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[Jebron]

This game... holy shit.

I'm not a Roguelike fan, at all. I'm also not a fan of difficult games... in fact I generally avoid them vehemently. Because I don't have much to play on my PS5, I decided to just bite the bullet and buy Returnal. I like Housemarque and figured even if I don't enjoy it, I'm supporting a smaller studio doing cool stuff.

I bought the game on Saturday evening and have 12 hours in so far, beat the first boss last night. I just can't put this game down. It's so, so good! I don't think I've felt this urge to jump back into a game like this in years!

I'm not good at the game at all, but finally beating Phrike after over 10 hours and 6 attempts was probably one of the most gratifying video game experiences I've had in a very long time. I'm in love with this game.

 

[[Sigma]]

Kotaku made a list of the best to worst weapons

I really disagree with Rotgland lobber being that bad. I only made it through Biome 3 thanks to it yesterday, and died at Nemesis when i switched because I thought it would be kinda bad against Nemesis

List terrible. Electropylon Driver top 2.

 

[Entroyp]

Kotaku made a list of the best to worst weapons

I really disagree with Rotgland lobber being that bad. I only made it through Biome 3 thanks to it yesterday, and died at Nemesis when i switched because I thought it would be kinda bad against Nemesis

The Rotgland Lobber is like a cheat code. It makes the game almost too easy (with the right perks). List is wack.

 

[skit_data]

This game... holy shit.

I'm not a Roguelike fan, at all. I'm also not a fan of difficult games... in fact I generally avoid them vehemently. Because I don't have much to play on my PS5, I decided to just bite the bullet and buy Returnal. I like Housemarque and figured even if I don't enjoy it, I'm supporting a smaller studio doing cool stuff.

I bought the game on Saturday evening and have 12 hours in so far, beat the first boss last night. I just can't put this game down. It's so, so good! I don't think I've felt this urge to jump back into a game like this in years!

I'm not good at the game at all, but finally beating Phrike after over 10 hours and 6 attempts was probably one of the most gratifying video game experiences I've had in a very long time. I'm in love with this game.

Welcome, you have just discovered the pull of the ”Git gud”-genre

 

[Entroyp]

This game... holy shit.

I'm not a Roguelike fan, at all. I'm also not a fan of difficult games... in fact I generally avoid them vehemently. Because I don't have much to play on my PS5, I decided to just bite the bullet and buy Returnal. I like Housemarque and figured even if I don't enjoy it, I'm supporting a smaller studio doing cool stuff.

I bought the game on Saturday evening and have 12 hours in so far, beat the first boss last night. I just can't put this game down. It's so, so good! I don't think I've felt this urge to jump back into a game like this in years!

I'm not good at the game at all, but finally beating Phrike after over 10 hours and 6 attempts was probably one of the most gratifying video game experiences I've had in a very long time. I'm in love with this game.

After almost quitting the game in frustration of those a-hole suicidal drones in biome 3 I kept going because the gameplay is so addicting. The game clicked on me after understanding the importance of building up Selene before trying to tackle later biomes. It’s a fun process that sometimes fails but trying again is so satisfying.

I love this game.

 

[8BiTw0LF]

My trophies are bugged. I collected a bunch of hieroglyphs, so I won't delete my savegame until I got em' all. Anyone figured out another way to obtain the trophies?
Weird they can't patch it.. Should be pretty easy from my point of view. Even the "Finish act 1" is bugged for me.

 

[Bartski]

My trophies are bugged. I collected a bunch of hieroglyphs, so I won't delete my savegame until I got em' all. Anyone figured out another way to obtain the trophies?
Weird they can't patch it.. Should be pretty easy from my point of view. Even the "Finish act 1" is bugged for me.

That seems to be related to PS5 activity cards not syncing properly with the game... For those repeatable events like boss trophies, you can replay them and get lucky the second time around.
The problem is with one-time events like "sins of the mother" which also sometimes doesn't pop but here the backup save is important.
For the biome surveys, some scout logs only spawn at a certain point of the story, some late. For some act 1-3 logs you have to be in act 2, for some 4-6 you have to beat act 3

 

[Bartski]

After almost quitting the game in frustration of those a-hole suicidal drones in biome 3 I kept going because the gameplay is so addicting. The game clicked on me after understanding the importance of building up Selene before trying to tackle later biomes. It’s a fun process that sometimes fails but trying again is so satisfying.

I love this game.

exactly, the fact you can sometimes just run from 4 to 6 is a trap and another dick move the game pulls on you suggesting this could be a good idea. It's not. You'll get weapon proficiency buff at the start but that's not enough with 0% upgrades to integrity, protection etc. You hear that a lot of in reviews of the game, that biomes 3 and 6 are insanely hard. They're actually the easiest of all, but only if you take your time getting there. This obviously raises the stakes as it requires more of an investment from the player which is the whole point here and the reason why runs are long, as they should be

 

[8BiTw0LF]

you can replay them and get lucky the second time around.

Tried that - doesn't work

 

[bellome]

This reads like a summary of Ghost of Tsushima and then Returnal.

Edit: I see other people talking about "Act 3" so I must have not even hit Act 2 yet, or knew we had started on an Act 1.

You will surely notice when you end an act since each has its own (consequential?) ending.

 

[Dr Bass]

You will surely notice when you end an act since each has its own (consequential?) ending.

dang, I am intrigued.

 

[SLB1904]

There is some funny stuff in this sub lol

edit: oh god

 

[Salmon Snake]

Housemarque's marketing director Mikael Haveri was as a quest in a Finnish gaming podcast called "Pelaajacast".
He gave some tips which helped me quite a lot.

The first one was turning the auto aim to max.

The second is taking your time and consentrating on evading the bosses attacks. There's no rush to just shoot them mindlessly.

The third was not to get too frustrated and just retry

He also was hinting that there might be a save system in a upcoming patch and they are tweeking the difficulty/random level of the game. They are listening the fans. Also they hope they have the chance to support the game as long as they can.

 

[drotahorror]

The Rotgland Lobber is like a cheat code. It makes the game almost too easy (with the right perks). List is wack.

The lobber was my go to when I was speed running biome 1 and 2 for ciphers, logs etc. You shoot once and most things die, even at level 0.

Really every weapon is pretty OP. Even the Coilspine Shredder which I thought had no redeeming ended up being a health chunking monster.

 

[SlimySnake]

Housemarque's marketing director Mikael Haveri was as a quest in a Finnish gaming podcast called "Pelaajacast".
He gave some tips which helped me quite a lot.

The first one was turning the auto aim to max.

The second is taking your time and consentrating on evading the bosses attacks. There's no rush to just shoot them mindlessly.

The third was not to get too frustrated and just retry

He also was hinting that there might be a save system in a upcoming patch and they are tweeking the difficulty/random level of the game. They are listening the fans. Also they hope they have the chance to support the game as long as they can.

The main thing I noticed on my NG+ run was how easy it was to dodge the boss attacks. There are some attacks that you can literally just run around. No need to dodge or jump. Just strafe around them.

I think people get overwhelmed by the number of blobs on screen and freak out. A lot of these blobs are really slow and you can straight up ignore them. The second boss has this insane third phase where he lets out a blue wave with yellow blobs and red ones. It took me a while to realize that you can pretty much ignore the red and yellow/orange attacks. Just dodge into the blue wave and those other blobs will miss you.

 

[skit_data]

I never thought IGN would be more professional than DF. Included an actual developer with actual answers. Marvelous.

 

[Dr Bass]

For those who have finished it, what did you think of the story? No spoilers please, just wondering about your take.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

For those who have finished it, what did you think of the story? No spoilers please, just wondering about your take.

Too loose to my liking, unclear. Would give it 5/10 because of that.

 

[Dr Bass]

The lobber was my go to when I was speed running biome 1 and 2 for ciphers, logs etc. You shoot once and most things die, even at level 0.

Really every weapon is pretty OP. Even the Coilspine Shredder which I thought had no redeeming ended up being a health chunking monster.

How do you get the new weapons in the old biomes? I haven't seen that yet. Maybe I'm not spending enough time trying to go through Biome 1 again (I can get to the boss of the second Biome currently).

 

[skit_data]

How do you get the new weapons in the old biomes? I haven't seen that yet. Maybe I'm not spending enough time trying to go through Biome 1 again (I can get to the boss of the second Biome currently).

I found the lobber in Biome 1. I had to grapple across one of those doors that seemingly lead to nowhere.

 

[Dr Bass]

I found the lobber in Biome 1. I had to grapple across one of those doors that seemingly lead to nowhere.

Ah, well I don't have the grapple yet obviously.

 

[skit_data]

Ah, well I don't have the grapple yet obviously.

Oh sorry, I read too fast xD Well, you will get it soon and you will probably spend some more happy ”Gaaah, Im back!!”-time in Biome 1 after that unless you play way more amazing than I did

 

[[Sigma]]

Every non fighting game going forward is getting the Returnal test from me in terms of DualSense adaptation and 3d audio. Can't stress enough how impressed I am with it in this game.

 

[r e p]

I don’t think i’m gonna beat nemesis so I think i’m done with this game for now. Doing the same shit over and over has became extremely boring.

 

[Bruno_Arrais85]

The game just died on me during a very good run. So fucking pissed right now... Gonna wait for a patch so I can complete the new game + without the fear of losing everything...

 

[Con_Z_ǝdʇ]

Also they hope they have the chance to support the game as long as they can.

Sounds promising! Lets hope they go as far as to making some DLC.

 

[Entroyp]

Remember when people were saying it was an easy platinum?

Returnal Trophy List Looks Like a Relatively Easy Road to Platinum - PlayStation LifeStyle

Returnal trophies have been published ahead release, and they suggest a relatively easy road to Platinum for a Housemarque game.

www.playstationlifestyle.net

 

[Con_Z_ǝdʇ]

For those who have finished it, what did you think of the story? No spoilers please, just wondering about your take.

I really tried my best to understand it but i just don't get it, yet.

There are the obvious story parts and then there are all the loose and cryptic bits.

 

[Orpheum]

Are audiologs bugged? I can't for the life of me find Audiolog number 9 in Biome 1. I ran through it like a dozen times after finishing the game now.

 

[ToadMan]

I think that kid got perme’d

Well that saves him some time for something important. Maybe he’ll devise a mechanism for cold fusion or something now rather than waste time on games ...!

 

[azertydu91]

Are audiologs bugged? I can't for the life of me find Audiolog number 9 in Biome 1. I ran through it like a dozen times after finishing the game now.

Audiolog 9 is notoriously famous for rarely spawning, it's normal don't worry you will eventually get it.

 

[Orpheum]

Audiolog 9 is notoriously famous for rarely spawning, it's normal don't worry you will eventually get it.

Damn, thanks, good to know. Hopefully they'll increase the chances of collectibles showing up with the next patch. I want to go for the platinum trophy^^

 

[azertydu91]

Damn, thanks, good to know. Hopefully they'll increase the chances of collectibles showing up with the next patch. I want to go for the platinum trophy^^

Housemarque is not prone to release easy update, so don't keep too much hope there.

 

[GymWolf]

There is some funny stuff in this sub lol

edit: oh god

No meme was more true than the second one.

 

[GymWolf]

For those who have finished it, what did you think of the story? No spoilers please, just wondering about your take.

It's a pretentious confusing mess.

Yesterday i watched 2 explanation video and readed a 20 page topic about the game's story, nobody was sure of anything after 20 pages of debate.

I get what they tried to do, but the result is not that good imo.

Onestly after a while i just didn't gave a fuck about selene rambling even if i watched all the story stuff and readed all the documents and stuff.

It's easily the weakest point of the game close to the mediocre sense of progression between runs.

I guess some people loved the story for his intricacy but even this people can be sure about anything because it's leaves a lot to personal interpretation.

 

[Orpheum]

Housemarque is not prone to release easy update, so don't keep too much hope there.

At least they'll fix the online compontent soon i think. For the short time it was possible the mechanic was actually great

 

[engstra]

Man last night was the first time I was able to have a proper extended run and I gotta say, the more I play of it the more I dig it. The gameplay is just so damn satisfying. I had beaten Phrike in a previous run but because of the update that progress was lost but not a big deal. Managed to make it through Biome 2 and 3 on my first attempt. I would say a save feature would definitely improve the experience a bit. After having gone through Biome 1-3 in one run I definitely wanted a break but I guess losing your build when starting in Biome 4 kind of gives you an opportunity to stop.

While the boss battles have been really great (Boss 3 was especially intense as I had some malfunctions that were nerfing my damage etc and no health items), what I'm enjoying the most is the feeling of zipping around a room full of tough enemies and clearing it out. Really happy I didn't skip on this game.

Also are the avenging mechanics not in the game at the moment? Came across it when playing on a run with the update that was causing saving errors. Do I need to redownload the game or something?

 

[saintjules]

List terrible. Electropylon Driver top 2.

I agree. It's my favorite weapon over the Hollowseeker.

The Driver sustains damage on the enemies and stuns them, keeping them in place. Makes the 3rd Biome a walk in the park once you go back to it. The flying drones also don't stand a chance.

The only thing about it is you could get one that has 7 or 8 rounds and then find another that only shoots two rounds. But then there's reload speed and all that.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

I think it's too late now as most people have beaten the game, was planning to record the 1st biome + boss in 4K HDR and post it on youtube? I see many go straight to fight some enemies while I cowardly use sleazy ways to cover and kill them.

 

[2AdEPT]

Beat boss 2 second try...had him down pretty far on the last health bar the first time but used an astronaut suit that itme as well. THis time kept my astro buddy and a stacked character...low health regen, robot figurine, 25 % protoection with as much as 45% if waiting for alt cool down (which is all the time) and hardened weapon. The electropylon driver demolished the second boss while I danced around the attacks...didnt even have to press R1 that much.

I knew this was a keeper early so I gave ether to the dude in biome 1. There isnt any pint to do ing it in 2 now right? Even if I die and go back to 1 the short cuts to area 3 are easy to get to. I guess there is fast travel if I waste abohter 6 ether but might just save those for other things.

I think it's too late now as most people have beaten the game, was planning to record the 1st biome + boss in 4K HDR and post it on youtube? I see many go straight to fight some enemies while I cowardly use sleazy ways to cover and kill them.

No way man. I lost my footage killing Phrike when there was some weird glitch with the recording on PS5...you might as well thorw it up who cares if some dont watch or give thumbs down? Im defintely behind everyone and I fell off the cliff twice in the second boss but who cares, I dont profess to be "adept" at shooters LOL. Im sure most here would support your video if you threw it up given lots of noobs like me used your help thread to get started.

 

[Valonquar]

There's a lot of weird yet interesting ramblings from Selene when you fully fill out the enemy intel stuff. After killing 1 of an enemy you get the 1st paragraph which reads like a normal bestiary, after several kills you get a 2nd paragraph that continues but gets weird near the end, and after killing enough to 100% intel you just get a weird random insane rant from Selene. I'm sure once they are all 100% those 3rd paragraphs might help fill in all the gaps. I've killed the final boss like 5 times now but it is still sticking at 0% so guessing some have different requirements besides just # of kills. Probably collecting all the runes or something. Finally got all the sun fragments, just need to do another run to see the 2nd ending.

They did some interesting things with the music in the game.

Spoiler

After the 1st ending with Fear the Reaper playing on the car radio, I realized some of the random sci-fi generic sounding stuff in the game was using the same keys as that song.

 

[Mr. PlayStation]

lobber is a beast of a weapon, helped me defeat nemesis and hyperion in far fewer attempts

 

[Bo_Hazem]

No way man. I lost my footage killing Phrike when there was some weird glitch with the recording on PS5...you might as well thorw it up who cares if some dont watch or give thumbs down? Im defintely behind everyone and I fell off the cliff twice in the second boss but who cares, I dont profess to be "adept" at shooters LOL. Im sure most here would support your video if you threw it up given lots of noobs like me used your help thread to get started.

Sweet! I think I can easily do it in less than 1 hour (1 hour per clip at 4K@60fps HDR is the limit), and planning to put subtitles (closed captions = CC icon on youtube) that you turn on/off if you need some hints during the gameplay that might be helpful, but no commentary as while playing I'm more than sure my daughter will chime in or shout or jump over me.

Already beaten the game on release day but planning to give each biome 1 video (2 if it takes more than 1 hour) with thorough exploration. It's not a fair comparison for starters as I have all of the suit permanent augments which give me access to inaccessible areas to new comers.

 

[FrankWza]

Every non fighting game going forward is getting the Returnal test from me in terms of DualSense adaptation and 3d audio. Can't stress enough how impressed I am with it in this game.

Yeah. I’m really interested in reading more on how they used tempest. Anyone who watched the IGN performance video know if they mention anything audio related?

 

[dcmk7]

Haven't had a lot of time to play this, did manage to beat Biome 3.

Is there a difficulty spike with Biome 4? Anything watch out for?

 

[FrankWza]

Haven't had a lot of time to play this, did manage to beat Biome 3.

Is there a difficulty spike with Biome 4? Anything watch out for?

Not after 3. Plus you get the driver and it can be pretty OP and make things easier. Especially with flying enemies.

 

[Con_Z_ǝdʇ]

Also are the avenging mechanics not in the game at the moment? Came across it when playing on a run with the update that was causing saving errors. Do I need to redownload the game or something?

It was in the game with version 1.003.003 but not anymore. Maybe with the next update it will be available again. No need to redownload it.

 

[Gediminas]

game is good and i would very happy but my main three negatives:
1. after 3rd biome you are ''killed' and starting 4th biome from scratch.
2. Trophies are extremely glitched. ( i finished 6 biome, so had to pop up final boss and act 2 trophies, nothing happened, and i have to start the whole game again, that is f* nonsense)
3. no Save --> Continue.

 

[Gediminas]

Haven't had a lot of time to play this, did manage to beat Biome 3.

Is there a difficulty spike with Biome 4? Anything watch out for?

the difficult spike was in biome 5, when you need to get those 3 keys. 4th and 6th biomes are not so difficult.( for me personally, biomes goes like this 5,2,3,4,1,6)

 

[fallingdove]

For those who have finished it, what did you think of the story? No spoilers please, just wondering about your take.

I thought it was interesting - the blend of lovecraft and Greek mythology was right up my alley. But the story is really fragmented and up to interpretation. Some friends and I had some really cool theories but it would have been better if there was something more definitive that we could validate our theories with.