Spoiler Alert: One slight spoiler ahead.
I just beat Returnal so I thought I'd make a thread here and share my thoughts!
Technically it's not my first time finishing a PS5 game since my first purchase was Death Stranding DC's cut but I kinda consider it the first since this one was made from the ground up for the console.
I think it's a solid game bordering on great at times. There's some kickass gameplay with some great bosses though the difficulty spikes are kinda insane at times being procedurally generated and all that. It's my first time playing a Roguelike and damn was it tough. Though the difficulty was kinda all over the place for me; I died around 10 times before I beat the first boss then it was smooth sailing (no deaths) until I opened the 5th area and then I hit a brick wall. I must have died at least 10+ times more before I finally got it and then it was smooth sailing again all the way to the end of the game.
As I said before, the bosses are AMAZING though ironically enough they're not the hardest part of the game. For me, the rooms where they lock you in with a horde were by far, the HARDEST part of the game. I'd take the final boss any day over some of those, really.
The music was just alright, there aren't that many memorable themes though an organ theme that's played with the 4th boss is probably my favorite part of the OST. The story was...meh. I can appreciate the writers trying for something a little more subtle than your usual AAA game storyline by using really cryptic "answers" to your questions and leaving some stuff up to interpretation but I don't think the execution was all there. Having Selene as the sole character in the game was a bad idea in my opinion. There was one twist mid-game which initially pissed me off but the more I thought about it the more I ended up liking it lol
Overall, I enjoyed my time with Returnal and it's one of those "pure gameplay" experiences that, while lacking in the story department, I'm still glad to have in my collection for those times when you just want to get some adrenaline going. Maybe a sequel be it direct or spiritual will improve upon the concept with better storytelling and some gameplay tweaks.
8.5/10
