I would like to play this game, but there are questions...

[Vige]

Are there those who, like me, decided to try themselves in this genre for the first time? What are your impressions? I just want to try something new. Is it worth buying a game if I haven't played such complex projects before?

[Salfaden]

I am also new to the roguelike genre, well I actually played one other roguelike before which was Hades, amazing game btw. But yeah, when you try a roguelike game for the first time, its gonna be frustrating at the start cause the game doesn't hold your hand, it leaves you to discover a lot of stuff yourself, you will die and restart from the beginning a lot with a few permanent upgrades, but once you get the hang of it, you will start enjoying it cause the gameplay is very addictive.

As for the 'roguelikeness' of Returnal, its not fully roguelike cause it also has bullet hell and some metroidvania elements to it as well, like exploration, backtracking, branching paths etc., overall its still a good game. The tower of sisyphus is more of a traditional roguelike akin to Hades.

Main thing is you gotta chill, don't let the frustration get to you, if you feel angry, take a break and come back to the game. Game is def worth trying, just for the gameplay, world, soundtrack.

[Vige]

Originally posted by Salfaden:

I am also new to the roguelike genre, well I actually played one other roguelike before which was Hades, amazing game btw. But yeah, when you try a roguelike game for the first time, its gonna be frustrating at the start cause the game doesn't hold your hand, it leaves you to discover a lot of stuff yourself, you will die and restart from the beginning a lot with a few permanent upgrades, but once you get the hang of it, you will start enjoying it cause the gameplay is very addictive.

As for the 'roguelikeness' of Returnal, its not fully roguelike cause it also has bullet hell and some metroidvania elements to it as well, like exploration, backtracking, branching paths etc., overall its still a good game. The tower of sisyphus is more of a traditional roguelike akin to Hades.

Main thing is you gotta chill, don't let the frustration get to you, if you feel angry, take a break and come back to the game. Game is def worth trying, just for the gameplay, world, soundtrack.

Thanks for the detailed comment. Do you play on the keyboard or on the gamepad?

[GTCv Deimos]

I'll tell you what, I am HOOOOOKED on Returnal. It really got under my skin, and I can talk about it foreeeeeverrrrrrr.

With that having been said, I think it's worth pointing out that if you're interested in rogue-ish games, there's a lot more softer options out there.

The number of games that went on to inspire/inform Returnal is countless, but if I were to point to the game that most directly resembles Returnal, I would point to Dead Cells. Returnal has a decent balance between heavy combat and exploration, which is matched by Dead Cells, and Returnal also lifts some of DC's mechanics wholecloth.

My other favorite Roguey game is Hades. Hades is probably the game that I think best demonstrates the strengths and flavor of rogue-lattes (sic), and I think it is one of the that perfected game pacing. Hades is very combat-focused with little in terms of actual exploration, but the game is fast, furious and chaotic. This also makes the downtime in the game welcome, and it does an amazing job of drip-feeding you a satisfying family epic. This is also probably one of the more forgiving rogue-loops out there, as you will eventually get powered up to the point where full passes can be done practically blindfolded.

Isaac and Enter the Gungeon are also pretty popular rug-likes, but I don't play them, so I can't really speak to those.

So yeah. Like I said, I loooooove Returnal, but I will say that the game can be a bit on the obtuse side. I think the game is tuned in such a strange way that two people can play and walk away with completely different impressions of the game. That having been said, I would liken the combat most to Doom Eternal, so if you love the pure chaos of being a winged angel of face-death in a sea of death orbs, and don't mind the game BSing you now and again, then absolutely. Go for it.

[Salfaden]

Originally posted by Vige:

Thanks for the detailed comment. Do you play on the keyboard or on the gamepad?

I play on KB+M, its much better to control the character and shooting just feels great with the mouse.

[Power_Bert]

Wait for the next patch. The game has massive technical issues for many customers.

[Fanta]

This is different from other roguelike I have played, by grinding on you get minimal help from the game in making progress, the way you make progress is by actually getting better at it.
I was about to drop out before the 1st boss, as the game was giving me nothing to suggest I was making progress, found it dull and even boring. After the 1st boss there was the first reward, as there is a new biome and new enemies. Then it gets better and better. Now I have completed it and still playing it.

The only letdown to me after completing the game (beside the recurring crashes) was the way the story is told, needlessly obscure, a lot of mumbo jumbo, not satisfying. By the end I got to understand something about the personal history of the protagonist, but almost nothing about the alien race and how it ties to the protagonist. The shooting instead is big fun, once you upgrade your weapons enough, and get the grapple, very satisfying.

There are also challenges and, unlocked after a while, the Sisyphus tower, which is good fun. The latter made less fun by the fact that in case of a game crash, progresses get reset to the beginning.

I didn't experience the stuttering that some are complaining about, but many crashes, yes, in spite of greatly exceeding the hw requirements to play the game. Be aware that I didn't get any crash in the first two hours.

I played with K+M, which seems to me the ideal for this kind of game. Also, disabled the auto aim.

[Trichouette]

I am a huge roguelite fan and I am very please that this game relies on skill more than luck (unlike a lot of roguelites).
I am also very pleased because I love third person games and there are almost NO roguelite TPS.

That being said, the game isn't hard so... give it a try.
Although just like the other players of this thread, I would recommend waiting for the patch because right now it's a random fatal error fest.

(also just like any shooter, I recommend keyboard + mouse. There's not reason to play with a controller)

[1 month old fry]

Originally posted by GTCv Deimos:

I'll tell you what, I am HOOOOOKED on Returnal. It really got under my skin, and I can talk about it foreeeeeverrrrrrr.

With that having been said, I think it's worth pointing out that if you're interested in rogue-ish games, there's a lot more softer options out there.

The number of games that went on to inspire/inform Returnal is countless, but if I were to point to the game that most directly resembles Returnal, I would point to Dead Cells. Returnal has a decent balance between heavy combat and exploration, which is matched by Dead Cells, and Returnal also lifts some of DC's mechanics wholecloth.

My other favorite Roguey game is Hades. Hades is probably the game that I think best demonstrates the strengths and flavor of rogue-lattes (sic), and I think it is one of the that perfected game pacing. Hades is very combat-focused with little in terms of actual exploration, but the game is fast, furious and chaotic. This also makes the downtime in the game welcome, and it does an amazing job of drip-feeding you a satisfying family epic. This is also probably one of the more forgiving rogue-loops out there, as you will eventually get powered up to the point where full passes can be done practically blindfolded.

Isaac and Enter the Gungeon are also pretty popular rug-likes, but I don't play them, so I can't really speak to those.

So yeah. Like I said, I loooooove Returnal, but I will say that the game can be a bit on the obtuse side. I think the game is tuned in such a strange way that two people can play and walk away with completely different impressions of the game. That having been said, I would liken the combat most to Doom Eternal, so if you love the pure chaos of being a winged angel of face-death in a sea of death orbs, and don't mind the game BSing you now and again, then absolutely. Go for it.

this is by far the "softest" option for a rouge like yet, mainly because it's incredibly short compared to other rougelikes- that have a lot more depth to them, plus more updates :>

[GTCv Deimos]

Originally posted by Wifuwu:

this is by far the "softest" option for a rouge like yet, mainly because it's incredibly short compared to other rougelikes- that have a lot more depth to them, plus more updates :>

I have no idea what any of this means :)

[Sidonus]

Think of Roguelite zomething like....if ya grew up on the original NES and/or Sega Genesis.
Remember games like the NES Batman?!
Holy HELL F that game btw lol...
Brutal..and if you die...ztart from ...the ztart. The only newer editionz being "meta" progrezzion.
My firzt waz Enter the Gungeon...and boy...what a rogue to be my firzt...deleted TEN timez initially lol....fazt forward...im gonna be homelezz eventually bc I muzt buy ALL ROGUELITEZ.

[medion_no]

The game is difficult you will die time and time again until you get the hand of it. The leveling system is actually hidden in the weapons.

[Hazard]

Good game, BAD performance.

Weird one cos you will get great benchmarks and high FPS but game stutters for me and lots of others AND crashes alot so bad experience imo

would wait for performance patch

[Flairical]

I think the game is 100% worth it even if you are new to the genre. The game isn't hard it's more a test of your reflexes and that'll improve over each run. Don't worry about dying that's part of the game literally and it's how you improve at the game as well. If you are on the fence get a friend to buy it with you and play through it coop or if you want you can add me and I'd be happy to run through the game with you. It's a unique experience and to be honest it's hard to explain because there's not much to compare it to aside from the obvious ones like Risk of Rain 2 and perhaps Dark Souls.

[Vige]

A patch has recently been released, has it fixed the technical problems that some have written about?

[Hazard]

Originally posted by Vige:

A patch has recently been released, has it fixed the technical problems that some have written about?

Not for me personally. Its improved but still stutters , could be worth taking advantage of Steams 2 hour refund policy on this if unsure