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![returnal plot returnal plot](https://actuafiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/wp8735480-returnal-ps5-wallpapers-300x169.jpg)
When Selene inevitably dies, she finds herself waking up from the crash once again, with (almost) everything reset back the way it was, in true roguelike fashion. All the intro reveals is that you play astronaut Selene, who crash lands on an alien world full of angry, tentacled monsters that seem to have wiped out the original inhabitants.
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Lovecraft to Stanisław Lem, with very little information given at first. The story is also an unlikely mishmash of influences, from H.P. The end result won’t be for everyone but it’s an absolute triumph nonetheless. That gamble has paid off handsomely, though, with a game that marries the best of old school arcade gameplay with elements of roguelikes, Metroidvania, and surprisingly serious storytelling. They essentially bet everything on a completely new property, something companies many times their size never dare to do. They first tried to jump aboard the battle royale band wagon with Stormdivers but stopped working on it, and all other projects, to concentrate on Returnal. That was upsetting not just because they’re so good at them but because of the obvious difficulty, and financial risk, of transitioning to more complex AAA titles. They’re best known for PlayStation indie titles Stardust and Resogun but unfortunately not for the excellent Nex Machina, a fantastic top-down shooter whose commercial failure led to them foreswearing the development of old school arcade games. Returnal is by Finnish developer Housemarque who, despite a rather short gameography, have been going since the Amiga demo days of the early 90s.