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[[Sigma]]

Played 1 run so far. Noticed some spawn changes. Like I get Broken automaton mad early now for example. In terms of changes heard, it seems to be a max shield vial in place and enemy counter on hit is guaranteed to happen as a permanent. I need to work on my coilspine shredder now it seems.

 

[tommib]

Dreadbound party might be over boys. I didn't depend on it anyway. Looking forward to seeing what they do with the balance, hopefully it gets tougher a earlier on too.

I did a few runs today in the tower and everything seemed a bit easier. I was getting a lot of parasites without malfunctions. I don't know. It's hard to say what they change with RNG.

 

[[Sigma]]

Enemy definitely got damage buffs. I died with what I thought was a decent amount of health on one hit. Also I feel like the scoring changed some too(may be a mind thing lol).

 

[Con_Z_ǝdʇ]

A new update is out. Version 3.000.004 but i can't find anything about it online.

Edit: Nevermind...

Returnal Update 3.000.004 Shoots Out This June 8 (Update)

Housemarque has released Returnal update 3.000.004 patch this June 8, and this is an unannounced patch, so don't expect anything outside of bug fixes.

mp1st.com

 

[kiphalfton]

Game made me realize I suck at games. If I had more time I might try and git gud, but it's just not worth it.

 

[The artful mincer]

Finally got to play this over the last couple of days...

Holy shit this game is the real deal!!

 

[The artful mincer]

So was this game patched to be harder recently because I'm dying alot lol.

Not complaining because it has to be the best fair and balanced difficult game I ve played in a while. Much better than souls or nioh.

Was it easier at launch?

 

[TwiztidElf]

I've come back to it recently in the hope of finishing it.
I threw it back into my pile after I'd beat the second level, and reading how hard the third level and boss are.
Not sure it was easier at launch. I've been asking myself if it was harder at launch, as after only a couple of runs, I'm at the third level boss now.
You're right though. It is the real deal. Unique and excellent qualities that are increasingly rare.

 

[[Sigma]]

So was this game patched to be harder recently because I'm dying alot lol.

Not complaining because it has to be the best fair and balanced difficult game I ve played in a while. Much better than souls or nioh.

Was it easier at launch?

This game now isn't as difficult as it was at launch. The bosses haven't really changed much. It's everything else in terms of enemy spawns and enemy aggression. Those have been toned down since the 1.4 update.

 

[The artful mincer]

This game now isn't as difficult as it was at launch. The bosses haven't really changed much. It's everything else in terms of enemy spawns and enemy aggression. Those have been toned down since the 1.4 update.

Ah okay thanks.

How many deaths are people completing the game in?

I'am at about 30 at boss 2 I heard some people are completing the game with under 20 deaths which sounds really good

 

[[Sigma]]

Ah okay thanks.

How many deaths are people completing the game in?

I'am at about 30 at boss 2 I heard some people are completing the game with under 20 deaths which sounds really good

20 is definitely not normal for people who go into the game cold turkey(having not seen play throughs). I don't know the stats in terms of average but if I had to guess about 60 or more on average if trying to reach true end. It's not nothing for some people to end up with a 100+ deaths(at least pre 1.4).

 

[The artful mincer]

Right I've played alot more of this got to biome 6 and I need to splurge like a fanboy.

This is the greatest 3rd person shooter since resident evil 4. ( Personally I feel resident evil 4 is dated but you know what I mean!).

To put it another way I didn't think doom eternals combat would be matched until Team ID put out there next game.

Returnals combat is as good it might even be better....

On a personal level if I have a day off I don't like to game first thing in the morning. It can make me feel groggy and lethargic I like to exercise or get shit done then I will game in the afternoon.

I played returnal first thing in the morning.... Seriously I haven't done that in years maybe a decade.

I will go into details another time but the main take away is how confident a game it is. Just zero bullshit and bloat to it. Everything in it has a purpose that contributes to experience.

Sooooo refreshing after open world bloat fests Elden ring and Forbidden west. I really liked both those games but returnal is on another level.

Just staggeringly good!!

 

[Con_Z_ǝdʇ]

Right I've played alot more of this got to biome 6 and I need to splurge like a fanboy.

This is the greatest 3rd person shooter since resident evil 4. ( Personally I feel resident evil 4 is dated but you know what I mean!).

To put it another way I didn't think doom eternals combat would be matched until Team ID put out there next game.

Returnals combat is as good it might even be better....

On a personal level if I have a day off I don't like to game first thing in the morning. It can make me feel groggy and lethargic I like to exercise or get shit done then I will game in the afternoon.

I played returnal first thing in the morning.... Seriously I haven't done that in years maybe a decade.

I will go into details another time but the main take away is how confident a game it is. Just zero bullshit and bloat to it. Everything in it has a purpose that contributes to experience.

Sooooo refreshing after open world bloat fests Elden ring and Forbidden west. I really liked both those games but returnal is on another level.

Just staggeringly good!!

 

[tommib]

Right I've played alot more of this got to biome 6 and I need to splurge like a fanboy.

This is the greatest 3rd person shooter since resident evil 4. ( Personally I feel resident evil 4 is dated but you know what I mean!).

To put it another way I didn't think doom eternals combat would be matched until Team ID put out there next game.

Returnals combat is as good it might even be better....

On a personal level if I have a day off I don't like to game first thing in the morning. It can make me feel groggy and lethargic I like to exercise or get shit done then I will game in the afternoon.

I played returnal first thing in the morning.... Seriously I haven't done that in years maybe a decade.

I will go into details another time but the main take away is how confident a game it is. Just zero bullshit and bloat to it. Everything in it has a purpose that contributes to experience.

Sooooo refreshing after open world bloat fests Elden ring and Forbidden west. I really liked both those games but returnal is on another level.

Just staggeringly good!!

You’ve seen the light, friend. I’ll got further. Returnal is the best 3rd person shooter ever made. An absolute classic for the ages.

 

[Con_Z_ǝdʇ]

You’ve seen the light, friend. I’ll got further. Returnal is the best 3rd person shooter ever made. An absolute classic for the ages.

 

[The artful mincer]

You’ve seen the light, friend. I’ll got further. Returnal is the best 3rd person shooter ever made. An absolute classic for the ages.

Possibly! I will have to finish it before giving a final verdict but I seriously doubt my mind will change.

Best boss fights easily and best pure 3rd person shooter. 3rd person shooter is a pretty broad genre it can include open world games, stealth, survival horror, cover based etc etc.

Even if you include all of them it's easily top 5 all time and who's knows it could take the number one slot...

 

[saintjules]

 

[The artful mincer]

Done 2 full runs now and had a few runs on the tower. Wow that might be better than the full game. ( Holy shit at the Disgorgers!! There like the BFG on steroids
)

Took me 74 deaths for the first run pretty happy with that.

On my second completion of biome 1 to 3 I had what can only be described as a god mode run lol. Got an explosive level 10 posion gun( I can never remember to spell there actual names lol) early and built up from there.

Got to nemesis with health maxed out 3 large med kits, 2 small ones the astronaut, protection 50% repair efficiency around 50%. Then to top it off I got a carbine with leech rounds

I felt sorry for Nemesis i barely lost 5%of my health! Felt good after all those deaths.

Anyway lots of throughts about this game nearly all positive. Will type them out in time but to some up

 

[The artful mincer]

So after a week finally beat the 3rd stage Algos in the tower. Wow beating bosses in this games feels like nothing else!

Anyway is there an easy way to level up the high level weapon proficiencies? I want to get them all but having to restart the tower and use the low level weapons has started to feel like a bit of a grind.

This game could really do with a biome where you start at level 25 or something.

 

[The artful mincer]

Oh and another thing is it just me or is the coilspine shredder complete shit!?

Every other weapon I ve enjoyed and gotten use to its play style accept that. ( Although not really a fan of pistol but I could see how it could be good!)

 

[Nankatsu]

Man this game keeps you on the edge every single time.

Just arrived at biome 3 and holy shit. I don't remember being so cautions in a game for a while, specially because I died a lot in biome 1 and don't feel like going back (I know eventually I will, there's no way I won't die anymore ahah).

Questions:

- when you unlock a weapon trait are they permanent?
- when you die don't you have like a teleport to go straight from biome 1 to 2 for example? I know it's not recommended, but I thought you would have something like that.

 

[Con_Z_ǝdʇ]

Questions:

- when you unlock a weapon trait are they permanent?
- when you die don't you have like a teleport to go straight from biome 1 to 2 for example? I know it's not recommended, but I thought you would have something like that.

Once you unlocked a weapon trait it will be in the mix permanently. It may not appear all the time depending on which weapons you find throughout your run.

There is no direct shortcut to biome 2. You just use the normal portal without killing anything or the boss to speed up the process if you want. There is a shortcut from biome 1 to 3 however. You need the grapling hook for that. The location for that is randomized. You get a boost for weapon proficiency at the beginning of biome 3 if you do that to make up for the lack of playing the other biomes. Since you haven't collected any artifacts and such things it will be significantly harder.

 

[The artful mincer]

Oh and another thing is it just me or is the coilspine shredder complete shit!?

Every other weapon I ve enjoyed and gotten use to its play style accept that. ( Although not really a fan of pistol but I could see how it could be good!)

Still playing this although slowly winding down trying to get all the weapon traits but it's becoming a bit of grind.

Anyway I take back what I said about the coilspine shredder! You need enlarged chamber but it becomes a real beast if yoh have that!

 

[Nankatsu]

Finished the game.

Went head on to the final boss without knowing it was the last boss. And without revival or vials. Somehow I managed to do it. What a battle!

Overall I think game is really good once you get the hang of it and accept that dying earlier is part of the process.

Didn't understand that much about the narrative until I went into YouTube and saw the secret act. It's depressing stuff.

 

[AltogetherAndrews]

This game is just plain pristine. I think the last time I felt this kind of connection to the action was when I was in the middle of the most successful Titanfall match I’ve ever played. And the atmosphere, the VFX… god damn, I knew Housemarque had their shit together but this is so much greater than I had expected.

 

[skit_data]

This game is just plain pristine. I think the last time I felt this kind of connection to the action was when I was in the middle of the most successful Titanfall match I’ve ever played. And the atmosphere, the VFX… god damn, I knew Housemarque had their shit together but this is so much greater than I had expected.

Yeah, it’s one of the few single player games in recent years that makes me sit straight up at all times and be on high alert. That’s usually reserved for MP titles. And yeah, the visuals, sound and aesthetics are so damn good.

Biome 3 was a hard one (made it through using the rotgland lobber) but it has that ability to always make you come back for more and actually improve.

Edit: Sadly, I got the cipher glitch when playing it at release so I’ll have to replay it to get the platinum

 

[Heisenberg007]

This game is just plain pristine. I think the last time I felt this kind of connection to the action was when I was in the middle of the most successful Titanfall match I’ve ever played. And the atmosphere, the VFX… god damn, I knew Housemarque had their shit together but this is so much greater than I had expected.

Welcome to the club! Returnal is a masterpiece.

 

[skit_data]

Finally platinumed Returnal today!

It took a while, I’ve owned the game since launch and finished the main story and the ”true ending” within a couple of weeks but after being 100% sure my ciphers were glitched I fell off trying for the platinum because I was sure I’d have to delete my save and replay the whole game.
I’ve returned from time to time to try to find the last missing ciphers in Crimson Wastes and Fractured Wastes without any success. Until today.

I ran into the last cipher in the Fractured Wastes by luck when I was on my way to the Gold Room and found myself in a room I’d never seen before. And behold! The last cipher in the biome!

After that I realized how silly it felt to only have the Crimson Waste survey left to platinum. One cipher away from platinuming the game.
I was prepared to delete the save to complete the whole game again from start. It’s just one survey left.

But I decided to check out a youtube cipher guide video of the biome before deleting the save. I was 100% sure I’d recognize every damn room and that I’d already collected those ciphers.

But there was one room in the guide that I actually wasn’t sure I had encountered despite playing that biome a ton in search of that cipher (I think I’ve played through Crimson Wastes at least 50-60 times and killed Ixion on at least half of those runs).

The room was a very rare spawn on the 2nd level inside the mountain according to the video so I decider to just run past everything and jump into the teleport at the foot of the mountain and then work my way backwards. This was the first time I’ve really tried to find a specific room via a guide so I was prepared to die at least 8-10 times before maybe encountering that specific room.

Imagine my happiness and surprise when I realized I found myself in that rare room on my very first try! And the cipher was there! That damn last cipher in the game! I saw it glowing red and felt a rush of excitement!

I picked up the last cipher and the platinum popped.

140 hours played in total and I’d say at least 100 of those hours were trying to get those last damn ciphers.

Moral of the story:
If you think your ciphers are glitched, it’s actually quite possible you’ve just not encountered that damn last room it’s in. Check some guides before wiping your save.

Also: Returnal is easily GOTY 2021. Claiming anything else is just being silly or plain wrong.

 

[kiphalfton]

Played this game for like 10 hours a couple months ago, got frustrated and uninstalled it.

Decided to give it another chance, and still getting my butt kicked but I managed to beat Phrike after like half a dozen attempts.

Second biome is a lot tougher, and have attempted to fight Ixion a couple times, but haven't even gotten to phase three of the fight (only phase two).

I used the hollow seeker for a couple attempts, and doesn't seem like the best choice. May try the carbine and see how that fairs.

 

[skit_data]

Played this game for like 10 hours a couple months ago, got frustrated and uninstalled it.

Decided to give it another chance, and still getting my butt kicked but I managed to beat Phrike after like half a dozen attempts.

Second biome is a lot tougher, and have attempted to fight Ixion a couple times, but haven't even gotten to phase three of the fight (only phase two).

I used the hollow seeker for a couple attempts, and doesn't seem like the best choice. May try the carbine and see how that fairs.

Hollow Seeker is great against Ixion, just make sure you have one with the serrated projectiles trait and high projectile reactivity. I remember using that combo the first time I managed to kill him.

Ixion is all about the shock and awe because before you get a sense of how easy it actually is to dodge his projectiles and attacks all you see is bullet hell galore all over the screen and it throws you off. A good rule of thumb is to always stay at the outer edge of the arena and just time your jumps (when he’s standing in the middle sending out balls all over the place and when he’s dive bombing you). The third phase is definitely harder than the earlier two because he gets very agressive and goes for more of a melee/shotgun approach that makes it pretty hard to stay on the move and shooting him at the same time, so be prepared for that after he’s had his little lightshow.

Personally I found carbine to be not very good outside of the very late game when it starts getting some really good traits and stats, but some like it.

Edit: I just remembered I actually uploaded that first time I beat Ixion on youtube, give it a look if you wanna get a better sense of his movement pattern during the last stage and my panicked attempts to evade his attacks:


Edit2: As you might see I make a lot of mistakes (mostly in regards to where I am in relation to what his upcoming attacks/projectiles will hit). Watching this it’s pretty fun to realize how much better you can get at this game over time. I’ve probably beat Ixion at least 60 times by now and I can probably run straight from biome 1 to 2, pick up the modular calibrator and a new weapon, tp up to him and beat him without effort 9/10 times.

 

[apowhungo]

Anyone a god at this game and just wanna carry my ass in co-op thru the last 3 bosses? $100 CDN

 

[2AdEPT]

Anyone a god at this game and just wanna carry my ass in co-op thru the last 3 bosses? $100 CDN

I realize im seeingthis a month late but let me know if you still want to co-op. Ill be playing this day one on PC as well.

 

[VN1X]

So I just finished it for the first time and yeah for me this is easily a 9/10, perhaps even a 10/10.

The atmosphere, the soundtrack, the unique weapons, enemy design, etc... I could wax lyrical for ages but I imagine most has been said already (and far better than I could ever do). In any case it's possibly my favourite Roguelike next to Hades and Risk of Rain 2 now. Loved every moment of it! That said there are still some major technical issues on PC, mainly one that crashes the game or worse, corrupts your save entirely! Despite these problems though I was still completely blown away by the quality put on display by Housemarque. and going forward I really hope they get to expand upon the IP. Perhaps a straight up sequel even with two different characters that have different (intertwined) stories but also have distinct gameplay mechanics tied to them? There's a ton they could still do with it in any case.

Anyway, now to do it all over again and mop up all of the remaining lore pieces and go for the full ending as well!

That credits sequence took ages though. Like, I thought this was a Housemarque game? (with the help of Climax to port it to PC). Obviously Sony was heavily involved as well but fuck me... there were more studios and departments listed for Returnal than a title like Call of Duty!

 

[The artful mincer]

So I just finished it for the first time and yeah for me this is easily a 9/10, perhaps even a 10/10.

The atmosphere, the soundtrack, the unique weapons, enemy design, etc... I could wax lyrical for ages but I imagine most has been said already (and far better than I could ever do). In any case it's possibly my favourite Roguelike next to Hades and Risk of Rain 2 now. Loved every moment of it! That said there are still some major technical issues on PC, mainly one that crashes the game or worse, corrupts your save entirely! Despite these problems though I was still completely blown away by the quality put on display by Housemarque. and going forward I really hope they get to expand upon the IP. Perhaps a straight up sequel even with two different characters that have different (intertwined) stories but also have distinct gameplay mechanics tied to them? There's a ton they could still do with it in any case.

Anyway, now to do it all over again and mop up all of the remaining lore pieces and go for the full ending as well!

That credits sequence took ages though. Like, I thought this was a Housemarque game? (with the help of Climax to port it to PC). Obviously Sony was heavily involved as well but fuck me... there were more studios and departments listed for Returnal than a title like Call of Duty!

It's incredible! Game of the gen so far. PC gamers should be ashamed of themselves not picking it up in high enough numbers

 

[The artful mincer]

Hollow Seeker is great against Ixion, just make sure you have one with the serrated projectiles trait and high projectile reactivity. I remember using that combo the first time I managed to kill him.

Ixion is all about the shock and awe because before you get a sense of how easy it actually is to dodge his projectiles and attacks all you see is bullet hell galore all over the screen and it throws you off. A good rule of thumb is to always stay at the outer edge of the arena and just time your jumps (when he’s standing in the middle sending out balls all over the place and when he’s dive bombing you). The third phase is definitely harder than the earlier two because he gets very agressive and goes for more of a melee/shotgun approach that makes it pretty hard to stay on the move and shooting him at the same time, so be prepared for that after he’s had his little lightshow.

Personally I found carbine to be not very good outside of the very late game when it starts getting some really good traits and stats, but some like it.

Edit: I just remembered I actually uploaded that first time I beat Ixion on youtube, give it a look if you wanna get a better sense of his movement pattern during the last stage and my panicked attempts to evade his attacks:


Edit2: As you might see I make a lot of mistakes (mostly in regards to where I am in relation to what his upcoming attacks/projectiles will hit). Watching this it’s pretty fun to realize how much better you can get at this game over time. I’ve probably beat Ixion at least 60 times by now and I can probably run straight from biome 1 to 2, pick up the modular calibrator and a new weapon, tp up to him and beat him without effort 9/10 times.

What's great about returnal is you always get a lot of chances. It's punishing but there's never ever 1 hits kills or cheap deaths.

I think if your gonna kill the player quickly you need frequent checkpoints and have infrequent checkpoints if you can take alot of hits.

Thats why the runs to bosses in the early dark souls game always sucked as they tried to do both. That and there's zero incentive to do anything other than run straight to the boss.

Returnal encourages completing as much of the level as possible on each run. Is this common in most rogue likes ?

 

[Frostt]

One of the best games i ever played and the best roguelike ever

 

[skit_data]

FSR 2 will be added to Returnal in an upcoming patch, will be interesting to see the IQ improvement



Edit: Ok, the link is for the Steam version… I wonder if it will be added to the PS5 version as well? Can’t see why it wouldn’t?

 

[saintjules]

 

[Heisenberg007]

I believe in this theory. When I finished the game in 2021, I came to the same conclusion.

 

[nikos]

Finished the game.

Fifth biome got absolutely insane for some reason. That one humanoid enemy type that teleports to you was showing up everywhere and was incredibly annoying.

Last biome seemed way easier, but that's probably because I was incredibly prepared gear-wise.

 

[Kerotan]

Is it possible to save scum on ps5 with the suspend cycle?

Also are the enemies harder in co op?

 

[Roxkis_ii]

Is it possible to save scum on ps5 with the suspend cycle?

Also are the enemies harder in co op?

Can't save scum on this game.

I don't think the game is harder on co-op. Maybe more enimes.

 

[Bartski]

Can't save scum on this game.

unfortunately, you absolutely can

 

[Kerotan]

Can't save scum on this game.

I don't think the game is harder on co-op. Maybe more enimes.

I've played some more and the game is so much harder on co op. Not only do you have to split resources and artifacts with your mate but enemies take way more damage and hit you much harder. I was struggling to beat the 2nd boss when I tried it solo. I beat the 2nd, 3rd and 4th boss in one run. Also beat the first 2 bosses in the tower.

I died on biome 5 and now it looks like I need to level up my weapon traits to progress again because the fractured wastes feels a lot harder.

Is there anyway once you reach act 2 to fight the bosses from act one again to unlock more permanent upgrades?

 

[DeepSpace5D]

I've played some more and the game is so much harder on co op. Not only do you have to split resources and artifacts with your mate but enemies take way more damage and hit you much harder. I was struggling to beat the 2nd boss when I tried it solo. I beat the 2nd, 3rd and 4th boss in one run. Also beat the first 2 bosses in the tower.

I died on biome 5 and now it looks like I need to level up my weapon traits to progress again because the fractured wastes feels a lot harder.

Is there anyway once you reach act 2 to fight the bosses from act one again to unlock more permanent upgrades?

Inside your ship, there should be a room that you use to go back to the first act. It was locked before but it should be open now after you reach the second act.

 

[Kerotan]

Inside your ship, there should be a room that you use to go back to the first act. It was locked before but it should be open now after you reach the second act.

It's still looked I think you need to beat the game.

I made it through the fractured wastes and I'm almost at the end of the underwater level I think. Had to suspend as it was getting late.

I read you need to play all 6 biomes again to fight the 6th and final boss. Is this like a New game plus where I keep my upgrades so it shouldn't be as hard? Do you need to fight the bosses again?

I also got to wave 4 on the tower. Such a good mode to level up weapon traits.

 

[DeepSpace5D]

It's still looked I think you need to beat the game.

I made it through the fractured wastes and I'm almost at the end of the underwater level I think. Had to suspend as it was getting late.

I read you need to play all 6 biomes again to fight the 6th and final boss. Is this like a New game plus where I keep my upgrades so it shouldn't be as hard? Do you need to fight the bosses again?

I also got to wave 4 on the tower. Such a good mode to level up weapon traits.

You’re right, just looked it up and you need to beat the game once to unlock that door. My mistake, it’s been a little while since I played.

I’ll try to answer you without hopefully saying something too spoiler-ish, but I’ll put a tag just in case:

Spoiler

There is a second ending in the game for beating it a second time. But you have to fulfill a certain set of requirements before beating it again to unlock the final ending. iirc, because of the requirements, you have to play the biomes again, and to my memory you keep your upgrades like artifact unlocks and gun experience.

 

[Kerotan]

You’re right, just looked it up and you need to beat the game once to unlock that door. My mistake, it’s been a little while since I played.

I’ll try to answer you without hopefully saying something too spoiler-ish, but I’ll put a tag just in case:

Spoiler

There is a second ending in the game for beating it a second time. But you have to fulfill a certain set of requirements before beating it again to unlock the final ending. iirc, because of the requirements, you have to play the biomes again, and to my memory you keep your upgrades like artifact unlocks and gun experience.

Thanks bro. It's such a good game.

I see there's Trophies for completing surveys. Is that just finding all the cyhers on a level? Also the tower DLC with it's hospital scenes. Is that another ending to the game?

 

[saintjules]

Thanks bro. It's such a good game.

I see there's Trophies for completing surveys. Is that just finding all the cyhers on a level? Also the tower DLC with it's hospital scenes. Is that another ending to the game?

Once you get to Act 3, there's Sun Fragments in each Biome to obtain to help you get the true ending.

There was an issue at one point where some of them didn't spawn, but I think that got resolved in a patch (someone can correct me if I'm wrong).

I got them all and started another playthrough to get to the true ending, but stopped. I will go back to it soon.

 

[DeepSpace5D]

Thanks bro. It's such a good game.

I see there's Trophies for completing surveys. Is that just finding all the cyhers on a level? Also the tower DLC with it's hospital scenes. Is that another ending to the game?

Yeah, you have to find all the Cyphers as part of completing the surveys for each location. It can get grindy because you have no control over the random layout of the levels each run, and some of the Cyphers are in rare rooms that you won’t see often. So you wind up having to restart biomes a lot of times to find them all.

The DLC adds new story scenes and endings! Again you have to fulfill certain requirements to get the true one.