Returnal PS5 Review: 9 Ups & 3 Downs

1. There's So Much To Do Even After Credits

It took me just over 15 hours to first hit credits on Returnal, but that’ll vary considerably depending on individual skill and deaths. If you’ve played a Roguelike, you’ll know credits aren’t the end anyway.

There was still so much I had left to do after that - story threads to finish off, areas to fully explore, weapons to max upgrade, databases to fully research, daily challenges to complete. After 20 plus hours, I was still seeing new weapons introduced, and more ways to play.

More importantly though, I actually wanted to play more. I didn’t hit credits and feel done. If anything, I was more ravenous than I was before to finish more runs, and clean up the remaining secrets.

Honestly, I didn’t expect to come out of Returnal loving it this much. I thought the trailers looked fine, and I’m far from a roguelike veteran, but it got its slimy, alien hooks in me.

It’s a true next-gen spin on the genre, with best-in-class combat and a world that’s a pure joy for fans of sci-fi horror. I’ve run through it over and over but unlike Selene, I don’t want this cycle to be broken any time soon.