27h to beat
Generally, it is one of the best third-person shooters ever and one of the best PS5 exclusives. Damn, it is challenging.
It is smoother arcadey bullet hell responsive fun with great level design. As a roguelike Returnal doesn't go far enough to have as many unique procedural items or equipment as the others but it makes up for it with very strong shooting and movement in combat. It's incredibly atmospheric due to how varied each biome is, the adaptive triggers of the PS5, and the great soundtrack.
Making your way upwards until you reach the top of the planet from Biome 1 - 3, then making your way downwards into the depths of the ocean in Biome 4 - 6 is one of those very satisfying feelings that I got in roguelite/roguelike.
On top of that, this game can be fully played in two-player co-op and it has the tower of Sisyphus which is more akin to what you expect in a more conventional roguelike/lite with quick rooms, in a floor that ends with a boss. The tower has unlimited rooms and more frequent rewards so it's even quicker at getting you into the action. There it forgoes the natural progression of enemy types that the typical biomes have so you will fight in smaller levels with more varied enemies.
Overall my issues are few. There are a few heavy framerate drops in this game if you push the projectiles to obscene levels. This is possible when playing in the co-op in the final biome, your guns at that point can shoot so many bullets and so can the enemies that it will cause a slowdown.
Two, for a roguelike/lite, it doesn't have enough varied artifacts and items. This is more noticeable the more I played, and was glaring in Tower of Sisyphus. You can enter a room that gives you a reward but you get the repeated choice of +10% weapon damage or +10% protection which isn't unique or exciting. Items typically give healing, removal of malfunctions, or shields for a short time. This isn't one of the roguelike/lites where you can choose to play as a myriad of characters or have varied "builds" that evolve as the run goes so it can reach a point where the randomization isn't satisfying. You keep fewer things on your character per run which makes it more like a roguelike.
On the matter of co-op, my biggest issue with it is that to some extent you can tell it wasn't fully made for co-op with the fact that it still has the annoying tethering system that will forcefully teleport you near your partner if you're too far away.
In any case, the story in itself is quite mysterious and ominous, told through a few cutscenes and many audio logs found throughout the levels. It fits the tone of the game and gives a feel of Alien or Metroid Prime/Dead Space but is far more frenetic, agile, and fun in gameplay.
Generally, it is one of the best third-person shooters ever and one of the best PS5 exclusives. Damn, it is challenging.
It is smoother arcadey bullet hell responsive fun with great level design. As a roguelike Returnal doesn't go far enough to have as many unique procedural items or equipment as the others but it makes up for it with very strong shooting and movement in combat. It's incredibly atmospheric due to how varied each biome is, the adaptive triggers of the PS5, and the great soundtrack.
Making your way upwards until you reach the top of the planet from Biome 1 - 3, then making your way downwards into the depths of the ocean in Biome 4 - 6 is one of those very satisfying feelings that I got in roguelite/roguelike.
On top of that, this game can be fully played in two-player co-op and it has the tower of Sisyphus which is more akin to what you expect in a more conventional roguelike/lite with quick rooms, in a floor that ends with a boss. The tower has unlimited rooms and more frequent rewards so it's even quicker at getting you into the action. There it forgoes the natural progression of enemy types that the typical biomes have so you will fight in smaller levels with more varied enemies.
Overall my issues are few. There are a few heavy framerate drops in this game if you push the projectiles to obscene levels. This is possible when playing in the co-op in the final biome, your guns at that point can shoot so many bullets and so can the enemies that it will cause a slowdown.
Two, for a roguelike/lite, it doesn't have enough varied artifacts and items. This is more noticeable the more I played, and was glaring in Tower of Sisyphus. You can enter a room that gives you a reward but you get the repeated choice of +10% weapon damage or +10% protection which isn't unique or exciting. Items typically give healing, removal of malfunctions, or shields for a short time. This isn't one of the roguelike/lites where you can choose to play as a myriad of characters or have varied "builds" that evolve as the run goes so it can reach a point where the randomization isn't satisfying. You keep fewer things on your character per run which makes it more like a roguelike.
On the matter of co-op, my biggest issue with it is that to some extent you can tell it wasn't fully made for co-op with the fact that it still has the annoying tethering system that will forcefully teleport you near your partner if you're too far away.
In any case, the story in itself is quite mysterious and ominous, told through a few cutscenes and many audio logs found throughout the levels. It fits the tone of the game and gives a feel of Alien or Metroid Prime/Dead Space but is far more frenetic, agile, and fun in gameplay.