Topic: Returnal

Also, this might interest a few people;

I’ve not listened to any of them but I always find the creative process on games, albums etc interesting and there’s quite a collection of interviews they’ve got on their site.

@Jimmer-jammer Well done! I had the exact same experience when I beat Nemesis.

@Thrillho I agree with @render in regards to the Hollowseeker and Rotgland Lobber. Hollowseeker is what I used when I beat the last boss, with the traits waves, serrated edges and portal beam. I like how with portal beam II and above you get a little baby portal too! That and the Electopylon Driver are my go to weapons for Biome 6.

Game randomly crashed on biome 5 after a couple of hours run, so frustrating building Selene up, kicking a$$ only to be dumped out by a random crash back to biome 4 I go!

@kris0000 It’s crazy that these crashes still happen. I’ve not experienced any but I’m only still in Biome 3. I have about 26 hours invested in the game so far. Hopefully these crashes in the latter Biomes aren’t commonplace!

@Th3solution I had 0 crashes in my 59 hours with the game, and that was before the last couple patches - just saying
It's unlucky when they happen but I don't think they're very common.

@Jimmer-jammer Hopefully I have a similar experience with Biome 4 being a bit of a respite from the stress of Biome 3 and Nemesis. I think that’s a nice plan for me to see if I can stockpile silphium vials and yeah, the resin shield item is a nice one and I had that too when I last made it to Nemesis.

What’s been your approach as far as malignant items? Do you take on malfunctions readily or play more conservative?
I used to take all kind of malfunctions, knowing 70% of them can be cleared quickly in the normal flow of combat and exploration. But all it takes is that one crazy malfunction to ruin a shot at the boss, so now I’ve been more avoidant and basically only take the chance if it’s ‘moderate’ level risk (which seems about 50/50) or if I’m really early in the run with plenty of time to clear it. Or sometimes I’m desperate for health or obolites and I’ll take a chance then. But I’ve been burned too many times so I have changed my tactics on malignancies recently to stay clear of them.

@Voltan Good to know. I wonder if some of it has to do with the online stuff. Lately I’ve been leaving online turned off. (I discovered the temptation to avenge the corpses usually backfires on me).

@Th3solution Yep, it's my first 'game breaking' crash in around 80hrs of playtime. I did have another crash where I lost about a day's progress and had to re-download my cloud save. I had just got my first key too, plus had some great parasites, artefacts. Very frustrating. However, still loving the game and I'll be back!

I tried the pylon on Hyperion, do to him sitting in one place so often, I thought it would be great. It was lvl 20 don't remember the traits, but I must have been doing something wrong. The Web almost always set up past him on the organ, barley hitting him. I think I'll search for my trusty favorite gober on the next few runs.

@Jimmer-jammer congrats! On 3 and 4! Wow in one run.

@Thrillho yeah I think on the challenge front this game really has a little something for everyone. For some reason biome 3 and Nemesis really gave me trouble. A trick of the mind perhaps, but Nemesis had so much going on over such a large area it just overwhelmed my senses.

@JohnnyShoulder interesting! B4 has been my favourite stretch of the game so far, from story to gameplay to environment, it really drew me in.

@Th3solution I don’t know if I was just in the zone or riding a high from defeating Nemesis but B4 was really enjoyable and totally manageable for me. The first real room I entered in B5 however had so much going on in it I was dead before I even got my bearings...I’m a little scared to go back 😅 as far as malignant items, generally I steer clear of them. If the malfunction probability is moderate, I’ll chance a pick up on a silphium but beyond that I don’t generally go for them, so about the same as you’ve been doing.

@Elodin yeah I was surprised! Had to suspend my run but made it through without much issue. B5 kicked me back to reality in a hurry though...

@kris0000 @Th3solution I had a few crashes and had a corrupted save. They were annoying but nothing that took away from my enjoyment of the game but you'd definitely rather they didn't happen. I do wonder if some of them are related to the system software rather than Returnal specifically as that would make them are a lot harder to fix, and would rely on Sony making changes as well.

On a general note, I've been playing Demon's Souls for the last couple of nights and it's on a whole different level pace wise. I've been really missing Selene's speed and abilities 😆

@render Love Demons Souls, i'm a souls nut! So having that plus Returnal - the sci-fi Sekiro - on PS5 is a dream. Let me know how you get on with it. I found a caster build was best. Two great games that show off the PS5!!!

@Jimmer-jammer Yeah the whole journey to the boss in Biome 4 was magical! I love it when everything comes together like the sound, visuals and gameplay to create a special feeling. Happens rarely, but when it does it is a proper chef's kiss moment! The last I time I recall something similar is the Guardian Ape fight in Sekiro.

@JohnnyShoulder @Jimmer-jammer the sound of the organ up to Hyperion was fantastic as it built the closer you climbed. Just beat him with the lobber. Now spending more time in 4 as I beat it to quick before I focus on 5.

@render @kris0000 second on demon souls. These ps5 focused only games have really been great.

I love the transition from 3 to 4. It's so good.

@JohnnyShoulder @render I take it back; I just had a great run through biome 2 and 3 mostly using the lobber. The one I had in biome 2 was one-hitting the smaller flying enemies. I even beat Nemesis with a different variation of the weapon.

Picked up a fair few ciphers in both biomes too. I might just keep the game on the back burner for when I want to mix things up a bit. I should really finish Ghost of at some point!

@kris0000 @Elodin I totally agree. I've run out of superlatives to describe Returnal and I think Demon's Souls is going to be another that I can't stop playing. I'll keep you posted and check out a caster build, cheers 👍

@Thrillho That's why I love it. With a few good traits some things either just disintegrate before they get chance to attack you or just explode right away!

I'm definitely missing my daily fix of Returnal action so might have to get back on it again for a quick go this weekend.

@Thrillho I didn't think much of it either when it first unlocked it, but with a few traits gained it became one of my faves. Apart from in Biome 6, where I found it to be pretty useless lol.