Returnal
2021 third-person shooter video game developed by Housemarque
Returnal is a 2021 third-person shooter game developed by Housemarque and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5. A port to Windows developed by Climax Studios was released on 15 February 2023. 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. The gameplay combines bullet hell, third-person shooter and roguelike elements.
Returnal received generally positive reviews from critics for its visuals, combat, audio design and technical achievements, though its difficulty and roguelike design were met with mixed opinions. It won several end-year accolades, including Best Game at the 18th British Academy Games Awards. The game had sold 866,000 copies by February 2022, before being released for Windows in February 2023. A spiritual successor, Saros, was released in 2026.
Gameplay
Returnal is a third-person shooter video game featuring roguelike elements and falling under the psychological horror genre. In a futuristic science fiction setting, the player controls Selene Vassos (Jane Perry), a space pilot, equipped with a suit and armed with high-tech weapons, who is stranded on the alien planet Atropos and stuck in a time loop.
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