About halfway into Returnal I had to put everything away and take a quick look over the rest of the devhouse’s catalog. And it’s good that they don’t disappoint. Instead I’m more disappointed with me.

Simply put, it would appear after Black Bird and Resogun, the cylindrical/defense shmup is not for me. I couldn’t really meter out a lot of joy or satisfaction from the mechanics here which is surely a death sentence to a game that is begging you to play it over on greater challenges with different scales of weaponry.

But in lieu of a grand time, Resogun gives me so much to appreciate! I’m astonished with the powerful set of Intent housemarque brings to their work. The mechanics weave an intricate interwoven dance that never ceases. Enemy design and spawns are tightly built to keep you moving and stress your whole arsenal. There’s so many moments where the game is begging for you to do a mad Boost to save a human, or surround you with enough to force an overdrive. Your movement is so key and requires pinpoint direction, leaving none of the space unoccupied in your head. This can definitely lead to some dizzying play but I was grateful that the difficulty moved itself up piece by piece without getting too overwhelming. The bosses especially are all perfect, and the last level was a great ballbuster.

While I have no intention to come back due to my own limitations, I hope so much more people grab it if it seems like a right fit. It’s an extremely solid adrenaline rush as you save the humans through apocalyptic blocky space. It’s video games baby!