Gaming Returnal (PS5)

Irwin99

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Finally beat the third boss with my last bit of health, seen the end of Act 1... and now my game has crashed and has been trying to close for 5 minutes :lol: :(
 

afrocentricity

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Finally beat the third boss with my last bit of health, seen the end of Act 1... and now my game has crashed and has been trying to close for 5 minutes :lol: :(
You return/refresh after the act 1 cut scene anyway so just switch it off
 

Irwin99

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You return/refresh after the act 1 cut scene anyway so just switch it off
Yeah I had to turn the power off at the wall which sacred me a bit as the system was completely unresponsive. Doesn't seem to be any issues though, thankfully.
 

Irwin99

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Went into biome 5 with the best set up i'd ever had, beat the 4th boss on the first try, had full health and a lot of gun proficiency and did really well until I had to find the third key. Searched every damn place on the map, or so i thought, and got injured constantly by the red laser traps going backwards and forward trying to find something i might have missed. After a long time I had to look it up and it turns out you need to go the optional room.

I thought the gold rooms were optional that's why i left it :mad: Died on entry as i had very little health left :( Sigh!

Have heard i'm nearing the end and i'm really glad I continued this after some early misgivings. I think Selene is quite an interesting character.
 

esmufc07

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Went into biome 5 with the best set up i'd ever had, beat the 4th boss on the first try, had full health and a lot of gun proficiency and did really well until I had to find the third key. Searched every damn place on the map, or so i thought, and got injured constantly by the red laser traps going backwards and forward trying to find something i might have missed. After a long time I had to look it up and it turns out you need to go the optional room.

I thought the gold rooms were optional that's why i left it :mad: Died on entry as i had very little health left :( Sigh!

Have heard i'm nearing the end and i'm really glad I continued this after some early misgivings. I think Selene is quite an interesting character.
Yeah you have Biome 5 to do then Biome 6, but after you’ve ‘finished’ it, you can search for 6 sun fragments (1 in each Biome) in order to unlock the true ending.
 

Irwin99

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Yeah you have Biome 5 to do then Biome 6, but after you’ve ‘finished’ it, you can search for 6 sun fragments (1 in each Biome) in order to unlock the true ending.
Is the water part a continuation of Biome 5 or is it 6. I've just collected all the keys in the snowy place but no boss battle.
 

Irwin99

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Finished it. Really enjoyed that and I am glad I took a chance on it. The last 2 bosses were surprisingly a lot less tough than the previous 3 but that could be that I was just getting better at the game. Might do the platinum if it's not too tricky.

It's absolutely a game that rewards effort and time; i doubt very much i would have completed it if i had just run to the boss rooms as quickly as possible after getting frustrated by the many deaths. Getting the best weapons, items and artifacts was the key for me and that required clearing out whole rooms and revisiting previous biomes. This took time and a lot of frustration but it made the bosses much easier I think.
 

Bosws87

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Finished it. Really enjoyed that and I am glad I took a chance on it. The last 2 bosses were surprisingly a lot less tough than the previous 3 but that could be that I was just getting better at the game. Might do the platinum if it's not too tricky.

It's absolutely a game that rewards effort and time; i doubt very much i would have completed it if i had just run to the boss rooms as quickly as possible after getting frustrated by the many deaths. Getting the best weapons, items and artifacts was the key for me and that required clearing out whole rooms and revisiting previous biomes. This took time and a lot of frustration but it made the bosses much easier I think.
Best part of these type of games the skill progression of yourself the more you play it, then you go back to an area you struggled in and breeze through it as you have mastered all the game mechanics.

Why Dark Souls, Returnal etc are so appealing!
 

esmufc07

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Finished it. Really enjoyed that and I am glad I took a chance on it. The last 2 bosses were surprisingly a lot less tough than the previous 3 but that could be that I was just getting better at the game. Might do the platinum if it's not too tricky.

It's absolutely a game that rewards effort and time; i doubt very much i would have completed it if i had just run to the boss rooms as quickly as possible after getting frustrated by the many deaths. Getting the best weapons, items and artifacts was the key for me and that required clearing out whole rooms and revisiting previous biomes. This took time and a lot of frustration but it made the bosses much easier I think.
The platinum isn’t overly difficult, just requires a fair bit of patience as you’re reliant on scout logs and stuff appearing. IIRC they released a patch to make it easier.

Glad you enjoyed it; really is a fantastic game.
 

Damien

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Join Selene, still trapped in an endless cycle – but this time, no longer alone.

Returnal™: Ascension adds Co-op Mode, allowing you to share your entire journey* through the shifting labyrinth of Atropos with another player.**

This update also adds The Tower of Sisyphus – accessible as long as you've unlocked the Icarian Grapnel.* It's an ascending gauntlet of increasingly dangerous phases, with each containing twenty floors. Upon entry, eliminate all the enemies on each floor and secure your passage to the next one up. Just be ready for what you might encounter within…

* The Tower of Sisyphus, House sequences and Challenge Mode are not available in Co-op Mode.
 

Ainu

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Slightly random bump here, since the update has been out for over a month, but has anyone on here actually played through the new Tower of Sysiphus? I tried it on a whim and was surprised at how much stuff they added. There seems to a be a lot of new story stuff in there and a brand new boss as well. I always felt Returnal needed something extra for those who've finished the game, as the cycle becomes a bit too easy, and this update scratches that itch. Only made it to 3-14 so far, which is already harder than the entire base game, but it's just so much fun.
 

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Just started playing this and I love it. Game is utterly kicking my arse and I'm getting nowhere. Love this type of challenge.
 

GaryLifo

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None of the bosses are overly hard per se. The fact you have to fight your way back to them to have another go if you die is what makes it hard IMO. Quite often I'd not reach the stage 3 boss or if I did I was at low health and one of two hits from death.

If you were able to just restart at the boss every time until you beat it I think I'd have completed the game really fast.
 

KirkDuyt

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Yasss, beat the first boss. Just fecking barely. I really love this game so far. Frantic as feck.
 

KirkDuyt

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I so very nearly killed the 2nd boss on my first try. Having to start over is a bit hard breaking init.
 

Ainu

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I so very nearly killed the 2nd boss on my first try. Having to start over is a bit hard breaking init.
It's important to remember that you're making progress outside of just getting better at the game. Scanning new artifacts and weapons unlocks them to randomly spawn in subsequent runs while your progress on unlocking weapon traits is permanent. Don't waste Ether on chests, keep it to unlock a new item in the starting room each run until you have them all.

One golden rule I had while playing was to never rush to a new area or boss. Take your time and check every room, it'll help your permanent progress and potentially builds up integrity and weapon proficiency for that particular run as well.
 

KirkDuyt

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It's important to remember that you're making progress outside of just getting better at the game. Scanning new artifacts and weapons unlocks them to randomly spawn in subsequent runs while your progress on unlocking weapon traits is permanent. Don't waste Ether on chests, keep it to unlock a new item in the starting room each run until you have them all.

One golden rule I had while playing was to never rush to a new area or boss. Take your time and check every room, it'll help your permanent progress and potentially builds up integrity and weapon proficiency for that particular run as well.
Yeah I noticed. I took the shortcut to biome 2 right away and was left trying to kill stuff with the lvl 0 starting gun and base health. I decided I just take a break after a long run instead of starting right away again. Just makes you rush and feck up.
 

KirkDuyt

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In biome 3 now. With a feck ton of health, an astronaut figurine and a gazillion artefacts. Almost feel invincible at this point so I'm sure I will die soon.

Still not sure whether picking up malignant stuff is worth it in the long run.
 

KirkDuyt

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Killed the 3rd boss. Not sure what happened. Did I live happily ever after, die of old age only to find out the cycle isnt broken? I know I'm talking to myself.
 

Ainu

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Killed the 3rd boss. Not sure what happened. Did I live happily ever after, die of old age only to find out the cycle isnt broken? I know I'm talking to myself.
Yes. :lol: Enjoy the 4th biome, and especially the music! The run to that boss is my favourite part of the game.
 

KirkDuyt

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Yes. :lol: Enjoy the 4th biome, and especially the music! The run to that boss is my favourite part of the game.
It's fecking hard. Nearly killed the boss in my last run. Quite the difficulty spike though.
 

KirkDuyt

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I look forward to your thoughts on biome 5.... lots of fun to be had there :lol:
Jesus christ, biome 5 has me questioning whether I'm physically able to beat this game. Those Icey severed are harder than most bosses :(

I'm quite sure that missing a simple jump and losing health after deftly clearing an entire room of monsters is the single most rage inducing experience in all of video gaming.
 

Reditus

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I just sarted this yesterday. Only played an hour or two. No idea whats going on
 

GaryLifo

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Jesus christ, biome 5 has me questioning whether I'm physically able to beat this game. Those Icey severed are harder than most bosses :(

I'm quite sure that missing a simple jump and losing health after deftly clearing an entire room of monsters is the single most rage inducing experience in all of video gaming.
Seriously bud, if I can beat this game and also do the extra stuff after you beat it... you'll easily be able to do it.
 

Massive Spanner

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What made Hades so great (amongst other things) for me was the fact that every run was impactful because you could use what you gained to level up to be stronger for the next run, a constant sense of progression. This doesn't have that, really, I know you get those permanent items the really odd time in new areas but other than that you're using the exact same shit over and over to try get past an area, it's annoying, you can't even keep your fecking gun! It just means if I get unlucky and stumble into an area with absolute cnut enemies I'm dead and there was absolutely no point to it at all. It lacks the same sense of progression and feels hopeless at times.
 

Ainu

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What made Hades so great (amongst other things) for me was the fact that every run was impactful because you could use what you gained to level up to be stronger for the next run, a constant sense of progression. This doesn't have that, really, I know you get those permanent items the really odd time in new areas but other than that you're using the exact same shit over and over to try get past an area, it's annoying, you can't even keep your fecking gun! It just means if I get unlucky and stumble into an area with absolute cnut enemies I'm dead and there was absolutely no point to it at all. It lacks the same sense of progression and feels hopeless at times.
You're ignoring the most important type of permanent progress: weapon traits. Even a terrible run can contribute to unlocking weapon traits, many of which have a devastating effect on weapon damage. I made a habit of picking up a new weapon if it had unlockable weapon traits and keeping it until the trait was unlocked or I found a weapon that was too much of an upgrade to ignore. This way, you're slowly but steadily building up a powerful arsenal, even though you don't actually "own" those weapons.

I haven't touched the game in a while now, but if I step back into it, pretty much every weapon I pick up cuts through the base game mobs and even bosses like a hot knife through butter. The progress might be less obvious than in Hades, but it's absolutely there.
 

Massive Spanner

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You're ignoring the most important type of permanent progress: weapon traits. Even a terrible run can contribute to unlocking weapon traits, many of which have a devastating effect on weapon damage. I made a habit of picking up a new weapon if it had unlockable weapon traits and keeping it until the trait was unlocked or I found a weapon that was too much of an upgrade to ignore. This way, you're slowly but steadily building up a powerful arsenal, even though you don't actually "own" those weapons.

I haven't touched the game in a while now, but if I step back into it, pretty much every weapon I pick up cuts through the base game mobs and even bosses like a hot knife through butter. The progress might be less obvious than in Hades, but it's absolutely there.
I’m not ignoring it because I had no idea it was a thing :lol: I knew they existed but I didn’t realise you kept progress on them. Ok that’s fine then!

fun game, or maybe not fun, relentlessly intense and mental?
 

b82REZ

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What made Hades so great (amongst other things) for me was the fact that every run was impactful because you could use what you gained to level up to be stronger for the next run, a constant sense of progression. This doesn't have that, really, I know you get those permanent items the really odd time in new areas but other than that you're using the exact same shit over and over to try get past an area, it's annoying, you can't even keep your fecking gun! It just means if I get unlucky and stumble into an area with absolute cnut enemies I'm dead and there was absolutely no point to it at all. It lacks the same sense of progression and feels hopeless at times.
There's a fair few persistent upgrade. Artefacts, weapon traits and later on new abilities.

IMO the issue Returnal has regarding this is that it takes too long to start giving you the upgrades or you seeing their benefits.

It's not as immediately accessible as Hades or Isaac but when it clicks it's amazing.
 

Ainu

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I’m not ignoring it because I had no idea it was a thing :lol: I knew they existed but I didn’t realise you kept progress on them. Ok that’s fine then!

fun game, or maybe not fun, relentlessly intense and mental?
I didn't know at the start either, I guess at some point you just start to notice it. It's not only for full unlocks by the way, even a 50% unlocked trait will resume at 50% the next time you pick it up, so don't worry about dropping a weapon before the trait is unlocked.

Definitely fun for me, in terms of pure gameplay it's pretty much as good as anything I've ever played. Add to that the brilliant atmosphere and art style, the visual spectacle, the audio design, the sense of intrigue and the surprisingly well told story, and you've got something special. It might be too niche to be a system seller but it's the first game I always recommend to PS5 owners.