Malik1time
What you looking at?
im curious how long is this game..i hope its not way to long i got RE8 and mass effect like 1-2 weeks later
Returnal (PS5/PC) (April 30th, Housemarque) - OT
- Thread starter Grand Conde
- Start date
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- housemarque ps5
Gizmo_Duck
blathering blatherskite!
im curious how long is this game..i hope its not way to long i got RE8 and mass effect like 1-2 weeks later
15 hours with high replay ability would be perfect for me
im curious how long is this game..i hope its not way to long i got RE8 and mass effect like 1-2 weeks later
10 hours max.
Brief Keef
Superstar
getting master blaster vibes from this idk why
I see it. Similar aesthetic. I remember they tried to make a 3d Blaster Master on PS1 but it sucked lol
Gizmo_Duck
blathering blatherskite!
They’d probably feel honored to hear that, it’s pretty much their thing. It’s based on the Bullet-hell/twin stick Sub genre of top down shooters.
Khalil's_Black_Excellence
The King of Fighters
Outside of the soccer mom protagonist, I don't see how folks are skeptical on how this game looks and plays. I can underdig cats not being into bullethell shooters or shootings in general (neither are my top genres), but I'd figure folks could still appreciate the quality, even if its not their thing. Considering black women are finally getting some due on the sci-fi movie/show joints, they should've went that route for the protagonist.
Take It In Blood
Banned
Gizmo_Duck
blathering blatherskite!
100% agree, would have loved to see Regina King/Kerry Washington, or shyt even Angela basset type in the role, but i guess we got Forspoken so thats something. They’re unloading a full preview on their blog so i don’t think we’re getting a direct for this one.
Ever since last year’s first reveal, you know some of what to expect. Housemarque has touched upon Returnal’s combat; teased its story. (If you haven’t kept up to date, don’t worry: we recap below). Now, after spending several hours with a near-complete version of the game, we have a better sense of how these and more come together. And, in addition, how Housemarque is leveraging the PlayStation 5’s features for an impressive next-gen debut.
A broadcast signal of unknown origins draws Selene, a Greek-American ASTRA deep space scout to an unmapped world. Her arrival onto Atropos is a violent one: an explosive accident mid-orbit sends her ship Helios spiralling into a crash landing. This sequence is an excellent early showcase for what the studio’s got in store for us with the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback: every metal-crunching impact is mimicked on the controller. When a flaming Helios roars across the width of your TV screen, you feel that fatal flyby through your hands.
The ASTRA scout isn’t a trigger-happy supersoldier. Thoughtful rather than cavalier, she has a scientist’s mind and an explorer’s tenacity. She’s also human. That steadfast persona slow unravels, sold convincingly by Jane Perry’s grounded vocal performance. Uncertainty slowly creeps into the edges of her analytical monologues, while recovered audio logs – voice recordings of another self (is it future, or is it past?) that tease upcoming encounters – unsettle with their increasing erraticness.
In the field, Selene’s nimble. Dash-dodges to leap across chasms, avoid – even pass through – enemy projectiles. A coloured HUD radial around the character marks direction and proximity of attacks. She can mantle. Early unlocks of a blade and hookshot open up melee and faster traversal options. The hookshot’s generous reach on marked grapple points zip you across wide areas.
Within any cycle, dealing damage but avoiding it yourself builds Adrenaline, a mechanic that stacks up to five levels, each tier unlocking an enhancement: increases to weapon damage, vision (enemies marked by a red circle), strengthening your melee attack and more. Get hit once and everything resets. It’s a great incentive to stay sharp and promotes high-level play.
Weapons recharge rather than reload; during that time a trigger tap right to instantly recharge and earn a damage bonus (Overload). Mess up and your weapon jams. Every weapon has an alt-fire mode and an additional unlockable ability once you’ve downed enough enemies. Both are pulled from a large pool of possible attacks, leading to an extensive range of potential weapon builds.
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Built on top of all that are multiple, interconnecting game systems that spice up every cycle. Artifacts give you buffs for the duration of your current run (deal 10% more damage to a low health target, or use slo-mo when in alt-fire mode, for example). Consumables are one-off activations (healing shot, shields). Parasites, living, scuttling entities that’ll latch onto your suit if picked up, best example the gamble of Returnal’s modifiers, always pairing reward with risk. One may increase the stats of the weapons you find next, but your melee damage is reduced by half. A specific alien device can remove all parasites but costs Oblities, the planet’s version of currency dropped by enemies on death and unearthed from rocks that glow a tell-tale yellow.
You’re forever outnumbered, but quick reactions and core feedback loops make for satisfying combat encounters.
There’s a vibrant diversity to the alien species intent on killing you as soon as you enter an area. Multi-tentacled quadrupeds, leaping biped juggernauts, squid-like flyers, armoured lurkers… their ferocity and attack patterns are scaled such that with quick wits and reactions they’re survivalable, regardless of which combination or number you face. Many fire projectile cascades. There’s an echo here of bullet hells, but brightly coloured as they are, you’re never caught unawares. I have to speak to the game’s 3D audio design, which, if you’re wearing a compatible headset, lets you better pinpoint enemy placement around you. While wearing the Pulse 3D Wireless headset for PS5 on one cycle, I registered the sound of an enemy approaching from the rear. I whirled round, freezing my aim exactly where it was spawning, taking it out before it could pounce.
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While you’re never far from a firefight, Returnal is as much an explorative platformer as it is a shooter. You’re not ploughing through a set number of small arena-style kill boxes in quick succession. Level design is hugely varied and you have breathing room to explore. For the majority of your playtime, a good two-thirds of the screen real estate is dedicated to the world around you. Yes, that’s also to best assess threat placement during combat, but it also captures the colossal scale of the alien civilisation. Smaller touches outside combat sell the atmosphere. The indistinct call of wildlife in the far distance; writhing grass that’s one of the planet’s non-aggressive lifeforms; the dirt smears that gradually accumulate on Selene’s suit; the steady patter of rainfall felt through the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback.
Doorways open to claustrophobic alleys, multi-floor structures, tiny caves, partially-destroyed bridges. Hidden catacombs and side rooms are rife. Traps, interactive alien devices – and the items needed to access them – are nestled here and there (such as Fabricators, which generate items, or the Reconstructor, a one-time resurrection machine you’ll return to on death, keeping you in the current cycle with loadout intact). Unreachable spots will taunt you until you’ve found and incorporated the right alien tech to access in future cycles. You’re given a general compass direction to your central goal, but you’re otherwise free to explore as much or as little as you like. Further exploration and backtracking will help you upgrade equipment, unlock sealed sections and delve into the lore of the long-dead civilisation. Alternatively, focus on combat and stack the odds increasingly against you. It’s your choice.
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Every biome is visually distinct, with its own challenges and creatures (though once encountered, ultra-tough ‘Elite’ versions of enemies will start to bleed into other locales). Progression is non-linear. Each biome has a main ‘boss’, but once overcome, you’re not locked to facing it down on subsequent cycles. Stumble into the right area, and you can travel straight to another biome. Here’s your PS5 console’s SSD at work: passing through a portal into another part of Atropos seems as fast as walking through a door. Resurrections are also quick: a few seconds of flashback and you reawaken at the crash site.
Gizmo_Duck
blathering blatherskite!
I’m confident it will score in the 80’s, their average is in the 8’s
Take It In Blood
Banned
my only gripe is that I'm currently finishing up Control and the gameplay looks kinda similar to it
Gizmo_Duck
blathering blatherskite!
What’s interesting to me from reading the blog post is that this game has I-frames like a souls game. You can literally dash through gunfire/lasers Also, the adrenaline mechanics sounds insane, constantly getting stronger and faster the more you kill things?
Edit—-sorry the less you get hit
Within any cycle, dealing damage but avoiding it yourself builds Adrenaline, a mechanic that stacks up to five levels, each tier unlocking an enhancement: increases to weapon damage, vision (enemies marked by a red circle), strengthening your melee attack and more. Get hit once and everything resets. It’s a great incentive to stay sharp and promotes high-level play.
Edit—-sorry the less you get hit
Within any cycle, dealing damage but avoiding it yourself builds Adrenaline, a mechanic that stacks up to five levels, each tier unlocking an enhancement: increases to weapon damage, vision (enemies marked by a red circle), strengthening your melee attack and more. Get hit once and everything resets. It’s a great incentive to stay sharp and promotes high-level play.
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Gizmo_Duck
blathering blatherskite!
Def some similarities, i think this will emphasize platforming and actual shooting a bit more though
Khalil's_Black_Excellence
The King of Fighters
Most games have i-frames in some fashion. Just the nature of games really.
Gizmo_Duck
blathering blatherskite!
Yeah, they just aren’t an active mechanic in a lot of shooters. Ex. They are usually reactive to you getting hit
Where as you are actively telling the game to trigger it in something like souls, to avoid being hit in the first place. Same thing with DMC, with the trickster dodges that activate longer I-frames.
