Returnal: Ascension

released on Mar 22, 2022

An update for Returnal

Returnal: Ascension adds a co-op mode to the game allowing you to team up with another player to try and break the cycle as well as an endless mode called The Tower of Sisyphus where your objective is to keep climbing the tower to discover new secrets and challenges.


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Anything good I said about Returnal still pretty much applies here, this DLC serves to scratch the itch of wanting to play it without committing to the usual roguelike elements of it, and going for a more arcade vibe.
Originally I had no plans of playing it because I thought it was just a simple endless mode + it had no co-op, so I wouldn't be able to play it with my brother, but I was told it had some new additions to the lore to expand Selene's relationship with her mother, (plus more and more greek mythology references keep popping up, that apply surprisingly well to the game, and I'm just a nerd for that kind of stuff), and I think it does that pretty well!

Except for this epilogue cutscene you can unlock after the ending that kind of falls flat, other that, I see myself coming back to this game occasionally whenever I want to scratch the itch of this specific type of gameplay loop

I wrote this review at 1am so it might not be my best sorry if its hella incosistent lol

this is a great DLC, and helps validate my claim that returnal could've been a better game if the roguelike elements had been retooled. this DLC ends up being less roguelike and more arcadey third-person shooter, which works a lot better for this formula imo. improvements include that the tower of sisyphus has guaranteed drops in it that housemarque was able to design its challenges around. there's still choice to be had in these drops as well (do you go for the health upgrade or the damage upgrade? which penalizing parasite do you go for? etc.), so it never feels like the game is taking you on a railroaded experience.

but, most importantly, you're given a guaranteed random level 3 gun by the second floor to pick from, which suddenly makes every single run feel like it can 100% be my fault as opposed to "i got stuck with the shitty base pistol and died because i couldn't get something else to drop". i know i've harped on this, but the guns are such a vital part of returnal as an experience, so amplifies the player experience to get more self-expression from the getgo. these things sound small, but they add up to making the moment-to-moment gameplay retain that fun, frenetic energy while also keeping the player consistently challenged. lastly, algos is a great boss and honestly blows the base game's bosses out of the water for me. he's simple, but focused, and it's refreshing that the game staggers out his second and third phases so you can get comfortable with his first one.

yeah, i'm just really impressed that they were able to refine what didn't work about base game and turn it around here. this has overall made me more positive on returnal as a package, and seeing this much improvement in a free DLC surpasses my expectations. if anything, this has made me interested in seeing what housemarque puts out next, because i can see this being part of an upward trend in quality for them.

Want to get last few trophies to get 100% on the whole game (got platinum in base game) but one of the collectibles started bugging I think. And a couple runs in row that ended on complete bs made me put the game down for a bit. Might come back some day

Business as usual really. The story is overly-cryptic bobbins and the main character's constant breathless soliloquies quickly become grating. Everything else is on point however. Returnal still stands tall by offering some of the finest third-person shooting that the medium can offer. Just in terms of pure gameplay, there's little that can surpass this.

The base game was already a masterclass in gameplay and storytelling. This DLC cleverly expands on the concept with neverending tower of challenging battles. Each time you die, you start back at the ground floor. The allegory of Sysiphus and his boulder integrates perfectly in the Returnal lore.