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Returnal |OT| Live. Die. Repeat.

GymWolf

Member
PS5Trophies said that the game gets easier after first biome. you can look up his 45min. he was speed running the game. gave some good tips also.
anyways, the game is based on your skills. some will find it easier than souls games, other will find this game easier.

demo would be the best for customers, but ,maybe not for developers.
First biome looked really simple so i really hope this guy is wrong.

The first biome being the most difficult is out of any logic tbh.

Maybe he means that after the first biome you understand the game and you know what to do.
 

DonJorginho

Banned
First biome looked really simple so i really hope this guy is wrong.

The first biome being the most difficult is out of any logic tbh.

Maybe he means that after the first biome you understand the game and you know what to do.
I love how it seems that every Biome switches the way you play, so for example Biome 1 is claustrophobic, with enemies that mainly stay on the ground with a maze like environment. Whereas the second biome is full of these open sprawling spaces with enemies who take to the skies and elevated environments that allow you to fire from above or below.
 

GHG

Member
Gamespot Editor has completed Returnal, didn't find it anywhere near as hard as Hades, says in comments how he got through massive amounts of the game in a single run.

Vrh2ekD.png

This actually disappoints me. I didn't manage to escape hades until about my 30th run and felt like it was completely fair. But then after the first escape it felt easy.

Like hades, hopefully there are some interesting reasons to keep on playing after the first run is completed.
 

GymWolf

Member
A guy on reeee seems to have the game and i dont really like what he says about progression being pretty shitty:

Man, I've got only 15 hours on the clock so far, but compared to other rougelike games, progression system is incredibly underwhelming. Maybe 1 of 10 runs feels meaningful, the rest is completely pointless. Some people will have a blast, but to me - it's more frustrating than satisfying most of the time. And I've spent countless hours in Dead Cells, Isaac, Risk of Rain, Nuclear Throne or Hades so it's not like a dont enjoy the genre.


That's unfortunate to hear. Do you mean underwhelming in the sense that the progress is slow (so you could, theoretically, grind and get quite a bit stronger permanently, it'll just take a long time) or that the stuff you permanently unlock/progress/etc. doesn't amount to much?

The latter. There are a few permanent unlocks but they are mostly for moving across the world - grappling hook, teleportation system etc. I've got only half of them, so maybe that changes eventually, but so far - I'm feeling like I'm wasting so much time :( You can also unlock alternative attacks for weapons this way but still - they don't change that much when it comes to damage output. They shoot differently, but deal same amount of damage overall and that makes progression even less meaningful to me.

Everything else feels great - gameplay design, shooting mechanics, visuals, enemies etc - but progression sucks big time. At least for me.


Hopefully he is a fake because great progression was one of the selling point of hades and i loved it.
 

DonJorginho

Banned
A guy on reeee seems to have the game and i dont really like what he says about progression being pretty shitty:

Man, I've got only 15 hours on the clock so far, but compared to other rougelike games, progression system is incredibly underwhelming. Maybe 1 of 10 runs feels meaningful, the rest is completely pointless. Some people will have a blast, but to me - it's more frustrating than satisfying most of the time. And I've spent countless hours in Dead Cells, Isaac, Risk of Rain, Nuclear Throne or Hades so it's not like a dont enjoy the genre.


That's unfortunate to hear. Do you mean underwhelming in the sense that the progress is slow (so you could, theoretically, grind and get quite a bit stronger permanently, it'll just take a long time) or that the stuff you permanently unlock/progress/etc. doesn't amount to much?

The latter. There are a few permanent unlocks but they are mostly for moving across the world - grappling hook, teleportation system etc. I've got only half of them, so maybe that changes eventually, but so far - I'm feeling like I'm wasting so much time :( You can also unlock alternative attacks for weapons this way but still - they don't change that much when it comes to damage output. They shoot differently, but deal same amount of damage overall and that makes progression even less meaningful to me.

Everything else feels great - gameplay design, shooting mechanics, visuals, enemies etc - but progression sucks big time. At least for me.


Hopefully he is a fake because great progression was one of the selling point of hades and i loved it.
I am thinking this guy "playing the game" is a fake, as this someone can't show a smidge of evidence, especially seeing as Housemarque are way too clever to have such a massive oversight like this.

None of the critics who are PROVEN to have the game are saying these things. In fact they're saying the opposite and praising the meaningful sense of progress within the game.
 
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mxbison

Member
Hades ruined Rogue-whatevers. Every similar game (to be fair that's only 3 in my case) has sucked in comparison.

I'll try to go into Returnal with a fresh mindset.
 
  • Strength
Reactions: GHG

GymWolf

Member
I am thinking this guy "playing the game" is a fake, as this someone can't show a smidge of evidence, especially seeing as Housemarque are way too clever to have such a massive oversight like this.

None of the critics who are PROVEN to have the game are saying these things. In fact they're saying the opposite and praising the meaningful sense of progress within the game.
Hopefully you are right.

but don't forget that housemarque is at his first try with a roguelite game, they are not very experienced with the genre.

Hopefully they copied something from hades.
 

Gediminas

Banned
For european people, the game is only 50 euros on this finnish site




I don't understand the wild different in pricing for this gake here in europe...
i just found out that in Norway, Elkjøp also made 50€ price point. i was on huge offense about 70€, but for 50€ why not?
 

DonJorginho

Banned
Some interesting bits from a German Youtube Channel here on the game, will spoiler it as has some mild gameplay spoilers.



TLDR:
  • Insane visuals
  • Fluid fast paced gameplay
  • Atmospheric world
  • Reminded him of Vanquish, Metroidvania, Castelvania
  • Dark souls-eque in terms of difficulty, frustration and gameplay structure
  • You can clone yourself and teleport to it after death to continue with your previous loadout
  • Second chance tool like Sekiro
  • Bosses are very very hard
  • Melee high risk high reward
  • Total playtime so far 15 hours -> Is guessing that he seen only 1/4 or 1/5 of the game -> Also guessing 40 hours total playtime for completion
  • You need to analyze enemy movesets and strategically use your weapons to master the game
  • Smart use of audio logs, which are well written
  • Cutscenes feel like a reward after long run
 

Umbral

Member
I wonder if it’s the distortion caused by the helmet glass that makes her look like a bobblehead.

I’ll be using the preorder suits if that’s what she’ll look like with the normal helmet. Those cheeks are a bonus.
 

Lemondish

Member
Had an issue in week one and have been too scared to use since
Might be worth trying it again. I've used nothing but rest mode every day since launch with no issue at all.

As for the comparisons with Hades - that was the only rogue lite I've ever actually completed. If this is easier then that's pretty accessible imo.
 
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30 mins of gameplay


Only concern is the 3D map that the player pulls up on the screen don't like the layout design, it's identical to the 3d mini map layout of jedi fallen order (which i dind't like there too). Outside of that Returnal is looking to be a very promising game. If only the game wasn't $70
 
For european people, the game is only 50 euros on this finnish site




I don't understand the wild different in pricing for this gake here in europe...
Fuck I already bought the game from a small game store with 70 €. I should have waited 😅

Edit.
Here's another Finnish site selling the game for 50 €. I think I'll cancel my preorder and buy it from here.

 
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drotahorror

Member
Hope there's modifiers and other things to spice up runs after completion. Surely it's not a one and done roguelike/lite.

Got this bitch preloaded though, les go.
 

DonJorginho

Banned
Hope there's modifiers and other things to spice up runs after completion. Surely it's not a one and done roguelike/lite.

Got this bitch preloaded though, les go.
I know there is a separate challenge mode called "simulation mode" where you'll go through custom made areas that can reward you with ether to spend in the main game, aswell as being able to climb up the leaderboards.
 

Haggard

Banned
Guys, has there been a word about some kind of save/pause feature? I heard that there is no possibility to just leave the game, power off the console and pick up on it later on.
 
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Interfectum

Member
Have they said why there is no save/pause feature? If you can cheese with with system suspend why not just put one in?
 
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Interfectum

Member
Rest mode is not exactly a cheese. A dedicated save file could be.
Hmm yeah, maybe a temp save file or something. I dunno. How long is an average run in Returnal? As a parent I hate not having a quick way to tap out and since PS5 doesn't have quick resume it's basically stuck on that game until I can finish the run. Not really ideal.
 

DonJorginho

Banned
Hmm yeah, maybe a temp save file or something. I dunno. How long is an average run in Returnal? As a parent I hate not having a quick way to tap out and since PS5 doesn't have quick resume it's basically stuck on that game until I can finish the run. Not really ideal.
Some people have said they had runs last as long as 90 minutes and that was only across the first two biomes so I could say you could easily have a 3-4 hour run if you were good enough/lucky enough.
 

Con_Z_ǝdʇ

Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
That`s an incredibly stupid design decision imho. No game should force you to jump through hoops about your real life time management.
Why is it stupid?

It adds a high amount of urgency and dread to every playthrough, making a successful run all the more satisfying.
It is, if at all, a really conscious design decision that has its own appeal. It's not like you couldn't stop the game with rest mode at any time.

While i understand that some people might have a hard time with this in correlation to their real life obligations nobody is forcing you to play to game in the first place.
 
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Nitty_Grimes

Made a crappy phPBB forum once ... once.
So by biomes are we referring those to be levels?

So you get to biome 2 (level 2) and by hook or by crook, you finish playing for the day then next day you start back at the ship, you do all of biome / level one again (and assume boss) just to get back to where you finished the day before?

Not sure how I feel about that. Thats not a 'git gud' mechanic to me, thats frustrating as hell.

EDIT: I know I dont have to buy it but a shame to miss out on a PS5 exclusive for these reasons (to me at least)
 
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Haggard

Banned
Why is it stupid?
You answered your own question:

i understand that some people might have a hard time with this in correlation to their real life obligations nobody is forcing you to play to game in the first play.




It adds a high amount of urgency and dread to every playthrough, making a successful run all the more satisfying.
Oh yes, the dread of actually having to do anything else but game.....Exactly what people are looking for in games, forced timeslots, because we don`t have that enough at work :messenger_poop:
It is incredibly stupid because it is a completely unnecessary issue.
 
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Con_Z_ǝdʇ

Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
So by biomes are we referring those to be levels?

So you get to biome 2 (level 2) and by hook or by crook, you finish playing for the day then next day you start back at the ship, you do all of biome / level one again (and assume boss) just to get back to where you finished the day before?

Not sure how I feel about that. Thats not a 'git gud' mechanic to me, thats frustrating as hell.

EDIT: I know I dont have to buy it but a shame to miss out on a PS5 exclusive for these reasons (to me at least)
You don't need to fight bosses again after you defeated them i think and you can take short cuts which will bring you further in the game but also make it harder.

Biomes = Levels = Stages
 
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