The exceptions are a handful of permanent pieces of equipment–such as the aforementioned sword–and story progress. You can unlock certain items so that they can be found later, but essentially everything you collect is lost when you die. That’s about as much progression as you get in Returnal. This way, my subsequent runs are a little quicker as I have easier access to better resources. With it, I can access areas and resources I wouldn’t have been able to on previous cycles. This permanent equipment stays on my person even when I die. One of the best things I acquired during that first run was a melee weapon. I would need to be better prepared next time…

The boss had an insane amount of health, and it took everything I had to reduce just one of its three health bars to zero. That was, unfortunately, as far as my skills would take me. I managed to experience the first “House Sequence” (events taking place in a mysterious 20th-century house, completely out-of-place in this alien jungle) and I even reached the first boss. I collected a few trophies for discovering and experiencing new things and survived about two hours.

I took a huge hit, and that tiny amount of remaining health didn’t last me long. However–as I would later learn–I need special equipment to go underwater. I was drawn to some enticing items underwater and so, obviously, dove right in. My second cycle was a total and near-immediate failure. I collected a bronze trophy for experiencing my first cycle restart, and then woke up back in my ship. It felt like the right place to die, to be fair. I even died in the same place, against a large red-colored monster with far too much health and an incredible amount of speed. So, everything that happened was exactly as it did in the gameplay trailer footage I had seen. It appears as though the first cycle is always the same–with the same layout–despite the procedurally randomized mechanics of the game. My first cycle went pretty much exactly as expected. I could also distinctly feel the mid-point on, which indicates a switch of firing modes once that ability is available, as the trigger pushed back against me to let me know where it was. As I move across the terrain and am momentarily sheltered by the rain here and there, I feel it in my hands.Įqually, when using the handgun for the first time. As though the controller has dedicated foot-step rumble motors and completely separate raindrop ones. I was blown away.Īs I continue, I feel every footstep and every raindrop simultaneously, as though the two sensations have no bearing on each other at all. Across the right side of the controller, as if she’d brushed my hand. When Selene looked down at her wrist-mounted touch-screen interface and wiped the raindrops from its surface, I could feel her do it. As Selene picked herself up from the ground at the start of the game, I could feel every single raindrop that hit her suit. One of the first things I noticed from Returnal was how this is the best use of haptic feedback since Astro’s Playroom. The long path to the platinum, at least for me at launch, was long, brutal, and laced with bugs. This one-of-a-kind mashup of FPS, Roguelike, and Bullet Hell gameplay offers an exciting but, ultimately, challenging platinum journey. Truly a spectacle to behold, that is, in the moments where you’re able to appreciate it, and not dodging for your life! As such this beautiful game really comes to life with super-fast load speeds and gorgeous visuals complemented by stunning lighting. Furthermore, this intriguing and unique gameplay experience is specific to the PS5. Advertisements Returnal is a fresh and exciting new IP added to Sony’s expanding collection of exclusive games.

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