Games

Returnal

Housemarque

2021•Shooter•PEGI 16•About 32 hours

Taste attributes: actionhorrorscience fictionmonster/alien/supernaturalpsychologicalrobots/ai/spacevehiclesfastfresh & originalunsavouryheavyimaginarysurrealgrittybig & variedall consuming questfighting evilfish out of water/culture clashhuman spirit/resilience/survivalrescue/escape/jeopardysolving the riddle/not as it seemstroubled leadsunderdog triumphs

See which match your taste

Boxlist takeA fantastical, dark shooter: expansive and inventive. Best if you like the extraordinary over the everyday.

Pace: fast · Originality: very fresh · Tone: very dark · Weight: heavy · Realism: imaginary world · Story: balanced · Structure: surreal · Look: balanced · Scale: big and varied · Emotional punch: balancedHow we score

IGDB rating

87 / 100

212 ratings

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Based on your film and TV taste: games are matched on the same ten characteristics, with your own match bands.

About This Game

Returnal is a 2021 roguelike third-person shooter video game developed by Housemarque and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It follows Selene Vassos, an astronaut who lands on the planet Atropos in search of the mysterious "White Shadow" signal and finds herself trapped in a time loop. After crash-landing on a shape-shifting alien planet, Selene finds herself fighting tooth and nail for survival. Every time she’s defeated, the player is forced to restart the journey.

Summary: IGDB

Story

Break the cycle of chaos on an always-changing alien planet where even death is no escape. After crash-landing on this shape-shifting world, Selene must search through the barren landscape of an ancient civilization for her escape. Isolated and alone, she finds herself fighting tooth and nail for survival. Again and again, she’s defeated – forced to restart her journey every time she dies.

Characteristics

Where this game sits on each taste spectrum

SlowPACEFast

FamiliarORIGINALITYOriginal

DarkTONEWholesome

LightWEIGHTINESSHeavy

FantasyREALISMRealistic

SimpleINTRICACYIntricate

Non-LinearLINEARITYLinear

UnderstatedSTYLEStylised

IntimateSCALEEpic

RestrainedEMOTIONIntense

Genres and themes

ActionHorrorScience fictionMonster/alien/supernaturalPsychologicalRobots/ai/spaceVehiclesAll consuming questFighting evilFish out of water/culture clashHuman spirit/resilience/survivalRescue/escape/jeopardySolving the riddle/not as it seemsTroubled leadsUnderdog triumphs

Keywords

ExplorationPsychological horrorSurrealismDarkStory drivenRoguelikeFast pacedUpgradable weapons

Where to play

Details

Developer: Housemarque
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Released: 30 April 2021
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5
Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
Perspective: First person, Third person
Time to beat: 11h rushed, 32h normally
Age rating: PEGI 16
Taste scores: How we score
Source: IGDB

How game matches work

Games are scored on the same ten characteristics as films and matched with the same formula and your own match bands, from your film and TV taste. Game scores are estimates, made by fixed rules from IGDB genres, themes, keywords and descriptions.