News Articles
Tuesday30th Apr 2024
News Returnal Artbook and Graphic Novel Mark PS5 Game's Third Anniversary
88-page novel out on 22nd October
Housemarque is celebrating the third anniversary of PS5, PC title Returnal by revealing a new artbook and graphic novel called Fallen Asteria. 88 pages in length, the latter can be previewed above in an animated version of the first issue. The graphic novel goes on sale from 22nd October 2024 and will cost $19.99...
Monday29th Apr 2024
News Tomorrow's Returnal News Is Likely a Comic Book Announcement
"Tomorrow 👀"
If you were hoping the news Housemarque has to share tomorrow is a Returnal sequel announcement, you may want to rein your expectations in by quite a significant amount. The Twitter account for Dark Horse Comics has retweeted the developer's post and added a simple sentence: "Tomorrow. 👀" This heavily suggests the company is...
News Returnal Studio Housemarque Teases News for Tomorrow
Three years later
Returnal developer Housemarque has this morning posted a cryptic tweet teasing... something for tomorrow. The team out of Finland uploaded a black and white image seemingly featuring Returnal protagonist Selene's eyes reflected onto broken shards of glass, then teasing news "tomorrow" in a yellow font. You can view the tweet below...
Monday20th Nov 2023
News Returnal Director Is Leaving Housemarque After 14 Years
Harry Krueger out
Housemarque, Sony's Finnish studio that brought us PS5's excellent Returnal, has announced the departure of a long-serving member of the team. Harry Krueger, director of the aforementioned game, will be leaving the studio after 14 years. Krueger joined Housemarque in 2009 as a gameplay programmer, and quickly made his way up the...
Friday9th Dec 2022
News Returnal Finally Confirmed for PC Release in Early 2023
The loop begins again
It's been leaked more than once, but Sony and Housemarque have finally announced Returnal for PC. The rogue-like third-person shooter is one of PS5's few true exclusives, and soon it'll be making the jump to PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. Details right now are thin on the ground, but over on the PS Blog, Housemarque says...
Friday14th Oct 2022
Random Jazz Up Your Wardrobe with Selene's Jacket from Returnal
Atropos is real
Returnal isn’t the first game we’d turn to when creating cool PlayStation merch, but nerd fashion label Insert Coin has done an outstanding job with its upcoming Selene windbreaker. Inspired by the protagonist from Housemarque’s award-winning roguelike, this chic white and yellow waterproof is packed with neat references from...
Thursday29th Sep 2022
News Returnal PC Port a Foregone Conclusion as Settings Menu Leaks
Just announce it already
Update: Sony has had the video demonstrating the settings menu in Returnal taken down from YouTube, so now you know it's the real deal. Original story: Come on Sony, just announce the PC port of Returnal already. This version for the personal computer has been leaking for months now, whether that's through SteamDB listings...
Tuesday6th Sep 2022
News Housemarque Appears to Have Confirmed PC Port of Returnal During GDC 2022
PlayStation's worst-kept secret
Rumours of a PC port of Housemarque's excellent Sisyphean opus, Returnal, are, fittingly enough, neverending. We've reported previously that the PlayStation console exclusive looked like it was headed for a PC release after SteamDB listings were uncovered. Still, the latest indication comes to us from GDC 2022, of all...
Tuesday26th Jul 2022
News Returnal's Steam Page Getting Regular Updates, Reveal Seems Imminent
Rip the band aid off, Housemarque
It's a very poorly kept secret that Returnal, Housemarque's excellent arcade shooter, is getting the PC treatment. A while ago, a SteamDB page was discovered under the codename 'Oregon', but that couldn't hide several explicit references to the PS5 title; Tower of Sisyphus, Helios, Atropos, and more can all be found...
Saturday16th Jul 2022
News Explore Returnal's Derelict Citadel in IGN's Art of the Level
Returnal is a sisyphean nightmare
Returnal is a fascinating PS5 exclusive that justifies its roguelite gameplay mechanics by tying them to the overarching narrative themes of its story, particularly those of cycles and rebirth. IGN spoke to developers from Housemarque and put together a fantastic video that explores how these themes are conveyed...
Friday17th Jun 2022
News Housemarque to Incorporate Unused Ideas for Returnal into its Next Game
The cycle begins anew
Returnal remains one of the most unique PS5 exclusives on the market, and we absolutely loved it when it launched year. Since then, Housemarque has added co-op and the Endless game mode to the title, and it looks like Selene might be making the transition to PC in the near future, according to a recen
Thursday26th May 2022
Rumour PS5 Exclusive Returnal Likely Heading to PC Soon
SteamDB lists very familiar-sounding game
It's no secret that Sony has moved to a model where its console exclusive first-party games will eventually migrate to PC. PlayStation has now published a number of titles on Steam and Epic Games Store, and more are absolutely on the way. It's a contentious move that sees the brand reaching beyond the...
Monday2nd May 2022
News Returnal PS5 Update 3.03 Available Now, Here Are the Patch Notes
We go again
Update: Housemarque waited until just after we set our news story live to publish its list of patch notes for this Returnal update. As it happens, the notes don't go over what's changed as far as balancing is concerned. They do confirm a series of bug fixes, however, including some found while playing co-op. Here are the patch notes in...
Saturday30th Apr 2022
News Returnal Celebrates a Year Since PS5 Release
What a year
Returnal, comfortably one of the Best PS5 Games, is now a year old. Time flies when you’re having fun, and boy have we had fun with this deep-space third-person shooter! The game, a punishing roguelike, went on to become a fan favourite – and has won a slew of awards over the past 12 months, including the top gong at the recent...
Friday8th Apr 2022
News Here's Why Returnal Won BAFTAs for Music and Audio Design
New video highlights Ascension's music tech
In case you missed it, Returnal cleaned up at the recent BAFTA Games Awards. Selene might be trapped in an ever-repeating hell, but at least her struggle has earned developer Housemarque a total of four golden masks. The awards include Best Performance in a Leading Role (thanks to Jane Perry), Best Game,...
News Returnal Team Hopeful PS Plus Extra Members Will 'Dare to Try It'
Fond of subscription services
Returnal's managing director Ilari Kuittinen hopes PS Plus Extra members will "dare to try" the game when it's rolled out to subscribers as part of the service's big relaunch in June. Speaking to Eurogamer after the
News Sci-Fi PS5 Exclusive Returnal Sweeps the BAFTAs, Wins Best Game
Finland will party tonight
We couldn’t help feeling that Housemarque got robbed a little bit at The Game Awards last year, so it’s good to see the Finnish studio finally receive the recognition it deserves at the BAFTAs. At a glitzy event in London overnight, the freshly minted PlayStation Studio took home the gongs for Audio Achievement, best...
Tuesday22nd Mar 2022
News Returnal's Free Ascension Update Out on PS5 Now
One more cycle
Update: Returnal: Ascension, the game’s new free update, adds a total of seven new Trophies to the game. These all appear to be related to the new Tower of Sisyphus mode, and we’ll stop short of sharing any spoilers here. You can, however, browse the full list of added trinkets through here. Original Story: Housemarque’s cult...
Friday18th Mar 2022
News Music from Returnal, Ratchet & Clank, Ghost of Tsushima Getting Vinyl Release
Play it on a loop
Update 18/3/22: It's not just Returnal getting the vinyl treatment. Milan Records has announced two other PlayStation titles are also getting their soundtracks released on record — Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Ghost of Tsushima (Iki Island and Legends). There's no date given in the official announcement, but as below,...
Wednesday16th Mar 2022
News Housemarque Shares Lengthy Look at Returnal's New Endless Mode
18 minutes of gameplay
Returnal's free Ascension update was one of the (few) highlights from Sony's latest State of Play showcase, and ahead of its 22nd March 2022 release, Housemarque has today shared an in-depth look at the game's new endless mode. It takes place in a new location called the Tower of Sisyphus, and tasks you with beating...
Wednesday9th Mar 2022
News Returnal: Ascension Adds Co-Op Play and Survival Mode in Huge Free Update
"I'm seeing double! Four Selenes!"
We've been hoping for some sort of new content for PlayStation 5 exclusive Returnal, and it seems our patience has been rewarded. Developer Housemarque has just announced Returnal: Ascension, a massive game update that adds two totally new ways to play. Firstly, this update brings us the Tower of Sisyphus, a...
Thursday20th Jan 2022
News This Dreams Recreation of Returnal's Archonact Is Staggering
Larger than life
Well, the Jurassic Park scene recreated in Dreams was good, but this may be better. At the very least, it matches it: Polish creator BadRobo82 has recreated Returnal’s Archonact, and it’s a real achievement. With floating cybernetic tentacles and menacing glowing eyes, this monster looks every bit as fearsome as it does in the...
Saturday18th Dec 2021
News Not Everyone Had the Fortitude to Finish Returnal on PS5
Can't be Returnarsed
Games are designed to be beaten these days, especially Sony published ones. If you look at the completion rate for releases like God of War and The Last of Us 2, they’re extraordinarily high, despite delivering fairly long campaigns. Returnal is an exception: the punishing roguelike demands perfection, and current Trophy data...
Friday26th Nov 2021
News Is Returnal DLC Being Teased by Developer Housemarque?
Mysterious image surfaces
Historically, Housemarque is usually very good at supporting its games post-launch with updates and DLC. Of all its games, though, Returnal seems the most ripe for expansion with additional content. The PlayStation 5 shooter has had plenty of patches to bring it up to speed — including the addition of the much-requested...
Monday1st Nov 2021
News You Can Save Scum Using Returnal's New Suspend Cycle Feature on PS5
The power of the cloud
Returnal is an excellent arcade shooter that recently got that little bit better with its latest patch. A widely recognised criticism was that players couldn't save and quit part way through a run, forcing you to either see the run to the end or give up your current progress if you needed to stop playing. Housemarque finally...
Thursday28th Oct 2021
News PS5's Returnal Wins Its First Game of the Year Award
Start the cycle
Could this be the start of a run for PlayStation 5 exclusive Returnal? Despite it only being the end of October, the Develop:Star awards were hosted in Brighton last night, with Housemarque’s roguelike taking home a total of two gongs: Best Visual Art and that all-important Game of the Year. It was a big night for Sony, with...
Tuesday26th Oct 2021
News Returnal Update 2.0 Finally Lets You Suspend Your Run
Also adds photo mode
Easily the most requested feature since Returnal launched back in April, players will finally be able to quit the game without losing progress on their current run. Developer Housemarque calls the option 'Suspend Cycle', and it'll be introduced with the game's big 2.0 update, which is out today. To be clear, this isn't the same...
Tuesday17th Aug 2021
News Hades Dev Says Returnal Is One of His Favourite Games This Year
And Housemarque reciprocates
Hades is finally available on PlayStation 5 and PS4, and as you may have heard, it's a fantastic rogue-like action game. It's certainly one of the highest profile indie games in recent memory, and has been incredibly well received; it was even in contention for Game of the Year at 2020's Game Awards. PS5 owners have been...
Monday5th Jul 2021
News Returnal Update 1.4.1 Available on PS5 Today, Here Are the Patch Notes
More alien bugs eliminated
Returnal is in a much better spot now than it was at launch, with developer Housemarque pushing out numerous patches to get all the game's issues under control. It's a far more stable experience these days, but one or two problems do persist. Hopefully, patch 1.4.1, released today, will squash these remaining bugs. Over...
Monday14th Jun 2021
News Returnal PS5 Patch 1.4.0 Out Now, 5.6GB in Size
Big balance and quality of life improvements
Update: Housemarque promised the new Returnal patch would release today, 14th June, and it's kept true to its word. The update is available on the PlayStation 5 now, and weighs in at 5.6GB. A lot of the feedback we've read online has been extremely positive so far — there are a ton of tiny tweaks and...
