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Returnal Review Thread (PS5)

Pedro Motta

Gold Member
She looks better than the character. Give me her face instead. I’d be fine with that. If this were an actress playing a role, then I understand the limitation, but it’s a video game character. I don’t need a sexualized or model looking character, but I also would prefer not to have to watch cutscenes of an unpleasant looking face. Yes, it’s unpleasant for me to look at that face.
What a dork.
 

tommib

Member
I’d agree with you if I wasn’t forced to watch cutscenes. Let me turn cutscenes completely off and I have no complaints. Otherwise, her unpleasant looking face is a real concern for my enjoyment of the game as I’ll be forced to watch it. I’d have the same complaint if it were an ugly character model for a dude. I’m not looking for a model or hypersexualized characters, but I don’t want to feel the need to look away from a character’s face because I find it harsh and unpleasant.


I just did an image search of female astronauts. It was hard to find one less attractive than the protagonist.

Most of the photos from the search are studio photos. Of course they look nice and with makeup.
Again, it's not because she is old or ugly, real live action model for Returnal character is fine, it's about how they solved the 3D face. Black Widow in Avengers game is a hot and young girl and she is uglier than Returnal main character 3D model. I think they are putting too much emphasis in showing character's face when there is something off on her, not the girl, again, the 3D model.

I love Dead Space, for example, I loved to play with that character. And then, in Dead Space 2, they showed his face, and it was really ugly (from an artistic point of view), and that fucked the character for me. And that it's not related to if the character is young, old or handsome, I rather prefer to play with a character with the face of the old man from Silent Hill 3 than with the face of Thor in the recent Avengers game.

So stop with this generalization that all complaints about her face or Control's character face, are coming from people that want to jerk off over sex dolls characters.
dude, can you imagine people saying they wouldn’t watch Alien back in 1980 because ripley had an ugly face from an artistic perspective? What the hell is this argument?
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
She’s Intersex. She has a dick but a woman’s body. In lore, she has always been harassed and bullied due to this. She wants people to know she is a woman so she wears a very revealing dress for a woman making them focus on her womanly figure instead of her being intersex. Plus add in her being half a shade and other various stuff.

Why no one making an outrage about Bayonetta? Or because it's a Nintendo game not a Sony game! That's the extreme example of "Wokeness"! Never knew/played those games but thanks for the very detailed reply.
 
Ahhh GAF feeling uneasy about a female character because she looks like a normal grown woman instead of a real live fuck doll. Whenever I read comments like this I can´t help myself butt wonder how some of you goblins look like and if you also wonder if your appearance is "pleasant" for others :D you gotta love it... I think I´m getting to old for this forum.

Anyway... Does anybody know when the reviews go live today?

It’s really embarrassing stuff. They want a manga fuck doll in everything.

A middle-aged astronaut still needs to be fuckable and make me horny otherwise I won’t play what’s supposed to be most interesting and fresh game of the year. Nope, I can’t stand looking at her middle-aged face even if I spend 90% of the time looking at her back and legs.

You guys make me laugh. If people complain about her face, it’s the automatic false dichotomy that if you complain about her aesthetics then you’re some horny dude. Sure, there are probably plenty of people who fall under that category. However, there are some people, like myself, who just find her face so unattractive regardless of gender that it is off putting. Personally, I’m not interested in games that objectify and sexualize women. It’s a free market, but I’d personally be happier if the industry moved away from that.

I’m more than content playing as a character like Cere from Fallen Order. I wouldn’t classify her as being sexualized. Her face isn’t made to make her a model either.

Pa0D4Ep.jpg
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
Ripley was still very fuckable.

Rbd1834dc6e021d1a8f4f6c0bf4215e60


The live action model for the main character in Returnal is actually quite attractive but in the transition to her digital model they’ve done their best to make her look like Lucias Malfoy after a long hard stint in Azkaban.

uCEjI33.jpg


Bo_Hazem Bo_Hazem , I like looking at hot strippers whilst I play video games, come at me fam.
 
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killatopak

Gold Member
Why no one making an outrage about Bayonetta? Or because it's a Nintendo game not a Sony game! That's the extreme example of "Wokeness"! Never knew/played those games but thanks for the very detailed reply.
I’m not very familiar with Bayonetta’s lore but I think it’s just basic she looks sexy. Though I do remember her character designer was a woman so maybe it’s because of that.
 

shubik

Member
You guys make me laugh. If people complain about her face, it’s the automatic false dichotomy that if you complain about her aesthetics then you’re some horny dude. Sure, there are probably plenty of people who fall under that category. However, there are some people, like myself, who just find her face so unattractive regardless of gender that it is off putting. Personally, I’m not interested in games that objectify and sexualize women. It’s a free market, but I’d personally be happier if the industry moved away from that.

I’m more than content playing as a character like Cere from Fallen Order. I wouldn’t classify her as being sexualized. Her face isn’t made to make her a model either.

Pa0D4Ep.jpg


I specifically decided not to quote anyone and make my post generalized. I don´t get why you have the need to explain yourself. I even mostly agree with what you wrote. But let´s be real, this is a trend I see on GAF for a couple of months already. It started with The las of us 2, it continued with Control and now Returnal. Some people just love to take over each thread with this type of bullshit and even make it political. It fucking sucks and this is what I was mainly referring to.
 

DonJorginho

Banned
Nice comment from CEO of Housemarque on Sony's support throughout development.

"In the age when game publishers are taking less and less creative risks, we are truly thankful to our publishing partner Sony, who has given us an opportunity to work on something very risky and has given fantastic support during the whole project. We are forever grateful for having this opportunity."

Full blog post:

 
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sobaka770

Banned
Can't wait for the reviews. If it's really that good I still got time to preorder and download it.

I'm much more preturbed about Kaine loooks than Selene. Yeah - it's not common to market a game with a woman who is not a 20-year old hottie, but who gives a shit when you have games about serious themes where characters have butt crack show with a veneer of cloth covering the nipples. And gamers defend juvenile sexism with: oh she's such a deep character you don't get it. Yeah, I am so ashamed of my words and deeds!

There's porn everywhere on the web, including rule 34. And if you think Sony has gone woke, there's also Rivet for you furry freaks.
 
I understand and partially agree with the point that nowadays western developers are obsessed with making female characters with average looks and we all know why. However, in cases like this one or Horizon Zero Dawn, the character looks is coherent to her role in the story. Sure there are hot scientists out there, female and male, but that is NOT the idea of a scientist that comes to your mind when you think about them.

I read the example of Samus Aran, who is a bounty hunter and her looks are in line with the idea of a sexy outlaw. For a "realistic" sci-fi setting Selene is a good choice. I think this is the style they went for. Moreover , she has visions similar to Selene's.

HRN9BPh.jpg
 
I specifically decided not to quote anyone and make my post generalized. I don´t get why you have the need to explain yourself. I even mostly agree with what you wrote. But let´s be real, this is a trend I see on GAF for a couple of months already. It started with The las of us 2, it continued with Control and now Returnal. Some people just love to take over each thread with this type of bullshit and even make it political. It fucking sucks and this is what I was mainly referring to.

I appreciate what you’re saying and I agree with your criticisms of what has gone on here with a good portion of the demographic here. I just dislike that there’s this false dichotomy that you can see in some of these responses that if you don’t like something you’re a perv and just want models or sexualized characters. Personally, I didn’t care for Peter Parker’s face in Spider-Man on PS4. Was it as unpleasant for me as this face, no, but it did take away some of my enjoyment from the game. Really, it wouldn’t even be an issue with me if you just played these games and there were not cutscenes.
 

Haggard

Banned
Some people here complaining about a middle aged scientist living through her personal hell not looking like a perma-horny fuckdoll make me feel ashamed to be lumped into the same category, "gamer", as them......
The character design fits the atmosphere/story, deal with it.
 
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Fess

Member
I feel your pain and would prefer games to be cheaper, Returnal is 80€ in EU PSN btw, in general but come the fuck on....
If the PSN price is an issue for you, go physical. I ordered Returnal for 64€.
Nobody is forcing you to keep the disc, sell the game on eBay when you are done and you will get a huge chunk of money back.

That said, I don't like when games are judged on price like that BEFORE the reviews are even out.
If Returnal really is 30-50hrs and gets 9s across the board I think the AAA pricing is justified. If you feel like that is too much, the sales will come eventually.

But let's not act like 60 is some magical number that is absolutely perfect while 70 is the biggest scam in history.

And bro, Sony announced their 80€ shit last year in September. No need to get mad now.
Yeah, it is what it is, won’t likely change because a couple of cranky gamers on forums complain. The market will decide if it’s okay. I would buy it if I had a PS5, most interesting exclusive so far for me.
Also astronaut females aren't usually Playboy models.:messenger_winking_tongue:
Hush now don’t destroy this dream! 😬

Seriously though it’s fine but I’m a weakminded soul and like eye candy in all forms, people, food, guitars, cars, etc. 🙃
 

Bramble

Member
I feel your pain and would prefer games to be cheaper, Returnal is 80€ in EU PSN btw, in general but come the fuck on....
If the PSN price is an issue for you, go physical. I ordered Returnal for 64€.
Nobody is forcing you to keep the disc, sell the game on eBay when you are done and you will get a huge chunk of money back.

That said, I don't like when games are judged on price like that BEFORE the reviews are even out.
If Returnal really is 30-50hrs and gets 9s across the board I think the AAA pricing is justified. If you feel like that is too much, the sales will come eventually.

But let's not act like 60 is some magical number that is absolutely perfect while 70 is the biggest scam in history.

And bro, Sony announced their 80€ shit last year in September. No need to get mad now.

Or just use the US store. I payed €66 for the Digital Deluxe Edition, which is about as cheap as I can find a physical copy.
 

Bramble

Member
i still cant believe people call Demon Souls truly next gen tbh, literally a game from 2009 with great visuals... but visuals that doesnt do anything new and gameplay thats from 2009

Did you actually play it? It's one of the best looking games ever, it has some amazing haptic feedback, it loads nearly instantaneous and the 3D audio is also extremely impressive. And the gameplay has some tweaks and is just fine. What does "gameplay that's from 2009" even mean? It's a third person action RPG with melee, ranged and magic combat, with parry and dodge mechanics. I guess Halo and Call of Duty have gameplay from 1992 since that's when Wolfenstein 3D released?
 
erFx3zx.jpg


Despite the slight difference in the quality of her in-game model. Don't know where you guys been, but I'll never understand how you sit there with a straight face and say her face is ugly. this woman is attractive imo, maybe not to your standards but as sure as hell she is attractive regardless.
 

Dibils2k

Member
Did you actually play it? It's one of the best looking games ever, it has some amazing haptic feedback, it loads nearly instantaneous and the 3D audio is also extremely impressive. And the gameplay has some tweaks and is just fine. What does "gameplay that's from 2009" even mean? It's a third person action RPG with melee, ranged and magic combat, with parry and dodge mechanics. I guess Halo and Call of Duty have gameplay from 1992 since that's when Wolfenstein 3D released?
i should have said game design
 
erFx3zx.jpg


Despite the slight difference in the quality of her in-game model. Don't know where you guys been, but I'll never understand how you sit there with a straight face and say her face is ugly. this woman is attractive imo, maybe not to your standards but as sure as hell she is attractive regardless.

The in-game model is much less attractive than her imo. She’s not ugly, the game model is to me.
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
And ray traced lighting, excellent 3D audio, instant loading. And yup, the PS5 controller feels next gen to me. Never experienced anything quit like it before on previous gens.

Wat makes a game next gen for you?
Rtx exist since old gen (and the use in eternal is extremely limited compared to many other old gen titles), same for 3d audio.

A trigger with some resistance and more elaborated vibration are not nextgen features for me, they are the quintessential definition of gimmicks, was switch nextgen compared to ps4 because you can use it as a tablet?! Nah.

Ratchet looking like a damn pixar movie with entire areas interchanging in a fraction of a second (and gameplay mechanics based on that) or any game with advanced physics\ia\destruction is gonna be far more nextgen feeling than any controller gimmicks.

Different taste i guess.
 
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Why no one making an outrage about Bayonetta? Or because it's a Nintendo game not a Sony game! That's the extreme example of "Wokeness"! Never knew/played those games but thanks for the very detailed reply.
Not sure if the guy is trolling you, but no, Bayonetta is not intersex lmao. He completely made that up for some reason.
 

ToadMan

Member
erFx3zx.jpg


Despite the slight difference in the quality of her in-game model. Don't know where you guys been, but I'll never understand how you sit there with a straight face and say her face is ugly. this woman is attractive imo, maybe not to your standards but as sure as hell she is attractive regardless.

She’s wearing makeup here ... in the game, not.
 

Fess

Member
Ripley was still very fuckable.

Rbd1834dc6e021d1a8f4f6c0bf4215e60


The live action model for the main character in Returnal is actually quite attractive but in the transition to her digital model they’ve done their best to make her look like Lucias Malfoy after a long hard stint in Azkaban.

uCEjI33.jpg


Bo_Hazem Bo_Hazem , I like looking at hot strippers whilst I play video games, come at me fam.
Reaction GIF by Rocky
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
i still cant believe people call Demon Souls truly next gen tbh, literally a game from 2009 with great visuals... but visuals that doesnt do anything new and gameplay thats from 2009
Yep, the game feels kinda archaic after playing stuff like bloodborne or sekiro or even ds3.

Still a great game but not really nextgen for me.
 

supernova8

Banned
I'll admit it looks better than I originally thought, but I can't really see this game being justified as 90+

It looks like fun but what is it really doing new to deserve such a high score?
 
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Bramble

Member
i should have said game design

So you didn't play it? What about the game should have been designed different and in what way exactly, for you to call it "next gen"?

Rtx exist since old gen (and the use in eternal is extremely limited compared to many other old gen titles), same for 3d audio.

A trigger with some resistance and more elaborated vibration are not nextgen features for me, they are the quintessential definition of gimmicks, was switch nextgen compared to ps4 because you can use it as a tablet?! Nah.

Ratchet looking like a damn pixar movie with levels loaded in a fraction of a second (and gameplay mechanics based on that) or any game with advanced physics\ia\destruction is gonna be far more nextgen feeling than any controller gimmicks.

Different taste i guess.

Not really on consoles and certainly not to this extent.

But yeah I think the controller is one of the best things about the next gen consoles so far and no gimmick at all.
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
I'll admit it looks better than I originally thought, but I can't really see this game being justified as 90+

It looks like fun but what is it really doing new to deserve such a high score?

What did Spelunky 2 really do new to deserve it? Or F1 2020?

High scores = great games, they don't have to reinvent the wheel to "justify" their high scores
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
So you didn't play it? What about the game should have been designed different and in what way exactly, for you to call it "next gen"?



Not really on consoles and certainly not to this extent.

But yeah I think the controller is one of the best things about the next gen consoles so far and no gimmick at all.
Morales literally has more fancy use of rtx on nextgen console.

People asked for proof that returnal was using rtx, you just need to watch a screenshot of morales close to a glass or a car to notice the rtx (i don't give a fuck about rtx so i'm the wrong person to judge tbh).

For me adaptive trigger and fancy vibration are not only gimmicks, but even combined are less useful than back buttons, and when people are gonna break the triggers in a year or 2 i'm gonna laugh my ass off about this "nextgen" feature...

Like i said, different taste for different folks.
 

ToTTenTranz

Banned
The model isn't ugly nor is the game character IMO. She's just not a 25 year-old astronaut... They chose to have a character that is in her 50s and used a model accordingly.

Here is the model 11 years ago by the way, I guess when she was turning 40:

8g5ZKYY.jpg



She did modelling and even won some Miss competitions in the 90s.




I don't know how this fits into the story, and I'm not going to judge the game based on how the main character looks like.
It's not like this is Bioware in Dragon Age Inquisition and Mass Effect Andromeda where they deliberately made female characters as ugly as they could, because inclusion.
 
Rtx exist since old gen (and the use in eternal is extremely limited compared to many other old gen titles), same for 3d audio.

A trigger with some resistance and more elaborated vibration are not nextgen features for me, they are the quintessential definition of gimmicks, was switch nextgen compared to ps4 because you can use it as a tablet?! Nah.

Ratchet looking like a damn pixar movie with entire areas interchanging in a fraction of a second (and gameplay mechanics based on that) or any game with advanced physics\ia\destruction is gonna be far more nextgen feeling than any controller gimmicks.

Different taste i guess.



What you call "gimmick" is what defines improvements (aka next-gen) in gameplay. It provides immersion to the experience, only beaten by VR. A game that "only" looks better is not next-gen in my book. It's just a better-looking game. If the AI and gameplay remain the same, that hardly applies as next-gen.

It would be extremely disappointing if the only improvements we get this gen are some added reflections here and there.
 
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Azurro

Banned
lol @ some ppl in this thread

"OMG she's ugly how can i jerk off to her now"

ekDoo6K.gif

Again, because you dumbasses can't read:

NO
ONE
WANTS
TO
FAP
TO
THIS
CHARACTER

We just want to have a pleasant character to look at, not at ugly designs, that's it. There's enough ugly people when I go out for a walk and honestly, fuck you and your representation, I don't want to see you in a game as well.

Hell, her actress is hot, how did they manage to fuck her up so much in the game?
 

Bramble

Member
Morales literally has more fancy use of rtx on nextgen console.

People asked for proof that returnal was using rtx, you just need to watch a screenshot of morales close to a glass or a car to notice the rtx (i don't give a fuck about rtx so i'm the wrong person to judge tbh).

For me adaptive trigger and fancy vibration are not only gimmicks, but even combined are less useful than back buttons, and when people are gonna break the triggers in a year or 2 i'm gonna laugh my ass off about this "nextgen" feature...

Like i said, different taste for different folks.

Then you really should get your eyes checked. RT in Miles and Spider-Man is very noticeable when you're swinging between huge reflective skyscrapers. You can immediately tell when it's turned off. An Returnal doesn't use RT reflections, but lighting and I believe audio rays.

I'll admit it looks better than I originally thought, but I can't really see this game being justified as 90+

It looks like fun but what is it really doing new to deserve such a high score?

Well we don't know where the story goes yet and they're hiding 4 other biomes, so who knows. But going on the previews it's a visual, audible and sensual (in terms of controller feedback) spectacle with excellent controls and a highly addictive gameplay loop. So apart from it maybe being to difficult for some folks, there doesn't seem to be a lot not to like.
 

Dibils2k

Member
So you didn't play it? What about the game should have been designed different and in what way exactly, for you to call it "next gen"?
who said that? i did play it, but not for long since i found it very boring... static world with majority spent in tiny corridors

nothing about the game is next gen, fast loading is same for every game on PS5/XSX lol doesnt make them "truly" next gen... Ratchet for example uses the fast loading in its game design which makes it more next gen.
 

ToadMan

Member
Doesn't matter, can't expect her to go on a deadly alien planet looking a Victoria's secret super model. that's unrealistic and I think samus aran got you boys spoiled lol.

Im not one of “those boys”. I don’t care much either way although I don’t like overt sexualised game characters because I find it distracting and silly - Quiet being the worst offender in my opinion although FF7R was embarrassing too.

I was just pointing out that saying “she’s hawt” when you’re comparing her all painted up to what she looks like raw, isn’t suddenly gonna convince someone who doesn’t like the look of the character to like the look of the character.

And I think it is valid to have an opinion one way or the other on the look of character. Yeh if it’s just “show me titties” then that’s pathetic, but if someone doesn’t like the art style and presentation then I can understand.

HM have chosen a professional, serious and perhaps even somewhat realistic representation of a female astronaut. I’m good with that, but others may prefer a more fictionalised depiction.
 

Bramble

Member
who said that? i did play it, but not for long since i found it very boring... static world with majority spent in tiny corridors

nothing about the game is next gen, fast loading is same for every game on PS5/XSX lol doesnt make them "truly" next gen... Ratchet for example uses the fast loading in its game design which makes it more next gen.

Yeah okay you clearly didn't play it. It's fine. Fast loading is the same, lol. What XSX game loads under 2 seconds? The whole pacing of Demon's Souls changed because everything loads so lightning fast.
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
What you call "gimmick" is what defines improvements (aka next-gen) in gameplay. It provides immersion to the experience, only beaten by VR. A game that "only" looks better is not next-gen in my book. It's just a better-looking game. If the IA and gameplay remain the same, that hardly applies as next-gen.

It would be extremely disappointing if the only improvements we get this gen are some added reflections here and there.
Fancy vibration and resistant trigger have zero impact in the gameplay so i don't know what are you talking about.
I don't get more immersed because i feel the vibration from the rain, to me it just means that i have to recharge the already shitty battery life of the ds5 more frequently...
Having to press half the trigger to aim and the full press to fire is not nextgen, is just a different method of doing things, not an improvement, we are gonna talk again when people are gonna broke these nextgen triggers...

Sure if you have very low expectation we can say that a couple of gimmicks are nextgen features, sure, i know that videogames media love to hype this stuff like the second coming of denise richards in topless but i found all of this nextgen talk absolutely hilarious.
And like i said, i don't give a damn about rtx, devs can forget this stuff to give me 60 fps in every game and it would be a much better nextgen features.

Games not having shitty low textures on sight or looking like pixar movie are far more impressive nextgen features, but my preference always goes toward physics\destruction\ia advancement tbh.

And please, some vibration on a controller is nowhere near the immersion provided by vr, don't even joke or compare the two things, is like comparing sex with a 5 dollars inflatable doll and sex with a real pornstar just because you stuff your dick inside something...
 
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