At first I was going to wait on Returnal to have a sale. As I’m still not used to the new £70 price point. So I either want to only buy games I really want or may wait on sales if it’s not a must for me. Returnal piqued my interest from a few articles and an early trailer. (All screen shots taken from my gameplay)
I liked the sound of a slightly longer rouge lite - In terms of the run time. One thing it needs and I heard they are going to add is a check point / save point so you don’t have to do a 3 hour run non stop. As stopping to switch games or turn off PS5 ends the run. That’s the only real major criticism I can give this game.
So far I’ve only made it to the 2nd Biome boss. Almost had him first time but died when he had 10% of his final health bar left. I started the fight having already lost the Astronaut (an extra life artifact)....
Edit - coming back to writing the blog a day later. I passed the second boss on my second attempt and gained a useful tool, the grappling hook. Then on my next run with the grappling hook I bi-passed the second biome and got to the 3rd biomes boss. With an extra life (astronaut) and 2 health packs. I think if I go through all 3 biomes and build up extra artifacts it may put me in a better position to get past 3rd boss. Will have to see.
The first thing you notice when you start the game is the stunning graphics and lighting which creates a really moody and eerie atmosphere. Plus the mystery of the planet you’re on and the time loop you are stuck in. The desolate alien planet occupied by strange creatures. Statues of the former occupants litter most the areas of the 3 biomes I have played so far
The shooting and movement feel very smooth and responsive. Which is what you need for a 3rd person shooter take on the bullet hell and rouge-like genres. Dash and jumping and strafing to avoid various enemy shooting patterns.
Parasites, malfunctions, malignant chests/pick ups and artifacts are added to spice up the formula and add different variables to each run. Parasites give you both a buff and debuff at the same time. So if you like the biff and don’t mind the debuff too much. You can make the choice to attach the parasite. Malfunctions are debuffs to your suit you get from parasites and malignant chests and items. You get a chance to get a malfunction from them each time you open or pick those items up. The malfunction requires a set task to accomplish before it will be fixed and the debuff removed. I.e kill so many enemies or pick up so many oblites (currency) etc etc
Artifacts give you an upgrade most of them just for the run you are on. Some give you a permanent one for milestones like killing a biome boss. One artifact gave me a health limit upgrade every time I picked up or repaired a malfunction. So while most runs I usually avoid malignant chests items for the most part. I made a beeline for everyone I could find. Eventually getting my health to 200%. This was the run that I got to the third biome. So the risk and reward system in this game is very well implemented.
So far I found the biggest wall was the first boss. Which took me 4/5 attempts before passing. I thought it would take even longer. I will see if and when I hit another wall. The third biome does seem like a hike in difficulty as expected. The final biome too I expect will be another wall. I’m excited to find out.
Another recent thing I’ve noticed. Is finding corpses of other players and having the option to scavenge or avenge. Scavenge costs you ether (a rare currency). Avenge pits you against a tough enemy but will reward you with ether and usually a weapon drop that is sometimes 4 levels above your current one. A risk worth taking early into a new run.
In the first biome a huge enemy which jumps in close and can kill you in a few hits. At first I thought this was the first boss as I died the first two times facing it. Turns out this was just a regular but difficult enemy. Each biome seems to have a one or a few of these rare and hard standard enemies. Usually you get a better weapon for beating them too or a consumable.
This game is like one I have never played before though. With its unique mix of genres and outstanding visuals and game play. Also one thing that is stand out from other games. Especially when using a headset is the sound. The 3D audio which I thought was a gimmick at first to advertise a slight sound upgrade in the PS5. Is a game changer for audio in games. You can really tell a lot easier where the enemy is and it’s height from sound alone. This is a very welcome upgrade to audio. This is house marques first entry into the premium triple A game fold and they have taken a lot of love and care with it. I love house marques previous games :- resogun was a tonne of fun and I’ve played a little bit of Nex Machina too. I should get round to playing their other titles too.
I would love to get the platinum on this game and I aim to do so. It would be right up there with Monster Hunter World and Destiny 2 for me. I have been padding out my score with easy plats last year and I want more quality and meaningful platinums for my collection and trophy case for pride of place. I don’t have the patience to have a profile of just pure quality games and get 100% in them all. Then one bad game or something you couldn’t finish would irritate me way too much. At the same time I don’t want one with nothing but easy plats and a lots of uncompleted games. I want the freedom to have some uncompleted games and some easy plats. As a middle ground though I want a mix of quality plats in there and I want my completion percentage at 70% minimum. It’s gonna take a while to get there though.
Apart from that I’ve been playing It takes two in sporadic bursts. It’s a truly outstanding game and one I want to play again with another friend after this play through and get the platinum too. I’d be willing to play it a third time too I think.
Going back to Returnal I would give it an 8 or 9 out of 10 so far. I'll plus 1 if they add in a save system for mid point runs. So you don't have to set aside 2/3 hours to play it and be locked into playing just this.
Star Wars Squadrons is next months free PSN game. A great game but my habit of buying bargains in a sale and then not starting them as bite me on the ass again. Could of had this for free if I waited.
Hope everyone has a good week.