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Returnal |OT| Live. Die. Repeat.

FrankWza

Member
I preordered at Best Buy yesterday and it was listed as ready to pick up the following day. Today came, though, and it just sat at the same status all day: preparing order for pick up. I just checked a local Taget and one store nearby had 4 copies. Reserved there and supposedly it's ready for pick up. Canceled the Best Buy order.
Yeah those physical copies are looking tough to get for a few days.
 

kaiju

Member
I preordered at Best Buy yesterday and it was listed as ready to pick up the following day. Today came, though, and it just sat at the same status all day: preparing order for pick up. I just checked a local Taget and one store nearby had 4 copies. Reserved there and supposedly it's ready for pick up. Canceled the Best Buy order.

Exact same issue here. Walmart had 4 copies. Best Buy is now dead to me.
 

Rolla

Banned
Visually stunning game. Audio fidelity is probably the best I've come across. I'm loving the narrative and the difficulty. But it's the Dualsense that's the surprising the star of the show! It ties every facet of this game together and then enhances it.

I'm really interested to see how this game sells.
 

Jaysen

Banned
I love the gameplay but holy shit is it broken as fuck. Multiple crashes and also getting the bug where doors stop opening and you can’t interact with anything. If the game let you save, I wouldn’t have to lose an entire run over this shit.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
This feels absolutely amazing to play. I dont think people who haven't played this game will quite get what makes it so special. Videos just dont do this game justice. All that Dualsense marketing bullshit we had to sit through for a year is finally showing just how much a controller can enhance the gameplay experience. The 3D audio or just the sound design in general is just mesmerizing. I dont think I have ever been this absorbed in a game before. Playing this with a headset is a must imo.

I died twice at the first boss but thankfully I had two second chance items I had collected. Just died again in the second world and was sent all the way back to the first world and there dont seem to be any shortcuts active? do i really have to run to the second world and then do the whole second world again? why cant there be a shortcut to the second world right at the start of the game?

Other than that, it feels very well designed for a procedurally generated rougelike. I know it's just the first level, but I really liked the constant stream of upgrades and uncovering mysteries. I am excited to go in and learn more about the game.

I never thought I would say this about Returnal, but I am impressed.
 

drotahorror

Member
in video setting, in graphics
There's a BLOOM setting.


I love the gameplay but holy shit is it broken as fuck. Multiple crashes and also getting the bug where doors stop opening and you can’t interact with anything. If the game let you save, I wouldn’t have to lose an entire run over this shit.

Do you have a DLC/non-default outfit on? I was getting the activate issue nearly every run, put it back to default costume and never had a problem yet.
 

bargeparty

Member
What's with the ridiculous difficulty spike as you die? I got to the first boss on my first run in a breeze but died and now I'm just constantly shit on.

I'm starting to hate the healing mechanics in this.
 

saintjules

Gold Member
I preordered at Best Buy yesterday and it was listed as ready to pick up the following day. Today came, though, and it just sat at the same status all day: preparing order for pick up. I just checked a local Taget and one store nearby had 4 copies. Reserved there and supposedly it's ready for pick up. Canceled the Best Buy order.

Seems there was a delivery issue from HQ I believe. Saw some users online talking about it.
 

saintjules

Gold Member
What's with the ridiculous difficulty spike as you die? I got to the first boss on my first run in a breeze but died and now I'm just constantly shit on.

I'm starting to hate the healing mechanics in this.

Yup, and right when you're looking for healing items there's none to be found. I guess we gotta.... Git gud.
 

FrankWza

Member
I just put it to bed mid run so hopefully no rest mode issues. HM went for a lot more than Alien or Prometheus. One shot was right out of 2001 and I’m sure there’ll be more as the game goes on. I counted about 5 different sci-fi movie nods. Awesome.
 

Hoppa

Member
Think I got to the first boss but died and now I can't make it back to him lol. Those bat monsters that lunge at you are a pain in the ass.

Enjoying the game so far but don't think I'll make it to the end
 

bargeparty

Member
Think I got to the first boss but died and now I can't make it back to him lol. Those bat monsters that lunge at you are a pain in the ass.

Enjoying the game so far but don't think I'll make it to the end

You definitely have to dodge a bit early with those guys. I'm starting to get the dodging down.
 

rubhen925

Member
Beat the story today, Final boss was something else. Can't phase through purple stuff lol. Got messed up. But barely held on to deliver final blow. Hollowseeker with Portal beam addon ftw. Loved my time so far. True ending apparently has hours of grind so I'll tackle that this weekend.
 
i streamed it to my lappy last night. without HDR everything is kinda grey ish
Does the game have true HDR? Haven’t tried it with auto HDR off in PS5 settings.

It reminds me Control a lot, shoot stuff, dash dash, shot shoot stuff, dash dash...plus rogue-lite elements.
Don’t think you can “dash dash”, more like dash, run some, dash again.

No crashes for me yet.
 

Golgo 13

The Man With The Golden Dong
I like the game but it desperately needs a save feature. And putting the PS5 into “rest mode” is not a suitable alternative (particularly since doing this is causing crashes and bugs for a lot of people) Plenty of difficult rogue-likes have featured save states, there’s really no excuse here.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
I like the game but it desperately needs a save feature. And putting the PS5 into “rest mode” is not a suitable alternative (particularly since doing this is causing crashes and bugs for a lot of people) Plenty of difficult rogue-likes have featured save states, there’s really no excuse here.
I just lost an hour and a half of progress in the second World because of a crash. I was almost at the boss i think.

I usually don't mind crashes but in a game like this, they are simply inexcusable.
 
Game has some trippy af visuals.

xSkpIx6.jpg


GQN7WqN.jpg


CuzC4jt.jpg


J5cjvSs.jpg
 

SCB3

Member
The second area is a bitch to get through at times, there giant squid box thing is a mother to avoid, then you finally get into the inside area and a Doom Eternal Maurader is waiting in there to kick your ass, I've not got further than that yet

I will say, it is super easy to get back to the area from your ship, never takes me more than 2 or 3 minutes and that's often cause I want to collect new weapons and health on the way.

I forgot to mention the Dual Sense stuff, its beyond a description and needs to be felt to be believed, if you've played Astrobot, its like a step above that, I can't speak for the 3D audio yet as I've not used Headphones on the game just yet (I'm half considered the 3D pulse Headphones at some point)
 

Aaron Olive

Member
"IMO" This game is not worth $70 from what I have experienced in the game so far and due to the controversial decision to make it the way it is "NO SAVE SYSTEM" i wouldn't recommend it to others. I have died several times going through the crimson desert and forest looking for stuff before a boss and at this point I really don't want to play this game anymore because I'm not getting anywhere.

Returnal isn't an awesome game but it isn't a terrible game either, it's visually pretty, has great sound design and atmosphere and even the mystery of the story interest me but I would rather experience the story they want to tell as a NETFLIX limited series than to sit here, play, die, lose everything and blah blah blah.

I would love a refund but can't due to it being digital and I see why Jeff Grubb gave it a 6 because it's just an average visually pretty arcade game/tech demo and it's not on the level of GTA, Uncharted, TLOU or even Kingdom Hearts.....stick a quarter in and try again. ehh... nope. "I miss cheat codes exactly for this reason" :messenger_loudly_crying:
 
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kyoji

Member
THIS GAME IS AMAZING, imagine thinking this wasnt worth 70 bucks LMAO, played yaself. Early GOTY contender FREE, great story (what ive uncovered so far) Fun as fuck gameplay, nice visuals and a world that screams metroid meets promethius!

My only knock is i had the game crash on me once, i wonder if they know what causes it?

If youre looking for a challenging addicting game this is it right here, ala bloodborne sleeper hit. Cant wait to play more when im rested later today.
 

Aaron Olive

Member
THIS GAME IS AMAZING, imagine thinking this wasnt worth 70 bucks LMAO, played yaself. Early GOTY contender FREE, great story (what ive uncovered so far) Fun as fuck gameplay, nice visuals and a world that screams metroid meets promethius!

My only knock is i had the game crash on me once, i wonder if they know what causes it?

If youre looking for a challenging addicting game this is it right here, ala bloodborne sleeper hit. Cant wait to play more when im rested later today.
it's a known issue that's been happening to a few.
 
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kyoji

Member
"IMO" This game is not worth $70 from what I have experienced in the game so far and due to the controversial decision to make it the way it is "NO SAVE SYSTEM" i wouldn't recommend it to others. I have died several times going through the crimson desert and forest looking for stuff before a boss and at this point I really don't want to play this game anymore because I'm not getting anywhere.

Returnal isn't an awesome game but it isn't a terrible game either, it's visually pretty, has great sound design and atmosphere and even the mystery of the story interest me but I would rather watch this as a NETFLIX limited series than to sit here, play, die, lose everything and blah blah blah.

I would love a refund but can't due to it being digital and I see why Jeff Grubb gave it a 6 because it's just an average visually pretty arcade game/tech demo and it's not on the level of GTA, Uncharted, TLOU or even Kingdom Hearts.....stick a quarter in and try again. ehh... nope. "I miss cheat codes exactly for this reason" :messenger_loudly_crying:
Hang in there dude! its a pretty rewarding feeling when you advance, i also saw where housemarqe has acknowledged people looking for a way to save, not sure what they will do though.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
pS6v7RR.jpg

So get this item.

1- you can heal by picking up cash
(It heals you super fing slow like almost pointless.)

2- fuck you no more healing pickups in levels.


Hahaha
image0.jpg





image0.jpg


1 - no damage for 3 hits
2- afterwards fuck you have a nice malfunction.

image0.jpg


Aka oh you are almost dead?
well now it’s even harder 😂

srsly these items needs severe balancing.
It’s flat out not fun to pick up most of them.
 
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Shmunter

Member
Picked up the disc today. Got to attend a party tonight, but will be dipping ASAP.

Haven’t seen anyone disappointed yet. I very much enjoyed Control so I’m expecting to be drawn in by this. Not just because of the gameplay, but because of the mood and high concept sci-fi.

Seeing so much fanfare I’m suspecting this will be a killer in sales also.
 
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Aaron Olive

Member
pS6v7RR.jpg

So get this item.

1- you can heal by picking up cash
(It heals you super fing slow like almost pointless.)

2- fuck you no more healing pickups in levels.


Hahaha
image0.jpg





image0.jpg


1 - no damage for 3 hits
2- afterwards fuck you have a nice malfunction.

image0.jpg


Aka oh you are almost dead?
well now it’s even harder 😂

srsly these items needs severe balancing.
It’s flat out not fun to pick up most of them.
Yup the game needs re-balancing badly, cause I can see the player engagement nosediving after the first two weeks, I'm already one of them! which sucks cause I want to play it but I know it will just frustrate me.
 
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AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
Played about 2.5 hours yesterday which included losing a run to the game crashing. Great stuff.

Other than that, really fun! Smashed through the 1st biome and got near the end of the 2nd but messed up a fight and wiped. Looking forward to getting back into it on Sunday when I'm home again. Game feels like a weird mishmash of about 5 others and I'm really enjoying it.

Worth £70? Not for me, not yet at least. Yes, it's got a higher mark of quality than other similar games but by virtue of being a roguelite it still feels like a game that wouldn't have that price tag attached. It looks nice for sure but hasn't blown me away at all visually, haptics feel fantastic, though.
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
i die before i even need to save
but yeah agreed

almost got the first boss down too just 1 sliver but i fucked up and got hugged by the wall
not picking up those corrupted items helped a lot this feels so counter initiative in a RL game,

image0.jpg


like WHY would i pick this up?

I stacked 3 of those parasites, but most of them have good pros and mild negatives. Like one gives you more damage power but next malignant bullshit is hard. Well, I don't pick up those.

Here are my "Pro" tips::messenger_sunglasses: (click on the links for the photos)

- Use Dash to get through laser barriers and most of the enemy attacks. Some bullets and lasers you can't do that and would end up getting hurt later on.
- Don't fucking gamble with your Ether: You can turn Ether to Obolites to buy a large medkit from that fabricator, knowing exactly what you want.
- Don't pick up Malignant stuff: It's not worth the negatives, some are doable some are pretty tough, unless you have malfunction fixer (if you have 2 malfunctions the next malignant you pick is broken/lost, so don't over do it).
- Spend 6 Ether on each level on the Reconstructors: This gives you a second chance on each level as you respawn again without losing anything. You can't spam it, only once on each biome.
- Collect Resin for maximum Integrity "Health".
- Don't be a fucking hero: If you think you're being overwhelmed with the goons, just run for your fucking life. Don't be shy to exploit some weakness sometimes as I use the doors to block the enemy and as a shield for the counter.
- Use the good Parasites: I've used one for autorepair at low health, and max integrity, and damage. Some raise malfunction probability buy you should not pick malignants to begin with. Some enemy attacks cause malfunctions though.
- Buy Augments: Those stack up and end up making you OP, like 10% protection, 25% max integrity, more damage caused, autorepair at low health "same as the parasite with no negatives", etc.
- You can stack as much consumable as you like from the same kind: If you have one large health medkit, you can stack another one over it. Same with other consumables as I've stacked once around 3 consumables in one slot.
- DON'T FUCKING GO TO THE GOLDEN GATE IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO: Those are wave-based and could end up fighting 3 bosses simultaneously. Rewards can be good, but tried one and wasn't that good as I was forced to do so in one mission. It looks like the same main mission door but yellow with a star above. Had my early second death there.
- Don't pick up a higher level weapon "just because": Check the stats, and understand what you need. To me, there is that machine gun I prefer "Hollowseeker", carbine "Tachyomatic Carbine" comes second, and the pistol "Modified Sidearm SD-M8" third. The rest are pure garbage to me in the long run.
- Permanent suit upgrades are crucial: Because you can reach areas you usually can't without them and could mean getting some health regain or better loot.
- In worst scenario, go back to the SHIP to sleep and regain health: Don't be afraid to go all the way back to the ship before proceeding to fight a boss with low health. It might be within your radius or you might have to go through biomes to reach it, but it's better than being forced to with zero stats. There are different beds that you can sleep "green bed" and regain health and even upgrade max integrity, also don't be afraid to sleep on the "red bed" ones that take some health but gives a very rewarding loot.
- Explore all the blue gates as much as possible: You usually get the green/red beds there, the reconstructor "second chance" machine, and other rewarding/permanent upgrades.
- Lastly, don't be afraid to die: The game makes it so easy get back to the level, and ones you enter you get a weapon level pass "Proficiency" that matches the biome right away. You can manage even with 0 level guns because the leveling isn't steep in the game.

I think that's about most of it. Hope this helps. The game isn't hard if you're good in gaming in general. I can say it's about medium. Goons can be harder than main bosses as well when you're overwhelmed or cornered. After beating the game you should still go after some story elements.

Hope this helps dorkimoe dorkimoe .
 
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Bo_Hazem

Banned
How did you do that first encounter where most people die? You have some solid reflexes lol

I was on my best run and my game crashed. Granted it’s early, but it was still upsetting.

Most bosses are "medium" at best. If you have full health with a health pack just in case, it's pretty easy beating all of them. I think the regular goons are harder when crowded/cornered.
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
Finally died! 😄

Third biome was rough. Big sentinel robots fucking my shit up. Okay, I'm officially in love with this game. It's so good. Not as pretty as Demon's Souls, but still good looking. No, the beauty in this game is the action, the fluid movements as you zip between crazy bullet hells and vanquishing monsters. It feels a bit like Vanquish to be honest. The gameplay loop is so satisfying.

But I gotta say, honestly. DualSense. What a game changer. It transforms the games into something completely new. The immersion when you feel the droplets of the rain, the subtle rumble when your secondary fire is ready to go, the recoil in the different weapons. Absolutely sublime. I feel this is what next gen is really about.

The audio design is fantastic as well. The otherworldly musical ambience, the sound effects of your weapon firing off round after round, the noise from the enemies coming from different directions. It's so well executed.

Good luck! For me using Pulse 3D at full, keeping the master volume at 100%, controller 0%, dialogue kept at 100% the rest put to 90% because I think dialogue was a bit low and the other noises a bit higher.

DualSense lasted for like 10 hours with all that extensive usage, then put it on my cellphone charger and used my other one.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
I just flat out ignore everything in biome 1 now
Run to biome 2 then start playing the game.

Almost got to the boss and died because one to many doom eternal maurader like enemies,
I think i got dodging them mastered finally, (they dislike melee) The big squidies are piss easy to avoid just don't get cornered. And yeah i used the cheese door technique too.
If this game is acting unfair so am i.

My main problem is that going to act 2 is annoying. It's not hard it's just an obstacle.
And i will only get better if i understand the enemy patterns. In the new act.

Because the balancing of items is off i don't collect them. Making the game less fun.
I never had this with any other roguelike before, (hades, binding of isaac, enter the gungeon, dead cells, undermine slay the spire and loop hero to name a few)
Hades and other games i tried award me redoing stages. This game showers me with bullshit negative loot i won't use. Making exploring the areas again pointless.

Either let me spend money instead to purify items. Or make them way cheaper to cleanse.
Right now all i can do is collect ether to make this game easier.
So spending it on anything else is dumb. Even the revive.
If i get killed i just didn't read the enemy well enough, And i rather spend my hard earned ether on new items in the lootpool.

Don't get me wrong i like the challenge but this is the first roguelike game i played where restarting felt kinda shit.
Instead of the normal roguelite, Fuck yeah that was awesome! Let's do another run so i can see what new item combo's i will unlock...

If that makes any sense.

Anyway fuck this game going for another run XD
 

JusticeForAll

Gold Member
Just downed Phrike, right before I had to leave the house. Picked up all items and put ps5 to rest... Same sense of accomplishment as the souls series... Didn't think I would love this game as much as I do because of it being a roguelike... But it's great. I love the Prometheus-like atmosphere.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
woop made it into boss 2 third 3rd fase i basically need to understand his patterns.
I think avoiding the maurader enemies is better. :messenger_tears_of_joy:
get's me faster to the boss

OOOOOH now i get it.
ok so this game starts handing out shortcuts.

i was thinking.. fuck this dude i aint doing all this again.

-edit- killed the second boss in the third try stupid ass motherfucker

first time a parasite actually saved my ass
 
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kuncol02

Banned
I like the game but it desperately needs a save feature. And putting the PS5 into “rest mode” is not a suitable alternative (particularly since doing this is causing crashes and bugs for a lot of people) Plenty of difficult rogue-likes have featured save states, there’s really no excuse here.
Quit and save is basic feature of roguelikes and roguelites since Rogue. I have no idea how they could miss that. Especially in game where runs are supposed to be more than 1 hour.
 

drotahorror

Member
Man....woke up after being a bit down on the game last night, had a good run going first thing. Got a new weapon, played a bit and went back to where I got it to get my old weapon back....Crash. FFS, I had shit really going too. I've never used rest mode ever on ps5 and I'm not using a preorder outfit.
 

SCB3

Member
I'm hearing alot of people having crashes, I've not had one or even a sign of one yet, that's kinda worrying tbh
 

BbMajor7th

Member
I think I'm out sadly. It took me about 20 deaths to finally reach Phrike and then I wiped in the the third phase and will now have to hunt down another Anathema key. Moment to the moment the game isn't too challenging but at least once a run the game will lock you in a room with three elites, a mob and monolith and say 'have fun'. To me, it's a little rough for an opening area and it breaks the early learning flow. Qué Sera - back to NieR :D
 
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