![]() Enemies assail you with a volley of energy spheres straight out of shooters, such as DoDonPachi Resurrection or Ikaruga. After all, Returnal is from the same developer that brought us Resogun and Super Stardust HD. It should come as no surprise that Returnal contains classic “bullet hell” shmup gameplay. These mechanics are as roguelike as you can get, but Returnal also has elements that distinguish it from its genre peers. This is not only a roguelike staple, it’s reminiscent of classic NES-era games.Įvery life cycle tasks you with exploring an altered landscape, with rearranged environments, enemies, and item locations. Aside from those, you’ll always start over from scratch whenever you die. Some suit upgrades persist, particularly those gained from defeated bosses. However, the instant you die, you’re sent back to your crashed spaceship stripped of all acquired items. You’ll explore Atropos, acquire numerous upgrades for your space suit, and find an assortment of alien weapons-all of which make you increasingly more powerful. The game’s narrative explains the roguelike genre’s signature gameplay mechanics. Stuck in a Star Trek-esque time loop, Selene must find the mysterious signal’s source and somehow break her endless life/death cycle. After an alien monster kills her, Selene finds herself back on the ship. Listening to the deceased’s audio logs, she hears her own voice saying things she had never recorded. Selene crash lands, and soon discovers the body of another female astronaut. She voyages to the planet Atropos to discover the source of a mysterious alien signal transmitting from the world. In Returnal, you play as an astronaut named Selene. ![]() That said, the average person may balk at the Returnal's brutal difficulty, especially when the game costs a hefty $69.99. There’s an audience for the genre, and Returnal appeals to that fanbase with its life-death cycles and satisfying gunplay. Returnal is an uber-challenging roguelike in the vein of The Binding of Isaac, Dead Cells, or Hades God of War, Ghost of Tsushima, or Marvel's Spider-Man, it is not. Although the game certainly looks like a big-budget extravaganza, the underlying gameplay is decidedly indie. Sony markets Housemarque’s Returnal as the next must-own, AAA, PlayStation 5 exclusive.
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