For some strange reason, the little I had seen of Returnal for PS5 so far didn’t quite get my attention. Seeking to reach him knowing and having seen the least, my disposition was to enter the Housemarque game trusting that surprise would do the rest. And boy he has.
Little – more like nothing – has to do with anything in the study that we have seen so far. You can ditch the indie arcade spirit and throw the doors wide for the first triple-A scented procedural roguelike . Of course, the change does not reduce the good hand of the creators of Resogun and Super Stardust with the bullet hell .
Returnal is not your typical triple A
With much still to discover, I prefer to take this opportunity to focus on everything that, in one way or another, did not convince me or was strange to me before taking the controls. Returnal is, above all, an atypical triple A.
The visual and sound bill, with the noises from the TV combining with the remote, and with the vibration further adorning the experience, is everything you could ask for from a PS5 exclusive. However, it is far from being the typical shooter to which we are accustomed.
In the first place there is the approach, that of a roguelike of infinite cycles and levels placed randomly so that each path to our destination is constantly modified. So far good, but I didn’t understand how the development of a brainy plot about space-time travel and space fiction fit in there.
You have the answer in Hades. The recent GOTY candidate’s narrative is the best example to understand how Returnal works. Here, as there, we will overcome more or less basic rooms in which to collect supplies and tear up enemies that, in turn, will make room for other rooms more focused on history, character development or final bosses.
The result is cycles in which the freedom to explore is complete, but in which you soon begin to visualize patterns and it is relatively easy to anticipate what will come next. Luckily, the arrival of new biomes completely breaks with the established to put you off again.
A gunplay to frame
My other question was around the mixture of ideas: a shooting game to hell with bullets but with exploration and weight in the story was something that did not finish clicking. But the result ends up being more recognizable and simple than it might seem at first.
The jump from a side or overhead view to the 3D of a Gears of War -with active recharge included- is the most comfortable. And despite believing that the unevenness of the terrain subtract some weight from the jumps and dodges , it must be recognized that it is often appreciated to have a tree or a mound behind which you can hide from bullets.
In fact, the experiment could have turned out completely froggy and it would be easy to remain happy with it. Gunplay , the base on which Returnal relies to get rid of any ties, is a real joy that will have you looking for confrontations even when the situation asks you to flee from them.
Not only is it a joy to shoot some pistols and rifles that as soon as they release normal bullets such as guided missiles and spheres that bounce around the level, it is that the risk-reward factor that it boasts is one of the most addictive that have passed through my hands .
I could go a lot further on this curious mix of roguelike and metroidvania, but I don’t want to fall for spoilers or reveal too many surprises. There will be time to talk at length about him in a few days, when we go without a net for his analysis .
Also, I’m not going to lie to you, I’m looking forward to finishing this so I can get back at the controls, and I think that’s the most significant and important thing I could convey from Returnal right now . Great game is coming.
