Returnal [PS5]

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coopasonic
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Returnal [PS5]

Post by coopasonic »

Returnal is the first real PS5 exclusive. Remakes don't count!

It's a 3rd person, bullet hell, rogue-like shooter and the reviews I have seen so far are very positive. My birthday is in about 3 weeks so I can't buy it now as I am in the birthday purchase moratorium window. I am generally not one to play shooters on the console, but I am willing to learn. Apparently there is a some good story-telling in this as well as good progression on repeated runs and it is very stable (60fps@4k) and nearly bug free. The main downside is no mid-run saves and a full run takes a good chunk of time. I can deal with that as long as it comes back ok after I put the console to sleep.

Anybody else planning on picking this up?
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by Scraper »

I've had my eye on it. I've been waiting on some word of mouth reviews. The no save thing could be an issue for me, so I want to hear how the game reacts if you put the console in rest mode.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by Alefroth »

I think it's really going to drive PS5 sales.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by Alefroth »

Scraper wrote: Tue May 04, 2021 1:05 pm I've had my eye on it. I've been waiting on some word of mouth reviews. The no save thing could be an issue for me, so I want to hear how the game reacts if you put the console in rest mode.
There is an onscreen recommendation to leave the game running in sleep mode if you need to quit.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by wonderpug »

I’m giving it a whirl. Normally I don’t do well with high difficulty games but in rogue like form I usually do ok because I can at least eventually get powerful enough to finish.

I’m only a few hours in but I’m digging it so far. The gameplay is great, and it’s a really good showcase for what the controller haptics are capable of doing.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by coopasonic »

My mother-in-law came through and I got this yesterday. I'm only about two hours in. Long enough to make it to the first boss... I didn't get to see anything AFTER the first boss however. It actually wasn't that bad. If I'd found a better weapon (I keep getting shotgun type weapons) it might have been a different story.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by coopasonic »

I finally took down the first boss yesterday after 31 deaths.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by Lordnine »

This game is the first on the PS5 that interests me. Does the game have a sense of progression? In other words, does your character improve in some way between runs or is it purely based on skill/luck of the run? Lack of progression is the reason I could never get into Isaac.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by coopasonic »

A lot of the progression does boil down to "Git gud" but there are other forms of progression. Run to run progression is around unlocking new stuff that can show up randomly in future runs, unlocking traits that can show up on weapons and then longer term progression is new traversal tools you get and stuff like additional consumable slots.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by Lordnine »

Ah thank you. That is probably a wait until heavily discounted for me then. That is OK, I am in no hurry to buy a PS5.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by malchior »

I hadn't been paying much attention to this but picked it up this morning on a whim and put in an hour or two. I haven't totally got a feel for it yet but it definitely feels like a next-gen title with super quick load times, smooth gameplay, and the haptics are really neat.

For some reason I thought this was a co-op game and has previously binned it in my mind. The OO effect changed that misconception. :)
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by coopasonic »

I am just posting to reassure you all that Returnal continues to haunt me. I made it to the 4th boss for the first tie yesterday. He actually wasn't that bad, it is just everything up to that point that is bad and had me pretty weak going into the fight. At lunch I made it back to him a second time, this time better equipped (I think) but had to put the ps5 to sleep and get back to work. I guess we'll find out this evening if I am as well prepared as I think I am. :) I do have a checkpoint save so I'll get two tries at it...
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by Hrothgar »

Must be a heck of a long battle.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by coopasonic »

Hmm I think I beat him that time but it's long enough and enough deaths in between that I am not certain. I've actually made it to the 6th biome once and wow that's different and wow that's rough. I keep taking long-ish breaks between plays because the game can be brutal. You think you are ready for the next thing but you get in a rough situation, make the wrong move and bam you are back at the start with nothing but a pistol.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by coopasonic »

On my 94th attempt, the credits rolled.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by naednek »

if you have a physical copy and interested in selling, let me know :)
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by Scraper »

I picked this up on Sunday and it has it's hooks in me already. On my third run I made it to the 1st boss, got him all the way down to his last health bar and died. It then took me 5 more runs to beat him. Each time I learned a bit and got a bit "Gudder". Then I made it to the next biome and found the indigenous guy who attacks you and got killed by him. I knew I was hooked when I wanted to do another 45 plus minute run but I had to leave for work.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by Scraper »

I made it to the 2nd boss this morning. Again I almost beat him on the first try, got him down to half of his last bar. But I went into the fight without any consumable health or the astronaut bonus. If it's anything like the first boss I will need at least 5 more runs before I beat him.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by Scraper »

Made it to the 3rd boss yesterday. He was a bit harder than the first 2. I only got him down about half way. The entire third area ramps the difficulty up significantly. But the game is just so rewarding to play. It's like a combination of Dark Souls and Metroid Prime with Rogue like level resets thrown in for good measure.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by Scoop20906 »

I finally got a PS5 so I was looking forward to trying this game out. I finally beat the 3rd boss and learning more of the story but I wanted to share how I am feeling about the story (Spoilers ahead)
Spoiler:
I finished the first act and then they have revealed that her son is called Helios (I suspected this from the start). The poor kid was left alone at home (Helios Abandoned) and he cried a little it just broke my heart. I hate stories like these after I have become a father. I've started the 2nd Act and I almost want to stop because I don't want to see the kid suffer. I know its not bad but its something that has been bothering me lately.
Overall, the game is great and has a great feedback loop on the runs.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by Scoop20906 »

I love the gameplay but this story is such a downer and now I’m stuck trying to kill the final boss and each run takes me a few hours to get to it just to die and start the process over again. Ugh.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by Scoop20906 »

Whew! I finally beat that bastard of a last boss and it was easy once I decided to take the Electopylon Driver weapon with me. It finally occurred to me that a higher ranked weapon doesn't always work better and that the Electopylon Driver is the perfect weapon for me. It tethers the big bosses (most of them) and does some great area of effect damage as well. So I saw the ending and ...
Spoiler:
It turns out there is an Act 3 which to me is really just a new game plus but considering the ending of the 2nd Act I still have questions that questions about this woman's mess of a life that needs answered. I love the game but man what a sad, sad the story game's has. I am waiting see if the ending of Act 3 will make up for it. Obviously, the game has it hooks in me though but now I need to tramp through all the damn Biomes again. Damn.
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Re: Returnal [PS5]

Post by Scoop20906 »

Finally beat Returnal after 87 runs and got the
Spoiler:
secret ending at the end of Act 3.
Unfortunately, the ending didn't really shed any light on the parts of the story that I was interested in but that is my own problem I guess. It was intentionally left ambiguous and I'm fine with that. I really no idea why I got so stuck on
Spoiler:
saving the little child. In the end she isn't even a part of the final cut scene although I suspect that the child, Selene and her mother are all the same person caught in a time loop and interacting with each age of themselves to prolong the loop. Selene has quite a purgatory and it makes the game to me immensely sad and the ending a downer.
But overall its a great game and a lot of the time grinding and figuring out how to handle all the various enemies was pretty fun. I just wish the story had a happier ending.
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