Returnal (PS5)

Returnal is definitely a game that is not for everyone. Aside from the first trailer I watched, I went into Returnal blind. I heard it was a roguelike game with bullet hell mechanics. I generally stay away from roguelike games because I hate losing progress and constantly starting over. I have played a few bullet hell games in the past but I would not say I am a fan of the genre. I was going into Returnal with little knowledge of the game and I was actually excited to try it out. I really haven’t played any new games since the beginning of this year. I was feeling a little burned out on games and I didnt feel like committing to anything new or playing anything old. Since Returnal had just released I figured it was the perfect title to get me back in. 

I am not a fan of hard games. I see the appeal of them but Souls-like games or anything in that genre is not for me. I’ve tried to get into them in the past and have given up almost instantly. Going into Returnal with not much knowledge of what kind of game it was, I was slightly put off when I started playing the game. Getting shot at from almost every direction with a pretty trash weapon got old instantly. The rogue-like aspect of the game was not that big of a deal though. Having to restart from the beginning after dying in a run was annoying but at least you can run past things once you’ve unlocked the next level. The first few hours I had in the game consisted of me just dying over and over in the first level. I was trying to understand what I was doing wrong. When I finally made it to the first boss I got annihilated. I made it to the bosses second form but could not survive the third. I felt deflated and honestly did not want to continue playing the game. It took me multiple hours and runs just to make it to the first boss again. Once again I died at the start of his third phase. As the screen went black, I revived right where I went down. Shocked, I kept shooting and finally bested Phrike, who it turns out was actually pretty simple once you learned his movements. 

My experience in the first level pretty much nailed how the rest of the game would go for me. Every new level was just death and more death. I would get to a boss and die and restart from the beginning of level one. Ultimately this was the entire process of playing this game for me. I know one of the main draws to this genre is that feeling of struggling over and over. When you finally beat a boss and feel accomplished and rewarded. Unfortunately I never felt that playing Returnal. I always just felt, “Finally I can move on.” I didn’t dwell on my achievements of beating another level. Even when I defeated the stage 2 boss on the first try I felt nothing. The struggle was real and I did take a long time to get through each world but it was more exhausting than rewarding. The more I learned about the story the more I started to check out from the game as a whole. 

Ultimately I believe my issues with the game came down to balance. I never felt strong. I never felt like I was doing so well in a run that I could take on anything. Some of the basic enemies at the start of a run would completely annihilate me. In some runs I would literally collect everything I could just to tickle enemies in the following stage. I would come across very good health power ups just to get trapped in a corner but flying enemies who took me out in seconds. I believe I would have enjoyed this game more if I felt myself being more powerful the longer I made it into a run without dying. I always just felt like the game was giving me just enough to suffer a little bit longer. Not so much as a way to encourage me to keep going. 

There are plenty of other things that this game could have done better. But ultimately like I mentioned this is not my preferred style of game. I went into Returnal with no idea what the game was and that was on me. I honestly know this game is right up a lot of people’s alley. It took me roughly two weeks of on and off playtime to get the platinum in Returnal. The majority of that time was spent playing the same level over and over in hopes of getting a new map layout to find the collectibles. Another aspect of the game that really ruined it for me. Overall I’m glad I played Returnal just to get me back into gaming. If Returnal is on sale I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes bullet-hell shooters and Souls like games.