Returnal

 PC
User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 180 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 102 out of 180
  2. Mixed: 31 out of 180
  3. Negative: 47 out of 180

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  1. gamersansargent
    Jun 27, 2023
    0
    Cannot play : random crash because of "lake of video memory"
    I have 12 Go, and playing in low details
    I cannot tolerate that !
  2. mugen_is_here
    Mar 12, 2023
    1
    It's too tough. Too many enemies. Too strong enemies. Too weak weapons. Too much grind to be enjoyable. Too large levels.
    An inexplicable story.
  3. madterps
    Mar 25, 2023
    4
    Returnal is not very good, it is throughly mediocre. It is trying to be hard because it does not have much else to offer. Weapon drops and health drops are at random, the game would be 100% better if those were allowed to be permanent like Soulsborne. Or you had a chance to recover your previous weapons/health before you faced the boss.

    In a sea of awesome but hard games like Sekiro and    Returnal is not very good, it is throughly mediocre. It is trying to be hard because it does not have much else to offer. Weapon drops and health drops are at random, the game would be 100% better if those were allowed to be permanent like Soulsborne. Or you had a chance to recover your previous weapons/health before you faced the boss.

    In a sea of awesome but hard games like Sekiro and Nioh, ditch Returnal for something better like Elden Ring.    … Expand
  4. xStealthxUK
    Mar 3, 2023
    0
    Would be a good game if it constantly didn't stutter and "Fatal Error" crash

    Stop supporting trash ports. All the Media outlets probably never even made it to later Biomes where the game crashes all the time or play the Coop that crashes 95% of runs. Guess what happens when you crash? Game says you died and starts you over. DO NOT BUY THIS and get scammed like me, play good    Would be a good game if it constantly didn't stutter and "Fatal Error" crash

    Stop supporting trash ports. All the Media outlets probably never even made it to later Biomes where the game crashes all the time or play the Coop that crashes 95% of runs.

    Guess what happens when you crash? Game says you died and starts you over.

    DO NOT BUY THIS and get scammed like me, play good Rogulikes instead. Steam is full of them    … Expand
  5. Vasot
    Feb 17, 2023
    4
    Don't listen to so-called professionals and Sony fanboys. This game is a monotonous and boring slog killing the same enemies again and again and again and starting from the start if you die. It's trying hard to be another Dark Souls wannabe with some rogue like elements. Typical new age garbage completely soulless tries hard to be "competitive" with overpowered enemies and giving you weakDon't listen to so-called professionals and Sony fanboys. This game is a monotonous and boring slog killing the same enemies again and again and again and starting from the start if you die. It's trying hard to be another Dark Souls wannabe with some rogue like elements. Typical new age garbage completely soulless tries hard to be "competitive" with overpowered enemies and giving you weak weaponry to fight them. The story is bare-bones and the main character is awful also from the technical perspective suffers from stutter issues… Expand
  6. QAOSbringer
    Feb 25, 2023
    4
    The game looks interesting, but it has a lot of shortcomings. There is so much that has been done without thought. We know "Git Gud" types will defend this game, after all, that's their purpose.
    First of all, the game crashes on certain systems and becomes unplayable. It needs to be run in DX11 mode and set all graphics settings to the lowest. Despite this, you are constantly seeing the    The game looks interesting, but it has a lot of shortcomings. There is so much that has been done without thought. We know "Git Gud" types will defend this game, after all, that's their purpose.
    First of all, the game crashes on certain systems and becomes unplayable. It needs to be run in DX11 mode and set all graphics settings to the lowest. Despite this, you are constantly seeing the FPS go up and down, lots of stutters, and the game can have response problems.
    Some weapons are very ineffective, Tachyomatic Carbine makes the game playable, but if you can't reach this weapon, mobs turn into bulletsponges.
    Gameplay is designed to "take no damage". At the slightest touch, 25% of your health is gone and your attack bonuses get reset. The choices for different player styles are very limited, sometimes the game doesn't even provide health pickups for a long time, and then in some places it offers an unnecessary amount of health pickups.
    In order to reach the end of the game, it is necessary to maximize your protection, integrity, damage abilities, but in this condition, the end of the game becomes unnecessarily easy. The game you have been playing with pain and sweat suddenly turns into an action snack. They failed to strike that balance. Although, "balance" is easily overlooked in games now, in order to deceive "git gud" players.
    While the game's storytelling is interesting, they failed to tie the story anywhere. It's not worth playing all that hard. At the end of the game, we see that nothing is explained.

    4: Too bad - If you are not particularly enthusiastic about this genre, don't be curious and play.    … Expand
  7. Janui
    Apr 7, 2023
    0
    The graphic style is cool but for me this was not an enjoyable experience at all. I like a challenge but this game just takes all the worst aspects of rogue likes and throws them at your face:
    - zero feeling of progression
    - the levels feel really repetitive,
    - RNG feels really unfair, one mistake and a 1 hour run is wasted
    - the runs are way too long
    - everything feels like a waste of time
  8. metacriticLOL
    Feb 22, 2023
    0
    It's mid and very repetitive, feels like a tech demo more than a game. If you have to get it, I would wait for a sale, around $10-$15 is the appropriate price I definitely wouldn't recommend paying more than that.
  9. Foonky
    Feb 22, 2023
    0
    Un jeu avec un bon scénario, un atmosphère incroyable on s'y croiraient vraiment, une bonne mécanique d'arme, de loot, de zone... MAIS BORDEL arrêter avec vos rogue like de merde!!! Qui aime ce genre de jeu sérieux? C'est vraiment pourris vous êtes des sadomaso ce qui aime ça comment tu peux prendre plaisir a jouer ce genre de jeu.

Awards & Rankings

26
#26 Best PC Game of 2023
28
#28 Most Discussed PC Game of 2023

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 45
  3. Negative: 0 out of 45
  1. GameSpace
    Apr 14, 2026
    80
    Returnal is the first game in a long time to bring back that sense of excitement for gaming for me. When you wake up in the morning, you can't wait to jump into the game for a couple of hours. The ability to pause a run and save your progress at any moment intensifies that feeling threefold. After all, whenever you get the chance, you can fire up Returnal again and enjoy the shooting and exploring the world for an hour, two hours, or even the whole evening, all while burning with frustration over yet another ridiculous defeat. I’m even a little upset that I didn’t play it sooner.
    Read full review
  2. XGN
    May 1, 2023
    95
    The PC-port of Returnal fixes one of the biggest issues of the Playstation-version; not being able to safely quit the game without losing progress. In keeps its smooth combat, even with a mouse and keyboard and allows the graphics too be even better on modern hardware. An amazing roguelike with just a few minor complaints.
    Read full review
  3. Movies Games and Tech
    Mar 27, 2023
    80
    Returnal is an interesting game and for those who want a roguelike that keeps the story hidden behind a challenging gameplay loop, this is a wonderful place to start. Astropos is full of mystery and danger but with enough runs, any player has the ability to master the tight combat offered up here.
    Read full review
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