Returnal PS5 Review: 9 Ups & 3 Downs

UPS

9. Combat Is Super Satisfying & Great Enemy Variety

The structure of the game will be familiar if you’ve even briefly brushed the genre before: each new run will throw a procedurally-generated area at you as you enter a new room, which will either be full of enemies, platforming sections or safe spaces that’ll award you with buffs. Your job is to get to the end of each of the six biomes, kill the bosses, and proceed onwards.

If you’ve played a Housmarque title before you know the studio excels in creating exhilarating combat systems, and that remains true here.

The combat itself kind of works like a mix between Control and Doom. It’s a fast-paced experience: you’re encouraged to keep moving, dashing, jumping and put pressure on enemies. However you’ll also be playing a bit of combat chess in your head, analysing the specific attacks of enemies and methodically eliminating the biggest threats. The mix keeps the fights hectic and spectacular, but laser focused in their challenge.

The enemies themselves are ferocious, aggressively hunting you and filling the screen with projectiles. You will die. A lot.

Understanding your opponent is a huge part of the experience, as is reacting to their attacks and ultimately taking them all out in a shower of colour.

Bosses are suitably epic too, and test everything you’ve learned previously. There are some late-stage ones I don’t want to spoil that are so visually dynamic and challenging I’ll be thinking about them all year.