Review code provided by Sony. The following review of Returnal contains zero spoilers. 

Every so often, a new title will release within a genre that breaks new ground and exceeds expectations. Housemarque’s latest foray into the gaming industry comes in the form of Returnal, a third-person, action roguelike that takes players on an endless cycle of sci-fi mystery.  As with other roguelikes, death translates into new beginnings, often leaving behind everything salvaged on that playthrough. Returnal tasks players with uncovering the mystery surrounding Selene’s endless nightmare, but to do so, they must see the whole journey with one life. 

Returnal isn’t your average roguelike, however. Although the title shares many similarities to others within the genre, Returnal leverages its third person perspective to craft an experience for the players that evokes a sense of familiarity with other third-person action titles. Its phonetic gameplay loop, combined with a variety of unique weapons makes Returnal a roguelike experience like no other. 

Returnal’s narrative isn’t plastered all over the environment or blatantly shoved in your face with long exposés. Instead, Returnal rewards progression by gifting one slice of the narrative puzzle at a time, leaving the players to piece the story together as they go along. Structured into three acts, Returnal’s story is full of metaphors and symbolisms that portray events beyond the literal narrative being told. As previously mentioned, players take control of Selene, an astronaut who crash lands on a foreign planet while searching for a distress signal known as “White Shadow”. With this goal in mind, Selene must challenge an endless cycle of death as she navigates six unique biomes to find a way to break the cycle.

Returnal’s biomes are the true highlight of the experience. Each biome will feature a different visual aesthetic, requiring players to slightly alter their playstyle to navigate. As with other roguelikes, progression unlocks new abilities that can be utilized for additional exploration in previous areas. Despite losing most items on death, Returnal features a system that maintains permanent unlocks to further flesh out each biome. Unlocking these permanent abilities requires skill and a curious mind, as some can be received from conquering boss fights, while others are well hidden in the biomes, waiting to be discovered.

Aside from permanent unlocks, Returnal’s economy features numerous currencies and consumables. Obolites are the main source of currency and are dropped from enemy bodies. Players will spend them on their runs to purchase items and temporary ability boosters. Obolites do not carry over beyond death, however, as they are intended to force players into making important decisions when it comes to purchases. Spending most of your Obolites on a health pack may be useful when in a tough situation, but purchasing a respawn token will allow your run to continue should you fail. 

Ether is another form of currency found within Returnal, serving as a more permanent resource from run-to-run. Ether is extremely valuable, as it can allow players to unlock new and undiscovered items at the start of each run, cleanse cursed items, or secure a checkpoint mid-run to ensure death does not reset the loop. Either of these expenditures require a hefty amount of Ether however, so players are required to spend it wisely. Ether can be found throughout the biomes, however players are only able to hold a maximum of 30 at a time.

Similar to features found in other roguelikes, Returnal includes a mechanic that reinforces a high-risk, high-reward playstyle. Players will occasionally come across Malignant items or Parasites, enticing them with potentially significant gameplay boosters. The catch, however, is that these items also come with a negative modifier, known as a Malfunction, that will remain attached to the player until the requirements to cleanse are met. For example, attaching a Parasite will make it possible to survive a killing blow, but if triggered, the player will have -50% melee and dodge recharge rate until 100 enemies are defeated. Some Malfunctions are easier to cleanse than others, but gauging the risk vs. reward of the unknown can easily make or break a run.

As this is Housemarque’s first roguelike, Returnal contains a few minor issues that can hamper anyone’s perfect run. For starters, the game can feature some stuttering when rotating the camera too fast while changing elevation. This won’t ruin the experience for you, but is noticeable from time-to-time. What will spoil your run, however is the game crashes. During our playtime, only two crashes were encountered, causing each run to be null and void. The severity of crashing can vary from player-to-player, however it is worth mentioning that this is a common occurrence for some. This issue leads into another potential problem with the title in that the only way to suspend a run is to utilize the PlayStation 5’s Rest Mode. In most other roguelikes, there is usually no method of saving mid-run, as that will allow players to circumvent the mechanic of death resetting everything. The reason why this feels like more of a problem in Returnal, is that the remainder of the console’s features are rendered useless until you either die or complete said run. Housemarque have already commented on this concern and assured players that they are looking into potential solutions, but promised nothing at the moment. 

Even if roguelikes scare you off because of their impermanent gameplay structure, Returnal provides an experience that will reward players regardless of tenacity. Returnal is not a challenging game by any means. Death will reset each run, however achieving certain milestones within a biome can potentially unlock shortcuts that will circumvent the more difficult areas. Aside from these shortcuts, the natural progression of player skill will allow you to understand how things operate. Without realizing, you will be flying through each biome with your favourite weapon, facing little challenge. 

Returnal’s road to launch may have been clouded by mystery and uncertainty (since this type of game was a first for the developer) but the end product has exceeded many expectations. By providing an enjoyable gameplay loop that encourages trial and error rather than frustration, Returnal’s roguelike elements cement the title as being one of the best within the genre. In addition to its core gameplay loop, Returnal also includes a narrative that encourages players to piece together a fractured puzzle, while remaining thought provoking enough to ask players to understand more than what they are seeing. Through Returnal, Sony may very well have found its first Game of The Year contender. 

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