I will start by saying that this game is not for everyone. I had heard for a while about a good 3rd person shooter roguelike game exclusive to the PS5, and with the many reviews that had come out saying how good but also difficult the game is, I was quite scared. I hadn't bought it because I thought that if I were to spend €80 (back then) and get frustrated, it wouldn't be worth it, but I was ultimately wrong. Now that I found some time after the season, I added the PS Plus extra which gave me the game "for free" and downloaded it. I haven't regretted any of the 5 (few) hours that I have played. The game is fantastic, it has the best 3rd person shooter I have ever seen. It has beautiful graphics, incredible gameplay, and overall it is a game that instead of making me angry when I die, it makes me want to go back and get a little "revenge". The game is a bit unfair to the player at times, but at the same time, it is very fair because when you lose, you don't have to go back and kill all the bosses from the beginning. In any case, it is a game that will provide incredible moments if you have concentration and dedicate time to it, while if you just want a game to pass the holidays or simply relax on winter nights, it's not worth it. At the current price of €40, it may still be considered a bit expensive. However, if you have PS Plus or if you find it used for €20, it is definitely worth it. Give it time, put on headphones, and you won't regret a single second from the moment it starts running on your console.

Unprecedented game structure - for me - the rogue-like genre it carries. At first, playing it, I had mixed feelings, wondering why I was losing progress and almost everything I found from exploring the map with each death. I felt a despair that I was not accomplishing anything, playing in vain. I wanted to quickly go back to the point where I died in order to continue from there because that's how I felt like progressing in the game. Of course, almost always the levels punished me, as in each new cycle, after dying and starting from the beginning, everything becomes randomized, from the order in which you find the rooms in the chapter you are in, to the items-consumables-upgrades you encounter. It's not something in a logical order to imprint in your brain, so that you can memorize the level and breeze through it. Also, when you die, you lose your weapon, which may have been something that suited you, with an alt fire that matched your playstyle, and it's hard to find it again in this constant shuffle of the deck. However, the game has an addictive gameplay, fast-paced, requiring good reflexes, precision in movements, knowing when to dodge, when to jump, when to take cover, to run, to shoot. And all of this in a frenetic rhythm amidst all the chaos caused by the countless projectiles coming towards you. Movement plays a more important role than aiming (fortunately for someone who hates aiming with a joystick). So, you must constantly move and learn the layout of the room you are in, know how to prioritize enemies, and strategically use your consumables and healing items found on the floor. In the beginning, all this resetting of the character started to tire me and annoy me, but I was kept by the gameplay that reminded me, at times, of the pace of Doom Eternal and increased my adrenaline.

In the game, you don't lose everything, you keep some very basic tools when you find them, which don't disappear with each death. And also a currency that you can use to help you in certain points. The things you keep give you access to platforms and areas that you couldn't reach at the beginning (metroidvania phase), so each new cycle, with an extra power, gains a new interest. Also, if you reach a boss and lose, the path to get there feels shorter, and this also happens if you go to another chapter, shortcuts open up and the level is shaped in such a way that you can quickly reach the chapter you were in. This doesn't mean that you don't need to do some preparation and exploration before going back to where you were. But it's not as exhausting in practice as it may seem. From a certain point onwards, you just don't care, you just want to continue playing the game, see what it will throw at you this time and what card the deck will reveal. The gambling aspect of the items and the randomness of the rooms that appear is interesting. From a certain point onwards, you will recognize the rooms and the enemies because you will have visited them all at least once, just not in the same order. It's like entering a big mansion that has 3 living rooms, 5 bathrooms, 1 kitchen, and 10 rooms, and every time you enter from the main entrance, they change their position within the mansion.
From atmosphere, scenery, art direction, etc., it strongly reminds of Prometheus from the Alien movies universe. The tracks have different themes and environments, not all in an alien tropical forest, there is a variety, with differentiated enemies depending on the level you are at. It has very good performance with a solid 60 frames per second and nice graphics with looooots of particle effects, lots of color in the projectiles!!
It is a game that is aimed at a specific audience that seeks challenge in games, it is not in any way for relaxing and enjoying only the gameplay or the story. It gives you that sweet sadism that the souls games also give, in the end you know that you are self-flagellating and yet you smile.
It is a classic, pure hardcore-ness of the game :)

Gamer here for 30 years... I've played many games in my hands. I have to say that I'm not a fan of roguelike games - meaning you lose and start from the beginning. I hated Demon's Souls and Bloodborne.

The difficulty that I read about in the reviews is what prevented me from delaying the purchase of the game. I also have to say that the official prices (79.99) are excessive and also a deterrent factor - I bought it for 65.

As I mentioned before, I play daily, I have finished many games and thriller genres in general are among my favorites (resident evil, silent hill, last of us 1/2, alien isolation, etc) - I like fear. Here I didn't have any expectations but I have to say that it captivated me. It is the first game I played that conveyed the fear of abandonment in space, how relative time is - the flawless voice acting and soundtrack play a big role in this. It also reminds me of my all-time favorite movie, Interstellar. I don't want to spoil anything but it was magical, it moved me while playing. I saw it in my dreams - the first time something like this has happened to me.

Yes, the game is extremely difficult... in the completion statistics I saw... 60 deaths... which could be in the first quarter or the first two hours. The game is so good that it became an obsession for me. I consider myself a good gamer, but not a speed-runner type of good. Generally, I play games on easy/medium to enjoy the story, but this is something else.

However, there is some sort of progression, it's not 'completely' from the beginning. In the 6 biomes, there are items that you need to acquire in order to open, for example, a door, you have to get a key that you have to spit blood to get... but once you open it, you don't need to go through the entire biome again, the door remains open in the next playthroughs.

Graphics, sound, controls, feedback are AMAZING. The story is fantastic, with randomly/procedurally created biomes each time. After 20 restarts, you might see a completely different philosophy of the level.

Finally, let me say this, there is a reason why there is no save in the game - the 'traditional' save. You have to lose to see the story, which is based on a loop that traps you on the unknown planet. If there was a save, the story wouldn't make sense, the procedural levels wouldn't make sense, the randomly scattered items wouldn't make sense.

Masterpiece. Definitely in my Top 10 favorite games of all time!

Review after 2 months of gameplay (and about 180 hours):
The first game I got platinum! Nevertheless, I still play it until I get everything 100% (weapons, artifacts, etc) - which 'fill up' as you use them and depending on their rarity in the game. Since the disc went into the drive, I haven't taken it out and like many others, it has ruined my mood for other games, which now seem underwhelming.

1.

We start with a disclaimer: Returnal is not for everyone.

It is a roguelike arcade shooter title with a mix of horror elements and a sophisticated checkpoint logic that replaces the save option, which is not available except for putting the console in rest mode. This choice, made by the developers to enhance the plot and the overall nature of the game, is bound to quickly discourage those who do not have the intention or the disposition to see a few hours of progress go to waste every time Selene dies and returns to square one. Any artifact, upgrade, or consumable is lost instantly, and the player starts again "naked". The only thing that remains, essentially, are the three or four fast travel points where the player can relatively quickly go back to the last point of progress they had made before dying. This is practically a gift, since going there directly without first making a basic upgrade that requires exploring at least 2/4 of the map of the first "world" is certain death. So how does the title compensate for such a significant flaw?

The answer lies in two important elements, one of which is the essence of gaming: gameplay. Returnal excels in this aspect, being one of the most polished and addictive titles ever created. It utilizes the haptic technology of the DualSense controller more effectively than any other game so far, and the overall sensation that the player experiences is more than solid and extremely entertaining. The second element is the unique experience in each run, as every time the player starts, the world of Returnal is never the same. Everything changes. From the artifacts found, the consumables, and the weapons in terms of their individual elements (Alt Fire, stats), to the map itself. This element is what makes each play sequence feel unique. And that is where the magic of the title lies. It quickly makes the player forget the previous sequence, even if they had reached the source without drinking water. Does this apply to everyone? Of course not. However, it is certain that gamers who seek a challenge beyond good gameplay will deeply appreciate the title and engage with it for several hours.

Another point I would like to mention is the atmosphere. It is awesome, but the title somehow has a retro aura that will be very familiar to many old-school gamers. Observers will inevitably think of DOOM when looking at the worlds of Returnal, but at the same time, the minimalist and cryptic storytelling brings to mind times when the medium was not as advanced, and gameplay was the beginning, middle, and end of every title regardless of its content. This does not mean that the story and plot of the title are lacking. Quite the opposite. But at the end of the day, Returnal stands out for a simple yet essential element: pure hardcore action gameplay.

In summary:

POSITIVES

+ Highly addictive and technically polished gameplay.
+ World differentiation makes every new run literally unique and unrepeatable.
+ Cryptic storytelling that enhances the overall sci-fi horror atmosphere.
+ Fantastic use of the DualSense capabilities.

NEGATIVES

- The lack of save will deter many. (It will probably be patched. For those who have doubts, if you read about a patch that will allow saving, go for it)

RATING: 8.5/10

The game in terms of sound, graphics, and controller response that we first saw on the ps5 (I mean the scandals) is very solid. However, what literally disappointed me after I finished it is its gameplay. It reminds me a lot in terms of movement of Control and Mass Effect Andromeda. That is, how the player moves and handles weapons. There are upgrades and a huge variety of weapons that will keep you engaged for a while. If you like loots in games and finding the best weapon-upgrade, you will enjoy it. However, what may bother you is the "empty" world. The levels have enemies that you will have to fight, and many times you will lose as it has an increased difficulty level, but apart from them and killing them, there is nothing else. That is, it's just you and the monsters, which are also sparse in some specific levels, resulting in you moving around. A second major flaw is the lack of saves and the existence of a specific bug that has not been fixed yet and causes the console to crash, resulting in the loss of all progress you have made. If you search, there are many ps5 users so far in this particular title who have issues. After 6 hours personally, I felt a lack of purpose in the game as well as the feeling that the creators lost track of the plot somewhere. They tried to combine the psychological aspect of Control (I give it as an example) with the monsters of Andromeda and for other reasons that I won't mention due to spoilers.

In conclusion, due to the lack of things to do besides the endless grind for weapons, the lack of saves that puts pressure on you if you work and don't have much time, the lack of substantial story that makes sense, and especially the fact that after the first 16 hours it becomes a routine where you are simply pressured to finish it, I would recommend buying it at a low price of 20-35 euros and not having high expectations because personally I was disappointed. The whole game took me 55 hours, but I played it only for its story...