Reliving agony
Returnal is a very interesting game. It combines a lot of different game play aspects and somehow manages to nail most of them and even make me enjoy some mechanics that I normally despise. It comes as no shock though, as developer Housemarque has always been top-tier when it comes to arcade-style shooters. From titles like Resogun to lesser-known entities like Nex-Machina, this team can really craft some of the most addictive action titles in the business. Returnal also has the advantage of being the first big PlayStation 5 game coming after launch that really showcases the system. That is a lot of pressure for a developer like Housemarque and they definitely stepped up to the challenge.
May 5, 2021 - 4:48pm EST
It is undeniable that Housemarque are one of the best developers of addictive arcade-style video games. Despite never truly becoming a household name, games such as Super Stardust HD, Resogun and Nex Machina ensured that the developer became well-loved within the PlayStation ecosystem. Critical acclaim often followed, but a lack of sales forced their hand, with the studio announcing they would no longer develop games of the sort. While this revelation was sad at the time, the promise of an AAA title developed by the talented Finnish team was more than enough to ease the pain. The resultant product of the team’s work is Returnal, a brutal yet brilliant third-person roguelike that is proof that Housemarque is primed and ready to make a name for themselves in the AAA space.
‘Returnal’ Is the First Showcase for the PS5, and It’s Stunning
The survival horror shooter unleashes the PlayStation 5’s full power and rewards the player with thoughtful, challenging gameplay
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Last week, the Helsinki-based video game developer Housemarque released
Returnal for the PlayStation 5. It’s a spectacular showcase for the brand-new console: a survival horror game set on a distant, menacing planet determined to kill you over and over again.
The lonesome astronaut Selene Vassos, seeking the source of a mysterious signal known as “the White Shadow,” crashes onto the ruined planet Atropos. She recovers from the landing and abandons the wreckage in order to explore the hostile terrain, overrun with beastly hordes and littered with copies of her own corpse. Atropos appears to be a strange new world until Selene, deep in a forest, stumbles upon her own house, filled with hints of her troubled life on Earth and haunted by a second, faceless as
Selene Vassos from Returnal Is a Modern Sci-Fi / Horror Icon
Returnal has released on PlayStation 5. This AAA roguelike pulls players into the countless cycles of the eldritch planet Atropos. With it, players have been introduced to a brand new hero in the shape of Astra scout Selene Vassos.
Selene Vassos is placed in an unthinkable and unbelievable scenario. She crash-lands on Atropos when answering a broadcast signal known as the “White Shadow.” Selene can’t find her weapon so goes off to search for it, leaving the relative safety of her ship, Helios. She stumbles across the corpse of an Astra scout and comes to the horrible realization that this corpse is hers. She can’t understand how this has happened. Thankfully, she keeps her head and takes the gun from the corpse, hoping that she won’t repeat what has transpired here.
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Returnal releases today, and developer Housemarque’s first foray into AAA gaming territory has the wind at its back as it slots into Sony’s emerging library of PlayStation-only games. It’s the PS5’s first big-name exclusive since the launch debuts of