Returnal is an impossible game.
Not in the sense that it's difficult (and it is), but as a product and work of fiction it is full of contradictions, and yet the result is fantastic.
Returnal it's intense, action-packed and has Housemarque's arcade sensibilities all over it, and yet it's also has an incredibly engrossing atmosphere and sense of space.
Returnal is a rogue-like with a very high level of challenge, that expects (and wants you) to die dozens of times before seeing it through, and yet it's also very narrative-focused, making sure every single thing present in its world has a deeper meaning and purpose.
Returnal is has unbelievably tight controls, with some of the most satisfying movement you'll ever experience in a 3D game, which seems to signal it's all about its gameplay and the narrative may only be there to add flavor, and yet Selene's predicament and further struggles are very much at the center of it all and can serve as the main drive to encourage the player to keep on trying.
Returnal is brutally difficult, at times can even feel unfair in some ways, due in no small way to its unusual run times bordering in an hour per run, and maybe even two. And yet it was just impossible to me to give up on it, no matter how many times I got destroyed by the same mini-boss the game threw at me by surprise when I clearly wasn't well-equipped enough to stand a chance against yet.
It's incredible to me that after seeing its true ending after many struggles and a lot of incremental growth as a player, what drives me to go back to this outstandingly fun game is its story. It won't leave my mind to the point I just have to spend more time in the ever dangerous and merciless Atropos, because I simply have to see every nook and cranny it has to offer.
Not in the sense that it's difficult (and it is), but as a product and work of fiction it is full of contradictions, and yet the result is fantastic.
Returnal it's intense, action-packed and has Housemarque's arcade sensibilities all over it, and yet it's also has an incredibly engrossing atmosphere and sense of space.
Returnal is a rogue-like with a very high level of challenge, that expects (and wants you) to die dozens of times before seeing it through, and yet it's also very narrative-focused, making sure every single thing present in its world has a deeper meaning and purpose.
Returnal is has unbelievably tight controls, with some of the most satisfying movement you'll ever experience in a 3D game, which seems to signal it's all about its gameplay and the narrative may only be there to add flavor, and yet Selene's predicament and further struggles are very much at the center of it all and can serve as the main drive to encourage the player to keep on trying.
Returnal is brutally difficult, at times can even feel unfair in some ways, due in no small way to its unusual run times bordering in an hour per run, and maybe even two. And yet it was just impossible to me to give up on it, no matter how many times I got destroyed by the same mini-boss the game threw at me by surprise when I clearly wasn't well-equipped enough to stand a chance against yet.
It's incredible to me that after seeing its true ending after many struggles and a lot of incremental growth as a player, what drives me to go back to this outstandingly fun game is its story. It won't leave my mind to the point I just have to spend more time in the ever dangerous and merciless Atropos, because I simply have to see every nook and cranny it has to offer.