It is a fun but challenging game. The learning curve is steep but once you get the hang of it the game is rewarding. Not recommended for anyone who don't like challenging games.

You know a game's got you when you're having The Tetris Effect from it.

Returnal's combat has me dodging bullets when I close my eyes.

This embodies tough but fair game play, if you enjoy intense boss fights, exploring, sci-fi, action games, this

A fantastic game that runs terribly and robust, modern hardware. There is some sort of memory leak issue but the game seems to be abandoned.

Love the gameplay and how the story is told.

top 5 roguelike

Returnal is a thrilling and atmospheric journey into the unknown.
Its gripping story and haunting world design keep you hooked from start to finish.
It’s a challenging but rewarding experience that combines action, mystery, and stunning visuals.


Story | 9/10
The story is one of Returnal’s strongest points.
You unravel Selene’s mysterious journey through fragmented memories and cryptic discoveries.
It keeps you questioning and theorizing until the very end.
The narrative strikes a balance between emotional depth and sci-fi intrigue.

Atmosphere | 10/10
The atmosphere is phenomenal, pulling you deep into the alien world.
Each biome feels alive, eerie, and full of secrets waiting to be uncovered.
The psychological horror elements are masterfully done, adding tension and unease at every turn.

Gameplay | 7/10
The combat is fast-paced, fluid, and exhilarating.
Mastering the mix of dodging, shooting, and using powerful abilities is incredibly satisfying.
However, unlike other roguelikes, there’s little preparation before a run.
You always start with the same weapon, and upgrades are purely luck-based within each cycle.
It’s a game that demands skill rather than relying on progression systems, making it unforgiving but rewarding.

Graphics & Design | 9/10
Returnal looks stunning, even on modern PC setups.
The particle effects, lighting, and enemy designs stand out, adding to the immersion.
The alien environments are detailed and otherworldly, capturing a perfect sci-fi horror vibe.

Music & Sound Design | 9/10
The sound design plays a key role in the experience.
From the ominous alien sounds to the chilling score, it builds tension perfectly.
The music dynamically reacts to the gameplay, enhancing both action and exploration.

Replayability | 7/10
The roguelike structure ensures every run feels different.
However, the lack of meaningful upgrades between runs may frustrate some players.
If you want to fully understand the story, you’ll need to master the game multiple times, which isn’t for everyone.


Returnal is a masterpiece of atmosphere and storytelling, but it’s not for everyone.
Its lack of upgrade systems means true progress relies on improving your own skills.
For fans of challenging gameplay and psychological horror, it offers an unforgettable experience.

Just watch someone else play it or look up the story.

gameplay loop is abysmal, and the roguelike elements feel so underpowered that there's no meaningful synergy, you just pick up the best guns and wait for better ones. There's also so much irritating level design: There's a ton of loot gated behind boss unlocks: grappling hook, not taking damage, etc., and the game punishes you heavily for experimenting and trying to INTERACT WITH THE GAMES SYSTEMS. Everytime you fall in water you're not immune to, or try to parkour up to a spot that's actually a grapple point, you lose your adrenaline and a lot of your scaling. It dangles loot it front of you, tells you you can't get it till later, and then when later comes (the 2nd act), you can't even go back there: You have to beat the game anyways to go back and use your tools, and unlocking them feels like a waste. The backtracking is a chore if you're minmaxing (don't, the games pretty easy if you just stack health), and the games roguelike powerscaling being so weak makes it so boring to play: Any upgrades you get are marginal and don't help all that much. It's just +damage or +health or better chance to find rarer guns.

There are like 2 memorable (and unique) bosses, and the rest boil down to cool alien that shoots bullet hell rainbow balls at you while you shoot its weakpoints.

While the story is clever, and a genuine masterpiece of talent to use games as a medium, it just didn't resonate with me: 6 stages of buildup, numerous horroresque sequences that shock you out of gameplay, for a short scene that doesnt even do a good job at even giving you a thesis statement of the game is horrendous. You better be paying attention in close detail to every single agonizingly long artsy play-through cutscene when you want to just finish and understand the damn game.

Overall, the game presents a unique narrative with beautiful art, level design, and story, and bungles it all by stifling player agency, denying them any meaningful run-to-run definition in a roguelike game, and makes strategically thinking about the games' synergies a suboptimal strategy due to how weak items are, while breaking up your gameplay with long story segments that don't make any sense until the game's final minutes, which it really doesn't want you to see with how many hoops you have to jump through to get there.

I think I'm done with AAA games. for good.

It doesn't work properly. So laggy its unplayable.

gg

Game is cool but it's annoying to start from the first biome every time you die. That's fine if it's the only game you play and you are a MVP of sorts but if you come back to it once in a while it's lame. I really want to give this a thumbs up as I love the gameplay and aesthetics but this that I mention is too annoying unless you make this game your life.