Ah, Returnal! No PS5 game embodied the next-gen spirit of optimism for me as strongly as Housemarque’s first big full-price game – well, maybe Astro-Bot at the launch of the console. But then nothing happened for a while before the Finns massaged our senses like there was no tomorrow with this smart cross between cool indie ideas and blockbuster presentation. It really felt new and fresh, a fresh take on the familiar that console fans traditionally often gain from a new generation of hardware.
Now, PC gamers don’t usually think in terms of generations for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, for a few days they have also been able to enjoy Returnal, which one still has to describe as a curious, exceptional game even without thinking about consoles. This is not a complete review and for more details on what makes Returnal special, please refer to my comprehensive Returnal review from back in the day. The game is basically the same as it was then and either way a glowing recommendation. Just a reminder that the game is now available on PC and if you’re into third-person shooters that demand your best, it’s a must-buy.
It’s sort of the over-the-shoulder shooting and sci-fi version of Hades as you crash-land on the mysterious planet Atropos as astronaut Selene. He’ll kill you over and over again just to revive you – rearranging his rooms, hallways and power-ups in the process. Why you’re here will take you a good 20 or more hours of exploration and breathless action.
The game itself is an insanely fast, lush light show shooter that carries much of the arcade DNA of Housemarque’s previous games. The hail of bullets from the legendary titles Resogun and Nex Machina can be seen here for the first time in the context of an event title reminiscent of typical Sony blockbuster quality, and this is a pairing that works extremely well. The many different weapons escalate in their power in a speechless-satisfying way. To the point where you open large wormholes that let a gigantic and hellishly sizzling laser beam from a parallel world cut a path of destruction into Atropos’ aggressive fauna. Whatever war may be raging on the other side of this portal of murder, one is almost glad to be trapped in Selene’s own personal hell instead of being able to lurch to the other side. You have to see it to believe it.
Once you get into Returnal, you quickly achieve the satisfying tunnel vision of good bullet hells from the best slot machines you can imagine. Your perception shuts down to the dimensions of your screen, your brain switches into a vegetative mode in order to be able to send all mental quickness to your thumbs without loss and it feels as if your hands are playing by themselves. The moment you realize it and think how cool that is right now is usually the one you have to take your fill of, because thinking is strictly forbidden in this flow. Pure poison downright.
And so that’s usually the moment when you die at some point – and after the respawn you hardly keep anything. What you are left with are a few gadgets that work according to Metroidvania logic, which open more paths in earlier areas, the keys to the next area left behind by the bosses and a resource called ether. This allows you to remove punishing damage effects from performance-enhancing items or regenerate yourself at respawn machines – and thus have another attempt in the same run despite screen death. Or you exchange them at vending machines for obolites, which in turn allow more effective upgrades. Although you feel like you’re left with nothing after a death, you get through the old areas much more quickly with each failed attempt. And it’s not like you didn’t want to take your time either, because Atropos is an oppressively atmospheric hell world with a mood all of its own.
By the way, good for those who have a DualSense controller on the PC for games that are generally better experienced with control bones. Because its haptic feedback and the adaptive triggers actually have a positive effect on the experience. At the same time I have to say: Oha! The accuracy that the mouse control brings with it tears the game apart and therefore definitely has something to offer. Despite almost a two-year hiatus, I was right back in the third world and feel like I’m playing Returnal better than ever. The controller is stronger in terms of atmosphere, no question – and on Steam you can configure various gyro functions to aim a little more precisely with motion control. But I think this time it will be a mouse run for me.
So yes, maybe read my old review, watch a trailer and if that looks good to you, let me tell you: it plays exactly the same. Housemarque’s public farewell to the arcade was a source of great lament for arcade fans at the time. For good reason. Then again, the spirit of precision, risk-reward trade-offs, and quick-witted action titles in Returnal is in pristine health. Or to put it another way, you can get Housemarque out of the arcade, but you can’t get the arcade out of Housemarque. Better this way than the other way around!
Developer: Housemarque, Port of Climax – Publishers: Sony – Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5 – release: available – Genre: Roguelike, third-person shooter – Price (RRP): 59.99 euros
