Returnal review — like beating your head against a fun wall

The art of building a quality roguelite is in the sleight of hand. In order to finish the game, the player needs to improve their skill. But that is a tedious and laborious process. A good roguelite, however, distracts the player from this process. Instead, it puts the focus on smaller tasks to unlock new weapons or tools. The idea is that if only you can unlock that next weapon, maybe you’ll have what you need to progress — but in reality, you are actually learning the way the game works and getting better at playing it. Returnal’s biggest weakness is a dearth of compelling progressions to distract you from its learning curve, and that is detrimental to its pacing and sense of momentum.

Returnal is the latest first-party PlayStation 5 release from Sony Interactive Entertainment. It’s a sci-fi action shooter from developer Housemarque, which is best known for arcade-style hits like Super Stardust HD and PS4 launch game Resogun. Returnal is available April 30 for $70.