecessor. The game is as creepy as its gory. Claustrophobic, unlit hallways open into veritable museums of the human anatomy in various states of disfigurement. Entrails splayed out, entire torsos chopped off, naked bodies dangling on alien cobwebs. Even if you’re already used to the gore of the horror genre, there’s something in Callisto that can still inspire awe and disgust.

The same goes for the game’s limited-but-adequately-spaced out enemy design. Though most of the monsters you’ll face in Callisto are humanoid, there are a few enemies that escape comprehension including a human body contorted into a spidery crawler and another squeezed into a snake-like form. The game can always use more enemy types; however, it adequately spaces out special monster types, ensuring that the limited number we see keep their scare factor.

Clunk

The Callisto Protocol deserves praise for its excellent environmental storytelling. However, a game needs more than just an environment. It also needs a complementarily scary gameplay system. Unfortunately, the title does little to deliver.

Though the game takes scarcity of resources to heart, The Callisto Protocol’s combat system is clunky. Instead of two dedicated buttons to dodge and block, the game asks players to use the left thumbstick, the same one you use for movement. Players have to accurately predict which side an enemy is attacking from and counter with the opposite direction on the thumbstick. Otherwise, players can block attacks by holding down on the stick. It’s certainly a chore to get used to, especially when most games these days use either the X or the O button to dodge.

Once you do get dodging down to a rhythm, the game doesn’t offer much variation for attacking. There are light and strong attacks, but it’s ultimately a spam of the right trigger then an occasional burst of gunfire. There are a variety of guns available, but a lot of the latter enemies are bullet sponges so it doesn’t matter much.

It also doesn’t help that the targeting system freaks out in scenarios with more than one monster. Most of the time, a strike just fails to land or mistakenly lands on an entirely different target, often leading to the player getting hit instead.

The game’s horror finds itself tied so much into the foreignness of its gameplay and the controls. As such, the fear factor quickly dissipates after mastering the system. A couple of hours into the game, the monsters stopped being scary. Whenever the game told me to sneak past enemies, I still got into fights intentionally just to quicken the pace. Fighting just became an inconvenience, rather than a death sentence.

A problem of pacing

In between fighting, players traipse through dark hallways and cramped vents. The game also offers divergent paths, adding a bit of choice as to where players explore first. In moderation, these elements can help build tension and reward players for exploring beyond the main path. The Callisto Protocol’s take, however, is problematic.

Though framed as a way to increase tension, the game also uses empty hallways and vents as cleverly disguised loading screens. Jacob crawls through at a snail’s pace so the game can load the next area. While other games use this moment to build lore or continue the dialogue, a lot of Callisto’s loading screens offer nothing but silence or the same, reused set pieces of monsters running offscreen to parts unknown. One segment even had a vent, an empty room, and another vent follow each other — basically, three loading zones in quick succession. It’s just a tax on time.

The divergent paths aren’t as effective either. There are several times when exploring a hidden room ends up with nothing, a battle, a middling reward, or just an audio recording. It’s hardly rewarding enough to explore unbeaten paths.

Is The Callisto Protocol your GameMatch?

For what it’s worth, The Callisto Protocol is still a masterclass in depicting virtual gore. Schofield knows how to make space terrifying. If you’re looking for a quick fix to tide over a hunger for horror, this title might be for you.

Unfortunately, the title’s lackluster gameplay keeps The Callisto Protocol from hanging with other masterpieces in the genre. However, if it’s any consolation, the title still has a post-launch roadmap to follow including story-focused DLC. The game might be more worth its price tag once the DLC comes out.

Gaming

Dune: Awakening makes it way to the PS5 and Xbox Series X

Surviving the harsh land of Arrakis one sandstorm and bloodlust at a time

Published

September 22, 2026

Gab Orlina

Back in June of 2025, Funcom released its multi-nominated open world survival game, Dune: Awakening. Inspired by the renowned movie franchise, the game takes place within the deserts of Arrakis as players survive and thrive through intense combat and strategic decision making. Now, in the big 2026, Funcom is finally bringing that experience to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S players as Dune: Awakening officially launches on console!

For the newbies finally getting it on console, here’s all you need to know:

Take the lead or do it together

Dune: Awakening takes you into the desolate land of Arrakis, and gives you the option to do it on Single Player or Multiplayer upfront. Through your own bidding in strategy, combat, and resource management, your goals are simple: survive the terrain, make more allies than enemies, and conquer the land through your affiliation to the powers that be.

This version of the game is as exact and as one-to-one as it possibly could with the PC version released last year, down to the story arcs, quests, and PvE/PvP areas you take on. Since launch, Funcom has introduced new weapons, areas, and cosmetics through DLCs that will be available to console players, as well. Also, several key features in story and mission progression that have changed on the PC version will take into effect.

If you want to engage with multiplayer, it is still a viable option when you want to gather more resources and reinforce your bases against other players and the natural elements. However, you still won’t be able to host your own server on a console just yet, as it is more stable to do so on the PC version.

Become whoever and whatever to survive

Character customization became the game’s bread and butter through its extensively library of features and unique take on story progression. As you begin your journey, Lady Jessica welcomes you in and asks you on your origin story, mentorship, and initial skill set — all of which are to your choosing based on your play style. Honestly, none of these completely influence the difficulty in progressing the story too much but it will give you full control of the experience.

As you progress further into the game, you will unlock more skills and abilities to aid you in your quest for power and survival. These will help you earn XP, along with accomplishing tasks, gathering resources and researching newer technologies, plus engaging in combat both within the PvE and PvP areas. Ultimately, you and, potentially, other players must build enough rapport and influence to shape the world of Arrakis to your liking.

Consistent visual expectations

For most players on the PC version, graphical fidelity relied heavily on the hardware of choice. When transitioning the game into a console-friendly environment, Funcom worked out the details seamlessly by adding a Performance and Quality mode. In this fashion, you can opt for crystal-clear graphics at a decent 30 FPS or go for a constant 60 FPS to keep up with the action.

Left: Performance | Right: Quality

No matter which mode you choose, the overall visual identity of the game doesn’t change drastically. Environments look rich and vibrant, while the tiniest of details within character models are preserved. Although, given frame rate differences, rendering of background elements also reflects that but it won’t ruin the gaming experience.

Dune: Awakening will be available on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on September 22. For Xbox Game Pass owners, this will also be a Day One release with Play Anywhere support and cross-play within Xbox and PC players upon launch.

Funcom has also planned an exciting map update later this year plus potential DLC tie-ins to the upcoming Dune: Part Three theatrical release in December.

Gaming

Valve unveils price of the Steam Frame

The VR headset starts at US$ 1,059.

Published

September 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

The trifecta is complete. Almost a year after announcing their new hardware, Valve has finally unveiled the price tag of the Steam Frame, complementing the Steam Machine and Steam Controller revealed a few months ago.

Whereas the Steam Machine is a console of its own, the Steam Frame is a traditional VR headset with a pair of controllers for both hands. Unfortunately, despite being in a different segment, the headset is not immune to the rising prices of technology. The Steam Frame will start at US$ 1,059 for a 256GB model and can go up to US$ 1,299 for the 1TB model. On the plus side, each box will come Half-Life: Alyx packaged along with the headset.

Here’s a more detailed rundown of what you’re getting. The Steam Frame will ship with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, paired with 16GB of RAM. Each eye comes with a 2160 x 2160 LCD screen, putting out images at up t0 a 144Hz experimental refresh rate. As mentioned above, the headset will start with 256GB of storage but can go up to 2TB. It will come packaged with SteamOS 3 and a rechargeable 21.6Wh battery.

This might be a hard buy for some. The industry currently has more affordable options, for one. Also, virtual reality isn’t the most thriving segment of gaming today.

If you’re still decided on buying one, however, Valve is using its lottery system. Interested customers can sign up from now until September 17. The company will then randomize the purchasing order. Those who draw the first ones in the lottery can get a purchase email as soon as September 18. Meanwhile, anyone who registers after September 17 will automatically be put at the back of the queue.

Gaming

BlizzCon 2026 announces World of Warcraft: Forever and Diablo V

StarCraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone, and more also get news

Published

September 14, 2026

GadgetMatch

Blizzard Entertainment kicked off BlizzCon 2026 with a packed Opening Ceremony featuring new games, major expansions, updates, and other announcements across its biggest franchises.

Blizzard Entertainment President Johanna Faries opened the event at the Anaheim Convention Center, celebrating the community behind the company’s games and the teams that bring its worlds to life.

World of Warcraft: Forever and Diablo V

The biggest announcement was World of Warcraft: Forever, a new World of Warcraft experience launching November 5 AEDT, with its beta beginning September 18 AEST. The new experience will feature three zones, more than 1,000 quests, nine dungeons, two raids, and a new Skyborne race.

Blizzard also officially announced Diablo V, marking the next era of the franchise. The game is set to launch in North America in Spring 2029, with Sanctuary having fallen and Diablo having won.

StarCraft is also returning with a new story-driven, open-world shooter. The game is currently planned for a Spring 2030 release in North America.

Beyond games, Blizzard revealed that an animated series set in the Diablo universe is in development with Netflix. The company says this is only the beginning of its plans to expand its universes beyond gaming.

For Warcraft III Reforged, the new Forsaken Kingdom campaign is available today. It marks the Warcraft RTS series’ first new storyline in more than 23 years and explores the fall of Lordaeron and the origins of the Undercity. The accompanying 3.0 update also brings graphical improvements and a revamped World Editor.

Heroes of the Storm is adding Xal’atath as its newest Hero. She arrives in the Nexus on September 29 AEST, with her PTR release scheduled for September 15 AEST.

Existing games updates

Meanwhile, Diablo IV is preparing for its next major content drop. Season of Hell’s Legacy begins September 16 AEST and celebrates the franchise’s 30-year history with the return of the Prime Evils and Deckard Cain, alongside themed rewards and gear.

The legendary Amazon class will also arrive in the first half of 2027 as part of Diablo IV’s first class pack. The Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection is additionally coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on September 16 AEST with cross-platform play and cross-progression.

For World of Warcraft, Blizzard teased the next major update for Midnight. Eclipse (12.2) will see Xal’atath move closer to her goal of claiming Azeroth’s Worldsoul. Blizzard also offered another look at The Last Titan, the next expansion in the Worldsoul Saga and a major culmination of more than two decades of Warcraft storytelling. More information is coming early next year.

Overwatch is getting a major update with Season 5. The season introduces new Support Hero Doctrine, reworks for Sombra and Roadhog, and the new Watchpoint: Grimsvötn map. It will also conclude The Reign of Talon, Overwatch’s first year-long narrative arc.

LE SSERAFIM & YOASABI

BlizzCon also featured performances from YOASOBI and LE SSERAFIM. YOASOBI will perform during the first-ever esports halftime show at BlizzCon, while LE SSERAFIM will return to the Main Stage to close the weekend. A new LE SSERAFIM in-game collaboration is available now, with another Overwatch Spotlight scheduled for February 2027.

Finally, Hearthstone is getting its first new class in more than six years. The Monk arrives in 2027, while the upcoming Reign of the Black Empire expansion takes players back to the earliest age of Azeroth. It introduces the Assemble keyword, which combines two cards into a new one. Battlegrounds is also adding Aberrations as a new minion type.

BlizzCon 2026 is now underway, with Blizzard promising more announcements and details throughout the weekend.