Is it worth hugely boosting my health while slashing my damage output? Should I increase the level of my upgrades at the expense of more dangerous enemies? The core of any good roguelike is the plethora of satisfying and diverse builds that make each run feel special, and “Returnal” completely nails that. Selene is constantly tempted by powerful upgrades that also impart huge drawbacks. There’s an eye-watering number of artifacts, parasites, and weapons that allow each build to blossom into something tantalizing and dangerous. The core of any good roguelike is the plethora of satisfying and diverse builds that make each run feel special, and “Returnal” completely nails that. “Returnal”’s areas, while random in their order and specific configuration, always feel hand-crafted, never evoking the procedural aimlessness that plagues some roguelike level design. Each individual biome takes longer to clear than many other roguelike’s entire maps, so it makes sense to mitigate the frustration inherent to having to start back at the beginning with reasonable shortcuts. It’s not necessary to entirely clear an area again after death, which makes sense considering how sprawling and lengthy each of “Returnal”’s six biome levels are. “Returnal” is more generous with its roguelike elements than many within the genre, as it does allow players to warp between levels without repeating bosses, as long as they explore the initial areas for long enough to find a travel room. ![]() While it’s sure to be compared to the genre’s recent breakout hit “Hades,” I kept thinking of “Risk of Rain 2,” another sci-fi roguelike third-person shooter with a similar conceit and sense of momentum. Only certain infrequent permanent upgrades carry over from one run to the next. The health bar resets, the artifacts disappear, the parasites detach. After each death, the player has to restart from the beginning. If you don’t know what I mean by “runs,” you might not be aware of “Returnal”’s roguelike aspect. There’s the artifacts, the game’s vast array of buffs that provide main character Selene with bonuses for each run. There are even permanent upgrades that allow her to access new parts of the map on subsequent runs. There are parasites, a group of alien lifeforms that latch onto Selene’s spacesuit and provide a benefit like a larger health bar, while weakening her in other ways, like reducing the effect of upgrades. “Returnal” is a fascinating tapestry of interlocking systems. That profound dialogue, between Housemarque’s past, present and future, has led to one of its finest moments. ![]() This game will test you with its eye-watering difficulty and slap you down. “Returnal” bridges the gap between those two approaches, but it leans more into the former’s arcadey “one-more-coin” instinct: it’s not for the gun-shy. But it’s also something new for the Finnish developer, a big blockbuster production with an emphasis on organic storytelling. It’s a challenging, fast-paced bullet hell that demands precision and mastery.
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