Visually, The Callisto Protocol packs a full AAA presentation, so we had high hopes for its PC version. The game is gorgeous, with fantastic animations and character models that help sell the world and story. But the PC version has some issues. As you may have heard, it’s got a bit of a stuttering problem. And by “a bit,” I mean that it stutters all the time. The stuttering is worse than I can ever remember seeing in a large release like this, and it’s no wonder the game has a 21% Mostly Negative score on Steam at the time of writing.
For me, the stuttering is omnipresent. From the opening cutscenes to my trek through the prison, The Callisto Protocol hitches all the time. Sometimes a little event will happen, the screen will freeze on a shot while the sound continues to play, and I’ll regain control with an enemy hitting me. On top of that, the performance is all over the place. With a 3090 and 2600x, I would go from 120 fps in certain areas to 45 fps. It just varies. It’s strange, considering how tight the corridors are. It’s mostly my processor, sure, but the optimization seems poor across the board. Let’s look at the menus.
The Callisto Protocol PC Version Report
Separate ways
The various graphics menus are separated more than the usual. Instead of keeping the graphics options down to one or two menu sections, The Callisto Protocol has five. Obviously, this doesn’t hurt anything, but it’s atypical.
Screenshot by PC Invasion
The framerate limiter, VSync, and Direct X get their own menu page. Why? Because reasons.
Screenshot by PC Invasion
The Callisto Protocol has actual fullscreen, plus borderless and windowed options. And HDR. It’s surprising how many AAA games come without HDR support.
Screenshot by PC Invasion
Some ray tracing options here, as well as lighting, shadows, particles, and volumetric. The game is very atmospheric and definitely benefits from all of these. Although, good luck keeping your fps up with the ray tracing.
Ah, motion blur and film grain. Why do the two of you continue to exist? At least their annoying cousin chromatic aberration stayed at home.
Screenshot by PC Invasion
And now we have the textures. Everybody got their own page. What’s next, a texture awards ceremony?
Mouse and keyboard controls are fully rebindable, as per usual. As for controllers, you have a choice between right- and left-handed options, but you can rebind nothing. This is how far we’ve come as a society.
But there you have it, The Callisto Protocol has a very nice PC version as long as you’re not actually playing it. Hopefully, a patch will fix the stutters very soon. Otherwise, I’d advise anyone to wait, as having to dodge strong monsters while the game hitches every few seconds isn’t a good time for anyone.
