Returnal Review: 'Replayable, rewarding, and revolutionary'

Returnal Review: ‘Replayable, rewarding, and revolutionary’

By Michael Leri

Returnal Review for PS5.

Roguelikes and roguelites have almost been exclusively locked to the indie scene and are almost always either top-down or 2D. Although still technically an indie studio, Housemarque is changing that through Returnal, its Sony-published AAA roguelite shooter. Even though this is a departure for the Finnish developer and different take on the genre, it’s easily the team’s…

  • Atmospheric, unique alien world with an awe-inspiring soundtrack.
  • Addictive and expansive roguelite loop that constantly evolves through new gear and upgrades.
  • Fluid, fast gunplay makes battles tense and satisfying.
  • Story is obtuse and bizarre, but with an engrossing mystery at its core.
  • Levels could use more variation.

10

Michael Leri
Michael Leri

Michael Leri is Evolve's senior gaming editor. He prides himself on playing and finishing as many video games as he can in all sorts of genres from shooters to platformers to weird indie experiments. There's always something to learn from rolling credits and that thirst for experience and knowledge is mostly what drives him. You can find him on Twitter, Backloggd, Bluesky, and Letterboxd as @OrangeFlavored.

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