how do you actually play this game ?

[carl]

I keep dying on the first boss and when i respawn i am stuck with a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ poistol for the whole level . Sometimes i find a weapon but is almost as ♥♥♥♥♥♥ as the pistol . After trying the first boss with pistol 20 time i have no idea why this game has such big score.

[SupremeSkill]

I also struggle with this game playing on a controller without auto-aim. I'd like to continue playing on a controller this way, but I perhaps must resort on using the mouse, which I'm much better with.
Before I do this though, I'd like to know what am I missing with adrenaline and all such stuff. Could somebody please clearly spell me what is most important? Do I need to engage the menus and level up the protagonist or do I simply pick stuff up, everything working passively.
I have noted that the alternative fire matters, timed reloads help, the sword is powerful, parasites are often bad, and the statue near the ship you can interact with seems important, but what else there is to know or do I just need a lucky run to get good enough equipment to deal with the first boss? The boss itself doesn't seem too bad, but the bats that rush on you are so nasty, which take away almost all my health before properly engaging the boss.

Please help, I don't mind any gameplay related spoilers at this point, if there are any secret rooms or something that help me progress. I imagine some places are not accessible before defeating the first boss.

Note: I have the game on Epic Store.

[carl]

Originally posted by SupremeSkill:

I also struggle with this game playing on a controller without auto-aim. I'd like to continue playing on a controller this way, but I perhaps must resort on using the mouse, which I'm much better with.
Before I do this though, I'd like to know what am I missing with adrenaline and all such stuff. Could somebody please clearly spell me what is most important? Do I need to engage the menus and level up the protagonist or do I simply pick stuff up, everything working passively.
I have noted that the alternative fire matters, timed reloads help, the sword is powerful, parasites are often bad, and the statue near the ship you can interact with seems important, but what else there is to know or do I just need a lucky run to get good enough equipment to deal with the first boss? The boss itself doesn't seem too bad, but the bats that rush on you are so nasty, which take away almost all my health before properly engaging the boss.

Please help, I don't mind any gameplay related spoilers at this point, if there are any secret rooms or something that help me progress. I imagine some places are not accessible before defeating the first boss.

Note: I have the game on Epic Store.

After like 100 deaths i beat the second boss ...
My tips as an 70 year old guy who can barely see and use the controller ... if i was able to do it you can also do it .
My tips are :
1. first boss is quite hard .you can try and beat him with a shot gun and stay at mid range . When you fight him you should have your life buffed and integrity mitigation percentage
2. you should have astronaut doll
3. you should have an healing item ready to use
4. dont dodge to early his melee attack
5. keep the alwas running button on for the boss fight chamber or for all the game . you will get used to it
6. set aiming assist to high and also increase the targetting reticle to the max.

[ClarkKent]

Destroy all enemies at the level and only after that collect silphiums at the level to maximize your health.

[ClarkKent]

And only then go to the boss.

[SupremeSkill]

Thanks for the tips, especially about the silphium. I do not doubt could I beat the first or perhaps the second and third boss also, but since I protest using auto-aim, I feel this game I will never finish, but next time I'll use the mouse which will likely help me way further. It is just so comfy to move in this game using the pad, but if the game practically relies on using the auto-aim for most players to succeed, then I think the game is badly designed, meaning the pace is simply too hectic for it's own good - difficulty levels would be better. Auto-aim fits some games, but a shooter like this first and foremost, I think it makes the experience lamer, but this is just my opinion, enjoy the game however you like. Aiming is part of the thrill for me.

The game also has some aspects that are not too promising, like decent but somewhat feeble graphics, story that is only partly interesting, good voice-acting but only one character (so far for me), optimization that is just about adequate, messy visuals with the enemies and their projectiles, low amount of gameplay content streched out by dying all over again... you likely get it. Enjoyable game I think, but not completely fleshed out, leaving an overall impression one of 'lacking', but certainly worth trying out (for cheap, 20 € max).

[SupremeSkill]

I now realized I didn't even reach the boss earlier when I posted, but confused him with some mini-boss. I just faced the first boss for real and even with the astronaut figure which revives you when you die, I couldn't beat him, only a little bit of health was left though - and this was playing with the mouse. I find this game incredibly difficult, possibly the hardest game I've ever played. The Souls series is easy compared to this, but I understand that if you just die enough times and spend your ether, then the game will get easier, but man, how bad design is it that you have to clear all the rooms again and again before getting to the boss once more to TRY IT OUT. Jeez, this game is a definition of a time waster, and it is such a shame because the gameplay is thrilling, but the intention of extending the playtime to an AAA level or even further just by repeating the same rooms again, again and again... Nah man, I edited my previous post which said this game is worth 25 €, but 20 € is the absolute max I can suggest buying this, because it is very likely that you will struggle with this game badly and get extremely frustrated if you decide to do all the grind to get through. I likely will try to beat the first boss because it was so close, but just thinking about his sudden laser move and all that you have to consider; this is a true ADHD experience I must say.

I hope people have fun with this game but prepare to be sorely frustrated and never finish it, because I cannot even imagine beating the last boss if even the first one is such an uphill battle.

By the way Housemarque's last game, Nex Machina, is very similar mechanically but has even more arcade like approach with a traditional level design. I can recommend that game even for 20 € even though it is some years old, because that is a fun game where you can challenge yourself by pursuing a high score, but Returnal you cannot finish and learn the story if you don't die repeatedly countless times. Whoever designed the mechanics did a good job, but who set on the difficulty while not offering any difficulty adjustment, made an error and hopefully can redeem himself/herself in future titles (or by a patch?). I'm sorry to say. Let people finish the game, no matter if it takes a short while, and leave harder difficulties for those who want to try them out.

PS. Terveisiä vaan Suomesta. Ihan tosissaan meni yli vaikeustason/jauhamisen tarpeen kanssa pahasti. :(

[SupremeSkill]

Since I hijacked this thread to use as my personal log, I'm obliged to share my further experience: I beat the first boss, twice actually - you don't have to beat it a second time. Now it feels easy, though I'm not sure how much this is about the proper loot you get after dying many times. I feel now slight hope of defeating even the next boss, though I couldn't get to him on the first try in the second biome. I see that the game doesn't necessarily demand clearing the first biome before entering the second to be powerful enough, or at least I hope so, and the second biome is quite quickly accessible via a certain portal room not far from the ship you start at. I also read that after the third biome the game always resets to the beginning of the fourth, which sounds relieving. I can see now that the game might not be as grindy and punishing as I expected, which is a common first impression I presume, so I might have been a little too blunt and hasty in my above posts, but let's see yet how tough it all gets.

[carl]

Originally posted by SupremeSkill:

Since I hijacked this thread to use as my personal log, I'm obliged to share my further experience: I beat the first boss, twice actually - you don't have to beat it a second time. Now it feels easy, though I'm not sure how much this is about the proper loot you get after dying many times. I feel now slight hope of defeating even the next boss, though I couldn't get to him on the first try in the second biome. I see that the game doesn't necessarily demand clearing the first biome before entering the second to be powerful enough, or at least I hope so, and the second biome is quite quickly accessible via a certain portal room not far from the ship you start at. I also read that after the third biome the game always resets to the beginning of the fourth, which sounds relieving. I can see now that the game might not be as grindy and punishing as I expected, which is a common first impression I presume, so I might have been a little too blunt and hasty in my above posts, but let's see yet how tough it all gets.

well u cant just skip first biome when trying to do second boss lol . there are too many upgrades there . To beat seocnd boss u need at least +15% protection.. A halfbar and a half and a carabine preferable which has shill which add protection. Dont use the pistol or the weapon who shots fast . For second boss u also need a parasite revival and an astronaut doll + some consumable whi makes damage int hp regen and either a mega healing item or the one wich raises spikes .
Also on second boss ne ver be close or mid distance to him . Be always far away . Also in biome 1 2 or 3 nevr use that stupid rocket launcher . Its too slow and will get u killed.

[carl]

Originally posted by ClarkKent:

Destroy all enemies at the level and only after that collect silphiums at the level to maximize your health.

why that ?

[SupremeSkill]

Originally posted by carl:

Originally posted by SupremeSkill:

Since I hijacked this thread to use as my personal log, I'm obliged to share my further experience: I beat the first boss, twice actually - you don't have to beat it a second time. Now it feels easy, though I'm not sure how much this is about the proper loot you get after dying many times. I feel now slight hope of defeating even the next boss, though I couldn't get to him on the first try in the second biome. I see that the game doesn't necessarily demand clearing the first biome before entering the second to be powerful enough, or at least I hope so, and the second biome is quite quickly accessible via a certain portal room not far from the ship you start at. I also read that after the third biome the game always resets to the beginning of the fourth, which sounds relieving. I can see now that the game might not be as grindy and punishing as I expected, which is a common first impression I presume, so I might have been a little too blunt and hasty in my above posts, but let's see yet how tough it all gets.

well u cant just skip first biome when trying to do second boss lol . there are too many upgrades there . To beat seocnd boss u need at least +15% protection.. A halfbar and a half and a carabine preferable which has shill which add protection. Dont use the pistol or the weapon who shots fast . For second boss u also need a parasite revival and an astronaut doll + some consumable whi makes damage int hp regen and either a mega healing item or the one wich raises spikes .
Also on second boss ne ver be close or mid distance to him . Be always far away . Also in biome 1 2 or 3 nevr use that stupid rocket launcher . Its too slow and will get u killed.

Ok, thanks for tips. Have you finished the game already? Are you going to?

[SupremeSkill]

I beat the second boss on my first try! I had an astronaut though. My feelings of this game are getting more positive, for now.

...

About my price talk earlier: How much you should pay for any given game, of course, has no definitive answer, because some may enjoy a particular game so much they would have paid large amounts of money to experience it, or in the case of social games (including something like World of Warcraft), some may value the time spent on those so much that it's hard to put a certain price tag for the experience, and of course people spend money even in free-to-play games in vast amounts just because they appreciate them and likely spent very much time on them too.
On Returnal, it is also hard to put a price, but for those who are ready for some grind, going back to the beginning and clearing samey rooms many times, this game might be worth even the full price, but I yet once more want to adjust my price assessment for the general audience, which is in the end 25 €, assuming one knows that the game is going to be tough and repetitive, but can possibly bear it. Expressing all this might not be necessary from me, but I just feel I was earlier too harsh on this game and in an impatient mood, which made me rant, but the game certainly has it's moments and I don't feel I have wasted any of my money personally.
I paid 36 € for the game on Epic Store. The game is currently discounted till 15th of June and you can use a discount coupon on top of that which the launcher applies automatically, resulting in that price. Even if I have yet only played 11 h, I feel like I have experienced some great moments and action. I wish I am able and patient enough to finish the game eventually. Don't let the frustration in the beginning wear you down.

[carl]

U have to finish the game You can’t stop now