Returnal

After reading some reviews on here I felt obligated to leave one of my own. This game is so misunderstood. Most people that gave this game low ratings are bad at the game and are mad they have to start over after every death. Just because you're not good at a game doesn't mean it's bad. On the contrary, this game is incredible. Great combat that gets more rewarding the more you play and adapt. Weapons become better the more you play and you unlock more powerful consumable as well. The story is up for interpretation, but the difficulty is that way for a reason. The main character is locked in a personal hell that she can never leave.

Give this game a chance and I promise you won't regret it.

A great game with a lot of variety with the weapons and abilities you can use. A fair amount of choices to be made when you decide what kind of build you want for different fight engagements.

There's something left to be said about the final boss when it is the easiest one to beat in the entire game, but the rest of them will give you a challenge on your first run-in with them.

A bit lacking with other activities to do in the game other than just moving down a lot of aliens. Could have added more optional challenges to overcome.

But overall a nice little challenging experience.

I bought this game for the PS5 because I wanted to try and diversify the type of games I played.

This game delivered in amazing ways such as the haptic feedback and sensations you feel on the dual sense 5 which is very reminiscent to what your character is doing in the game. There is also lots of unique and entertaining horror/sci-fi visuals and for that it deserves an 8.

The story is very mediocre and the fact that you have to respawn every time you die and it feels like you're not really advancing anywhere specific makes the game hard to enjoy for such a high price. However if the price does come down, it definitely is worth trying out.

Its a diamond in the rough. Each run is unique with a wide variety of artifacts, parasites, and items that can synergize with one another. Each gun has multiple traits to unlock each with their own tiers to upgrade. I think it really incentivizes the player to look outside their comfort zone. In it's grasp of roguelike mechanics, it stands among the best.

We all know at the end of the day stories are good in games, but game-play is king; Returnal checks both of these boxes. The dark narrative is refreshing and unique, a far cry from the sea of cliche story lines that find their way to the mainstream. This one stayed with me, and when you hear the desperation and momentary bouts of insanity in Selene's rage against her fate, you can't help but sympathize and fight harder to free her from her hell, if you even can.

For those who rated this game poorly for having to start over after dying, I'd not only not recommend this game to you, but roguelikes entirely. That premise is the foundation of the genre. It's like buying a sandwich, and complaining when you ate it you noticed two pieces of bread with ingredients between them. That's just what a sandwich is. It isn't that you don't like this particular sandwich, but sandwiches entirely. I'd recommend sticking to the tried and true chicken tenders and french fries; but for my fellow sandwich connoisseur's out there, this one's one of the best.

It's a very well crafted game with some welcomed historical influences and brilliant combat.

If you like rogue-like games, like myself, then you'll find it has a lot to offer in the genre, but it misses the mark by being too punishing in the wrong ways.

All rogue-like games require some kind of grind, but this is brutal and very unrewarding at times with very little, to no guidance. Other rogue-like games shine a light on what is expected, Returnal is just a closed book which can be exhausting to play after some time, it isn't a good thing. Games should be welcoming, not stubborn. Encouraging but challenging is the way.

The balance is a little out, and this game is set out to hurt you, but I do still recommend it a due to its overall design and bullet-hell combat. 7/10.