Of course it also uses all the horsepower and SSD technology to have smooth frame rates while looking good and maintaining almost zero load times, but it’s much more interesting to look at how Returnal uses the DualSense controller. Things instantly get interesting in the first run when you find Selene’s own corpse from an earlier attempt she made at exploring the planet of Atropos, and it just gets weirder from there on out.Ĭonsidering it’s one of the few PS5 exclusives out so far, the fact that Returnal makes use of some of the PS5’s most unique features is an absolute no-brainer. What keeps it going, however, is the narrative approach to the genre that few other games have attempted-Hades and Loop Hero are the most recent prominent examples. Gameplay revolves around a cycle of making progress, dying, and starting afresh with some minor upgrades. Returnal is, for all intents and purposes, a roguelike. The combat is so good, in fact, that it alone offers me plenty of impetus to explore new areas in the hopes of finding new enemies to fight.

It’s easy to feel like a badass once you achieve some familiarity with its control scheme and enemy attack patterns, and zipping around the battlefield while sending homing insect missiles at your targets doesn’t really get old. Returnal’s combat, for lack of a better term, feels incredibly tight. It quickly establishes itself as the kind of game where even just moving your character around can be loads of fun (for example, Control, or the seminal Super Mario 64), thanks to responsive controls, good frame rates, and most importantly, movement options that manage to stay simple and deep at the same time. The original launch date of Returnal was announced last month as March 19, but with this delay, we’ll have to wait until the end of April.Thankfully, the good times continue because of how well Returnal actually plays. It will also use the console’s 3D audio capabilities for increased immersion. Players assume the role of Selene, who is an Astra space scout who winds up being trapped in an endless resurrection loop on a hostile planet, offering a narrative explanation for the game’s roguelike nature.Įarlier this month, Housemarque released a developer interview showing off Returnal‘s gameplay and explaining how it takes advantage of PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller features such as adaptive triggers. It is a fast-paced third-person shooter with roguelike elements. Returnal was revealed last year during one of Sony’s PlayStation 5 events. Update: Returnal has a new release date of April 30, 2021. SIE and Housemarque have made the decision to move the release date in order to give the team extra time to continue to polish the game to the level of quality players expect from Housemarque. Given the high quality of PlayStation 5’s launch exclusives so far, including Demon’s Souls, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Sackboy: A Big Adventure, it’s understandable that both Sony and Housemarque want Returnal to launch in the best state possible in order to meet the expectations of players. The reasoning for the pushed back release date is that the team at Housemarque wanted the extra time to add the finishing touches on the game. This morning, Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer Housemarque have announced that Returnal has been delayed to April 30 for its release on PlayStation 5.

Returnal embargo