Returnal Review - Live Die Repeat | GameSpot

Returnal blends elements of shooters, roguelikes, action games, and horror to redefine bullet hell and conjure a mysterious, moody masterpiece.

[SullysCigar]

Wow, huge scores so far. This is looking very promising right now :) so pleased for Housemarque Games!

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

The current average is 86 on Metacritic and it should stay at least that high as it was going back and forth between 86 and 87.

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

What are people disagreeing with, btw? I was just confirming that it has gotten a high average score.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

Looks like those "mock" reviews were a bit off

[NeoGamer232]

@LucasRuinedChildhood
Some people are just idiots. A great game is a great game no matter what console it ships on. I have a thing against buying Day One now, but will be sure to pick this up when it drops in price a bit. Housemarque has delivered again!

[Fluttershy77]

"What are people disagreeing with?" Why do you care?

[GottaBjimmyb]

Yea they have six 10/10s and five 9.5/10s that is quite impressive. It is obvious graphically it is a 10/10 and mechanically it is clearly a 10/10 the movement and gunplay just looks sooo smooth. It is not really a gameplay style I like though, so I might wait it out a bit, but I plan to play it at some point. Betting big on Housemarque really turned out for Sony.

Honestly, I know it is a bit of a cliche, but I am also a little off-put by the $70 price tag too, not in relation to this game specifically, just generally, don't think I have spent $70 on any game yet.

[crazyCoconuts]

if you're a cheap-a@@ like me, buy physical, sell on ebay after you're done. The increase in price doesn't impact you as much that way. Might actually inadvertently increase demand in the used games market, ironically.

[Dirty_Lemons]

Agree with you completely. I'm sure it'll be amazing, but as it's not my go to genre/ style (I suck at the Souls games as awesome as they are) I can't justify £70 at this point. I still need to finish Demon's Souls...

[VenomUK]

I'm happy for Housemarque that they've made a high quality title with Returnal that is reviewing so well. I won't be buying it simply because nowadays I just don't have the patience (and maybe the skill!) for hard games and rogue-likes. But the premise is great and I hope to try a friend's copy at some point in the future.

[neomahi]

No, thats normal but we're starting to see PlayStation themselves making sacrifices to stay profitable as a business. Microsoft has an endless supply of money. Im starting to see where the $70 price tag is coming from, and with Game Pass on the rise, I dont know how PlayStations gonna compete with that without cutting the quality of their games. It could be the fall of a civilization we dont want to see but, developers are getting fed up with the new way of doing things and we're seeing experienced veteran developers exit to make way to entitled mentality devs, and Microsoft are now starting to challenge with their bottomless pockets, its really not starting to look good.

[crazyCoconuts]

Yea, huge win for them, especially considering the risk they took scaling up to such a big and complex game. I may have to pick this up now

[Redrex7000]

early review are not away going to be the most honest

[northpaws]

I agree, like those 6/10 one.

[neutralgamer1992]

Returnal is here and ratchet and clank is next. It seems Sony is picking up pace with games. Now only if ps5 was easier to acquire

I think sony may Housemarque and bluepoint games soon. Both have proven themselves time and time again. And their latest releases showcase they are part of elite developers in gaming

[Flawlessmic]

Mannnn, my timer went from play to another hr and 45 mins :(:(

Glad to see all the great reviews its getting so far but its making this final wait that much harder.

[Redemption-64]

And here we go

[RickRoland]

Another new IP hit for Sony. So much for not taking risks. Every gen they pull out these insane new stories and characters.

[Thundercat77]

Exactly, the media wanted to sell the narrative that Sony doesn't take risks and only play it safe which tells us once again how out of reality the media is.

[brewin]

That's definitely one of Sony's strengths investing in new IPs. They can be a huge risk but they can also be pivotal and starting off a new generation right. I know a lot of people were disappointed that there really wasn't much new stuff at launch but this is still launch window and here we are some pretty amazing things in the pipeline. And even if there are sequels like ratchet and clank it's got a whole new twist and feels fresh. doesn't seem like just another ratchet and clank game seems like they really ratcheted it up a notch 😝😁

[CaptainHenry916]

I don't think Microsoft had anything that feels fresh in a decade

[Darkborn]

Sony did like 15+ new IP last Gen. I think Microsoft did less than 5, but we're to believe sony is against new IP.

[Thundercat77]

Exactly. That's crazy.

[brewin]

I know that's crazy. Sony's definitely the king of new IP. I love Nintendo's first party stuff too but obviously that's geared towards a much different audience for the most part. Sony though oh my God what would gaming be without first party Sony games?! I love my Xbox too don't get me wrong. I play most of my third party stuff there sports games etc just cuz more of my friends have that system. But I will never not own a PlayStation system simply because of the amazing first party stuff that you know they'll put out. You just have to respect them for what they do 🙏 I don't think any other publisher can compete.

[Aarontk]

I don’t understand the draw of this game, it looks like Lost Planet featuring Tilda Swinton or Gwendolyn Christie.

[victorMaje]

At the edge of tomorrow, I still can’t wait. Let’s do this.

[Rimeskeem]

Was that an intended pun...

[victorMaje]

Hahaa you betcha!
I loved that movie. Might I also suggest Boss level with Frank Grillo.

[Relientk77]

Tom Cruise upvoted this comment

[Ashunderfire86]

I see what you did there😀

[Elda]

Wow! An 86 so far on Metacritic. One more day!

[Hellcat2020]

16 hrs and counting

[TheGoodestBoi]

Guys like Lucasruinedchildhood were all over that Returnal embargo article a few days ago convinced it was going to bomb. Well it hasn't I'm happy to rub it in their faces

[Babadook7]

whitbyfox was guaranteeing under 8.0 on MC. Oops.

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

People on this site can be very tribal. I think I own every Housemarque game released over the last 10 years besides Matterfall including the lesser selling ones like Nex Machina and Outland. I watched loads of previews uploaded to Youtube last week for Returnal, and I was not convinced or rooting for the game to "bomb".

C'mon, you're ignoring that I was responding to someone who said that the late embargo was because the media were going to be biased, unfair and give Returnal low scores because of its price point, and that Days Gone got bad reviews because Deacon is white and that Sony feared that something similar would happen to Returnal. None of that happened. I was trying to ​debunk that narrative about DG by citing the embargos of other Sony-published games released in the last 2 years and by pointing out that Days Gone's late embargo was a result of poor mock reviews.

It is very strange that they a had a late embargo for Returnal because they only do that when they lack confidence in some form in a game. Horizon 2, God Of War 2, Spider-man 2, etc will have similar embargos to the previous entries. I've been thinking about this a lot because the PR for Returnal has very good and it's frequently been compared it to Hades. Perhaps there were concerns about spoilers, or the mock reviews were lower than what panned out. The mock reviews for TLOU1 were in the mid 80s, for example, so they can be wrong by 5-10 points it seems.

Everyone knows I'm a massive PS fan (e.g. I went on a massive rant recently about the Bethesda acquisition), so whatever you're trying to insinuate isn't true

[Edgelordsupreme]

He’s ten years old and thinks this is important stuff. Go easy on him, he’s just learning.

[akaFullMetal]

Some games Sony does lift early embargos but others they don't, like Ghost of Tsushima. They had an embargo till release date and that game reviewed very very well. Your theory can be correct with some companies that do that to hide a bad game, like EA but with Sony that isn't true.

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

@akaFullMetal

That's actually not true. Ghost of Tsushima's review embargo was July 14th 2020 and its release was Jul 17th 2020.

It was the same 3 day difference for Spider-man (PS4) where the review embargo was September 4th 2018 and the release date was September 7th 2018.

I also forgot to mention in my original comment that I posted loads of Returnal reviews on N4G as well. Just check my account.

[Knushwood Butt]

Yep

[Thundercat77]

The 9s and 10s score reviews are raining for this game!!!

To see Gamespot use the word "masterpiece" on a Playstation exclusive game is something really huge 😲.

[brewin]

I was a little hesitant about this one but it's getting pretty good reviews so far looks like Sony has a killer one two punch in this and ratchet and clank next month. Now if only more people could get their hands on ps5s without having to pay scalpers... Now seems like the time to buy with some real exclusives coming out! I'm personally more excited for ratchet & clank but this seems like a good hold over until that masterpiece releases!

[S2Killinit]

“Masterpiece”

Day uno

[Wrex369]

What I think is so interesting is we've never seen the industry be so ROBUST. Sony gonna keep killing it man it's crazy. It was always going to take games to temper the Jim Ryan hate. They delivered.

[DOMination-]

Resogun one of my favourites from last gen - looks like the devs are getting another hit in early on this gen as well. Happy for them and hopefully they get more recognition as they've been very consistent over the last ten years. Plus its good to see them moving away from arcade shooters and trying something new.

[Nineball2112]

Sounds like it's a great game and it hits all the right marks!

[FanboysKiller]

They give it a high score to compensate The medium backlash , I'm not jelous at all but I can relate to what they've been doing the whole time.

[SullysCigar]

But.. almost every other site has given this game a high score too... Could it not just be a great game?

[FanboysKiller]

Explain the backlash on the medium in this site , it's illogical no matter how you describe it.

[FanboysKiller]

5 yrs later it will be common to see the whole community praising the game cause they speak genuinely from their experience but now it's all bs.

[SullysCigar]

The Medium was fine, but it was very slow and had dated gameplay. That was reflected in the reviews. Returnal is the polar opposite in both regards and is also cutting edge in terms of visuals and controls.

I'm not sure you've vented in the right way here.

[DarXyde]

You know...I had (and still do) have a lot of reservations about Sony this generation. I'm not quite sure they'll maintain the same "For the Players" attitude they had with PS4. It's fair that I have some doubts, I think.

I had my doubts about Returnal too, honestly. I wasn't sure if it would really be a hit because, while I really like Housemarque games, I was iffy about their first foray into a project like this: the early videos and animations felt a bit...budgeted. Beautiful, but appearing on a budget in some ways. That all being said, I am happy to say that I have misjudged this game, and perhaps misjudged Sony's judgment on the direction of PlayStation. I still maintain that I'm not sold on Ryan, but I gotta give it to him and Hulst at the helm: PS5 is coming out swinging. Some serious firepower within year one to complement some very impressive hardware.

I tend to agree with GameSpot quite often on their opinion of games, so I am very pleased to see this.

[RauLeCreuset]

Speaking as someone who has defended Jim Ryan in posts from what seems like disproportionate criticism, you don't need to be "sold" on him. PS has been delivering consistently for decades now, but there are persistent narratives that they're always on the verge of ruin despite their success. Conversely, there are persistent narratives that Xbox is always on the verge of overtaking PS despite Xbox's continued struggles. Console wars need a false sense of parity to thrive. Phil Spencer has become a cult of personality for Xbox for reasons, so in turn people center their opinions of PS on Jim Ryan perhaps more than if Phil were treated like any other suit.

[DarXyde]

I don't disagree that there is far more to PlayStation than Jim Ryan since PlayStation has consistently delivered every generation. For me, they can only be compared to themselves. On the other hand, I would also say that it would be somewhat remiss to not notice the change in approach with each leader at PlayStation. With Harrison, we saw some dark years for PlayStation where it really didn't culminate into its own experience at the launch of PS3. With Andrew House, we saw a very noticeable return to form. With Layden, we continued a lot of what we saw with House, but we also saw more from the niche creatives on PlayStation (e.g., more indies, Japan Studio having a bit more output). Under Ryan, well, it's too early to say. There is generally a foundation in place for PlayStation, but there are differences. My favorite era in recent memory is somewhere between House and Layden. It's too early to judge Ryan, though that didn't stop me from making rather caustic remarks about his leadership. I did judge him very harshly and that was very out of character for me - I was lashing out about Japan Studio (which I'm still not happy about, but we'll see what becomes of that).

I digress though. I don't think it's been a matter of them just being suits. These companies have always had distinct personas depending on who was at the helm, at least to me. Microsoft was very aggressive during the Moore era and that petered out a lot under Mattrick; Iwata at Nintendo catered a lot to accessibility of hardware Kimishima does a lot of that with greater emphasis on partnerships and capital gains (he''s a banker after all) which translated into more third-party cooperation, mobile games, and Wii U remasters. Time will tell.

[KeyAppearance]

Whilst I won't be able to get it anytime soon, very glad it does that well. It is always exciting to see an amazing indie dev push into the AAA landscape of gaming and do well! Can't wait to see what they do next!

[Petebloodyonion]

Well, so far the game is getting pretty good reviews all around.
Really looking forward for this game :)

[CaptainHenry916]

Playing this tonight 😁

[neomahi]

ENJOY IT, IT COULD BE ONE OF YOUR LAST. Theres been a lot of information going around that PlayStation are becoming more financially conservative. Whats being said is that PlayStation isnt really the go to place anymore, that the culture has changed significantly from years previous as gaming experiences are becoming significantly more expensive to develop and gamers HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, meaning consumers have to realistically understand, that PlayStation doesnt have the money that Microsoft, and thus Xbox, have. This is really leading to picking and choosing and its not making internal developers, especially veterans, too happy working with PlayStation anymore. The climate has changed as well, and it seems PlayStation culture isnt as fun anymore. Shu Yoshida is working with Indies now, Adam Boyes has been gone for a console generation who brought Final Fantasy VII and Shenmue III, that honestly didnt solve anything which is more Yu Suzukis fault.

The point is, Microsoft is a corporation thats always had an unlimited supply of money. Phil Spencer is expected to operate on restraint, but this is an area of gaming Microsoft is willing to bend or have leniency to stay competitive, Nintendo and Sony, unfortunately, dont have that luxury so they have to be much more creative, which is good and bad. Stress and pressure yield better results then just being given handouts but, when it comes to studio acuquisions Microsoft does have a lot more money to throw around.

So, who knows whats going to happen over the next several years but Microsoft could challenge PlayStation in the money market which PlayStation will lose, which means the only games you could be seeing from Sony, to compete with Game Pass, are going to be what youre seeing from Indie developers now, its sad but game quality is gonna suffer WHEN Microsoft chooses to do that and I dont know how PlayStation are going to compete with that and Game Pass is the start of it.

So, enjoy this while ya got it.

[RickRoland]

This is the most ridiculous comment.

[akaFullMetal]

Sounds like you have everything figured out, by the way, what are the winning lottery #'s tomorrow. I need to get some gas and might as well get a ticket.

[majiebeast]

Whatever you say xbot, go enjoy gears 7689.

[kneon]

Maybe he's waiting for the last-gen looking Halo Infinite.

[elazz]

PlayStation had the most revenue for any game company in last 12 months. Even more than Tencent. Their profits also reached record high numbers and Sony know it's because they continue the trend of releasing good games.

I rather buy God of War or Ghosts of Tsushima for 70 bucks than receive a year free game pass. Sony knows people pay for quality.

[Sprucegoose77]

You sir, are a complete moron. That is all!

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Grow up

[cooperdnizzle]

Please use that crystal ball you have and win me the lottery? How about give me some of your thoughts on the stock market? You obviously are way smarter than any other person I’ve come across, you appear to know what’s gonna happen and have it all figured out. Please please help a brother out?? Jk.

People this day an age, allude to everything. You can assume whatever you want but it doesn’t make it true and it for sure doesn’t mean it holds any water.

[Vizigoth04]

Just need to swing by the local department store tomorrow. Hopefully they are fully stocked.

[Teflon02]

The big loss on death sounds painful, but it sounds like it'll be what makes it the most addicting. Not sure how much I'll like it, but I like HM and want to get anyways.

[ScootaKuH]

Good to see this game being good reviews. I don't like roguelikes and the live, die, repeat aspect puts me off so I won't be buying buy good to see a quality game added to the PS5 roster.

[neomahi]

This game is like playing "Edge of Tomorrow" with Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt in the Alien world, and youre the only person there. Its like playing the same level in a shooter game over and over again because the game feels like being cheap at some point, just for fun, and theres nothing you can do about it. Its not the addictive gameplay you got with Resogun and youre so confused with whats going on that you really dont know if youre doing anything right.

Its not Demon Soul's difficulty, because at least Demon Soul's is fair. If Returnal feels like screwing you over for its own amusement then thats just the way it is, regardless of skill, youre just going to lose because the game wants you to. Youre also seeing the same drab desolate swampy-colored ruins over and over again and the pressure triggers thing burns itself out pretty quick, haptics just feel like dualshock rumble. Review sites are overdoing this and Sony's feeling good because they think reviews are their bread and butter they can base their business plans on but, hype and privelage are the cryptonite of journalism and its like youre thinking with your other head. Most gamers I think will play this and say "Really, thats it?" It gets old pretty fast. Consumers judge differently than the media do. I honestly dont know why, with todays tech, the media are even involved anymore. Its like playing favorites in a fraternity, where E3 with todays tech is capable of so much more. With streaming tech and capabilities, you can connect with your fanbase so much more and YouTubes filling up with average Joes with no real reputation that get review copies now just to claim privelage over others, its a really flawed system thats easily remedied with what Game Pass started out as. Let your consumers make their own decisions without IGN, Gamespot, Engadget, or..... Forbes? (Where'd they come from?) With VR, you dont need to rent expensive show floor space and with PS Now, Xbox Live, etc., gamers can stream demoes and view trailers and Showcases without having to leave their homes. You dont have to pay for transportation busses, cleanup crews, rental halls, lighting and audio setups, the gaming world can reach broader horizons through modern technology. It also is transparent. Your customers play games running on actual hardware instead of wondering if theres a PC behind the curtain under the monitor.

We're to that stage in technology. Demo discs were a thing once, with how things are today, why do really need IGN anymore? Consumers are smart, they can make their own decision, and, given the limitation on hardware and thus, slowler software sales, gamers will play the game initially, and if rhe reviewer was wrong and the gamer doesnt like it, word of mouth will spread fast and your Metacritic score youre so dependant on is moot. Gaming doesnt need journalists anymore, be open with your consumers and fans, dont try and trick them, theyre smart and they'll figure it out. Younger generations always find a way, even it means abandoning you all together. Just saying.

[RickRoland]

So you’re saying don’t listen to reviewers opinions, listen to yours. Got it. Hope you type fast and this didn’t take too much effort for you.