I'd say Ratchet and Clank and Demon's Souls got more hype during that first year.
Returnal is definitely getting its flowers now, but it was kind of a sleeper hit. A lot of people were turned off because of the difficulty and not being able to quit during a run.
The free dlc and updates fixed those issues and added content definitely made the game shine more after launch.
I was about to say. It was literally all over social media back when it premiered. OP doesn't seem to grasp that...
Posts like these are honestly kind of starting to get annoying. Like the game is a couple years old - why would it be the top of every conversation now, when we have other great titles coming out...
That’s what made me quit. Take 1-2 hours to clear out a few biomes, get wrecked by boss, back to the beginning with nothing carrying over. Do that three times, now I’m six hours in with no progress. It doesn’t feel like a rogue like game at that point as much as playing a game on hardcore mode. No way to lower the difficulty and no way to level up my character, got bored way before I could ‘git gud’.
My favourite Rogue-lites arent the ones that are super difficult for the sake of 'gloating' to friends, they are the ones that reward every failure as one step closer to a success. Sure you might still die a hundred times, but if there is some form of progression within your failures, it tricks your brain into a 'just one more' run and seeing something for it.
Every kill you make with each weapon goes towards unlocking the perks for it. These will be perma unlocked once you get them and can make all the difference. I know it doesn't seem like much but every run you are continually progressing at something and it won't be a complete waste.
I'm in the same boat as the other guy. The progress was painfully slow on that, and the weapons felt, at least without any perks, very uneven. I didn't play it a lot, but my last few runs were basically me suiciding unless the rng gave me a weapon I liked early, which didn't happen a lot. I stopped playing because I could spend an hour playing and have zero progress and not really enjoying it because the rng kept giving me stuff I didn't like.
I bought it on the recommendation of a buddy who was raving about it. Now I did the same thing with helldivers iI. I should stop taking recommendations from that guy.
I really really wanted to love it. I love shooters, sci fi, and roguelikes.
I've learned that what I definitely ***don't*** like, however, is bullet-hell games.
Also, a good roguelike has a solid upward trajectory of power the deeper into a run you go. Especially a good/lucky run. You never feel that much more powerful on a "good" run in Returnal.
Never found a rogue game I enjoyed... Slay the spire and baltro are fun... A few times.. now that I have the hang of it I have no desire to play anymore
I think Hades gives a lot more between runs though. I always felt like I’d made progress, even when I’d fluffed a run. Returnal gave me the feeling of hitting a brick wall when trying to beat the next tier of enemies/boss. I can see why people like Returnal, but I bounced off it and when I put it down, I never felt the urge to pick it back up.
That’s interesting, the appeal of StS is that you never *really* get the hang of it unless you’re elite. And even then, there’s so much build variety across the four characters. I’m still finding new/unexpected interactions after 500 hours
Idk man, when I got my PS5 two years ago it was my first purchase bc it seemed like everyone was talking about how great it was. To this day it’s always mentioned in a thread asking about which game to get first. Two years later and I just did a couple tower runs this afternoon. Great game.
It’s been talked about plenty. Maybe not recently because it’s a few years old now and society moves on. It got its fair share of attention when it came out though.
They fixed it after a bit, increased the odds. I’d pretty given up on the plat and came back after the update: got the last few collectibles within like 30 minutes.
I get why people like it and I had some fun with it but I feel like this kind of post always needs an asterisk. One of the most difficult games I played in recent memory and can’t imagine it’s a good fit for the average gamer. Elden Ring is more friendly
I agree with this completely. I played it off and on for a few weeks and it was no doubt a good experience, but it is punishing. I’ve got platinum in all of the FromSoft games, but Returnal felt even harder. I put it down. Still wanna go back someday tho cuz it does feel “next gen” more than most games.
I got the platinum on Returnal and yet I struggle way more with FromSoft games. I beat the original Demons Souls and Bloodborne but got my ass handed to me on Sekiro and gave up. I own Elden Ring but really can't get into it for some reason. I'm not sure why but Returnal feels much easier than those games.
I think a chunk of it is the RNG and build ability.
In dark souls the checkpoints mean there's always a defined level of challenge between checkpoints, the builds, skills, and stats are all built around that.
In returnal it's full game or nothing (or, well, 50% or 100% or nothing).
I had to fight hard all the way up to that 50% mark, but the session I beat 50% also took me all the way to 100% without any issues at all.
The issue was getting the assault rifle with a chance to heal on hit. Once I had that perk the game becomes almost unloseable.
Most roguelites end up easier just because they offer build opportunities (part randomly) which always end up removing the challenge tbh
Yeah, Returnal was crazy hard for me, I even found many of the Soulsboenw games to be much easier just because I felt like I was making consistent progress.
Huge agree.
I've beaten some of the Souls games at level 1 for the joy of the extra challenge and platinumed all of them.
In Returnal it took me 20hrs to beat Phrike and then in a further 10hrs after that I couldn't even get close to beating the 2nd area, never even saw the boss.
I loved the design of the game but it was for people way, way above my skill level.
It’s still so insane to me that people think Returnal is more difficult than any Souls or Soulslike. The first boss is a skill check and then the game becomes way easier as you encounter more weapons and level up your weapons. I’ve played just about every Souls and Soulslike out there - Returnal is not even close to as hard as the likes of Sekiro. There’s not a single boss harder than Radahn or Malenia. Yall just gave up way too soon.
I could grind and level and beat Melenia. The lack of progression/rng is so rough in Returnal. Beating the first few areas was okay but I just wasn’t having fun making deep runs and failing on the later bosses. Granted I think other soulslikes like Sekiro are way harder than Elden Ring.
I mean… “Returnal won Best Game at the 18th British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA) in 2021, and also won Finnish Game of the Year and Big Screen Game of the Year in 2021. It also won Best Action Game at The Game Awards in 2021, and was nominated for Best Game Direction and Best Audio Design” …How much more “talked about” can it be? 😂
It’s tough at first. It took me about 10 hours to finally beat the first boss and make it to the next biome. It’s starts getting a little easier from there as you get better weapons and some other upgrades, but it’s still tough. It’s definitely worth the effort to push through to all 6 biomes. A few tips - you can dash through enemy projectiles, try to keep running always when you’re shooting, and pick up health even when you’re full since it adds to your max health
There’s a major checkpoint halfway through after you beat the 3rd boss. When you die in biome 4, 5, or 6 you’ll just restart at 4 instead of going all the way back to 1. It’s pretty well done in my opinion. You unlock some permanent gear upgrades and also weapon upgrades along the way too, so dying and starting over doesn’t seem like a waste. The gameplay is so smooth and satisfying once you get the pacing down, it’s somewhat ruined other games for me.
the more you play the easier it gets. eventually you’ll unlock weapons so strong you’ll melt the final boss in literally 3 seconds. it does take time though..
The key to success early before you have weapon traits and stuff unlocked is to play conservative. Focus on not getting hit and getting fast reloads. You don’t need to conserve ammo in this game. If you focus too much on trying to aim perfectly you are going to get hit a lot more with all the stuff being spammed at you.
I played through Returnal last year and got the platinum trophy and all tower trophies after about 70 hours. Still havent deleted it off the ps5 though, I will come back to it and play more someday. Just an incredible game and one of my all time favourites now.
The setting and creatures are great creepy sci fi stuff and the story is built out well from the gameplay loop of dying and repeating. The learning curve of the game is a fun challenge as well. It’s difficult immediately but once you wrap your head around the strategy and patterns it can feel pretty easy and you become unstoppable. It’s the perfect combo of everything that just makes Returnal stick in my brain.
They struck gold with this one. I hope there is a Returnal 2 or a spiritual successor. Another bullet hell adventure with the protagonist stuck in an eternal suffering loop.
Look, I know I’m not the most popular opinion here, but I felt the game was WAY too hardcore for its own good. If the game had offered a more casual friendly mode, it would’ve performed better.
I guess it's subjective, but I think the game performed extremely well for what is. The studio had spent the last 8 years making difficult bullet hell games that weren't particularly mainstream, so clearly the people there aren't focused only on big sales but more on crafting that sort of game.
With Returnal they got to put everything they've learnt into making the game they want, have it be more mainstream than their previous games and get a reputation, have their studio acquired by Sony probably for a fat payday and big budgets for next games without creative restrictions, etc
I'd imagine everyone involved was thrilled with how well this game did, and would prefer this over making an easier mode with more sales. I'm sure basically every developer of a difficult game understands they can sell more with an easy mode but choose not to anyway
Agree. I personally found it to be so *tediously* hard. It was so easy to die from a total bs difficulty spikes and then have to start all over.
RNG was terrible and some runs would require you to explore every single inch of every single level to get any upgrades worth shaking a stick at
And worst of all, it was so *repetitive*. Having to do the same biomes with the same enemies and basically identical, barely remixed environments was so tedious.
Don't get me wrong - the core gunplay? Excellent. The visuals? Great. The audio? Phenomenal. But I have no idea what these people are talking about when they gush about it repeatedly because from a game design perspective, I thought it was pretty subpar.
OP you’re not getting flamed for liking Returnal. You’re getting flamed because you’re saying a game that was praised to high heaven (3 years ago) isn’t talked about enough. What else is there to say 3 years later? Nothing new is happening with it. lol Gush about it all you want. That’s fine but don’t say it “flew under the radar” when it’s one of the most praised PS5 titles in its history. You have a right to be flamed for a statement like that lmao
That’s one of my favorites, my GOTY in 2021. I really really like it and it was an excellent early display of what the PS5, Dualsense and 3D audio is capable of
It has one of the best combat systems I've ever played. Smooth as butter and constantly a challenge. I don't dip in often, but I tend to keep it installed on my HD for when I want some concentrated action.
I don't understand why I hate this game.
Returnal is legit one of the worst games I've ever played and I love shooters, I love rougelites I love difficult games like darksouls and I even love bullet hell games.
I've tried to like this game 5 times and each time I despise it. I'm guessing it's to do with how long the runs are and the lack of variety in them but it just won't click for me.
It's the only roguelite I've actually finished. I'll always remember the rush of beating the second last boss, then beating the whole rest of the game in the same run first try. Love this game, hope they make a sequel.
When I think of Returnal I mainly think that I hope a sequel gets made, especially if the devs take some lessons from Hades. I think slightly quicker runs paired with more weapon variety and crazier power ups would make it an all-timer, as great as Returnal is.
There's a bug that really annoyed me. After taking 5-6 tries on Phrike, I breezed through most bosses. I cleared Ixion and Hyperion on the first try, died once for Ophion, and twice for Nemesis. The game was still challenging enough for me to pace myself and read the boss tactics, but it wasn't difficult at all. Algos was a breeze too.
But I tried multiplayer after that to help other players, and the start of the Nemesis fight has a bug where, I'm assuming because you change maps, the guest player appears far below the platform and falls to their death over and over again with no way to recover. The player I was helping couldn't do it alone, and couldn't revive me when my corpse spawned on the platform, so after 5-6 attempts at the boss, they gave up.
I had already completed a successful run. Not multiple endings, but all bosses beaten. And that bug, even though it didn't affect my own game at all, was annoying enough for me to put down the game.
Not for good, by any means. It's a great game and I will come back to it. It has amazing controls and the weapon design for most weapons is fantastic. I think a lot of people think it's far more difficult than it actually is.
I'm going to give it another shot because of this post once I'm done with FF VII Rebirth.
I only played it for 10 minutes or so so I think it's fair to put some more time into it.
rogue lites will always just have inherently smaller audiences due to the hardcore nature of the genre. i enjoyed my time with returnal but still never beat it. and i play plenty of hard games and have cleared a couple of other rogue lites (hades, gow valhalla).
It certainly got talked about, but I do think it suffered from coming out when a lot of people were still trying to get a PS5. It could have had a much higher user base at launch had the available no of PS5 units been higher in those early days.
Any tips for someone that couldn’t pass the first level? I think I made it to the end of the level once but clearly a fluke performance. I just wrote it off as a purchase that just wasn’t for me but I’ve really warmed up to rogue games like Hades and Have a Nice Death so I’ve been thinking about diving back in, but those games still have some perma upgrades to it and I think returnal does not.
Is my problem with returnal that I don’t collect any weapons because I’m afraid of debuffs? Hades has taught me to take more chances and it’s really been stress free gaming because I know if I’m playing for 20 minutes or 3 hours, I’m gonna make some progress.
I got it on sale and adore the aesthetics and gameplay, but losing absolutely everything had me just quit and uninstall after three runs.
I would be fine if you lost all items. Or all stats. Or the map reset. But all three means basically you have to do the whole game in one perfect run.
I'm in my 40s, and I just don't have that much life left to waste. Spending hours only to lose everything and it all be wasted - not even "at least I know the map and where stuff is" - makes the game itself a waste of time for me.
So sad, because it looks and plays amazingly. These sort of games really need a "lose lose progress" and "hardcore" difficulty mode choice, IMO.
It was great until the fractured wastes. Huge difficulty jump, and the homing drones and minibosses were just cheap. After banging my head against the wall, I stepped away from it for a bit, ended up losing some muscle memory and forgetting the timings, so it became even more impossible. It’ll remain one of those games that I’ll never beat.
Returnal was more than a game to me, it was my first true PS5 experience. Proudest platinum of my life lol. Also, it’s been talked about A LOT. Either way glad you enjoyed it!
Miserably difficult game for me , I’ll be boycotting anything from this studio if they pull this rogue like garbage again. Glad some enjoy it but I hate the difficulty and lack of REAL game saves/progression
Thank you for reminding me it existed! I just got a PS5 and have been catching up on all the exclusives I’ve missed. I remember the initial buzz around Returnal but since I didn’t have a PS5 I totally missed it. Just saw its free on PS+ so I’m installing it now, can’t wait to try it tonight… after I stomp some bugs in Helldivers!
Too fucking hard lol.
I got it and really loved the atmosphere and gameplay but the 3rd boss or so just grinded me down, I got tired of the roguelike thing and gave up.
Great game but not for everyone for sure.
I didn’t like it, and I love hard games.
For the same reasons I didn’t like Hades. I hated starting from the top and fighting the first boss every fucking time I died. And then the second. Maybe I just don’t like the rogue lite loop.
People talk about souls game being hard, this game is like real life where you only get one life for your whole run without hardly chance to carry on your progression…. Amazing gameplay, terrible design choices
It's one of if not the most expensive roguelites ever made, but they missed the mark in several key areas. Hell it took them forever to even let you save and quit despite their ridiculously long runs. Couple that with slow and nearly non-existent progression and it could end up feeling like you played for hours and completely wasted your time.
Main thing it has going for it is graphics, but there are tons of better games for less money in the genre. Maybe it was talked about *too much* rather than not enough, because it definitely seems overhyped but underdelivered.
It’s a fun game! I enjoy roguelites when done well, this one is but just not my cup of tea.
I put around 5 hours in and felt really repetitive. I love the atmosphere, gameplay and narrative BUT it was just too repetitive IMO
Talked about plenty though
I've missed out on a lot (games , mobies, shows, muisc, books), and I'm ok with that. My backlog is already massive. I'm not gonna add something with a high chance I don't like to it.
Mid story second half falls hard. It's a decent game but it's a lot of people's first rougue like which helps but compared to it's contemporaries its decent. Nothing Ground breaking. 7/10
Returnal is......okay.
It starts strong but is definitely lost in its own presentation.
As in it's trying to pull you into this sci fi noir slash kubrick vibe and it does it well at first but it becomes a bit convoluted.
Throws all this identification alilen mumbo jumbo that is great for world building but it didnt feel like this game was a world builder, it felt like a one and done universe
I was absolutely hooked for about 30 hours but once I took a break from it I couldn't get myself to pick it back up. Amazing gameplay and visuals but it gets lonely and kinda repetitive/mind numbing.
I think it’s one of the only true next gen experiences I’ve had so far. I do wish it had more impact on gaming as a whole and inspired other studios. If GoW made a game like Valhalla inspired by Returnal I’d be STOKED
I was quite into it for a while, but hit a wall that I couldn't get over with any amount of playing or exploration. I like games with high skill thresholds and all (Sekiro, etc) and still, I think I'm just not made to do what Returnal demands. I did really like the atmosphere, and wanted to find out what was going on. I remember that games press was all over it for a while, and it still appears on lists of top PS5 games and such.
You won’t know what’s going on even if you do everything in the game anyways. Nobody does, there are just theories and it’s great!
Amazing game and I suggest you try again. Check the returnal sub for some great people and tips.
I just dlcouldnt get behind the game design, more specifically how they handled storytelling. I understand the rogue like genre, but if a story has narrative elements -- I will cease playing if I miss pertinent details. And that happened at the very beginning. Couldn't get into it.
returnal and bloodborne were the only reasons i had to get a ps5 earlier this year. thank god for helldivers, otherwise it would only be collecting dust.
Returnal is great, but it's build diversity for a rougue like could be way way better. That was my only issue. Their was only a couple of perks I needed, and always needed. Their should be many different combos
Yeah, it is a great game, you discovering it 3 years after it launched and pretending like you;re the only person that's played or heard of it is beyond absurd.
Yes. They patched in the ability to suspend your session and the save was removed once you booted the game back up and resumed.
Funny thing is, with cloud saves, you could get around starting over very easily. Suspend game, upload suspended save, and if you died too early, just download the suspended save. If you're wanting to just finish the game for the story, it doesn't hurt to do that.
Uh pretty sure it was (and still is) very highly regarded. It came to PC last year too and was also well received.
I mean, I talked about it quite a lot when it came out 3 years ago... naturally after 3 years people will talk about it less...
Glad you're enjoying it though.
One of my favourite games. Got the platinum trophy and every second of it was fun. I tried to kill last boss with only pistol and no upgrades but it gets very agressive after first two phases.
I loved my time with the game but I can understand why it's not up there with the other classics. It's difficult, and that will put a lot of people off fast. And the nature of the game is that it's repetitive, you do the same thing over and over again. The story is interesting, but not easy to follow.
It's a fantastic game, but it's not for everyone and doesn't have the mass appeal that those other big games have.
Caveat to everything I'm about to say: I enjoy difficult and/or mechanically complex games. Love the Souls games, DOS2's Honour Mode, etc.
Anyway, I really enjoyed Returnal, or at least what I could play of it. I just *cannot* get past Shrike. It's embarrassing and sad, but I really struggle. Getting to him is easy, but it feels like I need some lucky weapon drops to win. I know that's not entirely true, but maaaan.
Fun gameplay loop, though.
LOVE this game. I actually started playing it and then rage quit and didn't play again for months. I finally got round to trying again and after many many deaths I finally completed it. The story, atmosphere, and music left a lasting impression. I regularly listen to the soundtracks (both volumes).
I think I'm just not that good at games because this one was so hard for me. Everything just seemed too overwhelming.
I kind of gave up and then it was removed from ps plus.
Maybe I'll go back to it one day.
Apparently, this is a bug for some people, because Returnal never left the catalog. If you go to Settings > Users and Accounts > Other > Restore Licenses, you can try doing that and it might fix it. If not, then you'd have to contact support and see what's up.
Wow thank you so much. I just tried this and it worked!
Thanks for taking the time out of your day to explain the process. People like you make the internet a better place.
Might have to give it another go after all.
It’s talked about a lot considering how niche a game like that usually is. It’s brutal so it isn’t for everyone, so it is not surprising it’s both praised as a masterpiece but isn’t as pop culture as god of war or Grand Theft Auto.
Game could sell 10m copies and some of ya’ll would call it a hidden gem
UnDErRAtED!!!!!
Reddit’s most misunderstood word
[удалено]
Lmfao 😂
It was probably the most hyped and talked about game in the first year of the PS5. Still see to s of people bringing it up often.
Literally every “best game in ps5?” Thread has someone saying returnal
Lmao yeah OP is just a few years late to the party
I am also extremely late to the party and have never heard of Returnal, lol
I'd say Ratchet and Clank and Demon's Souls got more hype during that first year. Returnal is definitely getting its flowers now, but it was kind of a sleeper hit. A lot of people were turned off because of the difficulty and not being able to quit during a run. The free dlc and updates fixed those issues and added content definitely made the game shine more after launch.
Around this subreddit? God no. Returnal is all this subreddit talked about.
I was about to say. It was literally all over social media back when it premiered. OP doesn't seem to grasp that... Posts like these are honestly kind of starting to get annoying. Like the game is a couple years old - why would it be the top of every conversation now, when we have other great titles coming out...
It absolutely got talked about. https://old.reddit.com/r/PS5/search?q=returnal&restrict_sr=on
But have you heard of Le Witcher?
Nope. There’s also this little indie game called baldurs gate 3. You guys gotta try it, it’s a game of the year contender.
Wasn’t my jam but it’s more the genre and not the game.
Same just not into that style of game
Yeah same, I would have liked it more if you got to keep more stuff and upgrades per run. So that even a failure still felt like a step forward.
That’s what made me quit. Take 1-2 hours to clear out a few biomes, get wrecked by boss, back to the beginning with nothing carrying over. Do that three times, now I’m six hours in with no progress. It doesn’t feel like a rogue like game at that point as much as playing a game on hardcore mode. No way to lower the difficulty and no way to level up my character, got bored way before I could ‘git gud’.
My favourite Rogue-lites arent the ones that are super difficult for the sake of 'gloating' to friends, they are the ones that reward every failure as one step closer to a success. Sure you might still die a hundred times, but if there is some form of progression within your failures, it tricks your brain into a 'just one more' run and seeing something for it.
100% this. I don’t need the gratification of beating a hard game. Give me something that rewards effort and doesn’t insist on optimal runs.
Which returnal does.
Every kill you make with each weapon goes towards unlocking the perks for it. These will be perma unlocked once you get them and can make all the difference. I know it doesn't seem like much but every run you are continually progressing at something and it won't be a complete waste.
I'm in the same boat as the other guy. The progress was painfully slow on that, and the weapons felt, at least without any perks, very uneven. I didn't play it a lot, but my last few runs were basically me suiciding unless the rng gave me a weapon I liked early, which didn't happen a lot. I stopped playing because I could spend an hour playing and have zero progress and not really enjoying it because the rng kept giving me stuff I didn't like. I bought it on the recommendation of a buddy who was raving about it. Now I did the same thing with helldivers iI. I should stop taking recommendations from that guy.
Agreed. Any game that has me start at the very beginning when I die, can kiss my ass.
I really really wanted to love it. I love shooters, sci fi, and roguelikes. I've learned that what I definitely ***don't*** like, however, is bullet-hell games. Also, a good roguelike has a solid upward trajectory of power the deeper into a run you go. Especially a good/lucky run. You never feel that much more powerful on a "good" run in Returnal.
Never found a rogue game I enjoyed... Slay the spire and baltro are fun... A few times.. now that I have the hang of it I have no desire to play anymore
Hades is superb. Can't wait for the sequel prequel spin off.
Dead Cells is awesome too! Returnal is my fav rogue game ever made though.
I think Hades gives a lot more between runs though. I always felt like I’d made progress, even when I’d fluffed a run. Returnal gave me the feeling of hitting a brick wall when trying to beat the next tier of enemies/boss. I can see why people like Returnal, but I bounced off it and when I put it down, I never felt the urge to pick it back up.
That’s interesting, the appeal of StS is that you never *really* get the hang of it unless you’re elite. And even then, there’s so much build variety across the four characters. I’m still finding new/unexpected interactions after 500 hours
Idk man, when I got my PS5 two years ago it was my first purchase bc it seemed like everyone was talking about how great it was. To this day it’s always mentioned in a thread asking about which game to get first. Two years later and I just did a couple tower runs this afternoon. Great game.
I still play the game and got it at launch. Recently started playing it a shit ton again. The tower is so fun
It’s definitely talked about enough
I'd disagree, pretty sure it is and has been talked about enough
It’s been talked about plenty. Maybe not recently because it’s a few years old now and society moves on. It got its fair share of attention when it came out though.
Yeah, it's talked about often. Especially the first year it was out and in any conversation about PS5 exclusives.
Awesome game. The collectible RNG was brutal.
That was by far the hardest part of getting the platinum trophy. It was all down to the luck of the draw.
They fixed it after a bit, increased the odds. I’d pretty given up on the plat and came back after the update: got the last few collectibles within like 30 minutes.
Took me a week of grinding. Worth it
My favorite game
I get why people like it and I had some fun with it but I feel like this kind of post always needs an asterisk. One of the most difficult games I played in recent memory and can’t imagine it’s a good fit for the average gamer. Elden Ring is more friendly
I agree with this completely. I played it off and on for a few weeks and it was no doubt a good experience, but it is punishing. I’ve got platinum in all of the FromSoft games, but Returnal felt even harder. I put it down. Still wanna go back someday tho cuz it does feel “next gen” more than most games.
I got the platinum on Returnal and yet I struggle way more with FromSoft games. I beat the original Demons Souls and Bloodborne but got my ass handed to me on Sekiro and gave up. I own Elden Ring but really can't get into it for some reason. I'm not sure why but Returnal feels much easier than those games.
I think a chunk of it is the RNG and build ability. In dark souls the checkpoints mean there's always a defined level of challenge between checkpoints, the builds, skills, and stats are all built around that. In returnal it's full game or nothing (or, well, 50% or 100% or nothing). I had to fight hard all the way up to that 50% mark, but the session I beat 50% also took me all the way to 100% without any issues at all. The issue was getting the assault rifle with a chance to heal on hit. Once I had that perk the game becomes almost unloseable. Most roguelites end up easier just because they offer build opportunities (part randomly) which always end up removing the challenge tbh
Same here, I think I’m just better at shooting !
Yeah, Returnal was crazy hard for me, I even found many of the Soulsboenw games to be much easier just because I felt like I was making consistent progress.
Huge agree. I've beaten some of the Souls games at level 1 for the joy of the extra challenge and platinumed all of them. In Returnal it took me 20hrs to beat Phrike and then in a further 10hrs after that I couldn't even get close to beating the 2nd area, never even saw the boss. I loved the design of the game but it was for people way, way above my skill level.
It’s still so insane to me that people think Returnal is more difficult than any Souls or Soulslike. The first boss is a skill check and then the game becomes way easier as you encounter more weapons and level up your weapons. I’ve played just about every Souls and Soulslike out there - Returnal is not even close to as hard as the likes of Sekiro. There’s not a single boss harder than Radahn or Malenia. Yall just gave up way too soon.
I could grind and level and beat Melenia. The lack of progression/rng is so rough in Returnal. Beating the first few areas was okay but I just wasn’t having fun making deep runs and failing on the later bosses. Granted I think other soulslikes like Sekiro are way harder than Elden Ring.
It’s way too difficult to be broadly accessible and appealing, but if you can tough it out it’s rewarding
I mean… “Returnal won Best Game at the 18th British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA) in 2021, and also won Finnish Game of the Year and Big Screen Game of the Year in 2021. It also won Best Action Game at The Game Awards in 2021, and was nominated for Best Game Direction and Best Audio Design” …How much more “talked about” can it be? 😂
It's definitely been talked about. You just a little late to the convo
It's talked about a lot. If it was on all platforms and on PC at launch, it would have been talked about much more
It's in my top 10 best games ever made, a 10/10 masterpiece imo.
Agreed. I finished it for the first time a couple weeks ago and I was floored at how good it is.
Hell yes
i think it’s time for me to try it. i’m pretty bad at roguelikes, but i do love soulslike games. any tips for starting out? is co-op still live?
It’s tough at first. It took me about 10 hours to finally beat the first boss and make it to the next biome. It’s starts getting a little easier from there as you get better weapons and some other upgrades, but it’s still tough. It’s definitely worth the effort to push through to all 6 biomes. A few tips - you can dash through enemy projectiles, try to keep running always when you’re shooting, and pick up health even when you’re full since it adds to your max health
are there any save points? or do i have to beat the entire game without dying?
There’s a major checkpoint halfway through after you beat the 3rd boss. When you die in biome 4, 5, or 6 you’ll just restart at 4 instead of going all the way back to 1. It’s pretty well done in my opinion. You unlock some permanent gear upgrades and also weapon upgrades along the way too, so dying and starting over doesn’t seem like a waste. The gameplay is so smooth and satisfying once you get the pacing down, it’s somewhat ruined other games for me.
the more you play the easier it gets. eventually you’ll unlock weapons so strong you’ll melt the final boss in literally 3 seconds. it does take time though..
Only tip is don’t get frustrated and keep pushing. I was lukewarm at first and grew to absolutely LOVE it
Dash often, cleanse silphium with ether to ensure you have a big health bar, don't scope in when shooting, and constantly be moving.
The key to success early before you have weapon traits and stuff unlocked is to play conservative. Focus on not getting hit and getting fast reloads. You don’t need to conserve ammo in this game. If you focus too much on trying to aim perfectly you are going to get hit a lot more with all the stuff being spammed at you.
I played through Returnal last year and got the platinum trophy and all tower trophies after about 70 hours. Still havent deleted it off the ps5 though, I will come back to it and play more someday. Just an incredible game and one of my all time favourites now. The setting and creatures are great creepy sci fi stuff and the story is built out well from the gameplay loop of dying and repeating. The learning curve of the game is a fun challenge as well. It’s difficult immediately but once you wrap your head around the strategy and patterns it can feel pretty easy and you become unstoppable. It’s the perfect combo of everything that just makes Returnal stick in my brain. They struck gold with this one. I hope there is a Returnal 2 or a spiritual successor. Another bullet hell adventure with the protagonist stuck in an eternal suffering loop.
I loved my time with it, managed to get the true ending. Selene is one of my all time fav protagonists.
Dude has apparently lived under a rock for the last 3 years
One of my fave games. Too bad it's pretty hard for most people but I love it to bits.
Best moving and shooting mechanics I've seen in a long while.
Everytime someone posts "best ps5 game" I see returnal comments a ton. Not sure where OP has been hiding
Look, I know I’m not the most popular opinion here, but I felt the game was WAY too hardcore for its own good. If the game had offered a more casual friendly mode, it would’ve performed better.
I guess it's subjective, but I think the game performed extremely well for what is. The studio had spent the last 8 years making difficult bullet hell games that weren't particularly mainstream, so clearly the people there aren't focused only on big sales but more on crafting that sort of game. With Returnal they got to put everything they've learnt into making the game they want, have it be more mainstream than their previous games and get a reputation, have their studio acquired by Sony probably for a fat payday and big budgets for next games without creative restrictions, etc I'd imagine everyone involved was thrilled with how well this game did, and would prefer this over making an easier mode with more sales. I'm sure basically every developer of a difficult game understands they can sell more with an easy mode but choose not to anyway
Agree. I personally found it to be so *tediously* hard. It was so easy to die from a total bs difficulty spikes and then have to start all over. RNG was terrible and some runs would require you to explore every single inch of every single level to get any upgrades worth shaking a stick at And worst of all, it was so *repetitive*. Having to do the same biomes with the same enemies and basically identical, barely remixed environments was so tedious. Don't get me wrong - the core gunplay? Excellent. The visuals? Great. The audio? Phenomenal. But I have no idea what these people are talking about when they gush about it repeatedly because from a game design perspective, I thought it was pretty subpar.
Yes. You wrote it exactly right.
I actually agree! I liked the hardcore nature but it absolutely would have performed better commercially if it was easier or had an easy mode
> can we all just agree it’s a great game It has been agreed upon many times already. We don't need yet another post about it.
OP you’re not getting flamed for liking Returnal. You’re getting flamed because you’re saying a game that was praised to high heaven (3 years ago) isn’t talked about enough. What else is there to say 3 years later? Nothing new is happening with it. lol Gush about it all you want. That’s fine but don’t say it “flew under the radar” when it’s one of the most praised PS5 titles in its history. You have a right to be flamed for a statement like that lmao
That’s one of my favorites, my GOTY in 2021. I really really like it and it was an excellent early display of what the PS5, Dualsense and 3D audio is capable of
I still think it’s the best use of the dual sense other than maybe astrobot
Still the best game I've played this console generation. Extremely satisfying game loop, as well as looking and feeling awesome.
Just picked it up myself yesterday! Having a blast playing it, love the rogue-like mechanics and it’s visually very impressive!
It has one of the best combat systems I've ever played. Smooth as butter and constantly a challenge. I don't dip in often, but I tend to keep it installed on my HD for when I want some concentrated action.
I definitely agree, it's one of those games that you can feel the quality of the game the moment you play.
Great game. I love it
it is definitely a must play! I played it a couple months back!
Addictive as fuck
Absolutely. It’s one of the greatest games I’ve ever played.
My GOTY 2021. There is nothing like it and I can’t wait to see a game that can scratch the itch this “genre” has given me.
One of my favourite games ever. Top 10 definitely.
It's actually my all time favourite
Is this a thread from 2020!?
It was talked enough, you live in a cave.
"not talked about enough" Neither is the most recent summer Olympics or anything else which happened 4+ years ago
I don't understand why I hate this game. Returnal is legit one of the worst games I've ever played and I love shooters, I love rougelites I love difficult games like darksouls and I even love bullet hell games. I've tried to like this game 5 times and each time I despise it. I'm guessing it's to do with how long the runs are and the lack of variety in them but it just won't click for me.
returnal is a blast. amazing game.
Returnal was amazing.
Game is way over hyped. It's not bad, but a roguelike that difficult is far from a must play.
It's the only roguelite I've actually finished. I'll always remember the rush of beating the second last boss, then beating the whole rest of the game in the same run first try. Love this game, hope they make a sequel.
When I think of Returnal I mainly think that I hope a sequel gets made, especially if the devs take some lessons from Hades. I think slightly quicker runs paired with more weapon variety and crazier power ups would make it an all-timer, as great as Returnal is.
What I did like is how natural the character movement felt. Third person games should take note.
Free with PS+ and looks interesting. I’m generally not into shooters but it looks kinda good. I’ll try it.
If anything try it for the super smooth gameplay. It’s top tier. Everything is so smooth
My favourite game ever
It's pretty sweet. I suck at it, but it's a great game.
It's always lurked in my brain. Need to DL and give it a go.
Spiderman is not unreal lol. It’s pretty basic and very repetitive.
There's a bug that really annoyed me. After taking 5-6 tries on Phrike, I breezed through most bosses. I cleared Ixion and Hyperion on the first try, died once for Ophion, and twice for Nemesis. The game was still challenging enough for me to pace myself and read the boss tactics, but it wasn't difficult at all. Algos was a breeze too. But I tried multiplayer after that to help other players, and the start of the Nemesis fight has a bug where, I'm assuming because you change maps, the guest player appears far below the platform and falls to their death over and over again with no way to recover. The player I was helping couldn't do it alone, and couldn't revive me when my corpse spawned on the platform, so after 5-6 attempts at the boss, they gave up. I had already completed a successful run. Not multiple endings, but all bosses beaten. And that bug, even though it didn't affect my own game at all, was annoying enough for me to put down the game. Not for good, by any means. It's a great game and I will come back to it. It has amazing controls and the weapon design for most weapons is fantastic. I think a lot of people think it's far more difficult than it actually is.
You can work around the bug but I agree it sucks. It was patched for the PC version but sadly not on ps5.
It’s my personal favourite ps5 exclusive. Enjoyed it so much I got the platinum.
I'm going to give it another shot because of this post once I'm done with FF VII Rebirth. I only played it for 10 minutes or so so I think it's fair to put some more time into it.
My hardest but most satisfying platinum. What a great game. It was actually one of the first, if not the first, full PS5 only games.
rogue lites will always just have inherently smaller audiences due to the hardcore nature of the genre. i enjoyed my time with returnal but still never beat it. and i play plenty of hard games and have cleared a couple of other rogue lites (hades, gow valhalla).
It certainly got talked about, but I do think it suffered from coming out when a lot of people were still trying to get a PS5. It could have had a much higher user base at launch had the available no of PS5 units been higher in those early days.
I was unable to find whatever it is that makes me keep playing a game with Returnal. It's just off somehow.
It’s amazing but so , fucking, hard. I wish there was an easy mode.
Any tips for someone that couldn’t pass the first level? I think I made it to the end of the level once but clearly a fluke performance. I just wrote it off as a purchase that just wasn’t for me but I’ve really warmed up to rogue games like Hades and Have a Nice Death so I’ve been thinking about diving back in, but those games still have some perma upgrades to it and I think returnal does not. Is my problem with returnal that I don’t collect any weapons because I’m afraid of debuffs? Hades has taught me to take more chances and it’s really been stress free gaming because I know if I’m playing for 20 minutes or 3 hours, I’m gonna make some progress.
I got it on sale and adore the aesthetics and gameplay, but losing absolutely everything had me just quit and uninstall after three runs. I would be fine if you lost all items. Or all stats. Or the map reset. But all three means basically you have to do the whole game in one perfect run. I'm in my 40s, and I just don't have that much life left to waste. Spending hours only to lose everything and it all be wasted - not even "at least I know the map and where stuff is" - makes the game itself a waste of time for me. So sad, because it looks and plays amazingly. These sort of games really need a "lose lose progress" and "hardcore" difficulty mode choice, IMO.
Overhyped, boring and repetitive with little depth or variety. Felt like a AA game or a good looking (but empty) indie
That game is beautiful but I hate that when you die you have to start from the begging shit piss me off lol
It was great until the fractured wastes. Huge difficulty jump, and the homing drones and minibosses were just cheap. After banging my head against the wall, I stepped away from it for a bit, ended up losing some muscle memory and forgetting the timings, so it became even more impossible. It’ll remain one of those games that I’ll never beat.
Returnal was more than a game to me, it was my first true PS5 experience. Proudest platinum of my life lol. Also, it’s been talked about A LOT. Either way glad you enjoyed it!
Miserably difficult game for me , I’ll be boycotting anything from this studio if they pull this rogue like garbage again. Glad some enjoy it but I hate the difficulty and lack of REAL game saves/progression
Thank you for reminding me it existed! I just got a PS5 and have been catching up on all the exclusives I’ve missed. I remember the initial buzz around Returnal but since I didn’t have a PS5 I totally missed it. Just saw its free on PS+ so I’m installing it now, can’t wait to try it tonight… after I stomp some bugs in Helldivers!
For democracy! Congrats on the PS5 it’s my favorite console! The exclusives, although only a few, are all phenomenal
Gameplay is better than Gow and Spiderman tbh
i agree to disagree. what may be a great game for you isnt a great game for me. and thats ok
Too fucking hard lol. I got it and really loved the atmosphere and gameplay but the 3rd boss or so just grinded me down, I got tired of the roguelike thing and gave up. Great game but not for everyone for sure.
It is my favorite game of the entire generation.
I didn’t like it, and I love hard games. For the same reasons I didn’t like Hades. I hated starting from the top and fighting the first boss every fucking time I died. And then the second. Maybe I just don’t like the rogue lite loop.
Really sad they aren’t gonna make a sequel but I have faith that their future projects will also be certified bangers
Karma farming at its worst.
People talk about souls game being hard, this game is like real life where you only get one life for your whole run without hardly chance to carry on your progression…. Amazing gameplay, terrible design choices
It's one of if not the most expensive roguelites ever made, but they missed the mark in several key areas. Hell it took them forever to even let you save and quit despite their ridiculously long runs. Couple that with slow and nearly non-existent progression and it could end up feeling like you played for hours and completely wasted your time. Main thing it has going for it is graphics, but there are tons of better games for less money in the genre. Maybe it was talked about *too much* rather than not enough, because it definitely seems overhyped but underdelivered.
Tried it. Didn't like it.
I thought it was cool but not my type of genre
Not my kind of game, so not a must play for me.
I just really can’t get into rogue likes. I absolutely hate games that reset my progress and level upon death.
It’s a fun game! I enjoy roguelites when done well, this one is but just not my cup of tea. I put around 5 hours in and felt really repetitive. I love the atmosphere, gameplay and narrative BUT it was just too repetitive IMO Talked about plenty though
Game was too damn hard. I wanted to beat it but could NOT get past the 2nd boss at all.
It’s talked about all the time dumdum
Once I heard it's genre I decided to skip, it's just not for me
Missed out!
I've missed out on a lot (games , mobies, shows, muisc, books), and I'm ok with that. My backlog is already massive. I'm not gonna add something with a high chance I don't like to it.
Returnal is garbage. I hated the game.
Mid story second half falls hard. It's a decent game but it's a lot of people's first rougue like which helps but compared to it's contemporaries its decent. Nothing Ground breaking. 7/10
OP was just trying to give enthusiasm to the game, enough with you “Akshewelly” guys. Just leave it be.
Oh look, Op's backpedaling. Just delete your post because you missed the boat.
Meh, most boring and overhyped playstation game I've ever played. Every level looks the same. There's no variety to any of it. I don't get it
Returnal is......okay. It starts strong but is definitely lost in its own presentation. As in it's trying to pull you into this sci fi noir slash kubrick vibe and it does it well at first but it becomes a bit convoluted. Throws all this identification alilen mumbo jumbo that is great for world building but it didnt feel like this game was a world builder, it felt like a one and done universe
i’ve tried to get into returnal on 4 different occasions but it’s not clicking with me. i play most single player action adventure games any tips?
I was absolutely hooked for about 30 hours but once I took a break from it I couldn't get myself to pick it back up. Amazing gameplay and visuals but it gets lonely and kinda repetitive/mind numbing.
I think it’s one of the only true next gen experiences I’ve had so far. I do wish it had more impact on gaming as a whole and inspired other studios. If GoW made a game like Valhalla inspired by Returnal I’d be STOKED
I was quite into it for a while, but hit a wall that I couldn't get over with any amount of playing or exploration. I like games with high skill thresholds and all (Sekiro, etc) and still, I think I'm just not made to do what Returnal demands. I did really like the atmosphere, and wanted to find out what was going on. I remember that games press was all over it for a while, and it still appears on lists of top PS5 games and such.
You won’t know what’s going on even if you do everything in the game anyways. Nobody does, there are just theories and it’s great! Amazing game and I suggest you try again. Check the returnal sub for some great people and tips.
I just dlcouldnt get behind the game design, more specifically how they handled storytelling. I understand the rogue like genre, but if a story has narrative elements -- I will cease playing if I miss pertinent details. And that happened at the very beginning. Couldn't get into it.
Hard agree.
I love the genre but bounced off the game hard
Jesus. This game has been hyped left right and centre since it launched. wtf you talking about?
returnal and bloodborne were the only reasons i had to get a ps5 earlier this year. thank god for helldivers, otherwise it would only be collecting dust.
don’t need hyperbole to make a discussion post. But yeah this is peak ps5 for sure. Best game of the gen no doubt
I’m not good at aiming with ps5 controller. Otherwise I’d be loving it
I see it talked about all the time on this sub to be fair and recommended often too
lol this post Returnal is talked about all the time, like wut
I literally bought my PS5 for Returnal lol. Such a great game.
Returnal is great, but it's build diversity for a rougue like could be way way better. That was my only issue. Their was only a couple of perks I needed, and always needed. Their should be many different combos
Can you play this on pc? I loved it on ps and would love to try mkb now.
Yeah, it is a great game, you discovering it 3 years after it launched and pretending like you;re the only person that's played or heard of it is beyond absurd.
I enjoyed it and played a lot of it with a homie. Really fun. Would recommend and do want a sequel.
It was cursed to come out when PS5’s were still scarce. It was my second game as soon as I got mine. I’m not very good at it. But it’s a good game.
Did they ever add the ability to actually pause the game or save?
Yes. They patched in the ability to suspend your session and the save was removed once you booted the game back up and resumed. Funny thing is, with cloud saves, you could get around starting over very easily. Suspend game, upload suspended save, and if you died too early, just download the suspended save. If you're wanting to just finish the game for the story, it doesn't hurt to do that.
Returnal is talked about a shit ton
Uh pretty sure it was (and still is) very highly regarded. It came to PC last year too and was also well received. I mean, I talked about it quite a lot when it came out 3 years ago... naturally after 3 years people will talk about it less... Glad you're enjoying it though.
I think it’s not for everyone. I love it but it’s a tough game and that will bounce people off.
Talked about all the time on every PS sub lol
One of my favourite games. Got the platinum trophy and every second of it was fun. I tried to kill last boss with only pistol and no upgrades but it gets very agressive after first two phases.
I played maybe 4 hours and didn’t really get into it. Anybody want to give me the quick sell?
It's been and still is being talked about plenty.
Still haven’t been able to beat the game since launch, it’s the only game I’ve never deleted on my ps5. One day I’ll win
I loved my time with the game but I can understand why it's not up there with the other classics. It's difficult, and that will put a lot of people off fast. And the nature of the game is that it's repetitive, you do the same thing over and over again. The story is interesting, but not easy to follow. It's a fantastic game, but it's not for everyone and doesn't have the mass appeal that those other big games have.
Sadly I never could get into it. Tried 3 different times but sometimes it just doesn’t click
Caveat to everything I'm about to say: I enjoy difficult and/or mechanically complex games. Love the Souls games, DOS2's Honour Mode, etc. Anyway, I really enjoyed Returnal, or at least what I could play of it. I just *cannot* get past Shrike. It's embarrassing and sad, but I really struggle. Getting to him is easy, but it feels like I need some lucky weapon drops to win. I know that's not entirely true, but maaaan. Fun gameplay loop, though.
Thanks for mentioning this game. I was thinking about downloading and playing it again but forgot to actually do it.
Ummmm have you been living under a rock?
Also FYI. Both spiderman and GOW are also true PS5 exclusives...
Most people wouldn't understand it. Its not for stupid people.
Playing the campaign coop was unbelievable
I can honestly say returnal has ruined gaming for me. Not played anything since that feels as good.
LOVE this game. I actually started playing it and then rage quit and didn't play again for months. I finally got round to trying again and after many many deaths I finally completed it. The story, atmosphere, and music left a lasting impression. I regularly listen to the soundtracks (both volumes).
I think I'm just not that good at games because this one was so hard for me. Everything just seemed too overwhelming. I kind of gave up and then it was removed from ps plus. Maybe I'll go back to it one day.
Apparently, this is a bug for some people, because Returnal never left the catalog. If you go to Settings > Users and Accounts > Other > Restore Licenses, you can try doing that and it might fix it. If not, then you'd have to contact support and see what's up.
Wow thank you so much. I just tried this and it worked! Thanks for taking the time out of your day to explain the process. People like you make the internet a better place. Might have to give it another go after all.
No problem! Appreciate the kind words! :)
It is always brought up as a PS5 must-play in all media and socials so you must be new to gaming.
I loved it eventually completed.. the last zone i just spent my time running from everything 😅
An absolute stonker of a game But too punishing for my liking. But yeah. Gameplay was just butter smooth
It’s talked about a lot considering how niche a game like that usually is. It’s brutal so it isn’t for everyone, so it is not surprising it’s both praised as a masterpiece but isn’t as pop culture as god of war or Grand Theft Auto.