Returnal is the first true next gen experience (other than maybe Astros Playroom) I had, since I was lucky enough to get the PS5 day one. I didn't really expect to play it early on or maybe at all. But the high praise from this community and the atmosphere evident in the trailers made me wanna jump into this.
Returnal is a surprise hit for sure. Even if it's areas are limited, they look beautiful. The sound design is superb and helps give the entire game a cinematic feel, that could fit into the Ridley Scott catalogue easily. You will feel right at home if you're into dark sci-fi horror aesthetics.
It's impressive how the game blends a roguelike gameplay loop with a mysterious story sprinkled in between the runs and areas. It never feels out of place and helps keep the interest even if the repetition of some areas might get tedious for some after a while.
The gameplay itself is what you would expect when you're into the genre. It's roguelike done right, but not perfect. I missed a greater sense of progression I felt in some other games of the genre, that made the losing and repetition of areas feel less like a punishment, but more like an integral part of the experience and getting better. I couldn't help but feel some of the runs I did here to be a complete waste of time because of a little mistake I made at the end. This especially gets frustrating, when you are forced to do multiple areas in one run.
However, if you spend 70+ hours in this game like I did, you will get better of course and you will see a significant difference to your early runs. By the end of grinding I was able to go through the entire game without using more than 1 or 2 resins. I felt extremely powerful as my move set and weapon usage became more and more sophisticated. It felt like playing a third person Doom Eternal in that sense and that's one of the highest compliments I can give. Movement is impeccable - fluid and responsive and perfectly underlined by the haptic feedback of the Playstation 5 controller.
Getting the Platinum and unveiling every bit of story there was to find, was fun for the most part, but ended up being a very heavy grind that will be the last time I go for a trophy that's rng based.
Overall I think I can only recommend Returnal to a certain kind of player. If you know what you're in for and expect to die a lot, than you will definitely have a great time. If not, you should reconsider spending any money on this.
I'm extremely interested in what Housemarquee will come up with next, as their AAA third person shooter roguelike debut is impressive.
Returnal is a surprise hit for sure. Even if it's areas are limited, they look beautiful. The sound design is superb and helps give the entire game a cinematic feel, that could fit into the Ridley Scott catalogue easily. You will feel right at home if you're into dark sci-fi horror aesthetics.
It's impressive how the game blends a roguelike gameplay loop with a mysterious story sprinkled in between the runs and areas. It never feels out of place and helps keep the interest even if the repetition of some areas might get tedious for some after a while.
The gameplay itself is what you would expect when you're into the genre. It's roguelike done right, but not perfect. I missed a greater sense of progression I felt in some other games of the genre, that made the losing and repetition of areas feel less like a punishment, but more like an integral part of the experience and getting better. I couldn't help but feel some of the runs I did here to be a complete waste of time because of a little mistake I made at the end. This especially gets frustrating, when you are forced to do multiple areas in one run.
However, if you spend 70+ hours in this game like I did, you will get better of course and you will see a significant difference to your early runs. By the end of grinding I was able to go through the entire game without using more than 1 or 2 resins. I felt extremely powerful as my move set and weapon usage became more and more sophisticated. It felt like playing a third person Doom Eternal in that sense and that's one of the highest compliments I can give. Movement is impeccable - fluid and responsive and perfectly underlined by the haptic feedback of the Playstation 5 controller.
Getting the Platinum and unveiling every bit of story there was to find, was fun for the most part, but ended up being a very heavy grind that will be the last time I go for a trophy that's rng based.
Overall I think I can only recommend Returnal to a certain kind of player. If you know what you're in for and expect to die a lot, than you will definitely have a great time. If not, you should reconsider spending any money on this.
I'm extremely interested in what Housemarquee will come up with next, as their AAA third person shooter roguelike debut is impressive.