Returnal

 PlayStation 5
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 3997 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,738 out of 3997
  2. Mixed: 333 out of 3997
  3. Negative: 926 out of 3997
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  1. SabreDJ
    May 2, 2021
    4
    Visually stunning and atmospheric. Gameplay is solid but the structure holds this back, along with some jaw dropping decisions when it comes to respecting a players time. With no ability to save or checkpoints, the probability that large chunks of progress will be lost because life or the dreaded crash (it's happened to me 3 times), is great.
    The game also has some bugs that stop progress    Visually stunning and atmospheric. Gameplay is solid but the structure holds this back, along with some jaw dropping decisions when it comes to respecting a players time. With no ability to save or checkpoints, the probability that large chunks of progress will be lost because life or the dreaded crash (it's happened to me 3 times), is great.
    The game also has some bugs that stop progress and forces you to have to repeat a run, just like a crash. Ultimately, the story which has a great premise, falls short late game, and makes completing the game more of a slog than it should be. This could have been an 8 or 9 with some better decision making on the devs part, a more robust narrative in the second half of the game, and better marketing that didn't mislead many that pre-ordered the game. I was consuming every bit of news and followed the lead up to release intently and even I was surprised to find out the week before release how many of the games systems were implemented. A lot of people who didn't pay as close attention to the information just before release, will buy this expecting something closer to an action/adventure, 3rd person FPS, and be disappointed.    … Expand
  2. DanTesHUN
    May 4, 2021
    4
    Eight crashes, three game breaking bugs and everything starts from scratch. I'm afraid to start already a run. I'm very disappointed.
    It is not the difficulty of the game that is the problem, but the many crashes.
  3. x2FingerTuesday
    May 2, 2021
    4
    Boring, repetitive SLOG of a game. I like roguelikes, but this game lacks variety and fun. And for SEVENTY DOLLARS?!! That's absurd. Too bad Sony is so dirty and greedy they won't allow a refund. Game is trash. Stay away.
  4. Lonejumper23
    May 2, 2021
    4
    UPDATE REVIEW.... I am dropping my score from 9 to 4. This game completely wastes your time without a save or checkpoint feature. I have put hours into this game since launch and I am done until this feature is added. People don't have time to reply levels over and over again and that novelity wears off quickly. I am done and Returnaling and tradting in this game ASAP for Rachet andUPDATE REVIEW.... I am dropping my score from 9 to 4. This game completely wastes your time without a save or checkpoint feature. I have put hours into this game since launch and I am done until this feature is added. People don't have time to reply levels over and over again and that novelity wears off quickly. I am done and Returnaling and tradting in this game ASAP for Rachet and Clank, which will have saving and checkpoint features.

    Oringinal review....Yes and this is a Sony Exclusive that just shows off a little of what the PS5 can do. I think this game is incredible but the graphics will be better with games to come. Don't get me wrong and this games story, graphics, ray tracing, use of the PS5 controllers functions and everything is here. I don't mind dying all the time and jumping back in but with no check points or saving options this is really not what games are about these days. People's time is worth that function to be put into this game and then it's a 10. Great first PS5 exclusive and worth the buy because of what it brings to the table for gamers. You need to see it to beleive it!    … Expand
  5. Jay1999
    May 4, 2021
    2
    sold as a tps on the psn, this game is actually a rogue-lite adapted in tps and that makes a hell of a difference!
    The difficulty is just badly managed, it's frustrating, when after 20 hours of play you only saw the 1st boss twice, there is a wobbly balance!
    I can understand the vision of the developers, but when you charge a game 80 €, you make it a little more accessible to ordinary    sold as a tps on the psn, this game is actually a rogue-lite adapted in tps and that makes a hell of a difference!
    The difficulty is just badly managed, it's frustrating, when after 20 hours of play you only saw the 1st boss twice, there is a wobbly balance!
    I can understand the vision of the developers, but when you charge a game 80 €, you make it a little more accessible to ordinary people!
    I am crossing 'housemarque' from my memory, I will never buy one of their game again!    … Expand
  6. Steyraus
    May 8, 2021
    0
    Games Journalists love Returnal for Bravely using Anita Sarckesian Ideals on a main character. And PlayStation fanboys will give anything their beloved brand releases a perfect score.. So once again a Mid , yet shiny, PlayStation Exclusive gets critical acliam. Even though its ballancing and progresion systems are absutly shallow and stupid and the game released hard crashing and broken.Games Journalists love Returnal for Bravely using Anita Sarckesian Ideals on a main character. And PlayStation fanboys will give anything their beloved brand releases a perfect score.. So once again a Mid , yet shiny, PlayStation Exclusive gets critical acliam. Even though its ballancing and progresion systems are absutly shallow and stupid and the game released hard crashing and broken. As long as there is pretty graphics and a political agenda .eg " avert the male gaze" games journalist will simp for Sony just like the fanboys...
    The honest core gamers that pay the most and is the most pasionate about gaming dosent stand a chance in getting a triple A game that is developed with their tastes and wants the priority these days. Its all about the journalists scores and using the fanboys the right ways.


    $70 for this buggy game that can crash and cost you hours of progress , this is a joke. Its one of those lazy stories that are so vaugue that theres no actual plot. They use the , make your own conclusions excuse for the fact they couldnt make a good plot.. Not that it matters as its so hard to give a crap about a protagonist with resting female bog face anyway.. But really the plot is stupid not matter which vague conclusion you choose, fever dreams , all in tbe head stuff, but shes running around pew pewing aliens, its dumb.

    Ive had the game hard crash my system, ive had doors not trigger so I am stuck and have to restart, ive had the game just plain freeze. This type of game can be fun if its done right. It all reliant on RNG, luck and time gate , its not hard its imposible,. The game lets you progress when it wants you to progress, the longer you play the more powerful item get unlocked and there is less cheap one hit kills. Its a way to arificially make the game seem bigger and longer than it is. But really this is a cheap budget game through and through..
    Get " RISK OF RAIN 2" if your interested in this experiance. Its 1/4 the price 10 times more polished , 100 times more fun and satisfying and you dont have to play as a Hilary Clinton look a like. In fact you unlock a bunch of characters adding to the games quality over Returnal..    … Expand
  7. AgentoftheBat
    May 1, 2021
    4
    One small step for Karen, one giant leap for Karenkind.

    SpaceKaren Selene’s awful design makes you wish you were playing with a cool female character like classic Lara Croft, Rayne or Bayonetta. I’m sure Returnal would sell way more copies and make a lot more money if Selene didn’t look like the Queen of the Karens. On the upside, the graphics are nice and the gameplay itself is fine    One small step for Karen, one giant leap for Karenkind.

    SpaceKaren Selene’s awful design makes you wish you were playing with a cool female character like classic Lara Croft, Rayne or Bayonetta. I’m sure Returnal would sell way more copies and make a lot more money if Selene didn’t look like the Queen of the Karens.

    On the upside, the graphics are nice and the gameplay itself is fine but does show up the dearth of high quality PS5 games right now. Overall the game should probably be just memory-holed.    … Expand
  8. princessfurios
    May 1, 2021
    4
    Скучная, крайне однообразная и унылка игра. Авторы пытались в рогалик, да не смогли. Локации однотипные и пресные, оружие не отличается по ощущениям вообще. Графика - просто всплеск эффектов в глаза, но я не вижу ничего, что делало бы игру некстгеном, кроме быстрых загрузок и этих самых эффектов ради эффектов. Откуда такие огромные оценки - мне не ясно. Жутко скучный проходняк, не более.Скучная, крайне однообразная и унылка игра. Авторы пытались в рогалик, да не смогли. Локации однотипные и пресные, оружие не отличается по ощущениям вообще. Графика - просто всплеск эффектов в глаза, но я не вижу ничего, что делало бы игру некстгеном, кроме быстрых загрузок и этих самых эффектов ради эффектов. Откуда такие огромные оценки - мне не ясно. Жутко скучный проходняк, не более.
  9. bhappenstance
    Jun 20, 2023
    4
    Never has the shine come off a game so quickly and thoroughly.
    In my first 5 hours with Returnal, I was having a blast. Gorgeous graphics, awesome haptic feedback, and fluid combat. This, I thought, is some kind of minor masterpiece.
    By the time I hit hour 10, I gave up. The same slog, through the same (procedurally-generated) environments, over and over, always hitting the same wall (if    Never has the shine come off a game so quickly and thoroughly.
    In my first 5 hours with Returnal, I was having a blast. Gorgeous graphics, awesome haptic feedback, and fluid combat. This, I thought, is some kind of minor masterpiece.
    By the time I hit hour 10, I gave up. The same slog, through the same (procedurally-generated) environments, over and over, always hitting the same wall (if I could even get to said wall). Unlike Hades, there's no real sense of progression and build -- your character, Selene, is nearly as weak at the beginning of each run as she was at the get-go. Yes, you accumulate the valuable resource ether, and you keep your consumables slots, and certain weapon upgrades are available immediately. But this is accompanied by a significant difficulty spike in even the earliest levels, rendering those advantages relatively moot.
    The overall difficulty is just preposterous, to the point where Returnal really shoots itself in the foot. I hope the hard core gamers are happy, but I'd be surprised if there were enough of them out there to make this title a success.
    I played Hades for hundreds of hours. I played Returnal for 10. The former is a perfectly balanced rogue-like. The latter is a very unfortunate failure.    … Expand
  10. Fisch_Pez
    Feb 25, 2023
    0
    Sin la posibilidad de guardar avances cuando menos es una perdida de tiempo. No vale la pena, no tiene contexto y tampoco te explica cuando menos que debes hacer para sobrevivir. Es un juego que cuando mucho vale 5 usd.
  11. maddiplomat
    Apr 5, 2023
    0
    This game is so boring I almost fell asleep after 1 hour. Walk around, shoot some enemies, eventually die, start from scratch, repeat. If you're into that kind of stuff, congratulations. Otherwise, don't bother. Thankfully, I got this game for "free" via PS Plus. Imagine paying for this glorified tech demo, yikes.
  12. Chempion1
    Jul 17, 2023
    4
    Честно говоря, я разочарован.
    Это, к сожалению, очередной Soulslike. Да... Как же они меня достали эти Soulslikи. Ну ведь понятно, что лучше чем у FromSoftware это сделать не получится и всё равно делают.
    Нет, Returnal конечно это не 100% Soulslike. По сути это фантастический шутер от третьего лица. Но вот сама основа игры это принципы Souls игр. Только доведённые до какого то маразма.    Честно говоря, я разочарован.
    Это, к сожалению, очередной Soulslike. Да... Как же они меня достали эти Soulslikи. Ну ведь понятно, что лучше чем у FromSoftware это сделать не получится и всё равно делают.
    Нет, Returnal конечно это не 100% Soulslike. По сути это фантастический шутер от третьего лица. Но вот сама основа игры это принципы Souls игр. Только доведённые до какого то маразма.
    Короче ты ходишь, бродишь по очень атмосферным лабиринтам, убиваешь не слишком сложных врагов, ПРОКАЧИВАЕШЬСЯ и наконец доходишь до босса. Естественно погибаешь и, раз, начинай с самого начала игры в лучшем случае с реконструктора! Голый и босый, оставляют только базовые умения, такие как телепортация и меч например. Здорово, я четыре часа бродил, облазил все самые тёмные углы этой пещеры, к сожалению погиб, и начинай искать с начала. Отнимают всё, даже прокачанное здоровье. "Эстусы", если что, сами не восстанавливаются у "костра"-корабля, их надо искать по новому, можно носить с собой максимум 3 и то только к концу игры. При том после каждой смерти, уровень-пещера изменяется на 100%.
    Это просто подло со стороны разработчиков. Просто теряется весь смысл в исследования уровня. Напомню, что первый раз я около четырёх часов исследовал, качался, потом погиб и очнулся совершенно не прокачанный, телепортироваться некуда, уровень же новый, я за десять минут добежал до босса (метка всё равно висит в пустоте), завалил его и... У меня вопрос. А зачем я потратил эти четыре часа жизни поднимая здоровье, подбирая оружие и т д, если при следующем проходе мне это всё вообще не пригодилось?
    Короче подобным образом я дошел до второго босса, потратив ещё часа три, получил, опять таки, нахрен не нужное устройство типа "кошка"-канат, забил на это дело и удалил игру.
    В общем задумка с меняющейся пещерой не плохая, атмосфера очень хорошая, но исполнение просто из рук вон плохое.
    Я не знаю сколько боссов в игре, но если авторы считают, что после каждой гибели игрокам нравится по 3-4 часа по новой наращивать мускулы герою, а после, уже подзабыв тайминги босса, выходить на него, разбиваться и по новой? То они ошибаются. В том же Dark Soulsе после гибели ты респавнишся, да без денег-душ, но со всем своим оружием, прокачкой и всеми доступными "аптечками", здесь же даже этого нет.
    На мой взгляд это тупое растягивание геймплея и больше ничего.
    Не знаю, может надо пройти дальше и всё изменится, в чём я сомниваюсь, но начало игры, это то, что должно завлекать игроков и заинтересовывать их и у Returnal с этим явно проблемы.
    А ведь я когда то игру купить хотел, хорошо передумал. И вот теперь она лежит в PS Plus, так что если кто хочет, скачайте, может зацепит.    … Expand
  13. Andres-Arambula
    May 15, 2023
    1
    Juego sobre valuado! Dicen que es homenaje a Zelda pero es una copia de versiones clasicas.
  14. Altanein
    Apr 14, 2023
    2
    I bought the PC version of Returnal and it feels like Super Mario Land - and that's not a compliment
  15. Gosticouilles
    Mar 4, 2023
    0
    Man this game is just unplayable, been playing video games for 25 years mostly at the highest difficulty. Can't stay alive more than 5 minutes. I don't undertsand how this game can be fun to be honest. Do no buy this.
  16. Egopez
    May 14, 2023
    4
    The game is very good and entertaining, but it's frustrating because you never advance, after 10 hours I only reached the first boss once, I'm going to leave the game on the cabinet, because the desire to play is gone, your morale is low and it makes you want to abandon it, a shame because the game is good but without a save system it takes a lot of points from the game
  17. yaminotenshi1
    Jun 16, 2023
    4
    So much talking for this game, but is pretty **** actually.
    is boring terrible written and totally unbalanced.

    They used this vague confused unfinished story, just to give some meaning to the redundancy and
    tediousness of the game.
    even for a roguelike game is very boring and redundant.
  18. borito7
    Feb 16, 2023
    4
    I like the story,graphics,sound,ect,But point where you constantly repeat everything after you die is awful.I delete it after 2 h .
  19. LUIS3961
    Feb 19, 2023
    0
    Muy malo, no le ponen ganas a los juegos hoy en día, que mal y aburrido.......
  20. peyman24
    Feb 16, 2023
    2
    The sound is the only good thing about this game, otherwise the game is painful and needs a lot of patience
  21. Beaulieuboy3
    Apr 2, 2023
    1
    Wishy washy played something like this before. Not really ground breaking. The controls aren’t that best I had a lot of stutter issues. Just felt like a really repetitive TPS
  22. gamer664
    May 2, 2023
    0
    This game has good graphics and so much potential for a story rich single player game, but the devs shot themselves in the foot by copying the souls like formula. Unfortunately you lose all progress on death, so you will have to drag yourself to kill all the same mobs that you killed again.

    Combat is so basic, just straight up shooting with zero strategy or stealth. By the third time that    This game has good graphics and so much potential for a story rich single player game, but the devs shot themselves in the foot by copying the souls like formula. Unfortunately you lose all progress on death, so you will have to drag yourself to kill all the same mobs that you killed again.

    Combat is so basic, just straight up shooting with zero strategy or stealth. By the third time that I died to the 1st boss Phryke, I have uninstalled the damn game. Games like this do not respect the player's time. It is just grindy and boring, forcing you to replay the same thing over and over again, artificially increasing the game length. The game isn't challenging, it is only grindy. Why don't the devs ask themselves whether they have time to play games like this when they have to work everyday and after family and life priorities, you have like one or two hours a day to sit down and enjoy your game.    … Expand
  23. VittoScaletta
    Apr 28, 2023
    0
    This game punishes you for every mistake you make and makes you constantly start over from the beginning for every single death. Awful game
  24. Bartier0
    Sep 8, 2023
    0
    This game was meant for the lgbtq+ community which makes up 100% of the PlayStation community. The game is terrible, it’s bugged out terribly. The game crashes before I can even play it on my PS5. Don’t buy this product!!!
  25. Geez
    Jan 4, 2022
    0
    Just a terrible game with horrible game design. No accessibility option, same crap over and over. What a waste of 90$ canadian plus tax. I sold it at a lost for 10$. That's how bad this game is.
  26. Orororu
    Jan 3, 2022
    3
    Solid graphic, tight battles, but runs do not provide enough variety to be repayable. Same weapons, boring upgrades which do not make any difference, and thanks to random nature of the game you can die at any moment because some kamikaze drones were generated by the game in an empty room without cover. Now you need to waste another hour in the biome where you have been hundred timesSolid graphic, tight battles, but runs do not provide enough variety to be repayable. Same weapons, boring upgrades which do not make any difference, and thanks to random nature of the game you can die at any moment because some kamikaze drones were generated by the game in an empty room without cover. Now you need to waste another hour in the biome where you have been hundred times already, and which does not provide any meaningful upgrades just to try to reach level which you actually want to play. Game would be much better if it didn’t waste your time on meaningless grinding, and just had a checkpoint at the beginning of the biome.… Expand
  27. PedroReck07
    Nov 26, 2021
    0
    Returnal has made a copy of all games from 2014 onwards to be the same and boring. they just put a protagonist with lines and a strange story with the same ending as always
  28. Lemures
    Jan 4, 2022
    4
    Game with amazing graphics, soundtrack, and cool action gameplay worthy of a 9.0 score, but the difficulty is waaaaaay too hard and it does not allow you to adjust it. Who wants to buy a game that is literally unplayable because you can't get passed level 3 having paid $70 and dying over and over only to have to start at the beginning of the game with nothing each time? NOT WORTH BUYINGGame with amazing graphics, soundtrack, and cool action gameplay worthy of a 9.0 score, but the difficulty is waaaaaay too hard and it does not allow you to adjust it. Who wants to buy a game that is literally unplayable because you can't get passed level 3 having paid $70 and dying over and over only to have to start at the beginning of the game with nothing each time? NOT WORTH BUYING AT ALL FOR MOST PLAYERS. This is a game only designrd for 10 percent of gamers and this is a company that literally does not care about most of the people that bought the game. I'll remember not to buy another game from Housemarque… Expand
  29. Flange
    Dec 28, 2021
    3
    Dull, bleak and repetitive. It's not the difficulty that puts me off, it's the total lack of joy in playing the game. There is a total lack of style and aesthetics, enemies are vague, shapeless forms and utterly unmemorable. The gameplay is bang average tps with goofy bullet hell clumsily stuck on top. It feels like an indie title, superficially inflated with some (pointless andDull, bleak and repetitive. It's not the difficulty that puts me off, it's the total lack of joy in playing the game. There is a total lack of style and aesthetics, enemies are vague, shapeless forms and utterly unmemorable. The gameplay is bang average tps with goofy bullet hell clumsily stuck on top. It feels like an indie title, superficially inflated with some (pointless and confusing) controller feedback. The price tag of this game is criminal. If you can find it cheap, second hand it might be worth it, but it's hard to find any reward in playing this game.… Expand
  30. Candycotton179
    Oct 25, 2021
    2
    Barely a roguelite and much more akin to a rogue like . Hate seeing this compared to dead cells and hades as in regards to those roguelites returnal is nothing like them. Seeing as practically nothing is carried over and no skill trees to unlock give you a boost to weapons or extra resources to start each subsequent run.
  31. kittybird
    Nov 20, 2021
    1
    What could have been an awesome game is ruined by poor game design. Cheap deaths, holes that are impossible to see that take a quarter of your health bar, boss fights that are cheaply hard, then require you to play the WHOLE GAME OVER AGAIN to retry. Waste of money.
  32. RolandOG
    Sep 24, 2021
    4
    There is a lot about this game I like, and at first I had fun exploring and taking it all in, but it all boils down to too much of my time wasted doing the same thing over and over. At first, the procedurally generated world makes it interesting, but then you start to realize it’s all the same and most of it never comes together in a meaningful way. Laser obstacles will appear in random,There is a lot about this game I like, and at first I had fun exploring and taking it all in, but it all boils down to too much of my time wasted doing the same thing over and over. At first, the procedurally generated world makes it interesting, but then you start to realize it’s all the same and most of it never comes together in a meaningful way. Laser obstacles will appear in random, pointless places and it’s all pretty obviously randomized at times. In Returnal you need to spend hours prepping for a boss battle, finding items and artifacts that will give you a better chance, and then it’s most likely you die and have to start all over from the beginning. The more of the world you unlock, the longer it takes to try again. I eventually made it past the first couple of bosses, but when I died a few times of on the third (and some on my way there) I gave up. I spend all day hard at work– that is a challenge. Being a dad is a challenge. I don’t need this repetitive, time wasting challenge on my PS5. I feel like this was mostly a waste of money. I’ve decided I’m not buying another game like it. Deathloop is out now, and even though IGN gave it a 10/10.. No thanks.… Expand
  33. spiritamokk
    Oct 21, 2021
    2
    Senseless grind with very little emotional reward. Confusing and repetitive level design, boring mechanics. GameStop trade in material
  34. thegold
    Sep 8, 2022
    1
    Atmospheric for sure but too much RNG, it's ridiculous. Selene is a r*tard.
  35. Hurrikhan
    Aug 30, 2021
    3
    I hate this game so much.

    I've just finished Demon Souls PS5, so naturally I switched to another difficult game. Alas this game is just stupid. Here, contrary to the Souls-like games I enjoy so much : you die, you restart basically everything : no leveling, no keeping weapons, no nothing. Basically you get your gun, your ugly-ass face and a couple of "artifacts" you grabbed    I hate this game so much.

    I've just finished Demon Souls PS5, so naturally I switched to another difficult game.

    Alas this game is just stupid. Here, contrary to the Souls-like games I enjoy so much : you die, you restart basically everything : no leveling, no keeping weapons, no nothing.

    Basically you get your gun, your ugly-ass face and a couple of "artifacts" you grabbed during a previous suicide run.

    I don't mind the fast-action shooter that looks taken from an old shoot-them-up, that's my style, but it gets repetitive quick. As for the level generation, I already know every room they glue together by heart.

    First thing I don't like : there is no feel of progression, even if there is some (hidden and minor).

    Second thing : every time you start, at some point you loot different weapons and some are just not a good match so, like in every other badly designed rogue : you suicide and restart if the first thing you find is garbage, hoping for a better draw.

    Third thing : I've just encountered the boss, managed to get it down to another phase but then got killed (no health available, no ship healing like before they stupidly nerfed it : bad luck)
    I die and naturally, I'm back in another instance with basically nothing to show for my "work".
    Do I want to go through all that to take another shot? Killing my character if I get another bad draw?
    Hell no! I've seen more than enough.

    The worst though, is that the game innovates in design stupidity : you cannot stop the console nor play another game until you reach some point about 6 hours in. I'm not a child with ample time on my hands and I like diversity. This is already pretty much a deal breaker, alas it was too late for me when I learned about this.

    Unless you have ample time, love wasting your time and are prepared to only play that game for a long while, just dodge this bullet.
    It's just not fun.

    Maybe try it when it becomes free or something, then be glad you haven't wasted $70 on this, only a few hours you'll never get back.    … Expand
  36. LittleMissKittn
    Jun 15, 2021
    4
    Graphics are amazing. The use of the DualSense is one of the best I’ve experienced so far. The gameplay style is great! So why give it such a low score?

    Because with each and every update, this game gets even WORSE! The developers are some real major trolls. Instead of making the game easier and add some quality of life features (like the ability to have checkpoints and saves), they not    Graphics are amazing. The use of the DualSense is one of the best I’ve experienced so far. The gameplay style is great! So why give it such a low score?

    Because with each and every update, this game gets even WORSE! The developers are some real major trolls. Instead of making the game easier and add some quality of life features (like the ability to have checkpoints and saves), they not only keep those out, but make the game HARDER with every update! Enemies are made harder, your weapons get weaker with every update, and even the healing mechanics get worse in every update. Basically with every update, the game gets more and more unplayable to the point people like myself have started to quit and realized we wasted $80 on this piece of trash. This along with Cyberpunk 2077 should be prime example of why reviews on major websites NEED to be updated with their scores changed once major updates come out that dramatically change gameplay. They intentionally kept the game at a reasonable level until it was reviewed and already sold to customers before they started stripping the game of those features and improvements and made it worse like the trolling sadomasochists they are at HouseMarque.

    I’m willing to bet, especially with the latest update which as of press time is 1.4.0, that if the current state of this game is what was reviewed back in April, it would’ve gotten a bad or mediocre score and since they were banking on this being their first major retail game, they needed all the help they could get to the point that they even implemented a feature that allowed you to plug a USB keyboard in and spawn weapons, transfer you back to the ship without restarting the current seed, and also sleeping in the ship healed you completely and could be done as many times as needed. No doubt the reviewers used these tools to speed through the game and gave it a high score based on the points I mentioned at the start of the review. This game was a fraud right from the start. It’s sad too because this could’ve really been something but instead because of the cockiness and attitudes of the developers, it’s just a pile of trash that isn’t even worth $20 much less $70-80. I bought the Digital Deluxe Version and honestly I feel cheated. If you are considering this game even after all this, I urge you to buy something else. Buy Hades which is coming in August, buy Demon’s Souls. Buy anything else, but NOT…THIS…GAME…    … Expand
  37. shadowibik
    Nov 25, 2021
    0
    bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad
  38. HeartlessNinny
    Jun 19, 2021
    0
    Hatred is too weak of a word for how I feel about this game. You get arbitrarily rewarded or punished based on luck and nothing more. The guns feel weak. The items are often useless. A single hit has huge consequences, yet it's virtually impossible to dodge everything. You make no progress if you die. There's no satisfaction to be had at all.

    This game goes out of its way to waste your    Hatred is too weak of a word for how I feel about this game. You get arbitrarily rewarded or punished based on luck and nothing more. The guns feel weak. The items are often useless. A single hit has huge consequences, yet it's virtually impossible to dodge everything. You make no progress if you die. There's no satisfaction to be had at all.

    This game goes out of its way to waste your time. I loathe it with every fiber of my being. Easily one of the worst games I've ever played.    … Expand
  39. Timenick
    Dec 29, 2021
    1
    After playing this game for about 20 hours I have to lower my score from a three to a one.

    Pros: Graphics Cons: Everything else..? It is like they took every **** design decision from the NES and SNES era to artificially extend the length of a game and put shiny alien graphics around it. And a lot of games from this ancient time actually had a better story. This game looks like it    After playing this game for about 20 hours I have to lower my score from a three to a one.

    Pros: Graphics

    Cons: Everything else..?

    It is like they took every **** design decision from the NES and SNES era to artificially extend the length of a game and put shiny alien graphics around it. And a lot of games from this ancient time actually had a better story. This game looks like it is from 2023 but is designed like it is from 1991. Truly Next Gen.

    Returnal isn't hard. It is just cheaply designed and overly dependent on rgn. And it isn´t rewarding. Like not at all. You get nothing for succeeding and you will loose all your equipment if you die. This game isn´t a Rogue Like because dead bosses stay dead. It is a linear game with badly implemented Rogue Like mechanics. If you want a hard game with next gen graphics that is rewarding and fun to play even if you die a lot buy Demon´s Souls. And if you want a good Rogue Like buy Hades or Dead Cells or The Binding Of Isaac.

    By the way, Returnal is one of the least finished games this year. Not really surprising. Don´t waste your money.    … Expand
  40. RoverDiscover
    Feb 23, 2023
    0
    Highly overrated, it got media praise only because it's a Sony studios game, and we all know how it works. Forgettable experience. Very disappointing
  41. NarraMine
    Feb 9, 2022
    0
    Very stupid game. You may spend two hours and get nothing. Again and again.
  42. dmnz3
    Jan 10, 2022
    0
    Dear god what a mess.

    The graphics are absolutely stunning and show what the PS5 can do... that's the only positive thing about this game. Don't be fooled this game, it's an absolute atrocity to play. First off, no way to suspend the game, NONE whatsoEVER, to explain why this is bad, runs can go on for 3 HOURS only for you to either get bored / exhausted, stop caring and either die or    Dear god what a mess.

    The graphics are absolutely stunning and show what the PS5 can do... that's the only positive thing about this game. Don't be fooled this game, it's an absolute atrocity to play. First off, no way to suspend the game, NONE whatsoEVER, to explain why this is bad, runs can go on for 3 HOURS only for you to either get bored / exhausted, stop caring and either die or kill yourself on purpose, only... there's a problem with that. See, whenever you die in this game you start all over again, and I don't mean just the current segment you're in, no no no, all the way to the beginning (you get to keep perma-upgrades, but those are rare as hell and usually garbage, see for example the melee upgrade is absolutely useless in this game). The game's story is lackluster to call it that, it's bad, unquantifiable bad. You play as this absolute coconut called Selene who after crash landing has absolutely no recollection of anything that is happening on the planet which she either scoured or her clones did (???). You find logs scattered on the planet that were left by none other than yourself or previous itterations of yourself that tell absolutely no story other than look, there's danger and something nonsensical about how the whole planet makes no sense.
    The adrenaline system is also a massive pile of steaming dung, you get a bonus for killing enemies without getting hit which is fine, but they give you a melee bonus at rank 3. Did I mention that melee is useless?? Yea it's still useless at rank 3 adrenaline and to make matters worse the melee hit doesn't snap onto enemies making it really frustrating to use. To make matters worse enemies have a melee attack when you get near them that can quite frankly be easily dodged... but your dodge is on a 2 second cooldown... If you get near a bunch of enemies you're going to get hit no matter what you do and it's going to reset your adrenaline level to 0 which makes you lose ALL the perks you obtained.
    What's driving me nuts is the fact that this game is hard, and it's not Souls like hard, where the difficulty is high but the game is fair, no, this is a game that will screw you over after 1 and a half hours because you couldn't see something stupid coming up. (stupid like this https://youtu.be/i25SnegVtMw).

    Housemarque, after years of attempts is still unable to produce something worth your time, avoid this game, it's not even worth it for the people that got it for free on PS+

    I literally made an account to post this review, and I think that the 0 i gave it is still way too high of a score    … Expand
  43. objectiveop
    May 12, 2021
    3
    The gameplay is solid, but they forget what a roguelike is. Runs take way to long and you skip most of the past content; you never see the first 3 biomes again unless you're a completionist to get glyphs and secret ending. You also never have to fight the bosses again. They designed it in a way where you avoid content rather than experience it. In addition, other roguelikes provide someThe gameplay is solid, but they forget what a roguelike is. Runs take way to long and you skip most of the past content; you never see the first 3 biomes again unless you're a completionist to get glyphs and secret ending. You also never have to fight the bosses again. They designed it in a way where you avoid content rather than experience it. In addition, other roguelikes provide some small rewards for failed runs. Sure you get ether that carries over but it caps out at 30 and there isn't enough things to do with it. When runs take hours and you got nothing failed attempts other than "git gud" makes me feel bad, it doesn't make me want to try again.

    In terms of story, what story? It's overly suggestive with no conclusion or closure. Games like dark souls don't spell out the story but they have context clues in the item descriptions and environment. While Returnal has files to read they are mostly not relevant or too vague. And the secret ending which takes a bit to get is point less, adds nothing and explains nothing. A player can't be invested if the story isn't compelling. More cut scenes and more metaphors like how Silent Hill suggests the true nature of things would go a long way

    There is no point to this game which makes me want to never come back. There needs to be payoff with difficult, it has to feel rewarding. The devs here are clearly learning and I hope they iterate in their next game but when Hades exists recently for a fraction of the price, I would rather play that instead of Returnal.    … Expand
  44. bsebesty
    May 16, 2021
    3
    I'd love this game. It's beautiful, it's exciting. BUT it's just too difficult. I'm a casual gamer, aged 50 and my reflexes will never be like tehy were when I was 20. And I just can't make it past the first boss. In fact Ican rarely make it to the boss. Played hours and hours and hours (30+) and just can't make it past. I've now given up and moved to other games, but essentially I paid aI'd love this game. It's beautiful, it's exciting. BUT it's just too difficult. I'm a casual gamer, aged 50 and my reflexes will never be like tehy were when I was 20. And I just can't make it past the first boss. In fact Ican rarely make it to the boss. Played hours and hours and hours (30+) and just can't make it past. I've now given up and moved to other games, but essentially I paid a hefty price for a 1-hour single level shootout. Just way too expensive. I can't understand why I am forced to play in hard mode. What's wrong with adjustable difficulty?! Very frustrating,… Expand
  45. DiegoMasson
    May 2, 2021
    0
    Es un juego oscuro con apenas detalles. No es next gen como lo prometió Sony. Usa trucos como neblina, oscuridad y luces para tapar que va a 1080p. En lo jugable el personaje es errático y la cámara no se posiciona bien. No lo recomiendo
  46. Aifano
    Dec 1, 2021
    0
    Worse game ever
    The graphics are amazing but way this design is bad
    Who likes repetition
    Where is the fun?
  47. muhrduhr
    May 6, 2021
    3
    A challenging game with a lot of fun mechanics. You gradually learn how to get better. I enjoyed my first hours in the game. But now I have experienced my fifth crash. Almost all crashes happened when I was getting close to finishing a quest / biome. Challenging gameplay is fun. But being challenged and have all progress wiped over and over due to crashes is painful. The game seems to getA challenging game with a lot of fun mechanics. You gradually learn how to get better. I enjoyed my first hours in the game. But now I have experienced my fifth crash. Almost all crashes happened when I was getting close to finishing a quest / biome. Challenging gameplay is fun. But being challenged and have all progress wiped over and over due to crashes is painful. The game seems to get progressively less stable for every patch. The initial release version was the most stable one. I have finally given up on this game. There are better games to play at this price range. Wait for this game to get fixed and its price to fall. This is not a AAA product worth its current price. I wish the devs the best of luck.… Expand
  48. Danx7ktd
    May 5, 2021
    2
    Para nada bueno el juego demasiado obscuro y niebla sin sentido que no ayuda en la visualización de los enemigos ,queda debiendo
  49. willylagos
    May 2, 2021
    1
    Repetitivo, no se puede grabar, en más de 2 hrs de juego no puedo grabar la partida!! Después de jugarlo un buen rato me aburrió.
  50. MrFelton
    May 2, 2021
    0
    The fact that this game hard crashes is bad enough but the fact that there is no real auto save makes it a disaster. Losing around 8 hours of progress. I doubt they'll bother to make the call to fix the save issues people are having.
  51. Sandyman709
    May 14, 2021
    4
    I was worried coming into this game because I heard about the no save feature and constantly replaying levels. It’s indeed as bad as they say it is. Can’t see what the developers were going for because this game is practically unplayable for casuals who only want to play for a few hours a day. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good challenge and I’m a fan of souls games, but this is just notI was worried coming into this game because I heard about the no save feature and constantly replaying levels. It’s indeed as bad as they say it is. Can’t see what the developers were going for because this game is practically unplayable for casuals who only want to play for a few hours a day. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good challenge and I’m a fan of souls games, but this is just not fun after dying so many times. Would’ve given the game a higher score if it weren’t for that. Everything else about it is great.… Expand
  52. Upsetfan
    May 6, 2021
    2
    Nothing like losing 30+ hours of gameplay because of a bad patch by the developers. It was already bad enough having to deal with a few glitches killing a few of my runs but this is totally unacceptable. WASTE of $70.
  53. Louganite
    May 5, 2021
    3
    I have been playing this game for 11 hours and 20 minutes and can't even get by the first boss! The graphics are amazing as is the use of the dual sense controller, but the difficulty makes the game not enjoyable for me. I've gone through all the help videos on YouTube but still can't succeed. I really think they need some easier difficulty settings. I enjoy the story in video gaming asI have been playing this game for 11 hours and 20 minutes and can't even get by the first boss! The graphics are amazing as is the use of the dual sense controller, but the difficulty makes the game not enjoyable for me. I've gone through all the help videos on YouTube but still can't succeed. I really think they need some easier difficulty settings. I enjoy the story in video gaming as much as I do the gameplay, but I wouldn't recommend this game. The thing is that I'm not a complete newbie either! I've completed lots of great games like both last of us games, Horizon zero dawn, and GTA5. This is just too much and I'm sorry I paid so much for this game.… Expand
  54. youmind
    May 2, 2021
    1
    Es una estafa de juego la verdad, la distancia de aparición de objetos parece una broma, a 5 metros te salta un objeto que no veías antes, puede ser por la niebla o puede ser porque la consola no puede cargarlo sino explotaría, y no hablo de objetos pesados, solo son piedras o pequeñas hierbas, eso si lo que no te cansarás de ver será a tu personaje correr entre la niebla con disparos queEs una estafa de juego la verdad, la distancia de aparición de objetos parece una broma, a 5 metros te salta un objeto que no veías antes, puede ser por la niebla o puede ser porque la consola no puede cargarlo sino explotaría, y no hablo de objetos pesados, solo son piedras o pequeñas hierbas, eso si lo que no te cansarás de ver será a tu personaje correr entre la niebla con disparos que son fuegos artificiales. Único punto positivo es por la integración de la mujer en juegos que cada vez es mayor

    It's a game scam the truth, the distance of appearance of objects looks like a joke, 5 meters you skip an object you didn't see before, it can be because the fog or it can be because the console can't carry it but it would explode, and I'm not talking about heavy objects, it's just stones or small herbs, that if what you won't get tired of seeing will be your character running in the fog with shots that are fireworks. The only positive point is because of the integration of women into ever-increasing games    … Expand
  55. tetris556
    May 12, 2021
    3
    There isn't nearly enough content to justify the price of $75. Not anywhere close. The game is brutally hard, and not in the fun satisfying manner something like Dark Souls is, the difficulty spikes in Returnal come fast, you'll be having a good time, then be locked, randomly and without warning, in a room with several mini bosses, and bye bye 3 hour run. Hope you had a save file, OH WAIT,There isn't nearly enough content to justify the price of $75. Not anywhere close. The game is brutally hard, and not in the fun satisfying manner something like Dark Souls is, the difficulty spikes in Returnal come fast, you'll be having a good time, then be locked, randomly and without warning, in a room with several mini bosses, and bye bye 3 hour run. Hope you had a save file, OH WAIT, saves aren't a feature here. Of any kind. In the middle of a long run and the game crashes? Guess you're starting all over! This game reeks of amateur game design, there any many bugs and pacing issues that should have been solved in play testing, which leads me to think they didn't. It's not the buggiest game I have played, but I have lost runs to crashes, and I haven't made it out of the first level yet. Don't buy this game, it's a glorified tech demo.… Expand
  56. Pomberhell25
    May 2, 2021
    2
    Extremadamente repetitivo, lags, inconsistencias jugables, secciones muy largas para guardar, no lo recomiendo.
  57. Suleiman225
    May 6, 2021
    0
    So a **** game but really, you play for hours and you mustn't die in order not to be heard from the start, but then you make a mistake and you love the game all over again. Are you serious? !!!!!! 80 € ???? wowwwww
  58. Kyberias
    May 5, 2021
    4
    After greatly enjoying the Days Gone, Spiderman (puzzles turned off), and Ghost of Tsushima, I really wanted to like Returnal. Unfortunately, after some 4 hours of mindless running around uninteresting dark sceneries, that change after every death (and no way to save the progress), I gave up. Sorry Housemarque... Uninstall, and instant gratification. There is just too little reward for theAfter greatly enjoying the Days Gone, Spiderman (puzzles turned off), and Ghost of Tsushima, I really wanted to like Returnal. Unfortunately, after some 4 hours of mindless running around uninteresting dark sceneries, that change after every death (and no way to save the progress), I gave up. Sorry Housemarque... Uninstall, and instant gratification. There is just too little reward for the ongoing pain and lack of progress. Be careful before purchasing.… Expand
  59. martin36429
    May 2, 2021
    0
    The game does have a very good graphic, however, the developer used the same 3D models. You always see same enemies with same AI and almost every scenes look exactly the same. The main story is also not compelling. The game also has no save option, so the developer forced you to play in his way. He does not care if you want to switch to another game or go rest. You cannot give this game 10The game does have a very good graphic, however, the developer used the same 3D models. You always see same enemies with same AI and almost every scenes look exactly the same. The main story is also not compelling. The game also has no save option, so the developer forced you to play in his way. He does not care if you want to switch to another game or go rest. You cannot give this game 10 score just because this is first triple A title with rogue like feature I do not understand why do you guys give this game a high score when the developer can just use the same 3D models for mobs and scenes.… Expand
  60. Maksik95
    May 1, 2021
    0
    Забагованый кусок кода!после патча 1.33 удалил мои сохранения и обнулил прохождение
  61. drubix
    May 2, 2021
    0
    Returnal is fun and all, but it is so buggy. There are no save points, so when the game crashed, I lost everything. all my progress from 2 hours, GONE
  62. freedwretch
    May 3, 2021
    0
    This game is way too hard, way to punishing on stripping you of every single thing you have when you die & you can't even defeat the first boss without full health which you will never have by the time you faced him because health is so scarce
  63. Boomerman
    May 2, 2021
    4
    Great game. Pushes you to keep moving and keeping your eyes peeled for the next thing. My only grievance is the stupid ass Door bug. I have had one too many runs ruined because the dammed door won't open. Or I can't interact with anything either.
  64. Riddickeyes
    May 2, 2021
    0
    I had a lot of expectations with this video game and it was a total disappointment full of popping darkness and more darkness without being able to save
  65. SIRTFLOP
    May 2, 2021
    1
    Bugs, glitches and poorly displayed graphics. It gets boring quickly and the story is nothing special. Also, Housemarque has done a poor job with Physics and AI.

    It's a pass.
  66. drekkard
    May 10, 2021
    4
    It is an excellent game, but it is broken. The fact there is no save game is an absolute stupidity that devs should have fixed by now. But the worst thung is I have lost my progress twice due to updates. This is a joke. My console was shut down when a new update appeared but it doesnt matter. It is so buggy you can loose your progress anyday. Being an incredibly hard game, it is ridiculousIt is an excellent game, but it is broken. The fact there is no save game is an absolute stupidity that devs should have fixed by now. But the worst thung is I have lost my progress twice due to updates. This is a joke. My console was shut down when a new update appeared but it doesnt matter. It is so buggy you can loose your progress anyday. Being an incredibly hard game, it is ridiculous to loose progress. I had slained 3 bosses, I jist dont habe the will to come back to it at all, actually I deserve a refund for faulty software. It is a pitty but they tried too hard to be hardcore and at the end they went stypid with this game.… Expand
  67. quirk223
    May 12, 2021
    3
    Runs can be hit or miss like any other game in the genre, but the lack of a save feature makes it so that this game takes your PS5 hostage until the run is completed. If you have other people that want to play...no dice. The developers seem to get off on making this game harder and harder with patches. I played "patched" versions with all sorts of problems (crashes, save corruption,Runs can be hit or miss like any other game in the genre, but the lack of a save feature makes it so that this game takes your PS5 hostage until the run is completed. If you have other people that want to play...no dice. The developers seem to get off on making this game harder and harder with patches. I played "patched" versions with all sorts of problems (crashes, save corruption, etc.) and it just seemed to get harder with every patch while they continued to break the game. I deleted the game and reinstalled just the disc after reading some stuff online. I had no problems with this version and a much more forgiving experience. The story is mediocre at best. This game is not worth the price tag. I would wait for it to come down to $50.… Expand
  68. elpijo
    May 2, 2021
    0
    este juego me ha desepcionado de muchas maneras, es aburrido, todos los mapas con casi que exactamente igual al msimo, si fuera un juego gratuito lo entenderia, pero no vale lo que cuesta, es mas similar a un juego indie desarrollado por una persona que a que nos tiene acostumbrado PLay station
  69. Erkefiende
    May 3, 2021
    0
    Crashes, bugs, not being able to turn off your console or play other games without ruining your run.
    They have to fix this, otherwise I would have given the game an 8, because I love it.
    But you can't expect gamers to continue to play after so many hours lost due to the game crashing and everything resets. The dying part is fun though, I like a challenge, and it's not that hard. I wanted    Crashes, bugs, not being able to turn off your console or play other games without ruining your run.
    They have to fix this, otherwise I would have given the game an 8, because I love it.
    But you can't expect gamers to continue to play after so many hours lost due to the game crashing and everything resets.
    The dying part is fun though, I like a challenge, and it's not that hard.

    I wanted to give the game atleast a 5 so I wouldn't just come of as a hater, I support Housemarque, I bought this expensive game, but don't want to waste my time anymore, losing entire days of progress due to bugs.

    I will not change my rating after they have fixed this, as they have to learn a lesson,. how could they not have implemented a system for eventual crashes so that we start up where we quit, is beyond me. Other Rogue-like games have it.
    People also have problem with power outages, like my 4-hour run just got deleted cause of a bug. Not related to pre-order bonus or controller mapping, nor because of a fault in the Ps5's database.

    Fix it!    … Expand
  70. Carnizero81
    May 4, 2021
    0
    Game keeps crashing.No save features, not a 70 dollar game, in my opinion.
  71. rajones51
    May 3, 2021
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After initially enjoying this game a lot, it became such a complete waste of time and chore past about 6-8 hours of playing. The graphics, animation, and sound effects are the best qualities of this game. I honestly don't know of any single artifact, parasite, or any "buff" that doesn't give an oddly disproportionate debuff to the point that every time I found myself stumbling upon a malignant item I thought "why would I want that huge debuff for such a worthless buff and also have to put in more effort to clear the malignant debuff, all while risking having this progress completely reset?" The gun "balance" in this game is absolutely ridiculous, as there are certain guns and mods that are leaps and bounds above the others in terms of power. What's that, you want to make a web of red lightning-like lasers that can almost span the entire area and do DoT dmg to anything inside it? HERE YOU GO! You want a crappy plague launcher that has a 3 volley clip and nowhere near as good as the rail driver? Sucks to be you, that's going to be all you're gonna get thanks to RNGesus! That goes doubly for alternative fire mods, with ones like tracing (homing projectiles that deal massive damage) being incredibly good while ones like vertical grenade lobby are an absolute joke.

    I find it just sad how many people are rating this a 10/10 simply to "counter all the negative scores."

    Now, let's get into just how much time you're going to waste on this game. I'd go so far as to say that at least 80% of the time you put into this game will be erased with every death, game crash, system or game update forcing you to close. Yeah, you read that right...roguelike tps where you lose all progress when the game closes due to multiple crashes at launch, making you lose your progress. Happened to me progressing from proficiency 0-10 on a multi-hour playthrough killing stage 1 and 2 bosses, so very early in the game progression. To be put simply, incredibly frustrating having hours you spend putting into a game be wiped out in a split second because the game isn't released as a polished product. The only things you keep are the suit mod items like the sword, grappling hook, etc.. and other than that only pieces of ether. Oh, I didn't even mention the "doors will not open" bug forcing you to restart your cycle. Have fun running into that one!

    To anyone on the fence about buying this game, I would strongly suggest on waiting until it's in the bargain bin or at least 50% off, as $70 for this game ($80 for deluxe) is an asbolute rip off.

    What's the point of this game then, you ask, other than dying and losing nearly all progress? Good freaking question. The story was intriguing at the beginning through part 2-3 of 6, but after becoming incredibly bored with this game I just googled how the game ends.

    SPOILER ALERT

    Holy **** that has to be the absolute laziest and most pathetic ending to simply have you "recycle" to the beginning of the game again.    … Expand
  72. NeilAlexander
    May 3, 2021
    3
    The game is showing off many features of the PS5, but sadly, I expected more from it. 1080p and frame dips in 2021 was shocking, but that's not really my issue. The game is hard, and that's great, but at times it becomes overwhelmingly challenging and unwelcoming. The gameplay also feels a little repetitive after a few runs. And then there is the problem of the PS5 updating while you playThe game is showing off many features of the PS5, but sadly, I expected more from it. 1080p and frame dips in 2021 was shocking, but that's not really my issue. The game is hard, and that's great, but at times it becomes overwhelmingly challenging and unwelcoming. The gameplay also feels a little repetitive after a few runs. And then there is the problem of the PS5 updating while you play and all the progress is lost. It is a very cool game with cool ideas, but these quality of life things need improvement… Expand
  73. Richy03
    May 2, 2021
    1
    Es un juego de 6-7, sin embargo le doy un 1 por la cantidad de graves BUGS que tiene, crasheos en la consola, puertas que no se abren, horas de avance perdidas por bloqueos, etc... Lamentable sacar un juego con estos fallos y mas lamentable aun la prensa dándole notas infladas y no avisando de ello a los usuarios
  74. Resident69
    May 2, 2021
    1
    This is a great game that at times can be very rewarding and incredibly fun. I enjoy the grinding, the rouge-like gameplay...the whole atmosphere of the game and its story is perfect.

    I just can't forgive this great game for the lack of saving. For a $70 first party Sony game that really knocks it out of the park everywhere else, the fact that I have to put my console in "rest mode" and    This is a great game that at times can be very rewarding and incredibly fun. I enjoy the grinding, the rouge-like gameplay...the whole atmosphere of the game and its story is perfect.

    I just can't forgive this great game for the lack of saving. For a $70 first party Sony game that really knocks it out of the park everywhere else, the fact that I have to put my console in "rest mode" and hope it doesn't get messed up when I have to walk away is absurd. The game does just fine saving my permanent equipment, and how much Ether I have in my inventory when I boot it up. Am I out there "save scumming" for my Ether? No, because that's stupid. Will this become just another third person shooter if I can actually save where I am after an hour and go to bed? No, because if it works anything like other indie games in this genre that cost a fraction of the price, it will let me pick up where I left it and that's it.    … Expand
  75. SlayerSantiago
    May 3, 2021
    4
    Not sure where the appeal is with these Souls games but they are definitely for a niche group of "gamers" specifically those who are masochists. Returnal is about as much fun as doing a two-step barefoot tango across a bed of lava. At no point during your playthrough will you ever feel a sense of relief. The game will also crash very often so be prepared to lose a lot of your progress often.
  76. RFelan
    May 2, 2021
    1
    The lack of a save option is terrible with such a difficult game. You can play for hours and run into a boss that’s super tough, die and Then BOOM, right back to the beginning.
  77. Jery45
    May 3, 2021
    0
    The game is fun, and well built but this whole saving thing is not the way to go. I grinded the first two areas and decided to take a break on the third one. I had 2 reconstructors, a revive, MANY upgrades and a badass weapon. Come to find out they decided to update the game on meover night and poof there goes my save. Lost everything . Yeah I can go back but after all the grinding I justThe game is fun, and well built but this whole saving thing is not the way to go. I grinded the first two areas and decided to take a break on the third one. I had 2 reconstructors, a revive, MANY upgrades and a badass weapon. Come to find out they decided to update the game on meover night and poof there goes my save. Lost everything . Yeah I can go back but after all the grinding I just have up on the game and honestly I want my money back. Not crying on being hard because we all have played the soul series but damn. And if you go back you are so underpowered enemies just wreck you. Meh.… Expand
  78. jgeor
    May 2, 2021
    3
    This game is insanely hard. I suppose that’s the genre but for those of us looking for a good single player story driven game this is not it. You die endlessly, every run is random some you do amazing some you do not so amazing. There’s no strategy that you can employ cuz it’s just luck of the draw which weapons you get, gear, etc. Life is basically non existent in this game. The littleThis game is insanely hard. I suppose that’s the genre but for those of us looking for a good single player story driven game this is not it. You die endlessly, every run is random some you do amazing some you do not so amazing. There’s no strategy that you can employ cuz it’s just luck of the draw which weapons you get, gear, etc. Life is basically non existent in this game. The little orbs you get for killing enemies honestly should recharge your health. This game may be for some but for me it seems to be the epitome of frustration. I’m ok with hard but this is nuts. I’ve played and beaten demon souls, dark souls, and blood borne some I’m ok with hard but for me I think the biggest issue is you can’t progress. When you die you start completely over with nothing, all your time all your progress just gone and who knows this run could be harder than the last. There’s no way to make subsequent runs better or easier. It’s just not for me too bad as this console desperately needs some fun games that can show case what it can do and this disk might as well just get snapped in half for me.… Expand
  79. JhonnyT086
    May 2, 2021
    0
    El juego es una porqueria, ya llevaba mas de la mitad del juego con un monton de armamento mejorado aparte de ser fastidioso ya que es muy repetitivo el jugo, justo al comenzar la pelea el enemigo suelta un poder tan expansivo que la ps5 no pudo aguantar y se crasheo, por si fuera poco al momento de iniciar de nuevo el juego se me borro TODO lo que ya tenia mejorado, es una porqueria de juego.
  80. aloneinthedark
    May 3, 2021
    1
    the game has a native resolution of 1080p and not 4k as stated by the media as rogelike is a failure and as arcade is poor confusing story and very high price for an indie double A
  81. Goon7
    May 3, 2021
    4
    Es repetitivo, los gráficos no están a la altura de un next gen, se nos engaño con el 4K (no es 4K) . No es un triple A como lo han querido vender, más encima se cae a veces y el fallo del guardado por dios, ojala lo arreglen pronto con un parche pero definitivamente las reseñas o están arregladas o jugaron otra cosa.
  82. ceekay1971
    May 2, 2021
    3
    After reading the mainly positive reviews, I downloaded the game and was terribly frustrated by how difficult it is to progress. While it is a technical tour de force (PS5 instant loading ensures that every death and respawn at the Helios crash site happens in a blink), for me it was a series of almost mindless grinding Groundhog Day-like runs of farming, dashing and shooting. After theAfter reading the mainly positive reviews, I downloaded the game and was terribly frustrated by how difficult it is to progress. While it is a technical tour de force (PS5 instant loading ensures that every death and respawn at the Helios crash site happens in a blink), for me it was a series of almost mindless grinding Groundhog Day-like runs of farming, dashing and shooting. After the 17th death, I begin to wonder if I truly want to solve the mystery of Selene and the planet Atropos. Now, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t jump into the game not knowing that dying constantly is the point of this rougelike game. What I didn’t factor is how difficult and frustrating it felt to play the game. There are no options to change difficulty levels (closest is to enable Auto Aim to High) so the game is punishing to people who expected a casual RPG-like stroll.

    Those aside, it is a great technological achievement. Great use of haptic feedback for the weapons, 4K ray trace enemy orbs and weapon projectiles are hypnotically mesmerizing. The opening scenes is truly an immersive experience with great combined usage of spatial audio, fantastic graphics and haptics.

    But all these bangs and whistles get neutralized when you are still stuck in the first biome after 2 hours of grindingly repetitive runs. If you thinking whether to get the more expensive deluxe version or the standard, choose the standard. The deluxe comes with better weapons but you don’t get them when you respawn. They are placed closer to the beginning of each run so you have to look out for them as you traverse through the first few rooms.    … Expand
  83. T180
    May 2, 2021
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Bastante monótono el juego y aburrido. A las 4hrs ya tienes la sensación de haberlo visto todo, la inteligencia de los enemigos es pobrisima, para que decir de los boses.… Expand
  84. ayberry
    May 5, 2021
    3
    Don't buy this game now, wait until it will on sales or in ps+. I had preordered a deluxe version of this game and finished it within 15 hours. But i didn't get trophies because of the deluxe version outfit which is broken even in the current version of the game. Then I finished the game one more time and again faced with broken collectibles 009. The game is crashing in its currentDon't buy this game now, wait until it will on sales or in ps+. I had preordered a deluxe version of this game and finished it within 15 hours. But i didn't get trophies because of the deluxe version outfit which is broken even in the current version of the game. Then I finished the game one more time and again faced with broken collectibles 009. The game is crashing in its current version. Sometimes enemies in the room disappear and a player has to restart the full cycle. In the general, it is a pretty solid game, but the hardcore players hate this because of technical and trophies issues whereas the casual players may hate this game because of difficulty itself. This game isn't the sony quality level.… Expand
  85. KodyStorm
    May 7, 2021
    0
    A PS5 exclusive that crashes constantly since the last update. A game that crashes with no checkpoints or quick saves. Waste of money and waste of time, getting a refund
  86. DeeMc
    Oct 19, 2021
    0
    Repetitive game that is nothing new and not fun after a couple of hours. It has a minimal insane story that's like someone was doing too many drugs when they "wrote" it. It seems more like they made it up as they went along.

    People rave about how long it is, but it's only long because you'll keep on dying and have to repeat from the start, and you have to finish the game at least 3    Repetitive game that is nothing new and not fun after a couple of hours. It has a minimal insane story that's like someone was doing too many drugs when they "wrote" it. It seems more like they made it up as they went along.

    People rave about how long it is, but it's only long because you'll keep on dying and have to repeat from the start, and you have to finish the game at least 3 times for the whole insane idiotic story.

    Otherwise, it's shoot, jump, dash, run, evade, repeat constantly.

    I bought this expensive piece of trash, pre-ordered it. A terrible waste of money.    … Expand
  87. thilan
    Aug 24, 2021
    2
    Talking about the game design aspect this is easiest way to get long play time with less development effort and bringing some random logical explanation to tackle the stupid implications. By far this game worst than Bloodborne and stop giving these kind of stupid companies credits for making some irritating unsatisfying boring repetitive games.
  88. Spidor
    Sep 19, 2021
    1
    "Oh hey my game is stupid-short and really easy, I know, let's make it a rogue-like with no save feature that prevents anyone else from ever using the PS5 for any other purpose"

    The laziest game ever made. It's also hilariously ugly for a PS5 game. Avoid at all cost.
  89. srf5132
    May 17, 2021
    4
    This game seems like it would be good, but to be perfectly honest it is way too difficult for me so I haven't seen very much of it. I haven't been able to get through the first biome. I'm sure this game would be cool if it had an easy mode, but as it is I feel like I wasted $60, don't make the same mistake I did.
  90. DevilHelghan
    May 5, 2021
    0
    Jogo espetacular ja terminei e continuo jogando extramamente viciante , Housemarque e sony estão de parabens mais um exclusivo sensacional
  91. GrizzlyBear88
    May 9, 2021
    4
    If you like to do and redo infinite times the same things this game if for you.
    I played around 50 hours before giving this rate and… I would not waste money in this game.
  92. Johnnytsunami
    May 26, 2021
    0
    I wasted $70 plus tax on this game for no reason. If you enjoy collecting lots of items and upgrades and then losing them all out of nowhere, then this is the game for you. You randomly stumble into boss fights with no warning whatsoever. Every biome room you enter is literally a coin toss between something good or something bad. Also, FIX THE SAVE POINT SYSTEM!
  93. Snoopdogfili
    May 12, 2021
    1
    Почему этому гавну критики ставят 86 а крутой игре days gone поставили 76 это же бред и глупость! сони отменили 2 ю часть игры зато продают тупой рогалик за 500 просто браво скоро майки дадут вам соснуть!
  94. SakhaROCK65
    May 5, 2021
    0
    Какая то дешевка в дорогой упаковке, оценки игрожуров как всегда 10 из 10 значит это плохая игра, нужно было догадаться. Деняг не вернуть нужно было на ютубе пройти!
  95. Japan_ab
    May 12, 2021
    1
    Video juego que no aporta nada bueno al genero y mas bien bajo mi punto de vista lo empeora. RogueLike que no permite guardar la partida en un tiempo prudencial y al estar roto el sistema de reposo de PS5 tienes que jugar de manera continuada artificialmente. El videojuego no funciona a 4K tal y como dice la prensa, funciona a 1080p, confirmado por Housemarque. En cuanto a jugabilidad,Video juego que no aporta nada bueno al genero y mas bien bajo mi punto de vista lo empeora. RogueLike que no permite guardar la partida en un tiempo prudencial y al estar roto el sistema de reposo de PS5 tienes que jugar de manera continuada artificialmente. El videojuego no funciona a 4K tal y como dice la prensa, funciona a 1080p, confirmado por Housemarque. En cuanto a jugabilidad, como shooter es una basura, los enemigos se teletransportan, lanzan disparos a la nada o lo que es peor aun, te fijan como objetivo automaticamente y da igual donde estes o te escondas, los disparos van dirigidos hacia a ti sin ningun sentido. El videojuego tiene numerosos bugs, hay enemigos que se quedan atrapados en puertas, por lo que situandonos al otro lado de la misma podemos matarlos sin que puedan dañarnos, los demas son tan faciles de matar que podemos ir a saco con ellos. Otro aspecto que yo considero bug, aunque mas bien es fallo de diseño, es el humo que se desprende del suelo, al no dejarte ver donde pisas te caes con frecuencia. En cuanto al diseño de juego, me parece de PS3 sinceramente, hay niebla por todos sitios que no te dejan ver mas alla de 3 metros para que los FPS no caigan, el humo del suelo más de lo mismo, todo para engañar al ojo y que la PS5 no sufra, los escenarios estan vacios y oscuros, con poca variedad en misiones, el nivel de detalle de las texturas no se aprecia hasta que no estas a un centimetro y muchas veces puedes ver como se cargan delante tuyo. Por si todo esto os sabe a poco en la ultima actualización acaban por joder definitivamente el juego y tengo que empezar desde el principio, no lo haré. En definitiva, es un juego hiperinflado a promociones a falta de mas titulos exlusivos de PS5 que en cualquier otro momento hubiese sacado 3 puntos menos de nota, si quereis un Rogue divertido este no está hecho para vosotros, jugadores.… Expand
  96. Ibuki_7731
    May 12, 2021
    0
    It's a buggy mess with no check points. For some reason other games like Hades and Binding of Issac pull off the rouge like genre 100% better.
  97. Warcraftfan1995
    May 16, 2021
    0
    Played a 2 hour long run, with the best health, best artifacts, best weapons, best parasites and was about to take on the second boss. Then it crashes!
  98. sarcastor
    Jul 18, 2023
    0
    yes i understand its a rogue type of game, so of course you're gonna die and restart over and over again. the problem is i have no idea what i am doing, the map is constantly changing, and your weapons are underpowered and you barely have any consumables. did i mention you're going to die alot? Yes its pretty but after spending two hours and literally getting no where with no clue as toyes i understand its a rogue type of game, so of course you're gonna die and restart over and over again. the problem is i have no idea what i am doing, the map is constantly changing, and your weapons are underpowered and you barely have any consumables. did i mention you're going to die alot? Yes its pretty but after spending two hours and literally getting no where with no clue as to what to do, fudge this game. I wouldn't waste any time on it, and its free on ps plus.… Expand
  99. zzver
    May 7, 2021
    1
    Эта игра попросту не стоит своих денег. За предлагаемую суму игроки получают заготовку игры, а не что-то полноценное
  100. Usrnam
    Nov 21, 2021
    1
    Too bad i cannot get a refund after downloading. The fact that you start from the very beginning every time you die and you loose everythingjust makes it BORING, and even worse you cant turn off this mode or something. even in dark souls at least you can level up and save gear but here you just start with nothing. justed wasted money
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Awards & Rankings

16
#16 Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2021
1
#1 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 115 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 107 out of 115
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 115
  3. Negative: 0 out of 115
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Feb 15, 2022
    100
    A perfect example of the performance of the PS5 and all its functions. Great gameplay and the music catches and won't let go until you get to the bottom of it all. But in the end, the final may surprise you unpleasantly.
  2. CD-Action
    Dec 7, 2021
    85
    An unobvious reinforcement of PlayStation’s range of exclusives. You can love Returnal, you can hate it, the feelings can even be simultaneous. Even though it’s tough love, there’s something about this game that makes you scream into a pillow and then try again. And again. And again. [07/2021, p.44]
  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Sep 3, 2021
    83
    Returnal has everything you’d expect from an exclusive that comes early in a console’s life-cycle. It shows off everything PS5 has to offer, while delivering a solid roguelike experience. [Issue#254, p.54]
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