I am not the type of person that enjoys torturous games like Dark Souls. I do respect them, so do not get me wrong there, but they are just fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I find that playing these games for hours only to progress an inch is not a good use of my time. If I want to be tortured, I’ll just go on a family vacation from Kentucky to Maryland with my five kids (see June for details). Anyway, the point is that I like challenges in games, but I don’t like when the challenges become a chore. It’s not my thing, I don’t see any value in it, but I understand why people do see value in it.
Here we are now with Returnal. A rogue-lite adventure where our hero is stuck on an alien planet, tortured by an infinite loop of possibilities, having to restart every time she dies. You would think this type of game would fit into the first paragraph’s description. Strangely, it’s not that type of game. While certainly, it has the makings of a Dark Souls structure, the intricate care that Housemarque has given the gameplay design of this rogue-lite makes it a bit more than originally perceived. A balanced system of reward versus effort, a hopeful and earned progression system, even amid torturous restarts, makes this an adventure that I can completely dig.
You know the drill.
The adventure is going to be rough, but help is available
You start the game by crash landing on an alien planet. You get out of your busted ship, arm yourself, and immediately start exploring the weird-ass planet. The creatures are not at all hospitable. The environment is filled full of broken ruins and puzzles. Scattered throughout the maze of rooms are items that will help you, hurt you, or help and hurt you. Doesn’t this sound like fun? Also, if you die, the majority of what you pick up is lost when your life resets, though there are permanent items out there to retain. Those are difficult as hell to obtain, but a good ‘difficult as hell’.
Returnal is a game that has been delicately measured out and crafted to make you feel like you’re not being purposely tortured. Housemarque does this through randomization on reset and randomization on weapons/gear/parasites. We’ll get to the latter in just a second. The adventure always feels new, as the levels mostly don’t repeat in the same order often, or at least repeat healthily spaced apart from reset to reset. While there are certainly going to be some familiar areas where you know where items are located, it will always be a new adventure during the reset. And a quickly loaded one at that, as they want to get you back into the game as quickly as possible. Maybe it takes 3-5 seconds to reload and BOOM you’re back in business. The reset surprisingly keeps the game fresh, which is what you want when it’s so damn easy to die. There are games out there that do this perfectly, such is the case with Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2, where when you fail it just puts you right back into the action. That old clever design is what keeps the frustration level down. It works beautifully.
Anyway, the levels are of wondrous design, as they might be flat one-tiered levels or multiple levels that you have to transport yourself from one level to the next through a transportation bubble (those are pretty to see in motion). Again, the randomization of the levels makes for a fresh take every time you reset. It’s a good way to keep people’s attention away from knowing they’re just repeating and repeating.
As for the level content, the enemies are pedestrian when it comes to variety, at least at first. You will find slithery four-legged creatures at the beginning of Returnal that are not exactly the biggest threat in the world and are easily disposable. As you progress gingerly through the first level, you will find additional plant-like creatures popping up that look like Tree Beard from Lord of the Rings, turrets that are scattered everywhere, fiery dragon-like beasts, floating eyeballs, weird bat creatures that are relentless, and the occasional upright terrifying beast that has amazing jumping abilities that will kick your lame ass. That is the crux of the beasts in the first level and those are randomized with the levels themselves. After reading all of that, you might think to yourself that you would get tired of such things, but you won’t. They’re annoying obstacles when it comes to searching for bosses and items (calm yourself, we’ll get to items soon). They are there to make you strategically think about your approach from reset to reset, which keeps the game interesting. It’s a weird feeling knowing you’re going to get the same enemies on particular levels of the game, but a comforting one when knowing how to dispose of them and thus reminding you how much you’re progressing in the game. Knowing that you’re moving forward in this type of game and improving makes the longevity of the adventure acceptable. It’s odd how well this works.
Beyond regular level enemies, which are unique to each map, the bosses in the game are something out of a nightmare, but a manageable nightmare. The first boss you run into will show their patterns quickly, as you have to defeat them (full health) basically three times. Each full health level brings a different attack strategy from the boss, but again nonetheless patterned. The fact that dying resets the game will make the fight more intense. Once you get beyond that fight, you unlock a permanent weapon/item, and you get to find a doorway to the next stage. The beauty of this? Once the next stage is unlocked, it stays unlocked, even if you die. This gives you motivation and hopes that you can keep pushing forward through the resets and accomplishing something in the game. It also gives you the understanding that there are items out there that will permanently stay with our hero. It’s a great feeling knowing that you accomplished beating a boss and now have something to show for it.
The second boss, IXION, raises the bar exponentially in terms of difficulty. I’m not going to get into that boss fight, but good luck. You’re going to need it, even after identifying patterns.
Enemies aside, let us finally get back to items (see? It didn’t take forever). As you progress through these levels and start getting the gist of the game, you start understanding the complicated item system that Housemarque has created. Items are found in the following form:
Artifacts / Keys – You will find artifacts and keys laying around on some of the levels. The artifacts, which you can only carry two of at any given point, help to boost you up on some way. Some of them are for protection, some of them refill your energy level (covet those), and some add offense attributes to your attacks. There are a bunch, and you’ll want to be judicial in your strategy with them. Once you use them, they’re gone. I learned that using the refill artifact at the right time will keep your game going. Hold onto those as long as you can.
The keys you find laying around on levels help to open doors and open chests. If a chest has a lock on it, then it is almost always guaranteed to contain a good item. Covet keys as well, though they are obtainable quite frequently.
Weapons – The fun part of the game, and the first time you’ll feel like you’re progressing in the game is when you upgrade your first weapon. Killing strong enemies, bosses, or opening up chests are the ways to pick up new weapons. The weapons range from short and powerful, long-range and comfortable, and shotgun-esque blasts that will certainly take care of any enemy up close. The weapons also come with attributes of their own, which you want to pay attention to, as they can provide extra kick regardless of their level.
Beyond handheld boom canons, you also have a rechargeable powerful special attack with each weapon, which range from static shocks that tear apart things, heat-seeking missiles, and a barrage of gunfire that will pretty much tear up anything in its path.
Oh, also there is a sword. God, enjoy that sword. It’s a swinging fun time.
Weapons are great in this game and I will admit there is a fantastic chance I haven’t seen them all. They really do give you comfort in knowing that your gaming skills are progressing, as well as give you the motivation to keep exploring the land to find better ways to kill everything.
Parasites – I don’t know why I’m amused by this item, but it’s probably the most interesting item of the bunch. Parasites literally fall out of some enemies after dispatching them and some you find on plants. Regardless of how you find them, parasites attach to your hero and offer up a good/bad balanced strategy. Literally, when attached they affect your character in a positive manner, maybe upping the integrity/life meter (there are more ways than this), and take away something, such as you may not be able to swipe constantly with your sword without waiting 3-5 seconds (always read their descriptions). There are a lot of these creatures in the game, and you can attach quite a few to your body. They’re a hoot and a hinder but add a good piece of depth to the adventure.
Ether – These are your purple passes to purchasable pieces in the game. You want to find these to unlock goodies and to make a more permanent addition to your character They’re hard to access, they’re usually available around tough situations, but they do bring neat gameplay options to the table if you have enough of them.
Purchasable – Don’t worry! This isn’t an in-game purchase item. You will run into a room eventually that will offer up saving-grace upgrades for your hero. You can purchase artifacts and items in this room with obolites, which are the currency in the game. You can find obolites scattered throughout maps and coming out of slain enemies, though the obolites through killing enemies only last a second before disappearing. The rooms filled full of purchasable items are great for extending gameplay and/or upgrading your character. They’re a welcomed sight most of the time. Also, if you die, you lose them.
All of the above mentioned, Housemarque has carefully crafted enough variety and strategy through these items. You will be able to mix/match items and find that one path to victory through the right item combination. This takes away the drudgery of having to repeat the game over and over again, as you’re testing the waters through items bound together in different combinations. It’s so much fun. It’s essentially rolling DnD dice each time, not knowing exactly what you’re going to come up with but waiting for that right combination of items to progress the game.
Who wouldn’t want to play that way?
Having the right items together and going on a brutal run against some of the toughest and baddest enemies in this unknown galaxy help make this game less of a chore.
Presentation and the PS5 controller
Did you ever imagine that we all would expect greatness from…a controller? The controller haptic feedback and adapter triggers play a good role in the presentation of Returnal. You can feel the environment through the controller. For example, you can feel rainfall through the controller. It randomly rumbles everywhere on the controller and that just adds to the ambiance of the game. The adapter triggers equally feel good, as you can half-press the L2 button to activate down sights, then press the R2 to fire. If you press both down, you get a special shot that requires reload, and that feels different coming through the controller. Knowing that developers are adding to the experience through the controller is just mindboggling but welcomed. Returnal nails it.
If you have 3D audio headsets. Break them out. Whoever the sound designer is for this game needs a raise. Maybe an award. The audio is just out of this world (pun intended) frightening, but also delightful. Sounds of enemies and environments engulf you through the right headset. I haven’t been so invested in how a game sounds since the PT demo.
Finally, the graphics are probably the best so far in the PlayStation 5’s short span of time. The lighting, the environments, the eerie smoke raising from the ground…God, it’s good. When you switch to a different map you will find the visual joy in different layouts, different effects, and different creepy-ass enemies that have been beautifully crafted for the environment they reside in. Housemarque has provided the full presentation experience on every level with Returnal. I hope other developers follow suit.
Conclusion
Housemarque’s Returnal is a brutal rogue-lite that constantly keeps the fun coming through its well-thought-through item system that is exquisitely balanced and its randomized gameplay design that feels fresh after every death. Definitely a must-have game for the PlayStation 5.
