Returnal Review (PS5)

It would be unfair to fit Returnal into a single game genre since Housemarque's latest title combines elements from multiple genres to form a seemingly unique experience. Let's just say that Returnal is a third-person shooter with roguelite elements set in a sci-fi universe.

You play as Selene, an astronaut who crash-lands on a mysterious planet called Atropos. Every time the local fauna kills Selene, players must start over with nothing but their handgun. It's a gameplay loop very common to roguelike and roguelites, although Housemarque's approach is a little bit different.

Returnal is an unusually hard game mostly because of the developer's design choices. First off, the game doesn't have a save option, not even a “save & quit” option that most roguelike games have, so once you close the game, you'll lose your run.

Moreover, every run is highly RNG dependent, and it's not just about the weapons, but also the artifacts, parasites, and upgrades you find during your run. Since everything resets once Selene dies, you'll have to get the most out of each run with the items that you get.

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Thankfully, some things carry on from one run to another, like shortcuts and ether, a type of currency that you can exchange for random artifacts at the beginning of the game. Returnal feels more like a roguelike that focuses almost completely on player skill progression rather than permanent power progression.

Housemarque's game is split into biomes. At the end of each biome sits a boss that Selene must defeat to advance. If you're skilled enough and the gods of RNG are favorable, you could theoretically beat the first biome in 40 minutes-1 hour. Once Selene defeats the boss of a biome, she can skip to the next biome even after she dies.

Also, there are shortcuts that she can use to go through a biome that she has already beat, but that would mean giving up on potential upgrades. Yes, there is a trade-off between spending more time to acquire upgrades that will help you in the next biome and skipping them entirely to reach that biome faster.

Returnal's weapon list isn't that big, but what I noticed is that each weapon is tied to a certain biome. Basically, this means that if you want a certain weapon, you should look for it in the biome where it drops. That's at least something that's not related to RNG, but what's randomized is the traits you get on the weapon and how powerful it is.

Unfortunately, some of the weapons are absolute trash, while others are only good in certain situations. There's one weapon though with a particular trait that shines in just about every scenario, so that's clearly what you'll want to go for in every run.

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Now, let's talk a little bit about parasites, little creatures you can attach to your spacesuit. When you come across the first parasite while exploring the Overgrown Ruins (the first biome), you will have a choice: you can decide to attach it or ignore it. Each parasite comes with a buff and a debuff. To be successful in Returnal, you absolutely must use parasites (you can have up to five).

The catch is that you must always attach those parasites that bring you the most benefits and come with the least problematic debuffs. Parasites can't be detached at will, but you'll find ways to get rid of them throughout the game if you really want to. Once again, the buffs and debuffs these parasites will give you are random, but the best ones will increase your integrity bar (health) or automatically heal you when you're very low on health.

Another important type of item that you'll find in Returnal is artifacts. You can have as many of these with you and they only provide positive effects. They're quite rare, but you can exchange them for ether at the beginning of each run if you have plenty of Returnal's in-game currency. They do not carry on from one run to another, so once you die, you'll lose all artifacts (weapons, parasites, etc.).

If the stars align and you get a good combination of weapons, artifacts, and parasites, you'll have an easier time in Returnal. Although this is still a skill-based roguelike, it becomes a lot easier once you get certain upgrades.

RNG aside, Returnal has the most satisfying shooting mechanics. Combat is explosive, exhilarating, and epic in every aspect. Shooting while strafing bullets feels like playing a third-person shmup. One of the key elements of combat mechanics is to time your weapon reload at the right moment so that it won't overload.

If you deplete your weapon's energy, it will need a few seconds to cool down, so you won't be able to use it. However, if you time your reload correctly, you'll avoid having your weapon overload. The problem is not timing it precisely, but rather doing that while shooting enemies and dodging bullets.

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Story-wise, Returnal copies Bloodborne's approach. The game's narrative won't spell everything out to you, leaving most of the things open to interpretation. Returnal feeds you story bits through the items you find throughout the game or whenever you reach certain points. The Groundhog Day scenario is the first that pops to mind if I were to compare it to something that's been done before, but there's more to Returnal than just a simple loop.

Every name in the game has been carefully chosen to fit the mysterious story. Atropos, the name of the planet, was one of the three goddesses of three Fates. She is the one that decides how and when mortals would die, but Atropos also has the power to reanimate the dead. If you think about it, that's exactly what happens to Selene on the alien planet.

Helios, Selene's ship, is another reference to the Greek god of the sun, which is also related to the protagonist according to the story. A couple of bosses in the game also feature names inspired by Greek mythology, which are directly tied with Selene's story.

Returnal is full of symbolism, but the way the story is delivered makes it very hard to understand. Not to mention that if you want to get all of it, you need to finish the game twice. Returnal has a total of six biomes, but if you want the secret ending, you'll have to continue to play after you beat the sixth boss.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion