During the PS5 event, Sony unveiled a new sci-fi/horror game for the PS5 called Returnal.
Basics
June 11, 2020 is the day for brand new games, what with Sony unveiling the equally-as-brand-new PS5 console. Among these games is the oddly named Returnal: a sci-fi/horror third-person shooter game being developed by small-time developer Housemarque. Housemarque is a Finnish game company (in fact, the oldest active Finnish game company yet) responsible for the hit games Resogun, Alienation, and Nex Machina. They really do seem to like making sci-fi games where you shoot up aliens, don’t they?
Plot Summary (So Far As There Is)
Returnal though, appears to be Housemarque’s most ambitious game yet. According to the trailer, the game features the unnamed female protagonist crashing on an alien world, and being killed by one of the inhabitants shortly afterwards. However, instead of Death coming to claim her soul, she then wakes up again from the beginning of the crash. Furthermore, she notices that the land seems to be…different each time she wakes up, even though she always wakes up in her ship. Sounds like a familiar gameplay formula, doesn’t it?
And then there are the aliens themselves, which would not be out of place in a Lovecraftian saga. The aliens in Returnal come in multiple flavors, but leathery wings, bones, and tentacles seem to be their favorite features. And killing people in various bloody ways, of course. Did I mention the tentacles?
Plus, there are surreal moments in Returnal where the unnamed female protagonist appears to be transported to a grassy landscape with an abandoned house in it. More to the point, the house is clearly the work of humans…on an alien planet where the locals just love tentacles. It seems mindfucks are also a favorite of these aliens. Anyone getting Dead Space vibes from this?
Conclusion
Definitely getting a weird but fascinating mix of Dead Space and Edge of Tomorrow from this trailer. Consider me hyped for Returnal, hopefully being released along with the PS5.
