Returnal Review - Take A Leap Of Faith With Me

Housemarque has been a studio that I’ve had the utmost respect for based upon their previous work. They’re the studio behind Dead Nation, Outland, and Resogun - all games with an arcade-y feel to them, but amazing and unique in their own right. Their latest title, Returnal, comes to the PS5 with a concept hitherto out of their comfort zone. It’s got a crazy sci-fi narrative, a roguelike gameplay loop tied into crazy bullet hell situations, making this a stressful but satisfying adventure that should appease PS5 owners looking for new experiences. 

The boldness of this game can’t be overstated. New IP can be a hard sell, especially if you’re a customer at a game store with no previous knowledge of the title but what’s written on the back of the game case. In a nutshell, Returnal is a sci-fi roguelike shooter. You play as Selene, a space scout that crash-lands on the planet Atropos, a hostile world that is ever-changing. She is somehow stuck in a loop where her death rewinds time to the moment she crash-landed on the planet. 

A roguelike that captures your curiosity with the unknown

Atropos is the perfect setting for a roguelike, as the subgenre is all about constant death and rebirth: each time you die, you’ll start the game from the beginning, losing all the previous run’s upgrades and items. Returnal sounds frustrating, but there are permanent upgrades and a progression in the story that will give players the impression that despite their dying over and over again, they are moving forward in this personal, yet dreadful journey.

Returnal’s story revolves around a singular character fighting her own demons while figuring out how to break this never-ending cycle. In terms of the game’s focus, there’s a commendable balance between story progression and the gameplay loop. It’s only recently that we’ve seen a similar concept executed this well, in 2019’s Hades.

The soundtrack for Returnal deserves a nod, as it greatly sets the tone of key story segments. Eerie sequences slowly build up to big reveals that shed light on the narrative. There’s a constant theme that never lets up - the music always expresses dread and the unknown, and it feels that way even during the intense gameplay when projectiles are flying everywhere. Returnal is one of those games that needs to be played with a headset, as the score and sound design are big elements as to what Housemarque is trying to deliver. 

Unraveling the threads of this story requires patience and a bit of an open mind, as when one question is answered, three more pop into your head. Returnal constantly leaves you unsatisfied and guessing at what it all means. Your curiosity is always at a constant high as each of Atropos’ obscure writings or found audio logs feels like a small puzzle piece that will further flesh out the whole experience.

I have no memory of this place… but it’s familiar

Your motivation to find out just what the hell is going on with Selene is coupled with addicting third-person shooter gameplay that always asks you to make decisions that will either improve your chances of survival, or contribute to your future demise. There’s a hefty amount of items, weapons, upgrades, boons, and debuffs that make every run unique. You’re required to adjust your gameplay on the fly based on whatever you end up finding. These will all be at random, and the areas are always different, making it difficult for you to have a carefree run, as a single mistepp can drop you into a downward spiral.

The rooms aren’t randomly generated, though. They’re just rearranged differently, as there are some familiar rooms you’ll recognize from previous runs. One specific room might be encountered at the start of a particular run, while another run might not even feature that room at all. There’s enough familiarity to the level design that your experience from previous runs will be useful, but also enough randomness to keep the game feeling unique each time you wake up at the crash site. Housemarque has struck yet another good balance. The game design keeps the repetitiveness in check and players on their toes for hours on end.

The randomness extends to the enemies you’ll encounter, as there’s no knowing what combination of enemy types will be in a room until you enter it. You’ll just have to wing it and handle whatever you encounter. Some enemies are easy alone but tough in packs, while there are challenging ones that have the ability to catch you off guard if you’re not paying attention. Sometimes you’ll encounter a room that has a combination of enemy types so nasty, it’ll feel like a death trap designed to end your run right there.

Bullets everywhere!

Boss battles are a big highlight in Returnal. These unique challenges kick your adrenals into high gear thanks to bullet hell sequences that have you constantly dodging left and right, while maintaining enough constant damage to the boss in order to prevent the fight from stretching on too long. Beating bosses in this game felt rewarding; it’s like finally reaching the peak of Mount Everest after countless failed expeditions. And once you’ve conquered a boss, a new location and challenge unlocks, and it always feels like the next boss trumps the previous one in terms of craziness and difficulty.

Returnal will be difficult for most people at the outset, but thanks to permanent upgrades and an accumulation of experience after numerous runs, things naturally get easier. Once you unlock stronger traits for your weapons or have a bigger pool of upgrades spawning in future runs, you’ll come across crazy synergies between certain items that, if done correctly, might potentially make a run into a cakewalk. This adds to the fun factor in Returnal’s gameplay, as there are a good amount of effective combinations that cater to all sorts of play styles. 

Every fight feels crazy and fast-paced. It can be intense with so many elements happening all at once, but the game remained smooth 98% of the time. I may have experienced a sudden FPS drop for like a second, but nothing consistent enough to ruin my time with Returnal. I don’t feel this title greatly captures what developers can achieve with the PlayStation 5 but it’s definitely a good start, as Returnal is another exclusive that gives us a glimpse at what types of games will be possible in a couple of years.

Commitment issues

Returnal requires commitment, because when you start a run, you’ll need to stick with it as turning off the game or PS5 will end your current run and you’ll be forced to restart at the very beginning. You can preserve your run by using the PS5’s Rest Mode feature, but there is currently no save feature that will allow you to, let’s say, save a 2-hour-long run, jump into another game to play with some friends, then revisit Returnal and continue where you left off. It’s an unusual design choice that many will be turned off from, as runs from start to finish can last a few hours, especially if you’re going through the game for the first time. The game doesn’t even have a title menu. You’re just thrown back to the crash site with a fresh run every time you turn on the game. 

I’ve played over 30 runs of Returnal so far, and after more than 20 hours of play, the experience is still inviting to me even after seeing the credits roll. This is Housemarque’s best work thus far, and it feels like they took a leap of faith on this one. But Returnal isn’t for everyone, as this is a game that asks you to take a similar leap; it’s asking a lot from you with its never-ending gameplay, deep sci-fi narrative, and difficulty that could lead to frustration on long-winded runs. It’s all so well-done, however, that even though one aspect of this game might be enough to turn you off completely, another could make this a game worth playing from start to finish.

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9/10

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Highlights

(+) A satisfying gameplay loop inviting you to play once your previous run ends
(+) Fantastic visuals and smooth performance
(+/-) A captivating sci-fi story that requires a lot of patience and time
(+/-) Bad runs can be short, good ones will be long
(-) Game requires more commitment than most titles due to the lack of save features

What I’ve Played

• Logged in a total of 23 hours so far

• Died 32 times before I finally saw all ending

• Unlocked all weapons

[This review is based on a PS5 review code provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment Hong Kong.]

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