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 places.
Housemarque gave a presentation at GDC entitled "Can We Do It with Particles?: VFX Learnings from Returnal", which is worth a watch in its own right, if you are technically minded. Alexander Battaglia, of Digital Foundry, notes that the game is clearly running on PC, as evidenced by the debug readout information that briefly appears here.
A PC port of Returnal seems undeniable at this point. Remember, we first got wind of it with the infamous NVIDIA leak last year, and with so many of those titles having since been announced, and in some cases released, it makes us wonder why an official announcement hasn't been made already.
What do you think of a PC port of Returnal? Would you double dip, and experience the nightmare of Atropos all over again? Repeat your mistakes in the comments section below.
[source twitter.com, via psu.com]
Comments 29
One of ps5's only exclusives isn't staying 'next gen' exclusive very long lol
@Gloamin ignore him he one of the negative Nancy’s on this site. Returnal getting more players is great the game is old almost 2 years old like you said.
@Gloamin I mean if it comes to pc & can run on less powerful hardware the idea of it being a true 'next gen'' game that could never have run on the ps4 goes out the window lol
This is good for Housemarque, which in turn is good for PS5 owners - considering the recent acquisition of the aforementioned by Sony.
More exposure for HM, not to mention further sales of Returnal, will likely work to support the developer with their next project... both financially and commercially.
Returnal is one of the finest games I've ever played, my personal GOTY 2021, and I can't wait to see what HM come out with next...
I'm a PS5/Switch owner (never gamed on a PC) but I'm genuinely thrilled for PC gamers who now get to experience this amazing game.
Returnal 2 would be a dream come true!
@Would_you_kindly
Guy doesn't understand how pc hardware works. I could run Returnal on a 2008 pc if I wanted to, it would be at an unplayable framerate, look terrible and not load fast at all if I could even get it running at all. So yes hypothetically Returnal could run on a PS4 but the graphics would be unrecognizable, it would run horribly, and there would be loading unlike it's PS5 brethren. That's what next gen is. Also Housemarque almost always ports their games to PC.
I was hoping for this. I can WeMod it down to easy on PC 😜
And only competition Sony has is Microsoft that shares all their “exclusives” with PC also. So it makes no difference. People can pick their poison.
We can play it for free via PS Plus Extra anyway.
That is why i stop buying games on PS5. Ive lots of backlogs anyway.
Just wait for PC release, PC = play free via PS Plus.
@Gloamin Nah it doesn’t really matter it’s just weird that there’re only two real exclusives for the PS5 but soon there’s only going to be Ratchet (two years in the market and only one real exclusive for the system).
I really hope that in the near showcase they move on from the PS4 and focus entirely on PS5-only games coming from PS Studios.
From the next generation, PCs will be the best.
@dasd2 yes you are probably right but they will always be the more expensive option..consoles are and always will be for the gamer that just wants to pick up and play with no driver or update hassles..i stopped using my pc for gaming just for that reason and the cost of upgrading parts was getting silly. I think sonys games going to pc isnt a bad thing overall as everybody gets to play (i'm not an exclusion fan) and i'm more than happy to stay with my ps5..
@Royalblues
If they don't mod one of the bosses to be Thomas the Tank Engine I will riot.
@Agramonte you use that trainer to? Works wonders for elden ring and sekiro difficulty wise and also great for sidestepping unbalanced game design like the comically short sprint time in space hulk deathwing.
@Would_you_kindly. I with you, but, you have to accept this isn’t the Sony that made the PlayStation super successful. The people that focused on their hardcore fan base are gone. I dislike all the changes that are occurring with PlayStation. I don’t like how Sony is silent with their customers. I don’t like that the PS5 is not their focus, it’s PC and PS4. I don’t like how the best talent is wasted on remakes/remasters. I don’t like that PlayStation is starting to focus on GaaS and micro transactions. I dread to see the state of gaming by 2032.
That all sounds very negative but I’m in pretty good spirits. I don’t like all that crap I mentioned, but, it is what it is. PlayStation has been enough for me since I sold my 360 and bought a PS3. Now though, PlayStation doesn’t release enough that interests me or keeps me busy. I beat all of PlayStation’s 2022 releases months ago, not including Stray. I beat it soon after it released. I’m mostly waiting for the next big experience. That’s GoW2. There is nothing about TLoU that interests me. I beat it multiple times 8 or so years ago.
So, I find myself waiting for the next big thing. To fix that, I bought a Series X to fill in the time that PlayStation leaves open. It’s been really nice catching up on so many games I’ve missed. Now with GamePass I don’t have to buy Plague Tale 2, The Calisto Protocol (edit: calisto is not coming day one) and High on Life when they release.
My advice is just to quit caring as much. Accept that what made us enjoy the PlayStation just doesn’t exist like it use too. Their most dedicated fans are not their focus. It’s crazy that they’ve dominated the video game market yet they are trying their best to mimic Microsoft’s Xbox strategy.
People will read all this and think I’m crazy or whatever but I have a buddy that’s so pissed that GoW2 is not a true PS5 game that he refuses to buy it until it goes on sale. He says F them. His PS5 can collect dust. Like I said, I’m to the point to where, it is what it is. I’m buying it. Probably will end up splitting it with him so neither of us have to pay full price.
Well, this helped me to kill some time. Thanks.
The modding scene on Spider-man has been incredible, I can imagine Returnal will get similar treatment. Thanks to mods and the specs of PCs (if you can afford a high end model) all these PlayStation games play best there.
We really are paying more for the vanilla version of the games unfortunately. They will get to experience Returnal at 120fps before us, actually we probably won't get it at all.
@OmegaStriver The Callisto Protocol isn’t on Game Pass, so you’ll have to buy that one.
@LiamCroft Just looked it up, it’s likely to come to GamePass. The director/owner/whatever said he’s buddies with Phil and could see it coming after it gets a little time to sale traditionally. So, I imagine it will probably be on it within 6 months after release. So, I can wait.
You were right though. I had read on other sites it was coming. I guess they were wrong. Plague Tale and High on Life will be nice though.
I’ve been catching up on some titles I missed. Gears of War Judgement, I am Fish, Killer Instinct, Forza Horizon 5, State of Decay 2, Sunset Overdrive, and Sea of Thieves mostly. On my PS5, I’ve been enjoying Dying Light 2 especially since I waited for all of the patches. Been playing Rollerdrome, and Midnight Fight Club or whatever it’s called. Borderlands 3 is waiting for me as well.
That all sounds like a ton, but I haven’t spent that much time on any of them. Life gets in the way. I definitely have enough to keep me busy until GoW2. Then that will be my focus, except for when I game with my kids. I spend a lot of time on Rocket League, Apex, and Fortnite with them.
@Royalblues What stops you from hooking up your PC with the OLED? I barely use my PC monitor nowadays, everything is on the OLED TV (PS5, XSX, PC).
Already finished Returnal but I’m still eager to try it on PC. More FPS in a super fast-paced game like this will be awesome. Granted you have the hardware of course.
Returnal with DLSS/FSR support will be insanely good. I've yet to get past the second world in Returnal but I will love to try it out on PC
@dasd2 Well considering PCs are always ahead, technically the current hardware is already 'next-gen' or at least two thirds the way there.
@OmegaStriver Personally, as one of the core fans you mentioned, I've not been this excited about PlayStation since the PS1 days.
This gen has been weird because of how the last two years have gone. In many ways it hasn't started yet. And due to mega corps throwing their money around like it's nothing, Sony's main focus has been on securing franchises, partnerships and talent.
They're in future proofing mode right now, and have to plan for life without some of the third party gaas mega hits that they've been relying on, hence the accelerated drive towards mobile and their own gaas titles.
They were going that way anyway, but they would have liked to take longer I'm sure.
Even so, we've still had some great third, second and first party titles in the past two years, both cross gen and current gen exclusive, with more on the way and a lot more unannounced.
Plus PSVR2 isn't far off.
Meanwhile I bought a Series X in March 2021 and haven't played anything on it yet. I installed the Fable and KotoR games, I'm looking forward to the next Fable, Avowed and TES VI, and that's it.
That's just down to my personal tastes though. MS haven't made a game that I've wanted to play since Halo: Reach.
Nintendo and PlayStation tend to be where the games I love end up.
I could say that MS don't focus on core players like me, but that wouldn't be fair. I just have different tastes and what they currently offer doesn't interest me. Everything else is just optics and PR.
What'll be extremely interesting to see if whether this game runs well on Steam Deck. Sony's been doing well supporting the Steam Deck with their recent PC releases but as a PS5 exclusive, you'd imagine the Steam Deck isn't powerful enough to run it well.
@Dishonored29
Yeah I do. I was a sponsor of MrAntiFUN until he told everyone to move over. How I started with WeMod.
Right!... It is the great thing about PC. You can tailor your gaming experience and compensate for some strange design choices that can hold a game back from being fun.
Removed - trolling/baiting
I don't have a PS5...could probably get one if I really tried but there hasn't been a compelling reason for me to pick one up yet. I think I'll be buying this if it makes it over to Steam though as it'll be a way to try a PS5 game without shelling out the money for one
so that means ratchet and clank is the one and only true ps5 exclusive left... that cannot run on any old pc as it was heavily optimized with a fast ssd in mind. at least, that is what we have been told by sony pr. i believe this to be true, but it remains to be seen if it will in fact get a pc port in the future should they decide to make "alterations" to its code.
@OmegaStriver I agree this is not the same playstation, the whole PS5 reveal turned me off first they announce the consoles then show a logo they announce it again and showed the controller at a time when xbox was giving people hands on with their entire console and then the way they played chicken with the price told me they wanted to charge more than $499.
I'll love to see this game on PC, but I feel the main reason it stuck to PS5 was for the SSD in it. Very curious to see how this game runs on a 5400 RPM HDD, and probably the reason the game isn't formally announced yet.
@Agramonte the modding and also the ability to download save files for games that don’t support cross-platform saves is what continues to put PC above consoles imo. I actually feel the next gen consoles do well in graphics and performance in relation to there price this gen but obviously if you got the big bucks then PC can offer superior qaulity. Wemod is great and who’s that guy you named in your comment? Did he have something to do with the trainer?
@Dishonored29
Yeah. I started on PC (system of choice), but get consoles because I can save money renting some games on my Day 1 list. If they go all digital I will have no need for one.
He created safe virus free PC trainers for a community that formed around him. You could donate a few bucks with PayPal (optional - just get a "supporter" badge on the boards) to keep him going and he would also take votes on what next game to make.
One day he simply made a comment on the boards suggesting everyone migrate to WeMod and to an announcement.
https://community.wemod.com/t/wemod-mrantifun-announcement/88211
Always trusted his trainers so been using WeMod ever since.
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