The Callisto Protocol proves that crunch is dumb and doesn’t work - The Thursday Nite Rant

Middling scores, poor user reviews, and myriad technical issues: did those 15 hour days really pay off?

The Callisto Protocol proves that crunch is dumb and doesn't work - 1

The Callisto Protocol , the spiritual successor to Dead Space directed by veteran studio head Glen Schofield, has left a lot of horror fans wanting. Specifically, it has left them wanting the official Dead Space remake, which will land at the end of the month, because Callisto just didn’t hit the mark: the consensus is that while it’s clearly been put together by a talented team, the frustrating, under-designed combat and the various performance issues make it a slog, and the content within – though perfectly alright – just isn’t good enough to justify wading through the bad stuff.

The Callisto Protocol proves that crunch is dumb and doesn't work - 3

There’s some seriously impressive work that’s gone into Callisto Protocol, but the package just doesn’t come together.

Dead Space (remake)

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

The Callisto Protocol

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

Wishlisted - Our 10 Best Steam Next Fest Demos

Another Next Fest kicks off soon, but we’ve already done the digging for you.

Welcome to Wishlisted, a showcase of our favourite demos from Steam Next Fest: June 2024. Check the video above or watch on YouTube .

Finding the Best NextFest Demos is all about the joy of discovery, but with so many Steam Next Fest demos getting released in such a short amount of time, it can be bewildering. So we’ve decided to show you our ten Best Steam Next Fest games which we think deserve your attention. These are all upcoming Steam Next Fest games that we’re genuinely excited for, and that we think should play nicely on PC handhelds too!

This is just the start of our Next Fest coverage. This week we’ll be previewing loads of upcoming demos across the entire network - right here on VG247, of course, but also over on our sister sites Eurogamer and Rock Paper Shotgun. Bookmark our Wishlisted Steam Fest hub to stay in the loop. And this is well before Next Fest actually starts, so you, dear reader, get to bask for a solid fortnight celebrating all the wonderful new games that are just around the corner. Enjoy!