Returnal
Returnal is a 2021 roguelike third-person shooter video game developed by Housemarque and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It follows Selene Vassos, an astronaut who lands on the planet Atropos in…
Returnal is a shooter developed by Housemarque, released 30 April 2021 on PlayStation 5 and PC (Microsoft Windows). The main story takes about 31.7 hrs to finish.
What Returnal is
Returnal is a shooter game developed by Housemarque and released in 2021. It was published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is available on PlayStation 5 and PC (Microsoft Windows). It runs on Unreal Engine 4.
The premise, in the publisher's words
Break the cycle of chaos on an always-changing alien planet where even death is no escape. After crash-landing on this shape-shifting world, Selene must search through the barren landscape of an ancient civilization for her escape. Isolated and alone, she finds herself fighting tooth and nail for survival. Again and again, she’s defeated – forced to restart her journey every time she dies.
How it plays
It is played from a first person perspective. Its themes are action, horror and science fiction. It supports multiplayer for up to 2 players online, and includes co-op. Available modes: Co-operative, Multiplayer and Single player. There are 38 achievements to unlock.
How it was received
Returnal holds a critic score of 90 out of 100. That places it above 94% of the 3,305 rated shooter games in our database, which average 70. Games released in 2021 averaged 74, so it scored 16 points above the year average. Player ratings track closely with critics at 86, across 211 votes.
How long it takes, and what that costs
The main story runs about 31.7 hrs.
What you need to run it
The minimum specification calls for Intel Core i5-6400 (4 core 2.7GHz) AMD Ryzen 5 1500X (4 core 3.5GHz), 16 GB RAM and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB) AMD Radeon RX 580 (8 GB). A 16GB memory requirement is demanding — worth checking before you buy, because 8GB is still common in older and budget machines. Install size is roughly 60GB. Both tiers are compared side by side on the requirements page, and you can check your own parts against them without installing anything.
What it launched against
Returnal launched on 30 April 2021, within three weeks of Resident Evil Village, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, Mass Effect Legendary Edition and NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139.... It reviewed better than all of them. It arrived 1 year into the PlayStation 5's life, so it was built for hardware developers already knew well.
Released around the same time: Resident Evil Village, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139....
Cheats and codes
We have not confirmed any working cheat codes for Returnal yet. Rather than reprint a list we have not tested, this section stays empty until one is verified.
Official trailer
Sourced from the publisher’s YouTube channel. See all 5 videos →
Screenshots
All media
Dlc
Quick answers
Returnal — frequently asked questions
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