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Returnal

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"Break the cycle."
―Tagline.

Returnal is a 2021 roguelike third-person shooter video game developed by Housemarque and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5. A PC port developed by Climax Studios was released in 2023.

Returnal is set on an alien planet called Atropos, with its narrative following Selene Vassos (Jane Perry), an astronaut who crash-lands into the planet and finds herself stuck in a time-loop that restarts with the crash-landing every time she dies. A third-person shooter, Returnal incorporates roguelike mechanics and horror elements, featuring procedurally-generated environments and enemies that change with each death. Selene has access to ten weapons that she can modify to include special abilities and upgrades, while also using alien creatures called "parasites" to alter stats and weapon effects.

Housemarque began development on Returnal in 2017, originally as a smaller title akin to their previous games; the scope grew as Sony became impressed with Housemarque's work. The game was announced in June 2020 and released in April 2021 following a month-long delay. A free expansion titled Returnal: Ascension was released in March 2022 and adds a co-op mode to the game.

Returnal received positive reviews from gaming publications, who praised Housemarque's transition into AAA game production. Additional praise was given to the presentation, combat, audio design, narrative, Perry's performance, controls and replayability; criticism signaled repetitive level design and RNG elements, while the game's difficulty level drew polarized responses. It was a commercial success for Sony, selling over 1 million copies by February 2022. Returnal was nominated for and won several end-year accolades at award ceremonies, including Best Game at the 18th British Academy Games Awards and Best Action Game at The Game Awards 2021.

Gameplay[]

Returnal is a third-person shooter with roguelike and psychological horror elements in which the player controls Selene Vassos, an astronaut stranded on an alien planet called Atropos and stuck in a time loop that occurs every time she dies. Noted for its difficulty,[3][4] the game's main objective is to survive the numerous threats and death traps Selene comes to face on Atropos, and escape both the planet and the time loop. The game's structure is made of two halves and comprised of six zones called Biomes in-game, which each half hosting three Biomes.

Synopsis[]

Setting and characters[]

Returnal is set on an alien planet called Atropos, which is populated by mysterious and hostile lifeforms. The game's story follows Selene, an astronaut who found herself stranded on Atropos following a crash-landing, and must piece together both the mysteries of the planet, and her own past.

Plot[]

Development[]

Returnal was developed by Finnish studio Housemarque and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, originally for the PlayStation 5. Game programmer Harry Krueger, who joined Housemarque in 2009 and was the game director of the studio's acclaimed 2017 release Nex Machina, was the game director for Returnal. Additional development support was provided by Climax Studios, which previously worked with both Housemarque and Sony on porting other Housemarque games to additional PlayStation consoles.

On March 25, 2021, Housemarque announced that Returnal went gold, a month ahead of its release date.[5]

Background and concept[]

In August 2017, Housemarque chief-executive officer Ilari Kuittinen declared the studio's intention to move away from their past catalogue of top-down arcade shooter titles, after the disappointing sales from its recent games Matterfall and Nex Machina despite critical acclaim. Kuittinen teased that at the time Housemarque was exploring "something totally different" to their past offerings, but maintained that their future projects will continue the studio's design philosophy.[6] Among ideas Housemarque explored at the time was Stormdivers, a third-person battle royale title focusing on PC audiences which was first conceived in 2015.[7][8]

The earliest concepts for Retural date back to November 2014, when Nex Machina director Krueger suggested an idea for a game titled Cyber Kingdom; the game was to be an open world title mixing dark fantasy and cyberpunk. According to Krueger, he was "practically laughed out of the room" by the studio. Krueger returned to work on Nex Machina afterwards but continued to think about the concept of a third-person arcade action game set on a "dark planet". The idea was revisited the following year and pitched to Sony, during which the early characteristics of Returnal were defined.[9]

Early prototyping for Returnal began in 2017 under the skeleton crew of 5 people. Full development began in August of that year as Krueger joined the production and the team expanded to include 25 people; by April 2020, the team expanded to 80 people. Early into the team, the concept of "dark planet" wasn't developed with a particular platform or perspective in mind, and Krueger noted that Housemarque could have also developed it from a top-down perspective.[10]

Technology[]

Historically, Housemarque utilized its own in-house game engines for the development of their games. The studio first utilized a licensed engine, Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4, for 2017's Matterfall, also published by Sony.[11] For Returnal, Housemarque continued working on Unreal Engine 4, with roughly half the studio gaining experience with the engine thanks to work on Matterfall.[12] Housemarque made its continued partnership with Epic official in December 2017, confirming the retirement of its in-house game engine.[13]

Release[]

Housemarque first acknowledged Returnal's existence in a blog post in December 2018, revealing at the time that it was an original intellectual property and was to be the studio's most ambitious game to date.[14] In January 2020, Housemarque acknowledged the game again, and revealed that all of its other projects including Stormdivers were put on hold to focus on it.[15]

Returnal was officially announced in June 2020 as part of Sony's Future of Gaming event for the PlayStation 5. On January 28, 2021, Sony announced that Returnal has been delayed from its original release to April 30, 2021.

In March 2022, Sony announced a free update for Returnal subtitled Ascension; the update includes a survival mode called Tower of Sisyphus with 20-level phases and a new boss fight called Algos. Another new feature is the addition of a co-op mode. Returnal: Ascension was released on March 22, 2022.

At The Game Awards 2022, on December 8, 2022, Sony announced a PC version to launch in early 2023. The next month, Sony and Housemarque announced that the game will launch on February 15.[16]

Additional media[]

A graphic novel, Returnal: Fallen Asteria, was announced for the game's third anniversary on April 30, 2024. It will be released on October 22, 2024. An artbook titled The Art of Returnal is slated to release on the same day.[17]

Reception[]

Pre-release[]

IGN's Simon Cardy favorably compared Returnal to 2020's roguelike Hades, as well as noticing the influence of the Alien franchise on the game. He found the game "challenging", but not "overly punishing".[18] Kotaku's Ari Notis touted his experience with Returnal as the first time in 2021 he "felt like [he] was playing a next-gen game" instead of a transitional title.[19] His thoughts were echoed by PlayStationLifeStyle's Chandler Woods, who described his first impressions as "very positive" and called Returnal the "first big experience that feels like a leap forward into what next-gen can be".[20]

While noting some repetition from the areas he played, PushSquare's Stephen Tailby praised the game for its controls, visuals and performance, as well as its usage of the DualSense controller.[21] Eurogamer's Martin Robinson considered Returnal to be a proof that Sony is still willing to produce "weird and daring" games, and drew comparisons with 2019's Death Stranding as an "an indie that's epic in scope".[22] Polygon's Jeff Ramos felt that the game's early hours offered too many risks for not enough in-game gains.[23]

Reviews[]

  • MetaCritic: 86/100
  • OpenCritic: 86/100
  • Destructoid: 7.5/10[24]
  • Easy Allies: 8.5/10[25]
  • Eurogamer: Recommended[26]
  • Game Informer: 9.5/10[27]
  • GameSpot: 9/10[28]
  • GamesRadar: 4/5[29]
  • Guardian: 5/5[30]
  • IGN: 8/10[31]
  • PlayStation Lifestyle: 10/10[32]
  • PlayStation Universe: 9/10[33]
  • Push Square: 9/10[34]
  • VideoGamer: 9/10[35]

Returnal received positive reviews. It holds a score of 86/100 on MetaCritic based on 89 scored reviews, classified as "generally favorable reviews".

PlayStation LifeStyle's Chandler Woods awarded the game a perfect score and deemed it "one of the first truly next-gen experiences [on the PlayStation 5]", while Game Informer's Daniel Tack called it a "powerful roguelike recipe" for its combination of combat, narrative and art direction. IGN's Mitchell Saltzman called it "incredible" and touted Returnal among Housemarque's best titles, while PushSquare's Stephen Tailby called it the studio's "largest, most ambitious project by a country mile", an opinion echoed by PlayStation Universe's Joe Apsey. Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell called it a game of "euphoric highs and confounding lows".

Multiple reviewers commended Housemarque's transition into blockbuster video games while maintaining their lineage of arcade titles. Easy Allies' Bradely Ellis noticed how Returnal retained the studio's "intense and addictive gameplay" while surpassing previous titles in its ambition and scope. PlayStation Lifestyle's Woods praised how the studio applied their design philosophy into big-budget production to create something "exceptionally unique yet wholly familiar". PlayStation Universe's Apsey felt that Returnal "expertly keeps the essence of [Housemarque]'s arcade roots", and IGN's Saltzman called Housemarque's efforts "spectacular". While overall favorable towards the game, Destructoid's Chris Carter felt that Returnal suffered from an uneven scale. VentureBeats' Jeff Grubbs summarized that Returnal "looks and feels like a $70 Housemarque game".

The presentation and visuals received significant acclaim. Game Informer's Tack called the presentation "a massive treat" and praised the visuals for being "striking and powerful". IGN's Saltzman was impressed by the particle effects displayed in the game, and praised the overall aesthetics and personality that each area in Returnal held. Push Square's Tailby felt that Returnal overall evolved the usual visual direction Housemarque is known for, but noticed the presence of some low-quality textures in his playthrough. Guardian's Keza MacDonald considered the presentation to be "extraordinary".

Returnal's was generally praised for its responsiveness and pacing.

The game's difficulty drew a mixed response from critics, while its lack of dedicated saving options in the middle of runs also received some criticism.

Recognized as one of 2021's best titles, the omission of Returnal from The Game Awards' Game of the Year category received some criticism. Push Square's Liam Croft was surprised at Returnal not being nominated, and promised that Push Square will "get it right on our site" on the article's comment section.[36] GameRant's Peter Szpytek felt Returnal was an "obvious pick" and additionally lamented that the title wasn't nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Narrative, as well as Perry's performance as Selene.[37] Den of the Geek's Matthew Byrd felt this was the biggest snub of the award show, and noted Returnal was the only Best Direction nominee not to be included in the Game of the Year category.[38] In article criticizing The Game Awards and its snubbing of Forza Horizon 5, Windows Central's Jez Corden also acknowledged Returnal as a Game of the Year candidate that was shunned by the ceremony.

Sales[]

In the UK, Returnal was the second best-selling game in its debut week, behind fellow newly-launched title New Pokemon Snap. Its debut numbers were noted to be lower than previous AAA PlayStation exclusives, which were attributed to the PlayStation 5's still-growing install base, its niche genre, its price tag and its release a week before Resident Evil: Village.[39] By June 2021, Returnal sold over 560,000 copies.[40] Documents and files leaked in December 2023 revealed that Returnal shipped over 1.01 million copies by February 2022.[41]

Accolades[]

Returnal won Game of the Year from Develop:Brighton, as well as Best Visual Art.[42] It was nominated for Best PlayStation Game by Trusted Reviews, but lost to Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. At The Game Awards 2021 ceremony, Returnal has been nominated for Best Direction, Best Audio Design and Best Action Game, winning the last category. At the 18th DICE award ceremony, Returnal was nominated for nine categories including Best Game, the most in that ceremony; it won four awards including Best Game, winning the most awards and becoming the forth Sony-published title to win Best Game after The Last of Us, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and God of War.

Future[]

In an interview with Video Game Chronicles from June 2022, narrative designer Eevi Korhonen reaffirmed that the studio was working on a new intellectual property instead of a sequel to Returnal, but said a potential continuation of Selene's story "remains to be seen".[43]

Gallery[]

Trailers[]

References[]

  1. ↑ https://blog.playstation.com/2020/09/01/devs-speak-how-ps5-consoles-ultra-high-speed-ssd-and-tempest-3d-audiotech-engine-will-enhance-the-future-of-gaming/
  2. ↑ https://blog.playstation.com/2020/09/01/devs-speak-how-ps5-consoles-ultra-high-speed-ssd-and-tempest-3d-audiotech-engine-will-enhance-the-future-of-gaming/
  3. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/reviews/returnal-difficulty/
  4. ↑ https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/returnal-how-to-not-die
  5. ↑ https://twitter.com/Housemarque/status/1375115275272654854
  6. ↑ https://housemarque.com/news/arcade-is-dead
  7. ↑ https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/housemarque-stormdivers-battle-royale-1202912588/
  8. ↑ https://housemarque.com/news/jumping-on-the-bandwagon-from-arcade-is-dead-to-aaa-5rn7t
  9. ↑ "Returnal was the culmination of several different ideas and suggestions over the years. The creative seed, as Krueger outlines, was first planted in November 2014 during an internal pitching session. He suggested a dark fantasy-meets-cyberpunk open-world game called Cyber Kingdom, to which, he says, he was "practically laughed out of the room." He returned to work on Nex Machina but kept the idea in mind, hoping to someday make a third-person arcade adventure game. The following year, as they decided what project to work on and pitch to Sony next, the "dark planet" concept for the game and Returnal's primary characteristics as a dark sci-fi cosmic horror roguelike were defined."
    The making of Returnal, Game Developer.
  10. ↑ "In 2017 prototyping started with a skeleton crew of 5, followed by the full development kick-off in August 2017 with a team of 25 people, at which point Krueger joined. "It's important to note that with dark planet, the concept, it started out platform-agnostic and camera-agnostic as well. So at the time, we would have been happy to make it as a top-down game, you know, but after a bit of discussion back and forth, we thought this is our opportunity, we have a really strong concept, let's shoot for the stars and maybe land on a hostile alien planet." By the game's April 2020 release, the team had expanded from 25 to 80."
    The making of Returnal, Game Developer.
  11. ↑ "In 2017 with Matterfall, we had our first UE4 game, while Nex Machina was the last entry on our own engine."[1]
  12. ↑ "In 2017 with Matterfall, we had our first UE4 game, while Nex Machina was the last entry on our own engine. We had been talking to [Epic] for years about switching over, but finally, we organized our efforts and had a reasonably painless transition over those two projects, with half the company jumping over first. This way, we had experts on Unreal that could help others as we took on larger projects. Still, expanding to larger-scale projects, new cameras, added dimensions, and so on, has created hurdles for us to clear. Proper processes and organization have been at the forefront and also lately remote working has been a factor as well."[2]
  13. ↑ https://housemarque.com/news/housemarque-licenses-unreal-engine-4-for-unannounced-new-title
  14. ↑ https://wccftech.com/housemarque-aaa-triple-a-game/
  15. ↑ https://housemarque.com/news/2020/1/22/letter-to-fans-celebrating-25th-anniversary-in-2020
  16. ↑ https://www.engadget.com/returnal-pc-release-date-ps-5-playstation-sony-housemarque-170504605.html
  17. ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/returnal-anniversary-housemarque-announces-graphic-novel-and-artbook
  18. ↑ Returnal: The Final Preview, IGN.
  19. ↑ Returnal Feels Like An Actual PS5 Game, Kotaku.
  20. ↑ Returnal Early Impressions – The First Truly Next-Gen Game, PlayStation LifeStyle.
  21. ↑ Hands On: Why You Should Be Hyped for Returnal, the Next Great PS5 Exclusive, PushSquare.
  22. ↑ https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-04-22-returnal-shows-that-sony-can-still-be-weird-and-daring
  23. ↑ https://www.polygon.com/22399750/returnal-impressions-ps5-first-hours
  24. ↑ https://www.destructoid.com/stories/review-returnal-626623.phtml
  25. ↑ https://easyallies.com/#!/review/returnal
  26. ↑ https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-04-29-returnal-review-magnificent-and-monstrous
  27. ↑ https://www.gameinformer.com/review/returnal/returnal-review-haunting-harmony
  28. ↑ https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/returnal-review-live-die-repeat/1900-6417669/
  29. ↑ https://www.gamesradar.com/returnal-review/
  30. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/games/2021/may/12/returnal-review-epic-dance-of-death-with-beautiful-brutal-aliens
  31. ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/returnal-review
  32. ↑ https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2021/04/29/returnal-review-ps5/
  33. ↑ https://www.psu.com/reviews/returnal-review-ps5/
  34. ↑ https://www.pushsquare.com/reviews/ps5/returnal
  35. ↑ https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/returnal-review
  36. ↑ https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2021/11/the-game-awards-2021-nominations-revealed-deathloop-gets-eight-nominations-but-returnal-snubbed
  37. ↑ https://gamerant.com/returnal-the-game-awards-snub-performance-art-goty/
  38. ↑ https://www.denofgeek.com/games/the-game-awards-2021-nominations-list-snubs-surprises/
  39. ↑ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-05-02-new-pok-mon-snap-launch-is-four-times-bigger-than-original-uk-boxed-charts
  40. ↑ https://gamingbolt.com/ratchet-and-clank-rift-apart-has-sold-over-1-1-million-copies-returnal-crosses-560000-units
  41. ↑ https://gamingbolt.com/demons-souls-remake-has-shipped-over-2-million-units-returnal-at-1-million
  42. ↑ https://twitter.com/developconf/status/1453472024811216900
  43. ↑ https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/interviews/housemarque-interview/
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