With Returnal launching exclusively on PS5 next month, Sony and developer Housemarque have released a new trailer for their upcoming roguelike sci-fi shooter, this time focusing on story.
As we know, the game will focus on protagonist Selene, a spacefaring scout who finds herself marooned on an alien planet. After a foreboding intro which has Selene discover the remnants of an ancient civilization, she perishes only to reawaken in her cockpit, completely unscathed yet with memories of her previous life. Here’s how Housemarque describe their approach to crafting Returnal’s story:
Storytelling is a big new feature to Housemarque games and we have a bold story to tell. Our goal with Returnal is to tell a mysterious, layered, and haunting story that – like our explosive action gameplay and roguelike twists – is something you discover, replay, and rethink on every play.
It’s a playful spin on the roguelike genre which usually has players adopt the role of expendable avatars who simply pass the torch to their predecessor upon death. However, Selene is one character and as you venture from the crash site to explore Atropos over and over, she’ll stumble upon expired versions of herself, some left by other players (part of Returnal’s suite of online features).
Interview: How Returnal will redefine what players expect from Housemarque
Returnal will also break away from the third person action on occasion, thrusting players into story-driven first person segments. These, combined with the relics you find on Atropos, and the other narrative breadcrumbs left by Housemarque will help piece together the full story.
We recently went hands on with Returnal – here are some initial thoughts from our PS5 preview:
Fans of Housemarque’s work will certainly find much to like in this game, but every element is being pushed far beyond what they’ve attempted to do in the past, whether it’s the cutting edge visuals, the added complexities of the 3D gameplay and procedural world generation, or telling a deep and engaging story through. Returnal is gearing up to be a massive leap forward for Housemarque.
Returnal will launch on PS5 on April 30th, 2021.
Source: PlayStation Blog
KippDynamite
Looks pretty cool. I’m looking forward to your review!