The Callisto Protocol - Final Transmission Review

Final Transmission is The Callisto Protocol’s first (and currently only) story DLC. It is also the game’s true ending.

My overall assessment is the same as for the base game. It feels too derivative, and the handful of potentially interesting ideas are undercut by bad execution.

In this case, Final Transmission feels derivative of Dead Space 3 in specific, as it leans heavily into that game’s use of weird hallucinations and psychological breakdowns. This worked pretty well in Dead Space 3, as it wasn’t clear what was causing your insanity.

But in Final Transmission there are far too many clues that suggest what is going on, such that the ending is very clearly telegraphed. Of course, that might not be a deal breaker if the execution was better. But just like in the base game, the final twist of the ending is so rushed that it has little to no emotional impact. You’re simply left thinking “That’s it? That’s the game?”

Final Transmission’s other mistake is that offers too little new content, too late. There is a new melee weapon that is extremely devastating against normal enemies (and lets you survive against a class of new enemies). But it shows up about as late as it possibly can. By the time you get used to using it, the story is over.

I am at a loss as to why they didn’t just give it at the very start. If they were worried that it’d make things too easy, they could have simply thrown more enemies at you. The point is that DLC story content like this is the perfect place to reward the player, by giving them something that makes them feel strong and empowered. Instead the team chose to limit our use of this cool thing they spent time making. It’s one of many decisions that leave me baffled.

And then there’s the cherry on top of the sh*t sundae - Final Transmission costs $15. I bought it at half price using credit card reward points, and I still felt ripped off. I couldn’t imagine spending $15 for something that feels so derivative (and is relatively short).

In a way, this is a fitting ending for The Callisto Protocol. It’s a bad experience that could have been so much better, and the whole exercise is so derivative that one wonders what the point was in bothering to make it.