Returnal (Housemarque) [PS5, PC]

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I'm quite surprised too, but I shouldn't be really. I've been playing their games since Super Stardust HD, and every game has been superb.

I watched about half an hour of the PlayStation Access gameplay footage, and it looks like they've translated the best of their 2D gameplay into three dimensions.

Like @BRiT mentioned, it has a look of Recore to it, which I always thought looked quite fun. Or another OG XBox game, the name of which I can't remember: it was a Japanese developed, third person, twin stick shooter. Can any XBoxers here help me with that one? And also let me know if it's been released via BC?
 
How so? It's not my thing but everybody who saw it before launch was super enthusiastic for it.
From all the trailers it just seems like it would wear out its welcome very quickly. Nothing about it is particularly interesting. Their previous games all had something cool/interesting to draw you in. This one just seems like another bland Outriders type game.
 
From all the trailers it just seems like it would wear out its welcome very quickly. Nothing about it is particularly interesting. Their previous games all had something cool/interesting to draw you in. This one just seems like another bland Outriders type game.
You may have mis-read of mis-heard what this game is about then! This game is 100% not for everyone, and reportedly it's not perfect either, but it's a hell of a ride. I'll start it in a minute and I cannot wait.
 
Wow that was a complete miss lol.
He got so spoiled with Ratchet & Clank that he analysed the cutscenes thinking they were in-game.
Next time he really needs to input "X-game gameplay" in the search bar.

Like @BRiT mentioned, it has a look of Recore to it, which I always thought looked quite fun.
The guy from Skill Up has a special message to the people claiming it's similar to Re:Core:
- No.


(btw I'm just the messenger, I didn't play either game)
 
Wow that was a complete miss lol.
He got so spoiled with Ratchet & Clank that he analysed the cutscenes thinking they were in-game.
Next time he really needs to input "X-game gameplay" in the search bar.

YEah, in his defense he did realise this and posted a comment on that video basically saying that he should have done this video differently. What that means is that unlike other channels, he really does a 'first reaction' and says whatever comes to mind, then posts it as is. In this case even he realised this was a bit of a miss.

The guy from Skill Up has a special message to the people claiming it's similar to Re:Core:
- No.


(btw I'm just the messenger, I didn't play either game)
Actually I think his message was more of a STFU, but I may be wrong.
 
Had a really quick go between meetings.

It doesn't come across as being that hard so far. I defeated a bunch of enemies until I got to the one that looks like it's a Mimic from Edge of Tomorrow. I *think* you're supposed to die against that enemy, since the game's title displays afterwards.

The controls are super tight and really low latency, the rumble and haptics are excellent to far. I'm actually quite looking forward to understanding the dynamics of the game.

My initial impression are that it doesn't seem too hard (unless I have to actually defeat that Mimic with a pistol) and death is obviously a huge part of the story. I don't feel like I've lost progress by dying, more that it's intended. It looks beautiful and way nicer on the big screen rather than on my HDR 1440p enabled phone.

Looking forward to getting into this one.

Edit: teleporter particles are super nice.
 
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From all the trailers it just seems like it would wear out its welcome very quickly. Nothing about it is particularly interesting. Their previous games all had something cool/interesting to draw you in. This one just seems like another bland Outriders type game.
I think this something that is common to the whole rogue genre. You are, inevitably, putting off that point when you screw up and start over. To me these games feel pretty repetitive and tend to succeed/appeal because the core game loop is something that can be enjoyed with the real sense of progression removed.

I'm kind of curious about it but I'm not paying full price to discover I dislike this for the same reason I dislike all other rogue games. This is definitely a game that needs a demo.
 
Watched a few people play now. This really is just a faster paced Remnant from the Ashes (a good thing), with rogue-like character progression instead of constant RPG progression. The difficulty isn't anywhere near the highest or 2nd highest difficulty in Remnant, but it is faster paced so that will present challenges for some people.

The first boss is pretty easy/predictable, but as with the Souls games you're unlikely to beat it the first time as you learn it's moves. While its moves are easy to learn some of them can do massive damage and will catch you out the first time you see it.

If this were on PC, I'd be sorely tempted to get it at full price. Looks fun. Thumbs up.

Regards,
SB
 
It's definitely a fun game. I don't feel bad for having died in it yet.

I can't say I noticed that the resolution had a really low base. Looks very nice in motion.
 
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Something else I've noticed watching people play. People that don't move or move very little while shooting die a lot. People that are good at moving while shooting make the game look easy. I would suck hard at this if I had to use a controller to play it.

Run and gun is the name of the game. Man, I really wish this was on the PC.

Regards,
SB
 
Something else I've noticed watching people play. People that don't move or move very little while shooting die a lot. People that are good at moving while shooting make the game look easy.
This has been the defining gameplay of this type of game since Defender. Because things hone in on you you always want to be moving and you generally always want to be shooting and adjusting your aim to account for your movement and the enemy's movement.
 
A few of those games look like they had a lot of work put into them before being canned.
 
Interesting listening to Admiral Bahroo (plays a lot of rogue-likes) give his impressions of the game now that he's finished it.
  • 7/10 for gameplay as a Rogue-Like because there's no reason to keep playing it after you finish the story.
    • Would have been much higher if there was a reason to keep looping as with many Rogue-likes.
    • Compared it to Hades where there's a ton of incentive to just keep playing even after finishing it.
  • ?/10 for story, started out on a very high note and then devolved down to meh at the end (the ending was just meh).
    • Feels the story kind of lost it's way trying to provide an ending.
    • Got both the first ending and the "true" ending.
    • More interested in the story at the start when it was still mysterious.
  • Overall - had lots of fun, no regrets buying it, but didn't live up to the initial impressions when he started playing it.
    • Started as a 10/10 .. ended as an average experience.
Hopes the developers continue to work on the game and expand on the experience, because the experience is good, he just wants a reason to keep playing.

So, this might be more liked by people looking for a one and done rogue-like experience than those that are looking for continuous enjoyment. IE - people that really enjoy Binding of Isaac or Hades might not like this as much once they finish it.

Regards,
SB
 
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@Silent_Buddha how many hours was spent for him to finish the game the first time? How many more for the "true" ending?
 
@Silent_Buddha how many hours was spent for him to finish the game the first time? How many more for the "true" ending?

The true ending came pretty quickly after the regular ending. He finished the regular ending earlier today and then a couple hours later finished the true ending. He played it for a total of 2 streams. Almost 8 hours yesterday and 7 hours today. So about 15 hours. He started off thinking he'd be playing it for a week or multiple weeks.

He really enjoyed the game play, he's just disappointed there's no incentive to keep playing it.

Note: He regularly sets impossible challenges for himself in games. The Remnant from the Ashes developers put in the hardest difficulty just for him. They had no idea whether it was possible to finish it at that difficulty, and Bahroo finished it. :p

Regards,
SB
 
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