Sony Returnal - Information Thread, update: Digital Foundry PC Port Review - "It's Good, But Could Be Great"

[stepee]

5 minutes ago, JPDunks4 said:

After dying twice very early into my next attempts, I just cleared it again.

 

Seemed to play identical to the last time I cleared, it, so other than finding more collectibles, I'm not sure what else there is.

 

you have to stop playing for a month to give us time to catch up ok

[Keyser_Soze]

Seems like DF are pleased with the way it plays and performs

 

 

[johnny]

god dammit. i was at the boss’ gate and decided “let me go to this one area then i’ll come back” and i got fucked in my ass

[Firewithin]

i watching a stream of this last night and i must not have really been payng attention to this game but it looked great but stressful lol.

 

also its very cool how housemarque incorporated there cool bullet hell mechanics in this game.

[JPDunks4]

I'll probably go for my first Platinum Trophy for their game.  I do really enjoy the gameplay, and my guess is there's a trophy tied to each weapon possibly which will force me to use all the different kinds.

 

The artifacts I got for this last run were ridiculous.  Made it so easy.

[Mercury33]

5 hours ago, JPDunks4 said:

I'll probably go for my first Platinum Trophy for their game.  I do really enjoy the gameplay, and my guess is there's a trophy tied to each weapon possibly which will force me to use all the different kinds.

 

The artifacts I got for this last run were ridiculous.  Made it so easy.

Thats the best part of Roguelikes. When you find that unstoppable build it’s such a rush. 

[best3444]

6 hours ago, JPDunks4 said:

After dying twice very early into my next attempts, I just cleared it again.

 

Seemed to play identical to the last time I cleared, it, so other than finding more collectibles, I'm not sure what else there is.

 

Are you really skilled in gaming? I'm asking seriously and you are more than welcome to brag. It seems you're the only one "beating" it through a few runs. 

 

For instance, how are you with the Souls series?

[stepee]

3 hours ago, best3444 said:

 

Are you really skilled in gaming? I'm asking seriously and you are more than welcome to brag. It seems you're the only one "beating" it through a few runs. 

 

For instance, how are you with the Souls series?

 

Thank you, I didn’t want to come across that way either and wanted to ask also.

[Keyser_Soze]

@JPDunks4 is a god gamer and you're both pieces of shit for even questioning it.

[SimpleG]

4 hours ago, best3444 said:

 

Are you really skilled in gaming? I'm asking seriously and you are more than welcome to brag. It seems you're the only one "beating" it through a few runs. 

 

For instance, how are you with the Souls series?

 

38 minutes ago, stepee said:

 

Thank you, I didn’t want to come across that way either and wanted to ask also.

By no means when I say this am I belittling @JPDunks4 runs, he/she has damn fine skills with this game and props to running thru it so quickly. But with these types of games the seed makes the run. Good seeds can make a hard game like this a cake walk and bad seeds can make a hard game in to a nightmare. I have had a few bad seeds in this game where I didnt make it past a few rooms and some where you just bulldoze thru it.

[JPDunks4]

5 hours ago, best3444 said:

 

Are you really skilled in gaming? I'm asking seriously and you are more than welcome to brag. It seems you're the only one "beating" it through a few runs. 

 

For instance, how are you with the Souls series?

 

I'd consider myself above average for the most part.  Play most the games I play on harder difficulties.  I play a lot of PvP shooters, particularly BR's now, Apex being my favorite.  I do feel that probably helps me a lot when it comes to some PvE shooters, cause no matter how hard a game might try to be, it'll probably never be as difficult as playing other humans.  I also do think I do a very good job of managing a build with different equipment upgrades.  I never use guides or anything either, I like to figure stuff out on my own and find solutions on my own.

 

51 minutes ago, SimpleG said:

 

By no means when I say this am I belittling @JPDunks4 runs, he/she has damn fine skills with this game and props to running thru it so quickly. But with these types of games the seed makes the run. Good seeds can make a hard game like this a cake walk and bad seeds can make a hard game in to a nightmare. I have had a few bad seeds in this game where I didnt make it past a few rooms and some where you just bulldoze thru it.

 

I actually agree a lot with this.  After "clearing" 3 runs so far, I can pretty easily say the first 15-30 minutes are probably by far the hardest.  All of my deaths were very very early, like first couple rooms early.  It's very RNG luck based the beginning of a new run.  You are basically naked, no boosted health or armor, bare bone weapon probably.  If you dont get lucky with a few key upgrades early, like a decent weapon and artifact, you can basically be hopeless. 

 

I was also thinking about it today as well, that I don't feel that enemies really get progressively harder the farther into the game you get.  I still think some of the harder enemies are in the 1st Biome.  So you are facing some of the more difficult enemies with the worst build you'll probably ever have.  

 

By the time I hit the 2nd Biome, or even maybe 2nd half of the 1st Biome, I feel the game starts to feel relatively easy in some ways.  There will still be challenging rooms and enemies, but you should be far better equipped to deal with them farther into the game.  

 

I have recordings of all of my game time with the game.  Ill try to splice it up at some point eventually to highlight some of the good and bad.

[Xbob42]

Only had time to put in about 2 hours or so and got to the second area. Seems like a fun game, moves and controls nicely. Doesn't look amazing which is compounded by performance drops, but nothing too terrible. 

 

Doesn't really seem as incredibly difficult as people were making it out to be so far, but I'm enjoying it. The hardest part was honestly fighting with myself over that price tag. I really, truly did not expect this game to be $70, and if it weren't for this massive start of the generation drought, it probably wouldn't be. But here we are. 

 

Honestly the more I think on it, if they were gonna charge full price, I think I might've preferred them to ditch the roguelike elements and go full on Metroid Prime, which the game can feel like at times. In fact, with its current combat, it kind of feels like a mix of classic Metroid with Prime. Seeing a bunch of handcrafted areas rather than procedurally generated stuff would've been neat. 

[Keyser_Soze]

1 hour ago, Xbob42 said:

Honestly the more I think on it, if they were gonna charge full price, I think I might've preferred them to ditch the roguelike elements and go full on Metroid Prime, which the game can feel like at times. In fact, with its current combat, it kind of feels like a mix of classic Metroid with Prime. Seeing a bunch of handcrafted areas rather than procedurally generated stuff would've been neat. 

 

It's like Metroid Prime meets Hades meets Doom meets Dark Souls meets some bullet hell game.

[best3444]

9 hours ago, SimpleG said:

 

By no means when I say this am I belittling @JPDunks4 runs, he/she has damn fine skills with this game and props to running thru it so quickly. But with these types of games the seed makes the run. Good seeds can make a hard game like this a cake walk and bad seeds can make a hard game in to a nightmare. I have had a few bad seeds in this game where I didnt make it past a few rooms and some where you just bulldoze thru it.

 

You jealous pos! 

 

I'm only kidding and good post.

 

8 hours ago, JPDunks4 said:

 

I'd consider myself above average for the most part.  Play most the games I play on harder difficulties.  I play a lot of PvP shooters, particularly BR's now, Apex being my favorite.  I do feel that probably helps me a lot when it comes to some PvE shooters, cause no matter how hard a game might try to be, it'll probably never be as difficult as playing other humans.  I also do think I do a very good job of managing a build with different equipment upgrades.  I never use guides or anything either, I like to figure stuff out on my own and find solutions on my own.

 

Ok, so:

 

10 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

@JPDunks4 is a god gamer and you're both pieces of shit for even questioning it.

 

Sorry to even question you, my Lord. 

 

 

And then we have good ole xbob! haha 

 

3 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

Doesn't look amazing which is compounded by performance drops, but nothing too terrible. 

 

Doesn't really seem as incredibly difficult as people were making it out to be so far, but I'm enjoying it. The hardest part was honestly fighting with myself over that price tag. I really, truly did not expect this game to be $70, and if it weren't for this massive start of the generation drought, it probably wouldn't be. But here we are. 

 

[JPDunks4]

Cleared another run last night.

 

Kind of a spoiler here in terms to how the game is laid out and  story spoiler.

 

Spoiler

There are 2 separate World's to play through. 

 

One is the original world, which consists of 3 Biomes, and 3 Bosses.  

 

Second is the same world, but in the future.  This version has 3 Biomes, 2 Bosses.  I believe this one is deemed the harder world as you unlock it after completing the first world.  This World allows you to increase Max Weapon Proficiency to 30.  I think you also start with a Lvl 15 pistol.

 

I've cleared both World's twice now.  

 

Again, the opening of the game can be challenging, but once I get a little bit of a build going, it seems to really become very manageable to the point that I feel I'd have to try to die.  Last 2 runs I did get the same artifact that did make things far easier.  

 

Spoiler

It's a Life Leech artifact, you get 5% Leech on Damage per Adrenaline Level. So if you can keep your Adrenaline up there, its easy to keep health pretty high, which also helps you increase your health bar.  The run before, I also had one that gave me 5% damage bonus per Adrenaline Level.  So 25% damage boost and life leech, I was unstoppable.  

 

 

One other thing that is in the game.  I'm not sure if it's available immediately or only after your first clear.

 

Spoiler

There is a Daily Challenge Mode that gives you a Preset Weapon, 1 positive modifier, and 2 negative modifier's. It scores you based on damage, speed, ect.  I tried it yesterday thinking I could retry it over and over again, but you only get 1 shot at it pre day.  I was 35th on the leaderboard yesterday when I tried it, but died pretty early on as I was just messing around.  

 

This could be a fun thing to add longevity to the game.

 

 

[Chris-]

My main frustration at this point is that I’m not really sure if I’m even past the tutorial; I’ve gotten far enough to see the house for the first time and have my way blocked by a red force field that I need new equipment to open. I’m new to bullet hells so it’s completely possible I suck and just need to inch my way through, but it’s annoying to not really have a sense of how much the game’s mechanics have opened up so far. 

[skillzdadirecta]

Game is fun but the bugs... I had a bug last night where I went to use a translocator and when I came out the other side, the whole screen was black execpt for the Hud, reticule and mini-map. My character was still in game... I could move around in the game world and even interact with stuff to a degree. But I couldn't see shit. This was after a pretty good run as well  I dont' mind a games like this having punishing difficulty and steep progression curves but you can't have that stuff and be buggy as well. Especially at 70 bucks. Im enjoying the game, gameworld, story and gameplay but these bugs... Yo. COVID may account for a lot of this but this is getting ridiculous. Aside from Hitman 3, Last of Us 2 and Ghosts of Tsushima every game I've bougt in the last year has had gamebreaking bugs. In most game I can look past it but a game like this? It's unforgivable.

[SimpleG]

1 hour ago, Chris- said:

blocked by a red force field that I need new equipment to open

Not really a spoiler but 

Spoiler

its just a key, you havent found it yet or you missed on the ground

 

 

1 hour ago, Chris- said:

I’m new to bullet hells so it’s completely possible I suck and just need to inch my way through,

You are setting your self up for hard time of you dont learn to deal with the bullet hell early on.

 

1 hour ago, Chris- said:

but it’s annoying to not really have a sense of how much the game’s mechanics have opened up so far. 

Rogue lites dont really ever do this, you are given a general task to complete and thats it.

[SimpleG]

29 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Game is fun but the bugs... I had a bug last night where I went to use a translocator and when I came out the other side, the whole screen was black execpt for the Hud, reticule and mini-map. My character was still in game... I could move around in the game world and even interact with stuff to a degree. But I couldn't see shit. This was after a pretty good run as well  I dont' mind a games like this having punishing difficulty and steep progression curves but you can't have that stuff and be buggy as well. Especially at 70 bucks. Im enjoying the game, gameworld, story and gameplay but these bugs... Yo. COVID may account for a lot of this but this is getting ridiculous. Aside from Hitman 3, Last of Us 2 and Ghosts of Tsushima every game I've bougt in the last year has had gamebreaking bugs. In most game I can look past it but a game like this? It's unforgivable.

Agreed

The ramping in this game is very inconsistent and breaking bugs are absolutely ball busting.

[JPDunks4]

5 minutes ago, SimpleG said:

Not really a spoiler but 

  Reveal hidden contents

its just a key, you havent found it yet or you missed on the ground

 

 

You are setting your self up for hard time of you dont learn to deal with the bullet hell early on.

 

Rogue lites dont really ever do this, you are given a general task to complete and thats it.

 

I think you're mistaken on what he needs.

 

Spoiler

Pretty sure he needs the sword to break the red barrier, not a key.

 

[Chris-]

Yeah, I just got the sword and faced what appears to be the first boss. 

[SimpleG]

29 minutes ago, JPDunks4 said:

 

I think you're mistaken on what he needs.

 

  Hide contents

Pretty sure he needs the sword to break the red barrier, not a key.

 

Yup, I was thinking of red doors triangle doors

[SaysWho?]

Second biome is kicking my ass.

 

I get to the second task in the biome, but I haven't gotten past there yet.

[skillzdadirecta]

I'm not against 70 bucks for games this gen at all but it will be interesting to see if devs can justify 70 dollars for games like this that are pretty short and basically niche expereriences.

[best3444]

5 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

I'm not against 70 bucks for games this gen at all but it will be interesting to see if devs can justify 70 dollars for games like this that are pretty short and basically niche expereriences.

 

Well by the time I get a ps5 this game will be cheap. I understand your point but xbob pointed out above that they can easily get away with charging $70 for games like this because it's only the very few exclusive PS5 games available. People will bite hard for a new experience right now.

[Greatoneshere]

Quick impressions: game is super dope. @Bloodporne Definitely worth playing. Hades should still probably come first but Returnal is quite an experience. That said, I've already had 5-6 game breaking bugs. One run the game simply crashed. On three other runs, I had to restart the cycle since the doors simply stopped opening for me. However, game has been very enjoyable so far, though I still haven't played a lot of it yet it has an amazing vibe and atmosphere to it. The soundtrack is incredible.

[JPDunks4]

Something I've seen posted onTwitter but no clue if it's true.  Supposedly the suit you have one can cause some of the door bugs.  

 

I personally have had the 2nd suit on the entire time and have yet to experience any bugs.  So may be worth trying out.

[Bloodporne]

25 minutes ago, Greatoneshere said:

Quick impressions: game is super dope. @Bloodporne Definitely worth playing. Hades should still probably come first but Returnal is quite an experience. That said, I've already had 5-6 game breaking bugs. One run the game simply crashed. On three other runs, I had to restart the cycle since the doors simply stopped opening for me. However, game has been very enjoyable so far, though I still haven't played a lot of it yet it has an amazing vibe and atmosphere to it. The soundtrack is incredible.

Thanks man! I'm actually gonna give it a bit of time right now. I do think I'll be into it for sure, just want to let it sit and wait for the inevitable patches and balancing. It's hard to actively wait though...

 

I think I'll buy Hades next actually.

[skillzdadirecta]

The game doesn't seem as hard as folks have made it out to be once you get decent weapons and abilities

 

[Joe]

7 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

The game doesn't seem as hard as folks have made it out to be once you get decent weapons and abilities

 

Agreed!

 

*dies for the 12th time in the first biome.

[Greatoneshere]

18 minutes ago, JPDunks4 said:

Something I've seen posted onTwitter but no clue if it's true.  Supposedly the suit you have one can cause some of the door bugs.  

 

I personally have had the 2nd suit on the entire time and have yet to experience any bugs.  So may be worth trying out.

 

Sadly I've had bugs with all three suits, but I'm currently using the second one.

[SaysWho?]

20 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

The game doesn't seem as hard as folks have made it out to be once you get decent weapons and abilities

 

Gotta git gud enough to get those weapons in the first place!

 

I’ve been having trouble in biome 2. Gonna try a new strategy.

[skillzdadirecta]

9 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

Gotta git gud enough to get those weapons in the first place!

 

I’ve been having trouble in biome 2. Gonna try a new strategy.

Getting gud has nothing to do with game breaking bugs doe.

[TwinIon]

Pretty mixed impressions from my first few hours.

 

It looks great and plays great, so I don’t have many issues with the fundamentals. 

 

My first run I got to the first boss and died. My subsequent runs have not gone nearly as well. I’ve had multiple runs where I was playing at least 30 min without finding another gun, dying to rooms completely full of monsters. A better player certainly would have lived, but it didn’t feel great.

 

Overall, I really wish there was more that persisted between runs. I wish I could level up some ability or equipment or something so that a long failed run didn’t feel so bad. For some reason I was under the impression that you could upgrade your pistol in a way that would be permanent, but if so, I haven’t found that. I know it’s the standard of the genre to completely reset, but just a little more permanent growth would make a huge difference to me.

 

Of course, the worst run I’ve had, the one that ended my time for the night was one where I did find a decent weapon, had greatly increased my max health, had just cleared a big room and found another upgrade, and then the game crashed.

 

 

Anyone have some good overall tips for opening malignant things? I’ve been pretty risk averse so far because I don’t feel like I have a great sense of the risk/reward. One of the few that I did open really handicapped me in an otherwise good run. It just doesn’t feel great to be passing up most of the potential upgrades, but maybe I just shouldn’t.

[skillzdadirecta]

1 hour ago, TwinIon said:

Of course, the worst run I’ve had, the one that ended my time for the night was one where I did find a decent weapon, had greatly increased my max health, had just cleared a big room and found another upgrade, and then the game crashed.

THIS is bullshit.