Returnal

Returnal is the work of the creators of the warmly received shoot 'em up Resogun. Housemarque studio this time decided to create an action game with a TPP view, in which the player's task is to discover the mysteries of an unexplored planet. The title is a combination of TPS (third-person shooter) and roguelike.

Storyline

In the game we play the role of astronaut Selene, who is forced to relive the same event over and over again - the crash of her ship on a strange planet. Death only makes the woman return to the starting point. In addition, after each rebirth, the world on which she "lands" changes, and she changes with it. The only way for the heroine to break out of this bizarre loop is to discover the secrets hidden in this dangerous land. With each death, however, Selene sinks deeper and deeper into madness.

Gameplay

An important part of the game is exploration. The ever-changing planet has different locations and items to offer us each time, which guarantees the uniqueness of each game. In addition, the ancient technology we discover can permanently improve Selene's skills. This makes subsequent approaches to the game easier.

The exchange of fire with opponents shows inspiration from bullet hell games. Almost every opponent barrages Selene with a hail of bullets with different trajectories. The player's task is to navigate between bullets, avoiding hits and responding with gunfire. In the heat of battle, we can freely switch the firing modes of our weapons, allowing us to adapt to the situation.

The title also draws some solutions from the roguelike genre: death is part of the game mechanics here. In Returnal she is not the end, but an element of our adventure that does not disrupt the rhythm of the gameplay. After death we can quickly return to the fight, but be on guard - after each of our resurrection the game world undergoes a metamorphosis.

Multiplayer

In Returnal we can play exclusively in single player.

4K 60 FPS

The game takes full advantage of the PS5's new capabilities. The loading screen disappears almost instantly after death, so we can immediately try again. Thanks to the controller's adaptive triggers, we can intuitively aim or change fire mode with the same trigger: it depends on how hard we press it. The DualSense controller's vibration allows the player to be more immersive when firing the weapon. Using headphones, we experience 3D sound. Different sounds come at us from every direction - enemies overlapping us from behind, bullets flying past, and enemies flying above us.

Returnal's visuals are very impressive, offering 4K resolution at 60 frames of animation per second and ray tracing. The locations we traverse are stunningly detailed, the character models are almost photorealistic, and each bullet fired is accompanied by impressive lighting effects.