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Saros | Review Thread

Bernardougf said:
I played returnal to completion, and again the story did nothing for me, cant barely remember, cant even say if its bad or good because its just meh, like I said this kind of action packed games imho can have a minimalist hero story, a convoluted fugly middle-aged woman with mental issues story does fuck all for me.

I Really dont go play shooters expecting to go through mental health studies.
Click to expand...

Just because you weren't receptive to it, doesn't mean it wasn't there.

There's a lot of detail and intricacy to the lore in Returnal which you don't need to discover to simply get through the game. Not to mention the huge amount of supplementary stuff in the DLC which further fleshes out the narrative.

To be honest I found stuff that I haven't seen remarked upon anywhere else, but then again I doubt everyone was checking the logs in the Hyperion regularly throughout the game as they change based on progress. Evolving over time as Selene's memory and self awareness grows.

The great thing about Returnal is that its not just a fantastic shooter, its also the best psychological horror game since SH2. Which is why I rate it so highly.
 
After reading some reviews it sounds pretty similar to the original.
Awesome core gameplay and cool visuals, but it doesn't sound like they've improved the roguelite elements a whole lot aside from adding some permanent upgrades, and the story being a bit more prominent doesn't sound appealing either (I didn't really like the story in Returnal)

Will definitely pick it up when it's on sale.

saintjules said:
Click to expand...


Lol, it's funny how people used to bitch all the time that IGN reviews are too high and they are just getting paid by publishers.
There was even the classic GIF about it that people used to post all the time.
9gpzV.gif



Now it has taken a complete 180 and people are constantly bitching about the review scores being too low.
 
Clear said:
Just because you weren't receptive to it, doesn't mean it wasn't there.

There's a lot of detail and intricacy to the lore in Returnal which you don't need to discover to simply get through the game. Not to mention the huge amount of supplementary stuff in the DLC which further fleshes out the narrative.

To be honest I found stuff that I haven't seen remarked upon anywhere else, but then again I doubt everyone was checking the logs in the Hyperion regularly throughout the game as they change based on progress. Evolving over time as Selene's memory and self awareness grows.

The great thing about Returnal is that its not just a fantastic shooter, its also the best psychological horror game since SH2. Which is why I rate it so highly.
Click to expand...
Returnal gave me strong book sci-fi vibe and reminded why I love the damn genre, yes. It's very Peter Watts meets Dan Simmons kind of vibe all around, rarely seen in AAA in general.
 
Fbh said:
After reading some reviews it sounds pretty similar to the original.
Awesome core gameplay and cool visuals, but it doesn't sound like they've improved the roguelite elements a whole lot aside from adding some permanent upgrades, and the story being a bit more prominent doesn't sound appealing either (I didn't really like the story in Returnal)

Will definitely pick it up when it's on sale.



Lol, it's funny how people used to bitch all the time that IGN reviews are too high and they are just getting paid by publishers.
There was even the classic GIF about it that people used to post all the time.
9gpzV.gif



Now it has taken a complete 180 and people are constantly bitching about the review scores being too low.
Click to expand...
I think the issue is this scale

SeXwIEcNGpvyhalC.png
 
Guilty_AI said:
Mathematicians call it logical, engineers call it inefficient
Click to expand...
Well if you consider several criteria to rate a game, then it make sense:

- story
- gameplay
- performance
- graphics

A technically polished game but a lacklustre story and/or gameplay would get a 7
A technically flawed game with excellent gameplay and story would get a 8.5
A technical mess with poor gameplay and story would get a 4 or 5
A near perfect game from a technical perspective and excellent story and/or gameplay would get a 9 or 10
 
Baemono said:
Well if you consider several criteria to rate a game, then it make sense:

- story
- gameplay
- performance
- graphics

A technically polished game but a lacklustre story and/or gameplay would get a 7
A technically flawed game with excellent gameplay and story would get a 8.5
A technical mess with poor gameplay and story would get a 4 or 5
A near perfect game from a technical perspective and excellent story and/or gameplay would get a 9 or 10
Click to expand...
Thats why its inneficient. Whats the difference between a 2 and 4? 5 and a 6? This scale clams everything that should've beem north of 4 into the 7s.
 
Guilty_AI said:
Thats why its inneficient. Whats the difference between a 2 and 4? 5 and a 6? This scale clams everything that should've beem north of 4 into the 7s.
Click to expand...
Because pretty much all publishers don't publish a game if it's not in an acceptable state, so you have the technical aspect covered. A 2 is a game that won't even launch or crash all the time, while being terrible.
 
Guilty_AI said:
I think the issue is this scale

SeXwIEcNGpvyhalC.png
Click to expand...

So do we like or dislike this scale?
Because it seems to carry a negative connotation, but every time it doesn't get applied the response is mostly anger and whining.

The IGN review doesn't read like "shit sux". It's more like "good but no great".
 
Fbh said:
After reading some reviews it sounds pretty similar to the original.
Awesome core gameplay and cool visuals, but it doesn't sound like they've improved the roguelite elements a whole lot aside from adding some permanent upgrades, and the story being a bit more prominent doesn't sound appealing either (I didn't really like the story in Returnal)

Will definitely pick it up when it's on sale.



Lol, it's funny how people used to bitch all the time that IGN reviews are too high and they are just getting paid by publishers.
There was even the classic GIF about it that people used to post all the time.
9gpzV.gif



Now it has taken a complete 180 and people are constantly bitching about the review scores being too low.
Click to expand...
I mean, they still give EA games like Madden an 8 but rate much better games lower. That should tell you all you need to know.
 
I disliked Returnal when I got it, put it down and ignored it.
Went back after seeing some strategy videos and ended up falling in love.
I was finally able to beat it multiple times.
My biggest nit was that some of the upgrades (upgraded melee) should have been permanent when you find them.
Or, at least give me a game start (after beating it) that let's you customize your play (starting weapon, upgrades, etc)
Looks like I am off to Costco to get some PSN cards.
 
Thaimasker said:
I mean, they still give EA games like Madden an 8 but rate much better games lower. That should tell you all you need to know.
Click to expand...

I don't play sports games.
Is the latest Madden considered to be bad compared to others sports games?

Games get reviewed for what they are, this obsession of comparing scores from completely different games in completely different genres has never made sense to me.
 
evanft said:
"Only review that agree with the metacritic score are valid."
Click to expand...
Absolute valid argument... however, this is happening with IGN so frequently (outlier scores) that im starting to think they are doing it on purpose to generate buzz and traffic (given the responses here, its working)
 
It's a shame SIE followed another shitty trend with paid 'early access' when the game's already very expensive to buy for day 3 access.
 
Bernardougf said:
zetra2CIKeTckthV.jpg


Fuck .. you're right... they just cant help thenselfs even in this kind of games. How about some simple hero story, it would be really nice.
Click to expand...

Oh come the fuck on.

Returnal was prefect with how it handled her being in her own personal hell. I don't care who you wanna stick it too when Cthulhu is at the door ffs
 
Last edited:
Gameplay spoilers from gamespot review(9/10) discussing the game's roguelite structure.
This is also partly due to permanent upgrades that are more palpable and immediate. The Lucenite you collect by exploring and defeating enemies can be spent at the game's hub to purchase various upgrades from an exhaustive skill tree. Some of these are blanket improvements to attributes like armor integrity and maximum Power, and there's an instant sense of progression that stems from seeing your health bar expand or suddenly having more opportunities to use the Power Weapon. Other upgrades are more varied: You can add additional Artifact slots, start each run with keys to unlock doors and open locked containers, ensure that enemies drop more Lucenite, and boost your proficiency to gain access to higher-tier weapons earlier in a run.

That last upgrade is important, because Saros isn't structured like most roguelites. There's a throughline from one biome to the next that encompasses almost the entire game, but you can also travel to each biome individually from the game's hub. Obviously, you need to unlock an area first, but once you've reached a specific biome, you can fast-travel right back to it at the start of each run. This means you don't have to start from the beginning of the game each time and can pick up wherever you want, cutting out potential tedium while also giving you a ton of flexibility in how you approach the game.
Click to expand...
This seals it, I'm in.
 
Last edited:
Clear said:
Just because you weren't receptive to it, doesn't mean it wasn't there.

There's a lot of detail and intricacy to the lore in Returnal which you don't need to discover to simply get through the game. Not to mention the huge amount of supplementary stuff in the DLC which further fleshes out the narrative.

To be honest I found stuff that I haven't seen remarked upon anywhere else, but then again I doubt everyone was checking the logs in the Hyperion regularly throughout the game as they change based on progress. Evolving over time as Selene's memory and self awareness grows.

The great thing about Returnal is that its not just a fantastic shooter, its also the best psychological horror game since SH2. Which is why I rate it so highly.
Click to expand...
denzel washington GIF


I wanna kiss you.
 
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