Metacritic returnal3/31/2023 ![]() ![]() I could rarely find reasons to risk my run in the mere hopes of getting an item or a cool buff. Toward the end of the game, I started to avoid parasites and items with possible debuffs altogether. I would always have the option to break free of it by completing a specific challenge, but there weren’t many times that I was able to do that before dying. Sometimes I got lucky, but in most cases I would get a debuff that significantly affected my run. These debuffs are also present in some items and chests, but unlike with the parasites, you have no idea what to expect there. It’s an excellent idea on paper, but it quickly became more of a nuisance, as the drawbacks would often outweigh the benefits. Then there are parasites, which grant a buff and a debuff, both of which are explained before you pick them up. Returnal’s parasites and malfunctions, explained ![]() Each one has different passive skills that are unlocked purely by using the weapon, as well as an alternate fire that can be activated by pulling the DualSense’s left trigger all the way down, instead of depressing it halfway to aim - a feature I loved. Selene can only carry one weapon at a time. More often than not, I found myself with my hands gripped to the triggers, doing my best to ignore the fact that I was facing uneven odds. Aside from permanent spacesuit upgrades, which correspond to specific objects and areas in the game, and the passive skills you’ve unlocked for your weapons, not much more is retained after a time loop. Each biome has its own set-pieces that alternate with every run, altering enemy placements and shifting the pool of items you can find or purchase. Even when you get to the point of having learned all the ins and outs of a biome, you’ll find yourself in a new one with different enemy arenas and rooms to plunge through. Melee attacks are much more terrifying when the creature unleashing them is three times taller than you and covered in tentacles. ![]() Orbs that would usually just plague the screen as small circles (when viewed from above) now come toward you. Returnal’s bosses take the bullet-hell chaos that developer Housemarque is known for and subvert it by putting the player’s perspective front and center. This game is a take on the genre that intertwines horror with almost every aspect of itself. Roguelikes have stopped being a niche genre all the while, more games are iterating on loop-based structures to tell stories. You do so through the eyes of Selene, a space pilot stuck in a time loop on a hostile alien planet, attempting to solve the mystery of how to escape. ![]() Traversing through them means facing increasingly harder enemies, collecting weapons and items as you explore an array of rooms per area. This PlayStation 5 exclusive introduces itself as a third-person roguelike with set levels that reorient themselves in each run, across a total of six areas. Seeing the boss struggling to stand on its feet as it tried to defeat me one more time symbolized what Returnal is about: It’s a showcase of the toll that comes from repetition. During the battle’s final phase, the enemy started attacking in close quarters in a much weaker stance, rampaging against the floor, producing shock waves with each hit, using whatever strength it had left. In another, the creature would fly quickly through the arena. In one moment, a storm of projectiles would follow my toes. All the while, the boss showcased its plethora of attacks, perhaps as a warning of what was to come. The music, which had been almost as quiet as the enemy before my arrival, quickly ramped up. I used all of the movement options at my disposal, carefully planning their execution. Up to that point, the lessons I had learned had seemed unrelated, but they all culminated in this moment. If you want curated lists of our favorite media, check out What to Play and What to Watch. When we award the Polygon Recommends badge, it’s because we believe the recipient is uniquely thought-provoking, entertaining, inventive, or fun - and worth fitting into your schedule. Polygon Recommends is our way of endorsing our favorite games, movies, TV shows, comics, tabletop books, and entertainment experiences. ![]()
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