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 BAFTAs.
We’ve been fans of the title since day one, as we elaborated in our Returnal PS5 review: “Housemarque has delivered the PS5 promise with Returnal. All the console's bells and whistles enhance the experience, making this a real showpiece for the hardware. But more than that, the game is a force to be reckoned with; the breathless combat, super slick gameplay, and the subtle but unsettling story combine for an experience of surprising scale.”
Since launch, Housemarque has updated the title with co-op multiplayer and a brand new tower mode, which tests your chops in combat. Sony also officially acquired the Helsinki-based studio after a long-running and prestigious partnership, meaning its next project will once again be designed specifically with the PS5 in mind. And if you haven’t tried Returnal yet, it’ll be one of All PS Plus Games available when the subscription’s new tiers launch later this year.
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Comments 38
@stu123 #meToo
@stu123 same. Gonna coop it with a friend
I mean, it was a battle to progress but you did eventually progress the problem with it for me was the constant replaying of the vast majority of parts of it over and over again till you did pass. Felt like doing something hard till you eventually make it one time so you can move on. Really slowed the story down for me. Was bored after about 10 hours
Selene is in no mood to party
What a throwback to the time when I had a working ps5😪 I was in the top 50 achievers of the platinum at the time. I remember the crazy theories of obtaining the final message log in the 1st biome (made a pretty famous post on psnprofiles about it). Great game but the platinum experience ruined the game for me bringing it from a 9/10 to 6/10 at the time, looking back I wish I hadn't went for the plat as I'm guessing the patches probably solved the ability to find some of the collectibles. But I was under the belief from the reviews that the game was 35-50 hours to beat and was sorely butthurt after realising that you should never pick up the negative parasites ever if you want to be successful and beat the game in 11 hours in my 1st run through. Take it from the standpoint of I payed $125 for the game as Australia sucks and you could obviously see why I was mad with the game. Took me 40 hours for the plat so I spent about 30/40 hours looking for stupid collectibles while the game is trying to kill you. Factor in low replayability and I wish I could go back in time to tell myself to not go for the plat as the actual game design and immersive sounds and environments are tantalising, the 3d audio headphones are a must for this game making my ears ORGASM!
Hopefully it’ll go down to £29.99 and be enjoyed by more people
My personal 2021 GOTY.
Banging game from start to finish. Got the plat and loved every minute of it.
Brilliant, brilliant game.
I hope the premium tryer outers stick with it as it rewards more the more it's played, and perhaps people might feel as they haven't paid for it (in the traditional sense) they will put down the controller and wonder what all the fuss was about.
Do stick with it, it's a wonderful game, real edge of the seat gameplay.
@GorosBat Is that scout log 2!? I can't find it anywhere! I just finished the game and - without wanting to give anything away - I have all other trophies bar the survey ones. Is there a trick to finding scout log 2 in Biome 1?
Although the second part of your comment kinda confirms my thoughts - I feel like the RNG for the platinum is going to ruin my very positive experience with the game.
Even with five years of Premium, I don't think I'll ever touch this one. Just doesn't tickle my pickle.
@OptionalStealth Don't go for the platinum unless you're a trophy w****, I know this game is a Roguelite but the game has terrible replay value as in there is a lack of builds that actually change the way you play the game. I remember once I found my preferred weapon, the big heavy machine gun or the basic assault rifle I'd literally only go for those weapons as if its not broke don't fix it. There being no permanent upgrades that make the game easier isn't good. My favourite Roguelites, Slay the Spire and Hades both give you the power fantasy of being super strong and upgrades that incentivise you to keep replaying them. They both also give you the ability to take on greater challenges if you so desire that.
What I do encourage you to do is to at least go for the true ending on a second playthrough if you haven't already which is worth it. If you truly want to go for the platinum I suggest using the tactic of running through every corridor that you can and DON'T fight anything, just make sure to find every room in each level. The main thing you're looking for is to find a room that you haven't seen before, I know there're many rooms but the more times you go through each stage the more familiar you'll be with everything and know what rooms to search for that last blasted scout log.
Thats a weird coincidence, i just finished last night. What an experience, such slick combat and fantastic atmosphere. That grind though almost broke me a couple times, close to quitting...glad i stuck with it, it was worth it.
@KeldorTheCursed ...snap!
My personal GOTY, and proud to have also achieved the platinum trophy pre-patch ha.
The DLC was epic, and such a pleasant surprise
Loved returnal still one of my hardest platinum’s I’ve heard it’s a much easier platinum now
@GorosBat Cool! Thanks for the info. I think I'm gonna follow your advice. I did get the 'true ending' so I'm happy to leave it there, and tackle the Tower of Sisyphus
Happy 1 year anniversary Returnal!
@CJD87 I was proud to have snagged the Plat pre-patch, as well. Finding the final rune that I needed (in Biome 6) was a huge pain lol
Getting the additional trophies in the Tower thankfully wasn’t so bad.
By far the best PS5 exclusive to this date!
Couldn't get into it at all. Way to hard
Just started it today and will retire it today as well. Played for ~3 hours and found it overly punishing and tedious. Glad other people like it, but it's just not for me.
@CJD87 I agree with what you said 100%! Very proud to have bagged the plat pre-patch and I’m enjoying the heck out of the DLC, although getting 100% on the DLC is gonna be tougher than the base game (for me at least). Won’t stop me from trying though! Easily my favorite PS5 game and other than maybe Bloodborne or REMNANT: From The Ashes, I can’t remember being so surprised, engrossed, addicted to and blown away by a game all at once!!
My mom got this for me as a birthday present in January and I still haven't played it yet lol...
Maybe one of these days.
It’s My 2021 GOTY and imo the best PS5 exclusive.
The game is bloody brilliant.
I will say what others have said though. Going for the Plat sucks. Which is why I gave up on going for it.
@GorosBat @velio84 This is why I don’t go for platinum unless it’s within reasonable reach. A game with loads of collectibles and low replayability is an immediate no-go for me. Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll be playing this game when premium arrives.
I’ve done this mistake before, and all it does for me is to leave a bitter aftertaste. That’s not how I want to remember an otherwise fantastic game.
Amazing game - my favourite PS5 game. The new Tower mode is ace too, good for experimenting with weapons!
There are permanent upgrades - there's the weapon traits, which get very cool, and also the artefacts(power ups).
Not for me. If you find this game overly punishing and tedious go play outward. Got so fed up of getting my bum handed to me in a platter, robbed, inprisoned, starved to death, froze to death yea environment will kill u and winter is unforgiving and very frequent, dragged to a cave and 2 shot by a hyena..... and thats just the starting area. Walked into a dark bandit fort thinking oh bandits to kill for loot... nope giant killer vamp werewolf thing after opening a gate. This is only the starting area ffs.
I’m still enjoying this game a year on what with the addition of the Tower of Sisyphus. The gameplay is seriously fun and addictive and if you haven’t played this yet then I urge you to give it a go, even if that’s signing up for the higher PS+ tiers to try it.
I will say that, for the most part, getting the Platinum was fun for me because I was playing the game like crazy and only decided to go for the Plat when I realized I was only three trophies away. If I’d had a bunch to get, I probably wouldn’t have tried. I’m not usually a trophy guy. The only other game I have a Platinum on is Spider-Man.
If I recall correctly you guys did your very best to fuel the discourse that this game was overpriced and not good enough therefore not going to live up to the price tag
Shame! Shame! Shame!
@IAM1982 it’s far far far worth the price. So many hours of gameplay, no two runs are the same. It is definitely a great game, if you consider HFW a great game too, then your statement is false.
I’ve done my fair share of introducing this game to many friends who were far more unreasonably convinced it wasn’t worth its price tag. Result? Well we all scramble to decide who to go on a coop run with. Try it, you might love it.
@IAM1982 the only reason I did as well in this game as I did is because I DID think it was fun. I've played other hard games that just felt punishing to me, but Returnal had me feeling like, "OK, I was so close. I'll give it one more try!" Then, it's suddenly 3AM.
@IAM1982 oh it’s really fun, feels like the first type of that game you’ve played (even though yes, there are many games like it). It’s just very rewarding, challenging, scary, atmospheric, some amazingly simple but crazy fun combat/shooting. But for me it was how they wove it all with a good story.
I'm stuck at Opheon at the moment, but I truly love this game. With every run I learn more about the enemies and underlying systems. In the beginning I thought the 6th biome was utter bs, but in the meantime I really like it (xcept for some bs enemies who take away over half your health with one attack, but hey). I never had this on my platinum list and didn't event expect to progress this far, but I'm sure I'll finish it someday and maybe some time later the plat will also pop. Just as it did with Resogun xD
I love this game so much. Extremely tough game. Imo it's one of the best exclusives on playstation 5 right now imo
How is this game?
thank you to the random person I played with that let me know that even after a year, I have no idea what's going on. Also thank you to the guy across the pond that is sending me a neo geo pocket color in 2 weeks. Very excite.
Great great game. Have yet to play the new endless mode (after plantinum I moved on to other games but have the itch to return) as soon as I complete HFW (just platted Elden Ring - used save game feature to see all endings). GT7 is and will always be a constant game I play until next GT release. I really don’t feel I need other sim/sim-Cade racers.
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