Returnal

 PC
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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 44 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 141 Ratings

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  • Summary: 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 timeAfter 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.

    Through relentless roguelike gameplay, you'll discover that just as the planet changes with every cycle, so do the items at your disposal. Every loop offers new combinations, forcing you to push your boundaries and approach combat with a different strategy each time.

    Brought to life by stunning visual effects, the dark beauty of the decaying world around you is packed with explosive surprises. From high stakes, bullet hell-fuelled combat, to visceral twists and turns through stark and contrasting environments. You'll explore, discover and fight your way through an unforgiving journey, where mystery stalks your every move.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 44
  3. Negative: 0 out of 44
  1. TouchArcade
    Feb 15, 2023
    100
    In its current state, Returnal perfectly suits the Steam Deck, and it runs quite well given the hardware, with visual cutbacks. While it isn’t as nice as playing on PS5 of course, I’ve found myself enjoying Returnal on the go quite a bit thanks to the suspend feature and sublime core gameplay. It also helps that Returnal on PC arrives at a lower asking price with all prior updates included from the start making it a super-polished version of one of Sony’s best exclusives in years.
  2. God is a Geek
    Feb 15, 2023
    95
    Returnal on PC is just as stunning as it ever was, with a high level of detail in its environmental design and layered gameplay.
  3. PCMag
    Feb 28, 2023
    90
    Returnal arrives on PC two years after making a splash on PS5, packing many exclusive features that make this version the one to beat—if you've got the rig to handle it.
  4. The Games Machine
    Feb 22, 2023
    88
    Returnal might not be the mind-bending masterpiece that I was, perhaps mistakenly, expecting after the praise I’d heard from friends and colleagues, but it’s still an excellent roguelike with clean gameplay and a beautiful presentation. Word of warning though: the length of each run combined with the difficulty might make it frustrating for some, and graphical optimization relies heavily on the use of supersampling technologies.
  5. Vgames
    Feb 15, 2023
    85
    New year, same old philosophy by Sony: If a game that was only available on PS5 comes to PC, makes sure it has all possible features, works great, has awesome optimization, controls fantastically and gives the best experience it can to its users.
  6. GameOver.gr
    Mar 19, 2023
    80
    Returnal for PC brings technical improvements while retaining the excellent gameplay and overall feel of the PlayStation 5 version. It’s a must play title for roguelike fans, but mainstream gamers that want to experience Returnal’s highly addictive fast bullet hell gunplay should be armed with a lot of patience.
  7. Dexerto
    Feb 15, 2023
    60
    Returnal on the Steam Deck is going to look a little ugly. All three supersampling options aren’t the best in the world, as AMD’s FSR and Nvidia’s NIS options muddied the screen and VSR turned the game into a gloopy mess. There are also options to turn down the rendered resolution, as well as turn on Dynamic Resolution, but nothing ever managed to run or look ‘right’.

See all 47 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 46
  3. Negative: 8 out of 46
  1. krzr
    May 6, 2023
    10
    Unfortunately (since it's a port) it's GOTY for me. I love rogue-lites, action and deep, complex story/lore. Also, this game is very wellUnfortunately (since it's a port) it's GOTY for me. I love rogue-lites, action and deep, complex story/lore. Also, this game is very well optimised, has dualsense support, very nice controls and movement. I was entertained all the way through. The only thing I didn't like were the unbalanced weapons.… Expand
  2. dziubaty
    Feb 19, 2023
    10
    Excellent title, the truth is that I was hooked on the game, recommended. Very good landscape, enemies, it has some jerks in the cinematics,Excellent title, the truth is that I was hooked on the game, recommended. Very good landscape, enemies, it has some jerks in the cinematics, which will surely be fixed with a patch… Expand
  4. vladiSPIt
    Feb 16, 2023
    10
    amazing game what a shame this game have 5.2 and hogwarts legacy 9.2 poor gamers
  5. Kramer96
    Feb 22, 2023
    9
    Bella grafica,bel sonoro,storia quasi inesistente e decisamente poco chiara almeno per me ma Gameplay meraviglioso,forse solo per gli amantiBella grafica,bel sonoro,storia quasi inesistente e decisamente poco chiara almeno per me ma Gameplay meraviglioso,forse solo per gli amanti del genere visto la difficoltà… Expand
  6. infraRecon
    Feb 20, 2023
    8
    I heard terrible things about this game, but after playing for a few hours I am already satisfied, and I saw only a few story beats. For mostI heard terrible things about this game, but after playing for a few hours I am already satisfied, and I saw only a few story beats. For most Players that don't like Souls games, and die a lot I wouldn't recommend this game unless you are willing to suffer and Unlock your love for Difficult games, it is again like Elden Ring an Acquired Taste for difficulty.

    This game is Difficult and is basically Space Souls the Video game, it reminds me a little about space Invaders and PT, surprisingly.

    I did not find any performance Issues like crashing or stuttering (If I do I will update this), and I rarely encountered FPS dips Playing on Ultra, 1080p (I will try 1440p and 4K) with or without DLSS with my 3060, and I'm running on a USB 3.1 with an HDD, not even an SDD, that is impressive work with the shader cache and the overall port.

    In terms of graphics, it looks like a PS4 going-to-PS5 game, meaning it looks great, it's a dark gritty planet, with glowing enemies and looter shooter mechanics.
    it's often that I'm afraid to fight the enemies in fear of death in a game, which is a good thing.

    While I can't rate this game fully because it might take a while to finish, I am enjoying it very much, Maybe I wish that it was a little forgiving, but I guess that is the purpose of Permanent skill unlocks.

    If I were to nitpick, the game doesn't have a mode for all players (It's meant to be difficult, understandable).
    I wish there was some variation of effects, visuals and animations, not that it lacks animation, it just needs to be presented with more visual appeal, it is meant to be a next-gen game, thankfully it's cheaper on PC than on PlayStation.

    And as always more spectacle, developers like FromSoftware and now HouseMarque that make these types of Soulsborne and Roguelike games should use cinematography to their advantage, it makes your game look even better.

    And finally, the enemies, are probably a little too aggressive, I feel that when I'm running away or about to dodge there is always an enemy in my path that's going to hit me. Again Understandable, pressure, but these enemies have projectiles so that makes it incredibly difficult to find a path of least resistance.

    So if you're looking for a difficult game to play before Armored Core or the next Souls game, Then Returnal is your best bet. Just be ready to die. I don't understand the hate for this game, It's probably some PC gamers that hate Sony or don't know how games are actually made, I get it Sony Exclusives blah blah blah its meant to be a game, not a movie, or it's a Souls rip-off.

    Look at the moment Sony is starting to do some weird business practices (I'm definitely not happy about that), but thankfully they are still attempting to make and publish well-made games, unlike XBOX, Ubisoft and Square Enix.

    We should all be happy that this game was ported to PC and that PlayStation realises that they can get in on the PC market with Quality games, If Ratchet and Clank, and Demon Souls get ported, that is gonna sell a lot.

    I will continue to support and Enjoy playing these games, but I'll always remember to actually hate games that deserve it *cough: Forspoken.    … Expand
  7. petriAND
    Feb 20, 2023
    7
    Gameplay - 8.5
    Visuals - 7.5
    Story - 5 Sound - 8.5 Fun - 7.5 ------------------- 7.4 The concept is spot on for a roguelike game,    Gameplay - 8.5
    Visuals - 7.5
    Story - 5
    Sound - 8.5
    Fun - 7.5
    -------------------
    7.4

    The concept is spot on for a roguelike game, shame it has a cryptic story full of symbolism and the ending really disappointed me. The sound in this game is really good, and the visuals are good overall. Gameplay, as the sound, is the strong point of this game, animations are amazing, is fun and the shooting feels pretty good. Another bad thing about this game is optimization, is full of stutters at launch.    … Expand
  8. metacriticLOL
    Feb 22, 2023
    0
    It's mid and very repetitive, feels like a tech demo more than a game. If you have to get it, I would wait for a sale, around $10-$15 is theIt's mid and very repetitive, feels like a tech demo more than a game. If you have to get it, I would wait for a sale, around $10-$15 is the appropriate price I definitely wouldn't recommend paying more than that.… Expand

See all 46 User Reviews

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#14 Most Discussed PC Game of 2023

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