The Callisto Protocol won't get NG+ until next year
Striking Distance has unveiled the next six months of planned updates for The Callisto Porotcol, both free and ones included in the season pass, and it's all rather vague.
Unfortunately, those hoping to see a new game+ or hardcore mode at launch will have to wait a touch longer. It'll arrive on February 7, 2023 as part of a free update for all players. A two-month wait for the modes is a mighty shame, and at the very least NG+ is something that would have been a great launch day feature.
That's it for the planned free updates, with everything else requiring the season pass. These updates will run from February until summer 2023, and for the most part remain vague. An "Outer Way skin collection" will drop alongside the NG+ and hardcore mode on February 7, with March introducing the Contagion bundle. That should be a super-difficult mode, adding permadeath along with ammo and health scarcity. It'll even add a further 13 brutal death animations for Jacob—nobody tell online editor Fraser about this one, considering he's already seen far too much of The Callisto Protocol's grisly death animations.
Six months of content coming to The Callisto Protocol beginning Feb 7, 2023, with a free update of Hardcore Mode and New Game+. More details for this and the Season Pass coming soon. pic.twitter.com/43mLjK93IPDecember 1, 2022
Spring 2023 will add the Riot bundle, a wave survival mode where players will "venture into a previously undiscovered area of Black Iron Prison." It comes with 12 new enemy death animations and yet another skin collection. The final update, due in the summer, will add new story. There's no hint on what's to come yet, with the Steam page's only descriptor being "Dig deeper into the horrifying secrets of The Callisto Protocol".
The additional modes should offer some replayability if you're willing to fork out the extra cash for the privilege. Right now though, I'm not so sure how many people will be—at least on PC, anyway. The launch has been plagued by mostly negative user reviews, lamenting the intense stuttering issues and frame drops. That's even before you take into consideration the serious system requirements for The Callisto Protocol, which demand rather a lot from your hardware. Despite the performance issues, our Shaun had a relatively good time. He awarded it a 79 in his Callisto Protocol review, saying it "doesn't mess with the survival horror formula, instead embracing all its beats and clichés to tell a grim sci-fi tale that drips with menace."