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• #Returnal permanent upgrades update

While attempting to fix these issues, Housemarque inadvertently released an update that would wipe all save progress. Speaking of patches, when Returnal first came out there were a few issues with door not opening and other issues caused by wearing the pre-order bonus suits. Now, even overlooking the rest mode bug that bricked PS5’s during the first few months after it launched, this method is just not reliable enough whether it’s a power outage or a surprise update, a decent run can be borked far too easily.

The main bugbear here is Housemarque’s solution for the lack of a save – Either commit an hour or more to attempting a run in a single sitting or put your console into rest mode. Although save scumming is definitely a thing, I think the developers can avoid players exploiting a save system by possibly having a temporary save that deletes itself once you load back in to a run. The lack of a save function has been a major discussion point and, whilst it is admittedly odd, I can personally understand why Housemarque elected to make this decision. Restarting with a clean inventory after each death can get super frustrating at times, especially as you’ll get to a later biome only to get slammed by some kamikaze tie-fighter and sent back essentially three stages with nary to show for it. You’ll spend a lot of your first few hours running back and forth through the first couple of biomes, unlocking permanent upgrades like the sword or grapple and getting to grips with the mechanics. This adds a nice little risk and reward mechanic to things, although I often found myself skipping malignant items as the payoff generally wasn’t worth it. Suit malfunctions apply a penalty to Selene, such as cutting her attack down by 85% whenever she’s not moving, until a task is fulfilled. The randomly generated levels can take a bit of time adjusting to but after a few runs you’ll start to recognise the layouts and approach them accordingly, as they don’t seem to change as much as they more tend to “shuffle around” the map.Ĭollecting parasites can help your chances of survival, although they generally have a negative to counter any positive benefit they grant you, and you’ll also have to make a choice between risking getting a suit malfunction or a useful item whenever you encounter malignant pickups. Throughout the game you’ll be collecting new weapons and unlocking their traits, scavenging artefacts that grant new abilities and fabricating consumables to drop during the heat of battle. This means that each run contributes at least a little something to your pool of permanent resources, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit that the gameplay loop doesn’t pull any punches and will definitely put you through your paces. You can, however, collect Ether and artefacts that will carry across permanently, and each time you unlock a weapon trait they’ll also be available on scavenged weapons from that point on. You can’t brute force your way through Returnal – each run sends you back to the beginning of the loop to start again with only your starter sidearm and it’s impossible to ‘level’ up your character, as it were. It’s that latter part that is the source of all of my frustration I’ve smashed my way through many a tough title, having platinumed all the Fromsoft Souls-like titles, but the inherent difficulty here is much more dependent on you honing your skills and adapting to the randomly generated levels on the fly. The gunplay here is sublime, responsive and made even more satisfying by the application of haptic feedback.Įssentially, Returnal boils down to being an amalgam of the ‘bullet hell’ and the ‘rouge-like’ genres, seeing you embark on perilous runs and dancing between flurries of bullets whilst attempting to reach your goal without dying. Seeking out the source of a broadcast transmission is what initially drives Selene’s quest but pretty quickly the story starts taking a few unforeseen existential left turns and the cause of the ‘ Groundhog Day’ mechanic that drives the gameplay loop becomes the central mystery.Īs intriguing as the narrative is, it’s in the gameplay and performance arenas that Returnal performs in spectacularly, albeit with a few caveats. Playing as ASTRA Corp explorer Selene Vassos, you awaken on a foreign planet, disoriented after a crash landing.ĭiscovering what appears to be your own corpse nearby, you venture into the foreboding environment ahead of you, armed only with your trusty pistol.

The core premise of Returnal can be distilled down to a few sentences. Returnal, Housemarque’s fledgling foray into the ‘Triple-A’ gaming space is one of the most frustrating games I’ve ever played.