Welcome to The Callisto Protocol achievements guide. At launch, the game offers a Gamer Score of 1,000G. Most will be unlocked through progressing the story.
Game Stats:
- Difficulty: 7/10
- Time to Completion: ~10 hours of saved game time per playthrough, plus time spent reloading checkpoints at death. Expect to spend 12-15 hours for the Minimum Security playthrough and more for the Maximum security playthrough.
- Does Difficulty Affect Achievements?: Yes. The Protocol Is About Life (100G) requires playing the game on the highest difficulty.
- Missable Achievements: Yes. The collectible achievements are can be missed. Make sure you pick them up as you come to each section. The 2 collectibles in Chapter 4: Habitat located in Oxygen Processing.
Recommended Playthrough
- Break the game up into 2 playthroughs.
- The first should be on the easiest difficulty where you can focus on the collectibles and conditional achievements. Some of the game mechanics can be frustrating, so getting used to them in easy is recommended.
- Note: There is an exploit at the time of launch that can be used to unlock The Protocol is About Life achievement without playing through the game on Maximum Security.
- The 2nd playthrough will be devoted to The Protocol is About Life (100G) achievement for finishing the game on the highest difficulty.
- The first should be on the easiest difficulty where you can focus on the collectibles and conditional achievements. Some of the game mechanics can be frustrating, so getting used to them in easy is recommended.
General Tips
- Save often. The locations of the auto-saves are not ideal, and may result in needing to go back multiple auto-saves to find one that works. Manual saves snap to the last checkpoint save. Manually saving simply archives the checkpoint to be used later.
- Inventory space is tight. Try to sell as much as you can at the nearest Reforge when available. I usually kept on health injector and 1-2 batteries, plus ammo.
- Focus first on upgrades to the Stun Baton that fit your play style. Ammo is sparse, so dealing extra damage through melee is recommended.
- Upgrade the Riot Gun when you unlock it, except the final node. The Riot Gun is essential in defeating twin-head enemies in the late game.
Links
Story Achievements
The Outer Way
20G – Find the Outer Way boarding craft
Automatic story achievement/trophy. This will unlock during Chapter 1: Cargo.
Desperate Times
20G – Elias gives Jacob a shiv
Automatic story achievement/trophy. This will unlock during Chapter 2: Outbreak, near the beginning.
Paper Jams
15G – Print a weapon for the first time
Automatic story achievement/trophy.
During Chapter 3: Aftermath, Elias will hand you part of a weapon and tells you to finish printing it at the Reforge nearby. Go ahead and recreate the BI-55 Pistol “Hand Cannon”.
If the SHU Fits…
20G – Activate the SHU
Automatic story achievement/trophy. This will pop after joining Elias during Chapter 3: Aftermath.
Without A Paddle
20G – Survive the pipeslide
Automatic story achievement/trophy. This will unlock during Chapter 4: Habitat after a sliding section.
Crash Site
20G – Return to the crashed ship
Automatic story achievement/trophy. This will unlock during Chapter 5: Lost when you return to your ship.
In the Pipe, Five by Five
20G – Reach the Hangar flight deck
Automatic story achievement/trophy. This will unlock at the end of Chapter 5: Lost when you reach the flight deck.
Power Up
20G – Restore power to the old facility
Automatic story achievement/trophy. This will unlock during Chapter 6: Below after turning the power back on.
Two-Head Boss
Two Heads Are Better Than One
50G – Take down the two-head
Automatic story achievement/trophy. This will unlock during Chapter 6: Below after defeating two-head on the platform. There are multiple two-heads in the game; this is just the first.
I recommend coming into the fight with at least 3 health injectors, a few batteries (more are in the chests), and many stacks of Riot Gun ammo.
During the 1st phase, you will need to defeat 4 waves of 4 enemies each. Each wave appears to come from a different side of the platform. During my recording, they came from the back, left, front, then right sides.
The rear wave can be hit off the back of the platform with RB/R1 if you line up correctly. Plan to use your GRP to throw a few of the enemies from the left and right waves.
Make sure you have 16 rounds of ammo for the Riot Gun saved for the two-head. The game will make a checkpoint after defeating the trash mobs on the platform. Make sure you have a full magazine at the start of the fight.
Dodge (hold left/right) an attack, then hit it with the Riot Gun. After 5-8 shots, the two-head will drop down. Run up to it and hit it 3 times with RT/R2. You then have a few seconds to reload your Riot Gun before repeating the process. After hitting it 3 times while dropped the second time, it will die and the achievement/trophy will pop.
What Lies Beneath
20G – Find the source
Automatic story achievement/trophy. This will unlock during Chapter 7: Colony after entering the dome.
Full Circle
20G – Get thrown back into original cell
Automatic story achievement/trophy. This will unlock at the beginning of Chapter 8: Tower when you are placed in your cell.
Final Boss
I Do Belong Here
100G – Beat the game on any difficulty
Complete the game on any difficulty. Feel free to play on the easiest difficulty for the first playthrough. This will unlock at the end of Chapter 8: Tower after you defeat the final boss, escape the area, and the credits start to roll.
Final Boss Phase 1:
Dodge (hold left/right) through the combos (3-5 swings), then melee when there is a brief opening. Try to finish this phase with near full health, so you don’t need to heal after the checkpoint.
Final Boss Phase 2:
Make sure you keep parts of the environment between you and the boss, so he can’t use his melee attacks. Aim for the head to take down the armor and damage the head directly. Once the head is damaged, the boss will drop down, recharge the armor, and call in explosive ground adds.
If you need to heal, do so as soon as the boss falls down. Then circle around the outer ring to take out the adds. Some adds may drop health pickups, which you should grab if you need them. Once the adds are cleared out, reposition yourself to repeat the process. The 4th time the boss falls, the battle will end.
Completion Achievements
You Need a Gun
100G – Fully Upgrade One Weapon
The cheapest weapon to fully upgrade is the e BI-55 Pistol “Hand Cannon”. Save before fully upgrading the pistol, then reload after the achievement/trophy pops. The last 2 upgrades cost 600 and 1,800.
The Commonality
50G – Uncover the mystery of Kallipolis
This will unlock after finding both secret rooms. The first is in Chapter 3: Aftermath. Go into the Workshop before entering Maintenance. The second is in Chapter 6: Below. Go through the crack in the left wall just before entering the room where you turn the power on.
Grim Reaper
100G – Harvest and read all implant bios
Follow the Callisto Protocol Collectibles Guide for detailed locations of the 43 collectibles. If you follow the guide, the achievement/trophy will unlock after collecting the 2nd to the last recording. You will also unlock The Commonality achievement/trophy.
The Protocol is About Life
100G – Beat the game on Maximum Security difficulty
Complete the game on the highest difficulty level, Maximum Security.
Exploit: At the time of the game’s release, there is a bug that allows you to finish the game on Minimum Security. When you gain control of your character after defeating the final boss and watching the cutscene, pause the game, change the difficulty to Maximum Security, then escape. After the I Do Belong Here achievement/trophy pops at the start of the credits, close the game using the Xbox system menu. Relaunch the game, load the most recent auto save (“Run to the Escape Pods!”), and finish escaping again. This time The Protocol is About Life should unlock when the credits roll. Thanks to Greg Miller (@GameOverGreggy) on Twitter for pointing this out.
Conditional Achievements
GRP
Get a Grip
50G – Grab twenty-five enemies with the GRP
This can be done any time after you receive the GRP in Chapter 3: Aftermath. Simply use the GRP to grab 25 enemies over the course of the game. As long as you use the GRP in fights where there are environmental hazards, you should unlock this achievement/trophy long before you complete the story.
In Striking Distance
50G – Kill an enemy via GRP and a melee combo
This can be done any time after you receive the GRP in Chapter 3: Aftermath. To execute the combo and get the achievement/trophy, you will need to lower the health of an enemy, leaving enough health to grab them, throw them against a wall, and finish them with a single melee attack while they are trying to recover.
Workplace Hazard
30G – Use GRP to kill an enemy by throwing them into an environmental hazard
After you unlock the GRP in Chapter 3: Aftermath, use it to grab an enemies (LT/L2 + A/X) and throw them into spikes or gears (RT/R2). This achievement/trophy should pop before the end of Chapter 3.
Security Robots
Terminated
50G – Take down a security robot
This is done during Chapter 3: Aftermath. To take out the robot, hide behind the crate on the far right. Wait there for the robot to turn the corner. Aim and fire at the robot’s head as it walks away from you. This can be simplified by enabling Auto Aim under the Accessibility options menu and dropping the difficulty to the lowest setting.
Techniques
Giving Back
15G – Stab five blind enemies in the back
In Chapter 6: Below, you will be introduced to an enemy that is blind and attacks based on sound. The best way to take them out is to sneak around and back stab them. Even though backstabbing makes sounds in the game, nearby enemies will not hear it. There are dozens of these in the chapter, and you should easily unlock this achievement/trophy without trying.
Float Like A Butterfly
20G – Perfect dodge five times
This is the toughest conditional achievement/trophy in the game.
This is best done on the 2nd enemy during Chapter 2: Outbreak. Make sure you start the encounter with full or near-full health. If Auto Dodge is on in the Accessibility menu, you won’t need to alternate left and right while dodging.
Start by dodging and removing one of the enemy’s arms to prevent it from attacking you with a combo. Then alternate dodge directions (left, right, left, etc.). Make sure you press the stick far enough in the dodge direction to actually execute the dodge, but do not hold it.
You will know you executed a perfect dodge if the game goes briefly into slow motion. This will take some patience and practice. The game is very sensitive with this achievement/trophy and the timing window is only a few frames.
Flesh Wound
30G – Use melee or ranged weapons to take both arms off a living enemy
This should unlock naturally during one of your first fights in the game.
Chew ‘Em Up
30G – Kill ten enemies with environmental hazards
After you unlock the GRP during Chapter 3: Aftermath, use it to grab 10 enemies (LT/L2 + A/X) and throw them into spikes or gears (RT/R2). This achievement/trophy should pop before the end of Chapter 3.
Misc. Achievements
Reforged
15G – Print a weapon upgrade
At the start of Chapter 3: Aftermath, Elias will hand you part of a weapon and tells you to finish printing it at the Reforge nearby. Go ahead and recreate the BI-55 Pistol “Hand Cannon”, then choose one of the weapon upgrades. I suggest upgrading the Stun Baton with the Riot Control Swing (left branch) to improve your chances with melee combat.
Mugshot
15G – Take a photo using photo mode
From the Pause Menu, select Photo Mode. Press RT/R2 to take a photo and hold B/Circle to exit photo mode.
That’s it for the Callisto Protocol achievements guide. Please post any questions or comments below. Thanks.