![]() ![]() ![]() Pickups can have a change of a Malfunction, negative status effects that can only be lifted by completing a gameplay objective, and Parasites that you can attach to yourself with both a buff and a debuff. ![]() You only carry a single weapon at a time, weighing up a close range shotgun over a rapid fire carbine and the effect on your style of play. You will have choices to make at every turn. In particular, the boss battles have a definite smack of Super Stardust HD and Resogun about them in terms of the sheer volume and different types of projectiles you’ll be trying to avoid. Each battle is a ballet, Selene dancing through a barrage of lasers, missiles, and orbs while returning fire with her own ever-expanding alien arsenal. The developer’s love for bullet hell arcade classics blends perfectly with Returnal’s third person action. If there’s one thing Housemarque are known for, it’s energetic, pulse-pounding bouts of gameplay that achieve a masterful balance between being genuinely challenging and rewardingly addictive at the same time. Of course, none of this would matter if Returnal wasn’t fun to play. Jane Perry (Hitman’s Diana Burnwood) does a great job of bringing Selene to life, especially when she doesn’t have any other voice actors to bounce off, leaving scout logs for players to find as she records what’s happening on Atropos. The story and the way it’s structured are a commentary on the cyclical nature of the roguelike, and Housemarque break some of the genre’s conventions as you make progress through the narrative. That may be true to an extent though, much like gameplay, these threads of this sci-fi narrative have been smartly woven together. The cynic in me would argue that these flashy interludes were inserted to bolt on some more blockbuster appeal, bringing Returnal in line with Sony’s other story-driven PlayStation exclusives. In fact, for a roguelike, it has a surprisingly indulgent number of cutscenes and story moments as Housemarque flesh Selene out as a character and drip feed the player nuggets of Atropos lore. Returnal has a prominent focus on narrative, too. While this underlines Returnal’s commitment to the genre blueprint, not everyone has that kind of uninterrupted time to spend on each playthrough, and a way to suspend a run wouldn’t hurt its progression. In order to make meaningful progress in Returnal often means delving into runs that can span a couple of hours or more, yet there’s no option to save or suspend your session – this forced me to use the PS5’s rest mode feature for the first time ever. ![]() There comes a rub with acolytes of the roguelike formula. A wider array of items will gradually find their way into random chests, weapons will come tagged with more bonus traits, and, in true Metroidvania style, Selene can employ new gadgets to access previously gated off areas. Aside from the knowledge you’ve gained (such as learning enemy attack patterns, or discovering new loadout options) there are a handful of permanent upgrades that carry over. The beauty of Returnal is that it doesn’t completely wipe away every bit of progress when Selene’s health bar runs dry. The carefully crafted pieces that make up Returnal’s ever-changing gauntlet are tweaked and realigned to make each playthrough feel as though you’ve touched down on an uncharted hostile planet for the first time. You see, each time Selene falls into death’s familiar embrace, Atropos will warp around her. ![]()
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