Returnal is a third-person shooter game developed by Sony Interactive. This game will have you play an astronaut who lands on an alien planet in search of a mysterious signal. However, she finds herself trapped inside a time loop.

On the surface, Returnal looks like another adventure game. However, it is a step forward from similar games as it offers the excellent bullet-hell shooting of Resogun and Dead Nation. It also comes with a roguelike design, making it more challenging with the lack of save rooms. However, the game took the difficulty further by changing the maps for each level. 

What is Returnal?

Returnal is a third-person sci-fi game that puts you in the shoes of Selene, an astronaut. Selene is seeking the source of a mysterious signal called White Shadow, and in her pursuit, she crashes on a mysterious hostile alien planet. The game gives you a brief opening, then Selene finds herself trapped in a time loop. She must now discover why she has become trapped in a never-ending cycle.

The story will unfold through audio logs that you pick up as you play. These logs are randomly generated, giving you a feeling that the story is a tad fragmented. The game also throws in some surreal cutscenes in the mix that could help you solve the mystery. Of course, as the setting is a hostile planet, you will also engage in battles against creatures living in various environments.

As mentioned, this game is roguelike and a pretty unforgiving one at that. As with games of the genre, you will return at the beginning upon every death. Not only that, but you begin with almost nothing as your previously collected weapons, upgrades, and items will also vanish. Furthermore, there are no save rooms or ways to pause the game. If you switch mid-run, you lose everything. 

Should you play it?

Overall, Returnal offers an incredible experience for its players. It offers an intriguing and mysterious story displayed using incredible visuals. It also comes with thrilling bullet-hell combat. However, you should abandon the idea of accomplishment and forget about making progress when you play the game. The combination of its roguelike design and high difficulty level will have you playing the levels over and over.