I played only the first few hours of Returnal, but it's already one of the boldest PS5 exclusives out there1 This sci-fi action/adventure game may look like a traditional third-person shooter, but it's not Returnal is roguelike and shares more DNA with FTL: faster than light, or Isaac's binding will be faster than Mass Effect or Gears of War For years, fans of the difficult and unpredictable genre were wondering what a big budget 3D version of roguelike would look like Returnal provides the answer - and it looks good

For those who haven't followed the ps5 news extensively, Returnal was one of the first big monopolies Sony announced about the system last year1 It stars a woman named Selene, whose ship crashes on a hostile alien planet There, she must rebuild her inventory and equip herself with strange alien props to survive the deadly flora and fauna But every time Selene died, she returned empty-handed to the spaceship, and the environment changed radically around her It's an eerie, action-packed story about life, death and space exploration

Sony sent an initial review copy of Returnal to Tom's Guide, but we're slowly moving it forward (Emphasis on "slow" — this game does not pull punches in terms of difficultyOur full review is ready next week, but at the moment we can discuss the early stages of the game, including the general flow of gameplay and Returnal's unique storytelling style

As mentioned above, Returnal stars an astronaut named selene who fights across hostile, moving planets, collects equipment and becomes more powerful along the way But an equally important part of the gameplay is to lose almost everything in the event of death And you will die quite often The game expects you to, and in fact, it is absolutely necessary to advance the story

After a brief tutorial, you'll find the game's first biome (fully six), which is a dark, rainy jungle full of vine-like tentacles and jagged terrain (one thing that immediately impressed me was just how subtle the tactile sensation in the DualSense controller was felt When you come out of your spaceship in the rain, you increase or decrease the intensity depending on how much tree cover you have small to your fingertips It can certainly be a bit distracting, but it's very atmospheric

The gameplay loop works like this: You start with a standard pistol and there's very little else You can run, jump, dash and shoot Your enemies — initially mostly dog—like, being tentacle monsters - will fire waves of projectiles at you in the style of bullet hell shooter You can shoot through these projectiles and dodge them, or find cover behind one of the game's many pillars and rock mounds The occasional ration section divides the battle These are very simple, requiring jumps, dashes and upgradeable gear that you will find along the way

What's interesting about Returnal is not the moment-by-moment gameplay Rather, it is the structure of the game Exploring the biome, you can find not only better pistols, but also an assortment of rifles and other more exotic weapons You will also pick up health upgrades, weapon mods and "parasites" so you can carry only one at a time, so whether you want useful secondary features like raw power or homing or effect area shots— native fauna that gives Selene both negative and positive effects for the rest of the run

There are also 2 types of currencies to collect: Obrity, which disappears after death, and ether, which does not Ether can help you clean up artifacts, items that can bring great profits, or items that can cause equipment to malfunction However, using Ether requires significant risk/reward calculations, as artifacts (and malfunctions) are lost when you die

In fact, the risk/reward balance of Returnal is generally one of the best points of the game 1 You can get out of the beaten path for some awesome rewards — but you have incredibly tough enemies to get them You don't have to fight every single enemy or take on every ration challenge But if you do not, you may miss the gear that will help you survive the next encounter

Some Less Punishment Unlike "Roguelite" you will keep very little between runs in return — just some exploration and rationing ability Still, the penalties for dying are harsh, but it's also a necessary part of the gameplay

Gameplay and story matching is one of the most powerful aspects of Returnal 1 Selene returning to her ship during the run is not just any checkpoint The game tutorial has established that Selene's constant life and death cycle is an inexplicable part of the landscape of the alien world (It is understandably frightening that she encounters her own corpse in the early area

Selene can pick up audio logs documenting her past self adventures as she goes, so the story has a strong mystery element to it Why did Selene track the signal to this planet? Why does the planet keep killing her and bringing her back? How many times has she experienced this cycle? And, of course, is there a way to escape relapse? If you like the various "time loops" episodes of Star Trek, you'll probably like Returnal's story as well

Just as the level of Returnal is generated programmatically, so is the audio log there So, dying in Returnal is another way to advance the story1 When you explore a whole new landscape after death, you will also come across a brand new audio log that fills a key part of the backstory-heavy story machine and you will also occasionally encounter strange flashes from Selene's past, including people and places from her past inexplicably appearing in an alien world

For a complete review, leave a detailed coverage of Returnal But in the meantime, it seems to be one of the more daring and clever Sony monopolies for a while1 Returnal does not cater to the widest possible audience; In fact, many gamers feel that a difficult, demanding gameplay loop is too punishing and can put the game into frustration after 1 incorrect move ends an otherwise promising run

Meanwhile, roguelike fans have always wondered what the major publishers behind it might look like Returnal has the potential to turn a completely new audience of players into a genre