With all of that in mind, I highly recommend playing Returnal with a quality headset or surround sound system.Įach of the biomes encourage exploration, but be warned, they are filled to the brim with creatures that can end your cycle faster than you can blurt out an expletive.Įnemies in Returnal come in all shapes and sizes, but each can be exceedingly deadly if you’re not careful. Honestly, I’m not sure who at Housemarque was responsible for the audio direction, but they deserve a raise because it’s simply exceptional. To top it all off is a fittingly moody soundtrack that is always present, but never intrusive. Of course, they also provide you with vital information on enemy attacks and movement, which are critical to your survival. Environmental sounds ranging from water droplets, to wind noise, to branches breaking under your boots, are delivered with exceptional clarity. In fact my only complaint is that unlike most of the big PlayStation titles nowadays, Returnal does not offer a photo mode.įurther accentuating Atropos’s design is 3D sound is incredibly well-implemented. For a studio that has made its name developing two-dimensional shooters, the attention to detail on display here is rather jaw-dropping. Throughout the biomes you’ll also experience a wide-range of environments including a mars-like wasteland, snow-filled caverns, a dense marsh, and even an underwater installation. From glowing fauna that reacts as you move past it, creatures that disperse as you disturb them, and some of the best particle effects and volumetric fog/lighting I’ve ever seen in a game, Atropos feels alive.
#Returnal audio bug full#
Each area feels full of life with surroundings that respond to you. Upon initially venturing out, the quality of the environmental design becomes apparent immediately, and is maintained through each of the game’s six biomes. There’s a tremendous amount of nuance to the game’s design which I will expound upon over the course of this review. However, should you die, you lose all of it, with the exception of a few permanent equipment unlocks that aid in world traversal.
As you explore further, you will gain gear and weaponry that aid you in tackling greater challenges, and enable you to progress further through the world. You will also spawn back at your ship and its crash location. Each time you spawn is referred to as the beginning of a new cycle, in which you will have a pistol and none of the items you’d collected during your last cycle. The two core inspirations are shoot-em-ups (or SHMUPs) and roguelikes, but it throws a few Soulslike elements into the mix for good measure. Returnal’s design elements are a mix of well-established genres. Armed with nothing more than a pistol, you set off to uncover the mystery of not only Atropos, but your own past. Returnal begins with a cryptic flashback and a crash landing onto Atropos, a brooding, mysterious planet teaming with dangerous creatures. So did they hit their mark and elevate themselves into the conversation of top-tier PlayStation developers? Allow me to state my case. When Housemarque first explained Returnal as taking their shooter pedigree into a third-person action game, many questioned how it would fare. Known primarily for Resogun and Nex Machina, Returnal is by far their most ambitious title yet and incredibly unique to boot. Housemarque, while an established studio that has developed quality games for years, is not a household name.
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