PlayStation 5 User Reviews

Razor-sharp movement, immaculate DualSense haptics, and hypnotic bullet-hell patterns deliver a genuinely thrilling third-person shooter foundation. However, bloated run times stretching upwards of two hours paired with anemic metaprogression turn the addictive roguelite loop into an exhausting, unrewarding test of endurance. Shallow build variety and punishing drop RNG dictate survival far more than tactical skill, while cheap difficulty spikes like the homing rocket drones in the Derelict Citadel breed pure frustration. A technically sublime arcade experience that squanders its momentum through agonizing disrespect for player time and an intentionally opaque, unsatisfying narrative cycle.

A Slick Action Game That Doesn’t Respect Your TimeI gave Returnal about 10 hours—long enough to clear a few biomes and realize I was just forcing myself to play. To be honest, the narrative feels like it’s barely trying. There’s some interesting lore buried here, but it’s so fragmented and sparse that I kept forgetting what was even going on until I stumbled upon a new recording, only to forget it again ten minutes later. It just doesn’t stay "alive" enough to make you **** irony is that the actual gameplay and flow are fantastic. The gunplay is punchy, the movement is fluid, and it hits all the right notes for a high-octane action game. But as a roguelike? It fails at the most basic level: progression. While the micro-progression within a single run (weapons, artifacts, etc.) is decent, the macro-progression is honestly pathetic. You get a sword, you get a hook... and that’s about it. It adds almost nothing to the long-term **** a good roguelike, dying should still feel like you've moved the needle forward. In Returnal, if you don't get a lucky RNG run, you've essentially just wasted an hour of your life for zero gain. The game is incredibly repetitive, but without the "permanent growth" hook that makes the genre addictive.Eventually, I decided to pull the plug because my time is too valuable to gamble on a loop that doesn't feel rewarding. If the game doesn't respect the effort I put in, I don't see the point in finishing it. It looks great and plays well, but it just doesn't meet the standards of the genre.Great mechanics trapped in a frustratingly hollow progression loop. Unless you have infinite time to kill and don't mind the grind, this one is a pass.

My first roguelike, and I was honestly pretty hesitant about it at first. Ended up absolutely loving it. The combat is incredible, and the atmosphere and mystery make you want to keep going.

Esse jogo me surpreendeu. Não é exatamente o estilo de jogo que mais me agrada, mas Returnal não é apenas sair correndo e atirando sem se importar com a própria vida, mesmo sabendo que você vai “retornar”. É um jogo que começa pequeno e confuso, mas, conforme a campanha avança, vai se tornando cada vez mais misterioso, instigando o jogador a continuar, mesmo tendo que retornar ao mesmo ponto em um loop. A história foi o que mais me prendeu e o principal motivo de eu ter continuado jogando e, no fim, gostado tanto do jogo. Returnal possui uma lore profunda, cheia de mistérios e interpretações, que faz você querer entender o que realmente está acontecendo. E, quando chegamos ao desfecho, em vez de simplesmente responder a todas as perguntas, o jogo consegue deixar tudo ainda mais misterioso. É um final incrível e que continua na cabeça mesmo depois de terminar o jogo. No fim, Returnal foi uma surpresa para mim. Mesmo não sendo o meu estilo de jogo favorito, sua atmosfera, sua história e principalmente seus mistérios fizeram com que eu continuasse jogando até o fim.

Nunca havia jogado um game nesse estilo e me pegou demais, a dificuldade é bem balanceada e exige uma certa habilidade e estratégia para passar de certos pontos, acredito que não seja um game para jogadores casuais. A mudança de cenário cada vez que você morre é muito legal por ti trazer novas surpresas e posições de inimigos, os chefes são bem desafiadores com excessão do terceiro que foi bem fácil para mim. O fato de ter que zerar duas vezes para ter o final verdadeiro não foi cansativo muito pelo contrário tive prazer em jogar de novo mesmo sem entender muito bem o final do jogo .

My favorite PS5 game to date, i have over 900hr in Returnal, love the coop, i helped many other players beat the game, my favorite weapon Rotglang

Returnal to jedna z najlepszych gier na PS5. Zachwyca fenomenalną grafiką, świetnym wykorzystaniem kontrolera DualSense i niezwykle wciągającą, dynamiczną rozgrywką. Każda kolejna próba dostarcza nowych emocji, a tajemnicza fabuła skutecznie motywuje do dalszej gry. Wymagająca, ale niezwykle satysfakcjonująca produkcja, którą każdy posiadacz PS5 powinien wypróbować. 10/10.

Game is a masterpiece. Just concerned for Housemarque now that is under such an awful parent company.

Probably one of the worst games I've ever played, it's genuinely terrible. The bland protagonist and boring story perfectly compliment the time eating gameplay and boring biomes. Abysmal game that only people will pretend to enjoy because it's brutal difficulty makes them feel special, you're not you just have too much spare time.

Juego muy repetitivo y muy frustrante la propuesta no es mala pero la ejecución sí , los enemigos todos iguales y los jefes hay alguno demasiado difícil

I like the game's ambience and the shooting feels good, but I've never encountered a game so disrespectful of your time. It's punishingly difficult, single runs take multiple hours, there's few ways to replenish health, and so a single mistake anywhere burns your entire session. Almost nothing carries over between runs, so after you finish one, you're left with this empty feeling where you can viscerally feel the hours of your life it'd taken to get there just ... gone forever. I've given it good faith attempts 4-5 times over the years since it came out, and I never get passed the first biome. I'm not a great gamer, but I'm not particularly bad either. There's no way to grind or make the game easier, so if you can't build up the considerable skill required to get anywhere, you're just down $70 with no recourse. I saw that the same studio released a new game last month ("Saros") and I didn't consider buying it for even one second. I'm sure the guys at this studio think they're 1337 game designers or whatever by screwing over half their customer base, but eff them. You burn legitimate buyers by making games with big price tags and zero forgiveness in play style.

Wow. What a Game! Everything feels and looks great and smooth. It is a must if you haber PS+ Extra. If not, consider buy It.

My favourite game on ps5 the challenge the gameplay is very smooth the story the effects the bosses everything is so perfect

Sony games used to be good, finished and polished day one. i played this game 5 years after the release, in 2026, and i have lot of bugs, few crash and scam vibes for waiting a day one patch five years later. First of all why this ugly and outdated HUD and menu ? It feels like they wanted to make a good pipboy but they had no idea what good means. But for me the main problem is that nothing important is explain clearly, but you got tones of useless information : The adreline mechanic is the first thing they talk about while playing, it's a core mechanic giving you bonuses BUT they are unable to explain what bonuses, NEVER On the other side if you want to know everthing about the xenomushroom called silphium and how his fiber are strong and flexible, they wrote entire boring books about it that only themselves ever read. calling it medikit was fine, it's not like if there is a story in this gam oh! wait a minute... There is a story ! Sometimes the protagonist karen open her mouth, and it is always disappointing, But not as much than the cringe and pointless FPS moments. You also have critical bug, imagine a game where you can't save progression, being in last level falling while fighting and having a black screen instead of respawning, meanwhile enemy kill you during the 15+ secondes black screen, happened 3 times... This added to an artificial difficulty make this 2/3 hour game into a 30h+ game. I guess OG devs made the gameplay cause it's smooth and mostly fine. For everything else: story, UX, chara design, general coherence, balance, RNGed RNG, no bug fixing... all this was made by lazy idiots.

Fantastic game plagued by progess blocking bugs near the endgame that have been known for years without being addressed. I have had two separate runs where I was close to the end in the 6th biome and had to start over due to a teleporter glitching out and locking my run out.

Sometimes unfair and punishing due to its randomness which can be quite frustrating. Story and art design is so good on so many levels! Kept me replaying again and again (as opposed to its successor SAROS which is woke ****).

Lo descargue ayer y hoy recién pude terminar los primeros tres jefes luego de varios intentos. Es una joya de juego hasta ahora, le voy a seguir dedicando un par de horas más. Buenos gráficos, sonidos, mecánicas, estoy sastifecha

The best game on PS5 without a doubt. Incredible artistic direction, a mesmerizing soundtrack, an unforgettable atmosphere and story -Returnal is not only a gameplay masterpiece, but also a once-in-a-lifetime gaming experience, truly unforgettable.

Absolutely one for the record books. This game deserves so much more love. A challenging, tragic, and beautiful masterpiece from Housemarque.

J’assume cette note j’ai tout adoré dans ce jeu qui est le plus dur auquel j’ai joué (sekiro ng+7 compris) cette difficulté nous force à prendre en compte tout les aspects du jeu mais n’est en aucun cas rédhibitoire je conseille à tout amateur de challenge.

Returnal is a gorgeous, intense, and challenging 3rd-person shooter...that honestly isn't a great roguelike. It combines personal, cinematic storytelling, 3rd-person bullet-hell action, and roguelike elements to create a unique AAA experience. It's certainly not the most revolutionary or "out there" game from a major publisher, but I respect Sony for putting out a game like this. I can't think of any other AAA roguelikes, or at least ones with this much depth and attention to detail. That being said, this isn't a great roguelike. My main flaw with this game is the urge to just play "one more run". A single run in this game can take a few hours, especially. Enemies are unforgiving and hit hard, and death will be frequent, a staple of the genre. Outside of a few items that affect the way you interact with the world, you will lose all your progress upon death. None of your proficiency, currency, items, or health upgrades carry over, and to reach the final boss again, it will take a few hours of repeating this cycle. This makes it one of the most punishing games in the genre, so the urge to continue isn't as prevalent compared to games like Hades and The Binding of Issac. That being said, this is one of the few "truly next-gen-feeling" games I've played. It uses the DualSense controller in very unique ways, and the amount of stunning effects on screen is a treat for the eyes. It's a miracle this game manages to maintain a consistent 60 FPS. I don't know who I would recommend this game to. There are far better and more affordable roguelikes out there, and this game is extremely punishing. Overall, though, I still enjoyed my time with Returnal. It's a solid exclusive.

Best futuristic game out there. Love the gun designs which are actually unique

Played on a 55" LG 2017 OLED on a PS5 PRO with the higher 2.5x resolution and higher textures, that are in play on the PRO version. Fantastic game, and it was this game I had in mind when purchasing the PS5 PRO. Am at the end of Biome 5, when writing this. Im an adult in my later 40s, and not many modern games appeal to me, as they are made to way younger audience, but I really like the soundstage and the mood of this game. Very immersive, but also difficult, and its that level of brutal difficulty in this foreign, unforgivable world, that just fits this game so well. I love that its so demanding, and you cant just wiggle your way out with some difficulty slider. Its the difficulty, that also makes the succes so rewarding. I hope that Saros havent undermined that aspect to much.

It’s such a shame that a game with such fantastic gunplay has such an unfair mechanic that repeatedly robs players of all their progress. The game is simply too difficult for a mechanic like that.

Best ps5 exclusive this generation. I love it! Had to double dip when it released on PC. Only Saros could be better.

The lowest grade i gave a game. I bought it full price and played not long. Didn’t like a lot of things about it.

I've platinumed two games in the decades that I've owned a PlayStation. Control because the trophies were easy to get and Returnal because I couldn't stop playing it. I can't imagine a twitch game enthusiast not enjoying Returnal.

Returnal es una experiencia intensa y muy particular que combina acción frenética con una estructura roguelike exigente. Desde el primer momento deja claro que no busca ser accesible para todos, sino ofrecer un reto constante donde la habilidad, la adaptación y la paciencia son clave para **** núcleo jugable es sobresaliente. Los combates son rápidos, precisos y muy fluidos, con un sistema de disparos que recuerda al “bullet hell”, obligando al jugador a moverse constantemente, esquivar y reaccionar en cuestión de segundos. Cada partida se siente diferente gracias a la aleatoriedad de los escenarios y mejoras, lo que mantiene la tensión y la frescura durante muchas **** de sus puntos más destacados es la atmósfera. El juego construye un entorno misterioso e inquietante, apoyado por un diseño audiovisual de altísimo nivel. La narrativa, aunque fragmentada, resulta intrigante y se va descubriendo poco a poco, encajando bien con la estructura repetitiva del **** embargo, no está exento de inconvenientes. Su dificultad puede ser frustrante, especialmente para quienes no están acostumbrados a este tipo de propuestas, y la falta de opciones más flexibles puede echar para atrás a algunos jugadores. Además, las partidas largas sin puntos de guardado claros (en su concepción original) podían generar cierta **** así, cuando todo encaja, Returnal ofrece una experiencia única, desafiante y muy pulida. Es un juego que exige mucho, pero que también recompensa con creces, destacando como uno de los títulos más sólidos y distintivos de su generación.

Anyone who has played and sunk enough time into Returnal will tell you it’s one of their favorite games on the PS5, and I’m one of them. The moment to moment gameplay is so addicting you don’t want to put it down. But I can acknowledge that losing your progress on death turns a lot of people off from this game but if you can give it a chance I think you’ll see what all the hype is about.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

The game is utterly incredible and epitomises the very idea of risk vs reward gameplay. You will die loads of times, but each time you will have made progress - not in a continual sense but in the sense that you will learn from your mistakes and become more proficient with each run. Things that seemed impossible despite countless attempts soon ease because of muscle memory and improving in segments. There is definitely a sense of injustice a lot of the time, as each run is randomised in terms of drops, items and 'biome' layouts, meaning you could either be heavily favoured or left short in change but all in all it's been executed beautifully. As for the sound effects and atmosphere - wow! You have to experience it to appreciate the level of detail in every sound and movement. Don't listen to the low scoring reviews - these are mostly by people with no patience and not giving the game a chance or understanding the risk vs reward elements. It's easy to p!ss on a game like this after playing less than a few hours but you just need to stick with it and it'll blow you away.

Absolutely amazing game. And the most underrated one on the ps5. From the eery and unwelcoming world of planet Atropos, through the gameplay, story and sound design the game is just amazing. Never seen this smooth gameplay and load times in any videogame, not to mention the perfect use of the adaptive triggers and vibration. Truly a masterpiece and I cant wait for Saros!

une superbe direction artistique, un gameplay bien nerveux, malheureusement une difficulté bien trop élevé, après plus de 100 heures de jeux la progression est impossible, des bonus minable, toujours des malus, et toujours dans le premier biome, pour ma part terminé avec ce jeux pourri.

Top experience in roguelike genre, fluid gameplay and a lot of equipment and guns available. Wow!!!!

Games treats your time like whor at church. Who came up with yhe idea that if the player makes any mistake they have to redo 2 hours of gameplay. How do people see that as fun

Absolutely amazing game, my favourite game of the generation and I can't wait for Saros as well.

Good entree to the Roguelike genre. Third person shooter bullet hell is as fun and as enraging as it sounds. When it works, you fell like a bad ass, dodging and weaving enemy waves, shoting your way through hordes of aliens; when it doesn't and you are victim to bad luck on weapon draws, you can fell bad and that you wasted the last 20 min of a doomed run. The game also lacks in the continous progession system that is so comon in the Rogelikes, mostly you'll progress story wise and unlock 2 or 3 abilities that can make next runs easier, as well as expanding the pool of weapons and upgrades you can find in next runs. This pool is also not massive, and i personally only ever used 3 of the weapons on offer as I felt that some were definitly better than others (in a game that punishes any damage taken even if it doens't kill you and that rewards keeping your distance, you can see how a long range homing missile rifle does better than a mine laying gun) The stroy is weird, but you can piece it together, its no Darksouls story telling, but it can suffer from being unsatisfactory. Definitly a unique game and fun

A masterpiece, so addictive you want to play again and again. It’s difficult but I don’t feel frustrated dying and starting over. Every run is never the same. Beating the final boss in Biome 6 felt amazing.

I don’t know if this company is paying people to write positive reviews but this game is absolute garbage. It’s not that it’s difficult, I’ve beaten all the souls games. It’s at the game just put you in this repetitive nonsense and doesn’t truly give you a sense of building anything or accomplishing anything for hours and hours and hours. It’s not that this game is hard, it’s that it’s not fun. Honestly, this is one of the biggest waste of time I’ve ever had playing a video game and I play every single thing there is to play. You spent 90% of your time fighting the exact same creatures over and over again with a pistol. If you think this fun, you’re just not that smart.

Returnal — Бесконечный цикл боли и красоты О чём играТы — Селена Васос, космический разведчик. Терпишь крушение на планете Атропос. И тут начинается самое интересное: ты не можешь умереть. Каждый раз, когда тебя убивают, ты просыпаешься в обломках своего корабля «Гелиос». Снова. И снова. И снова.Планета живёт своей жизнью — локации меняются, враги появляются в разных местах, но ты помнишь всё. Каждую смерть. Каждую ошибку. И Атропос, кажется, тоже помнит. Атмосфера — вот за что цепляет...Атропос — не просто локация. Это живой организм, который дышит, пугает и завораживает одновременно.Каждый биом — отдельный мир со своим характером:Заросший лес с красными листьями, где ветер шевелит траву, а вдали что-то движется.Пустыня с песчаными бурями, в которых видимость падает до нуля.Замёрзшие руины с синим свечением и эхом прошлого.Подводный город, где эхо разносится по затопленным залам.Стена из плоти — органический кошмар, который пульсирует в такт твоему сердцебиению.Housemarque создали мир, в который хочется возвращаться, даже когда он тебя убивает. Визуал, свет, тени, частицы — всё работает на погружение. А через геймпад чувствуешь каждый шаг, каждую каплю дождя.️ Геймплей — вот где горит жопаЭто bullet hell в трёх измерениях. Враги стреляют так, что экран превращается в новогоднюю ёлку. Красные шары, синие лучи, фиолетовые волны — летит всё. Ты носишься по арене, уворачиваешься, используешь дэш и пытаешься не сдохнуть в первые 5 минут.Оружие — отдельная песня. Каждый ствол ведёт себя по-своему, и у каждого есть скрытые свойства, которые открываются с использованием. Нашёл гранатомёт с «Full Auto» — почувствовал себя богом. Выбил «Adrenaline Leech» — понял, что вампиризм рулит.Адреналин — твой лучший друг. Не получай урон — и шкала растёт. На максимуме ты быстрее, сильнее, и враги сыпятся как кегли. Но одно касание — и всё сначала.Сохранений нет. Умер — начал заново. Без вариантов. Именно это бесит больше всего, и именно это заставляет возвращаться снова и снова. Тот самый эффект «ещё один ран», который держит до утра. Музыка — не фон, а часть мираТам эмбиент. Но не просто «музыка для фона», а живая ткань, которая дышит вместе с планетой.Она не поддерживает тебя в бою, не делает круче. Наоборот — давит, нагнетает, напоминает, что Атропос — это враждебный организм, которому плевать на твои попытки выжить. Но в этом давлении есть странная красота.Каждый биом звучит по-своему:Лес шепчет низкими частотами.Пустыня воет ветром.Руины отзываются холодным эхом.Музыка меняется в зависимости от того, что ты делаешь: исследуешь — одна версия, врываешься в замес — тема трансформируется, становится агрессивнее. Но никогда не переходит на сторону игрока. Она всегда на стороне планеты.В тихие моменты, когда просто стоишь и смотришь на закат над красным лесом, эти звуки заставляют чувствовать себя бесконечно маленьким перед лицом чего-то древнего и равнодушного. Сюжет — можно сломать головуИстория подаётся кусками. Аудиологи в лесу. Воспоминания о сыне. Странные видения дома на Земле. Кто такая Белая Тень? Почему Селена видит саму себя мёртвой? И главное — что реально, а что нет?Игра не даст прямых ответов. Кто-то видит тут историю о травме и принятии потерь. Кто-то — научную фантастику про параллельные миры. Кто-то — и то и другое сразу. Каждый собирает свой пазл. Что беситОтсутствие сохранений. Особенно когда прошёл 2 часа, нафармил годных артефактов — и умер от глупого кристалла в стене.Рандом. Иногда тебе подкидывают идеальное оружие и артефакты, а иногда — сплошной мусор.Боссы. Они прекрасны, но когда умираешь на последней фазе в десятый раз — хочется разбить контроллер. Что в итогеReturnal — это не игра для всех. Это игра для тех, кто готов умирать, злиться, вставать и идти снова. Кто готов принять, что планета сильнее, но не сдаваться.Атмосфера затягивает с головой. Музыка становится частью тебя. Геймплей заставляет чувствовать каждую секунду.Ты прошёл её на PS5, горела жопа — я тебя понимаю., сам такой Купил на ПК — значит, оно того стоило.Если ты ещё не играл — готовься страдать. Если прошёл — ты знаешь, о чём я.Returnal — это навсегда в сердце. И в нервной системе.

Roguelikes are not really my thing but I find this one to be expecially frustrating, probably because TPSs also are not my thing or because the science fiction genre and overall "space" theme are ALSO not my thing. Yeah this game was definetely not made for me, but I gave it a fair shot anyway and it was good, until it wasn't. You could spend hours making little to no progress playing a game that at the end of the day is just a mid experience overall

Good middle of the road game. I do not like roguelikes generally because of how they work, you lose all your stuff or start over after every death. Just not a fun or forgiving way to play even in the slightest. This games story was interesting enough that it made it somewhat worth it to keep playing. The speed and pace of the game are what's keeping this game afloat. I loved the fact you can easily reenter the "void" or world within like seconds after death, so your pacing wasn't destroyed. The bosses were cool but extremely cheap, like almost like dark souls' games cheap with their hitboxes on the character. Decent game if you're on PlayStation, I would never buy the game even for a discount but its free on PSN so why not.

It is difficult, with less health potions & save point. 1 wrong step you have to start all over with no explanation. Gameplay is bad.

A hardcore masterpiece for real gamers. It's perfect, can't see any flaws in this game.

Great roguelite. Loved the combat in this one - survival is impossible without constant movement, and balancing the art of dancing around bullet hell projectiles whilst dealing out damage of your own is a real pleasure. Death means a return to the start of a new cycle and while it's challenging, I never felt it was too difficult. Plus, unsuccessful runs often still award meaningful **** story is largely metaphorical and symbolic of a descent into madness and grief, told through a nightmarish sci-fi setting. The free DLC "Ascension" adds the endless Tower of Sisyphus, which is worth playing for more of the base game's great gameplay streamlined into a more basic, but still enjoyable, traditional roguelike. It adds a bit more to the story, but ultimately I came away from Returnal feeling slightly unfulfilled by its overall plot - I feel there was potential for a stronger narrative, and more of an emotional payoff. Still, I highly recommend this one. The gameplay is so satisfying, the difficulty is spot on, and it's something a bit different.

The combat is done very well and addicting in the first few hours. Biomes look cool and they really motivate the exploration to get better weapons and buffs. Overall the game is very polished with fast loading times and good use of the Dualsense. I like the vibes and atmosphere, it's done very good. The mistery behind everything is interesting but story is almost non existent. I'm in a love hate relationship with the roguelike aspect on this one. You can lose hours of progress to a small error or by not knowing a new enemy. But that's what makes combat more tense and interesting. I finished act 2 in 8 hours. To really end the game, you need to search fragments in biomes and poppies in the tower. This is so dumb and almost impossible to find out without guides. Really such a cheap way to make you replay everything again to get a 2 minute cutscene. It's really not bad, but just get ready to lose everything and getting almost no progress after every run (except weapon perks and some small gear updates, but nothing big). At least they implemented online coop and a save function so you can turn off your PS5 (although only once) in the middle of a run and there are also also leaderbords on the tower.

明明是 2021 年发售 的老游戏了，多人联机的 bug 还是一堆。和朋友一起玩时，经常出现 队友使用跃迁器却莫名其妙从悬崖掉下去、平白扣血 的问题，频率高到离谱，也完全影响体验。难度机制也很奇怪。到后期不仅 敌人密度飙升、AI 攻击频率更高，连 回复用的草药数量都明显减少，导致体验变得不是挑战，而是纯粹的折磨。更糟的是，玩家花了一堆时间却没有实质性的进度感，死了又要重来，进程推进非常不友好。整体来说，这种设计和 bug 叠在一起，让联机体验非常糟糕。作为已经发行好几年的游戏，现在还没修好这些问题真的说不过去。

I was sceptical towards rogue-like games until I experienced Returnal on PS5 and now I cannot get enough of them. Challenging but fair combat, very balanced progression. A must play for all.

Gunplay is awesome, levels are ok, progression is meh for roguelike, it is wery hard and punishing game. It is more frustrating than fun. 5/10

If I was Whitelight and created a YouTube video essay, I would use the title “Returnal: Almost A Masterpiece" because damn, it's really really closeReturnal is one of the few games I have played on the PS5 that truly feels "next gen" even though it's technically just a very very good Soulslike Roguelike. Like any good member of that esteemed genre, Returnal rewards skill and punishes sloppiness. Movement feels really good and is very responsive, so just navigating the ever-changing biomes feels great, especially when you gain some proficiency with the combat system which can be incredibly deep and nuanced. There's plenty of variety thanks to upgrades and weapons, the shifting biomes keeps you on your toes as it makes the level design a little less linear and the entire production is highly polished overall. AI is mostly excellent and means no two fights with the same group of enemies is identical. Even melee combat, which is essentially just a one-strike lightsaber with a cooldown, shows some depth with a risk/reward element; yes it’s powerful especially if you take the Blade Enhancer perk, but misusing it can easily get your Selene killed. The game reveals it’s permanent upgrades really slowly and carefully, which inspires you to actually use them, rather than having a giant skills tree of boredom with some upgrades that are useless and others that completely break the game. The Soulslike design style is not just present in the gameplay but also the sparing use of story/lore. It makes you yearn for more, rather than being so inundated with story that you tire of it. For example, you're never really pushed to go into the 20ᵀᴴ Century House, you want to because you're intrigued about what happens next due to the mystery/thriller/horror elements so expertly woven into it. The shift into first-person for those is inspired too; makes it feel more personal to the player, I believe. The sound design and visuals are inspired, memorable, haunting, beautiful, sometimes chilling. The sense of atmosphere they impart is crucial to the immersion Returnal provides. It’s top-tier work on both fronts, with each weapon and biome having it’s own distinct personality. I have found some of the musical score plays on in my head hours after I’ve put the controller down; like the game itself it really gets under your **** plot is a mindbending mix of science fiction, science fantasy, thriller/horror elements, Groundhog Day time looping, Greek mythology in just about the most non-God of War way possible, an introspection into the afterlife and a general if mysterious study of how we handle and perceive death. If you want to go looking, if you pay attention to everything you’re presented with you might just about be able to decode it, although of course like any good story it leaves plenty of room for interpretation. However, it’s time to admit that Returnal is not perfect. Performance is a mostly solid 60FPS however some dips into the 30s-40s will occur when the game is streaming assets in for a new area which also happens to have dozens of enemies to engage. I only started to get these when I was rushing into new rooms having begun to master the gameplay mechanics. Returnal uses Unreal Engine 4 and Housemarque do show their mastery of it by minimising longstanding engine problems, which I’ll be honest means the rare times when the cracks start to show it makes me appreciate the many other times where it runs like a well-oiled machine. Some Selene builds can totally break the difficulty curve of the game. I’m okay with this because you, the player, have to learn the combinations that do it and then choose whether or not to use it. The fourth biome (Overgrown Ruins) is a bit ludicrous in terms of being able to farm the game’s persistent currency, Ether - one good run and you can usually max out at 30 or close to it. Later biomes betray the odd sign that they ran out of time to polish, such as plants spawning in midair or some of the semi-randomised level layouts getting a bit obtuse. — These minor “not quite a masterpiece” elements aside, it’s strong in so many areas we expect games to be that it’s more than forgivable. I played this close to game launch, too, and it was mostly stable before patches which is commendable in this “release now, patch later” era of gaming. There’s a bare minimum of fuss when you boot it up, it gets you into the game quickly so you can start blasting monstrous aliens right away. I love that. No MTX, no gambling mechanics, no update nags, no seasons passes. I believe Housemarque have created one of the best games I've experienced in about two decades. Highly recommended. One of the few reasons to own a PS5, that’s how great it is. I look forward to seeing if they capture some of the same magic with Saros.