I don’t often get buyer’s remorse. But the lack of titles for the PlayStation 5 has, up to now, made me wonder whether anxiously scrambling to secure the ‘must-have’ console on release was worth the effort. There’s been little to justify making the jump from the PS4. Enter, Returnal on PS5.
Thus far, every game I’ve played on the PS5 was also available for PS4. Spider-man: Miles Morales stands out in that its PS5 version showcased the incredible features and graphics possible on the next-gen console, but it was only eight hours long. And as great as it was, a glorified £60 DLC doesn’t justify the purchase of a whole new console. So, THANK GOD, the release of Returnal is just around the corner. While still available on the PS4 – Returnal‘s focus is clearly on delivering a quality next-gen experience. And, even better, it’s an all new IP. Finally, there’s something to get excited about on the PS5.
Despite a history of over 20 years, Finnish developer Housemarque are pretty much unknown. If I hadn’t been researching for this article, I wouldn’t be able to tell you a single one of their previous titles (their last was 2017’s side-scrolling shooter, Matterfall). But, honestly, that isn’t a bad thing. In an age of reboots, sequels and franchises, a new IP backed by a big publisher (Sony Interactive Entertainment, in this case) is quite the revelation. And futuristic psychological horror Returnal boasts a really interesting concept to boot.
Selene is an astronaut, equipped with an advanced space suit and high-tech weaponry. She finds herself stuck in a time loop on alien planet Atropos. After death, she is resurrected into an ever-changing world and must fight terrifying extraterrestrial entities.
With that in mind, here are four things Returnal has us excited about!
The time loop concept
Time loops are an incredibly popular plot device in movies. From the all-time classic, Groundhog Day, to more recent genre-blending films like Edge of Tomorrow and Happy Death Day, they have been used to great effect time and again. Oddly, the same can’t be said for gaming. They’re incredibly under explored in the medium. Which is strange, considering games are all about trial and error – and restarting from a checkpoint is inherently like living in a time loop.
Returnal‘s use of a time loop is truly unique, too. When Selene dies, she will respawn. Nothing unusual about that. Except, now, the world will be different. Enemies will change their location and frequency. The recent gameplay trailer even suggests you’ll be able to come across Selene’s corpse from your last failed attempt. All this means that Returnal‘s time loop facilitates a sort of permadeath, meaning you will have to restart and rethink your strategy each time you die. It looks highly replayable and will force you to adapt to your changing surroundings.
Selene’s visions
While Selene traverses Atropos, she will experience strange visions of her past. The trailer showcases her childhood home. As we can see, Selene is disturbed by this and even goes so far as to say some of it feels “manufactured”. It’s all pretty eery and looks to compliment the dark psychological tone Returnal is going for.
How exactly all this fits with Selene’s arrival on the decaying planet remains to be seen. But it’s certainly piqued our interest. Is she dreaming? Maybe she’s trapped in a simulation, or imprisoned by someone trying to extract her memories? Or is there more to the planet Atropos than meets the eye? Whatever the case may be, we can’t wait to uncover the secrets of Selene’s past and understand what exactly is going on in Returnal.
PS5’s next-gen capabilities and features
Sony made no secret of the PlayStation 5’s potential prior to its release in November. Boasting a plethora of “next-gen” features, the console promised to deliver a faster, better looking, and more immersive gameplay experience than was possible on the PS4. It looks like there may be no better game right now than Returnal to show off these new features.
The thought of being stuck in a time loop and having to restart after every death is almost nightmarish when you imagine the incredibly long load times between respawns we had to tolerate on the PS4. With the PS5’s ultrafast SSD, players won’t have to wait long to start Selene’s second (third, fourth, fifth, sixth etc.) life. We’re talking seconds, and that really is a huge factor in the enjoyment of a so-called “rogue-like” game.
On top of that, the PS5 promises to give Returnal a deep level of immersion. Graphically, the trailer clearly shows the game is gorgeous. From the grim, grey, decaying scenery of Atropos to brightly coloured energy beams and explosions, Returnal looks incredible, and the PS5’s 4K, high-frame rate capabilities should capture it perfectly.
And then, of course, there’s the DualSense controller. With its haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, Sony’s critically acclaimed controller will immerse you in Selene’s boots in a way previously impossible. Returnal promises a large variety of weaponry (more on that shortly) to combat its equally large variety of alien enemies. And with the DualSense controller, each gun should feel different and exhilarating in hand. We can’t wait to pick it up and see exactly how Housemarque have made use of the phenomenal DualSense controller.
Combat and weapon variety
Games have come on a long way from the days of one pistol, one rifle, one shotgun. Shooters these days need a bit more in their arsenal to stand out and stay interesting. With Returnal‘s reported replayability, variety will be key. And Housemarque seem to have done all they can to ensure there’s a huge amount of choice available to the player to suit all tastes and play styles.
The recent Combat trailer shows at least nine different firearms – but the menu it briefly shows appears scrollable, so it’s likely there’ll be even more. On top of that, we see tabs for devices and tools which means there will certainly be more to Returnal than pointing and shooting. Interestingly, there’s also an “unknown” tab. What that means exactly remains to be seen. But the trailer does show a parasitic suit attachment that simultaneously strengthens and weakens Selene – so perhaps there’ll be more of that.
Most interesting, though, is the Atropian Blade featured at the end of the trailer. Its description enigmatically reads, “A bladed weapon of sentient make.” And a small snippet of accompanying gameplay gives off Metal Gear Rising vibes. One thing’s for sure – players will love cutting or shooting down the multitude of alien enemies in Returnal.
Returnal‘s release is just around the corner and there’s a significant amount of hype behind it. Do you think it will live up to the anticipation? We can’t wait to find out.
Returnal on PS5 is set to release worldwide on 30th April, 2021.
Are you excited for Returnal PS5? Don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles!
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Featured Image Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment
