Returnal
Review

Returnal (2021) is a sci-fi shooting game played in repeating rounds that slowly change the world and your character. You are a pilot stranded on a mysterious planet and must investigate and fight through the world to both survive and solve the repeating problem.

Memories of home slip away and the call to take arms grows stronger. With third-person shooting and investigating (both your memories and the alien world), the challenge becomes as much a psychological drama as shooter.

"Over and over, I've relived my first moments on this alien planet. The crash, the attack, my death." But each time it's slightly different, so although trapped there's a puzzle to solve about how to escape the cycle.

It make’s excellent use of the PS5’s DualSense controller and its adaptive trigger buttons to switch instinctively between firing modes. Go straight from aiming down sights to your gun’s alternative fire. Haptic feedback extends immersion of in-game actions big and small – while exploring fragments of Selene’s memories, or when firing visceral alien weapons. The new consoles immersive 3D audio also brings the alien world to life around the player, helping players navigate the intense positional combat.

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Returnal 3 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 9 months ago.