Housemarque has expanded to over 110 employees

Give us Alienation 2 with heaps more customisation and variety. The combat was amazing but just didn't have enough endgame activities for grinding loot.
 
I'm hoping HouseMarque to blow up just like FromSoftware did.

They make some of the best, most fun games, but they are still criminally underrated. I hope HouseMarque finds their Elden Ring next.
 
Heisenberg007 said:
I'm hoping HouseMarque to blow up just like FromSoftware did.

They make some of the best, most fun games, but they are still criminally underrated. I hope HouseMarque finds their Elden Ring next.
Click to expand...
Don't chase elden ring.
Let them make their own nichie like rare.

A sea of thieves type of game would be a welcome addition.
 
I'm incredible excited for whatever they are developing next. In my eyes this is the first party studio with the biggest potential to deliver something we haven't seen before and to push boundaries.

Happy to see them growing.
 
Nex Machina Revolution when?
Theyve got to have a B-team at this point who could handle that right?
 
pretty weird… returnal has this crazy fanbase when the actual itemization roguelike elements was kinda broken.. and a 7 at best… games like hades and enter the gungeon beat this game so hard… but It does look good 👍
 
GymWolf said:
Returnal 2 would be nice but this time just make a normal tps, they are no good with roguelites.
Click to expand...
People say this a lot. What was bad about Returnal Roguelites elements?

I personally really enjoyed starting over and being forced to experiment with a new weapon. I also really enjoyed having to do 3 stages at once which forced you to to explore the whole level every time and build up your character. The game seemed well balanced in regards to damage etc to accommodate this unlike say the souls games where running to the boss every failed attempt is just wasting your time.

If Returnal was structured like a normal TPS like last of us or RE4 remake I feel these fun elements would be missed.

Asking curiously as this was my first real experience with a rogue-lite
 
Heisenberg007 said:
I'm hoping HouseMarque to blow up just like FromSoftware did.

They make some of the best, most fun games, but they are still criminally underrated. I hope HouseMarque finds their Elden Ring next.
Click to expand...
I think Returnal is to HouseMarque what Demon Souls was to From Software!

They aren't massive yet but given time they could be huge. Who knows with time they might have the biggest game under Sony's Umbrella.
 
Take the Returnal concept and spin it into a full Metroid-esque adventure. All the components are there - just ditch the time loop stuff and make it a single interconnected, multi-biome world. I'd be there day one.
 
The artful mincer said:
People say this a lot. What was bad about Returnal Roguelites elements?

I personally really enjoyed starting over and being forced to experiment with a new weapon. I also really enjoyed having to do 3 stages at once which forced you to to explore the whole level every time and build up your character. The game seemed well balanced in regards to damage etc to accommodate this unlike say the souls games where running to the boss every failed attempt is just wasting your time.

If Returnal was structured like a normal TPS like last of us or RE4 remake I feel these fun elements would be missed.

Asking curiously as this was my first real experience with a rogue-lite
Click to expand...
Play something like isaac or hades to see where they fall short.

The worst offenders were the parasite mechanic that i avoided most of the times, and not enough meaningfull unlocks between runs, the sense of progression was dire to say the least.
 
Last edited:
It's a good idea to push the studios aren't stuck with cinematics. Returnal was already decent, let's see what they can do with more manpower.
 
The artful mincer said:
I think Returnal is to HouseMarque what Demon Souls was to From Software!

They aren't massive yet but given time they could be huge. Who knows with time they might have the biggest game under Sony's Umbrella.
Click to expand...
I'm in the same boat, except I think that Returnal was HouseMarque's Bloodborne -- as in they are less than 10 years from really becoming a mainstream AAA game developer like FromSoftware with 15 million+ copies sold.

It took From almost 15 years from Demon's Souls to get to Elden Ring.
 
Last edited:
Don't remember If they ever made a sequel. Anyway, congrats for Housemarque and hope Sony continues to invest in smaller devs with potential.
 
feynoob said:
Don't chase elden ring.
Let them make their own nichie like rare.

A sea of thieves type of game would be a welcome addition.
Click to expand...
Yes of course but I hope they won't do another roguelike. Returnal gameplay is incredible but the random parts of the game are awful. I stopped playing it because of this.
 
Returnal was GOOD, but I'm up for whatever they decide to create next. If they want to go back and work on something smaller like Resogun/Nex Machina before launching their next BIG project, I'll be perfectly fine with that as well.
 
Whatever they do next, I'll be there for it. Such amazing and talented team, one of the few we have that put gameplay first in everything they do.
 
Looking forward to what they do next.

I was a bit lukewarm on Returnal because the roguelite elements weren't very good and I didn't like the overall structure and story. But the actual gameplay was fantastic, if they can expand on that maybe with a more traditional linear design or a complete overhaul of the Roguelite design they can make something truly great
 
Spukc said:
pretty weird… returnal has this crazy fanbase when the actual itemization roguelike elements was kinda broken.. and a 7 at best… games like hades and enter the gungeon beat this game so hard… but It does look good 👍
Click to expand...
I know this is crazy but...maybe people liked it as much as they did for other reasons than the very specific element you're criticizing it for.
 
I would like to see them try something new, like... an open world RPG full of emotional experiences and cutscenes where everybody is gay/lesbian/bisexual! /jk
Or a pure action game, full melee combat.
 
Spukc said:
pretty weird… returnal has this crazy fanbase when the actual itemization roguelike elements was kinda broken.. and a 7 at best… games like hades and enter the gungeon beat this game so hard… but It does look good 👍
Click to expand...
Game is super fun and challenging, the only Bad thing it had for me was the no save option but it was fixed, 10/10 as My first roguelite.
 
Heisenberg007 said:
I'm in the same boat, except I think that Returnal was HouseMarque's Bloodborne -- as in they are less than 10 years from really becoming a mainstream AAA game developer like FromSoftware with 15 million+ copies sold.

It took From almost 15 years from Demon's Souls to get to Elden Ring.
Click to expand...
Returnal immediately reminded me of Demon's Souls in that I think it could be their foundation for their own unique formula going forward. I still have a feeling Returnal might turn out to be a seminal game but it obviously depends on HM. From managed to cement Demon's Souls' uniqueness with Dark Souls and I really hope HM manages to cement Returnal's with follow-up that builds on its strengths and brings some improvements to the overall structure and scope to the table.

There really isn't anything like Returnal on the market. It has AAA presentation yet is essentially a pure Arcade game that also manages to be absurdly atmospheric with deep lore you can get lost in. If HM can fine-tune this formula, damn...

PS: More on topic, I'm beyond fucking excited to see HM expand.
 
Last edited:
TerribleAtThisGame said:
I know this is crazy but...maybe people liked it as much as they did for other reasons than the very specific element you're criticizing it for.
Click to expand...
you played at launch? because you where better off not using parasites, this is not good game design. The balance was off
 
Last edited:
Spukc said:
you played at launch? because you where better off not using parasites, this is not good game design. The balance was off
Click to expand...
Bought it Day 1 and put about 200 hours into it in total. I'm not saying it's perfect, it absolutely has issues, but that doesn't mean others weigh them as heavily. I didn't play Returnal for the rogue elements for example so comparing it to Hades for example, a game I also loved, makes no sense to my enjoyment of the game.
 
StealthGoblin said:
I'd really love it if they had the freedom to make some of their smaller arcade style games alongside their AAA output.
Click to expand...
I really hope Sony establishes some label within Sony studios for smaller games. While I don' t really get why Embracer is divided like it is, Sony should continue with their main label for the AAA games, but also have a second branch with small(er) games like old Housemarque, Arrowhead and any sideproject stuff like probably Tearaway, Rain etc. Big budget hype stuff, yeah, but also make some small games to provide also some niche games. I guess could also be used to test new game directors, let them work on a smaller game before fully commiting and also allow tech teams to work on some small scale games while a bigger budget game is still not out of concept phase. Make everything a bit more flexible and not only bet on 100+ mio or whatever games.
 
Returnal was so damn good, eagerly anticipating their next game. I also wish they could go back just a little bit to fix Dead Nation on PS5 because curiously enough it's the single PS4 game I've come across that just keeps on crashing on PS5.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Returnal studio Housemarque has no plans for a live-service title "as long as people are buying premium games"
2
90
1K
mckmas8808 replied
Astro Bot has over 4 million players
2
58
1K
DenchDeckard replied
Splitgate 2 has reached over 1 million downloads
5
312
havoc00 replied
Arkane Financials: Marvel's Blade Entered Production End of 2024, Estimated Release Date Nov 2027, Arkane has 190 Employees
2 3
124
491
Cryio replied
Housemarque will release extended gameplay of Saros later this year
42
2K
tTHANOSs replied
Top Bottom