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#92
#92

Returnal

2021The AAA Roguelike

Gameplay

9/10

Innovation

7/10

Legacy

6/10

Total

22/30

AAA meets roguelike in a bullet-hell nightmare.
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Why It Ranks

AAA meets roguelike in a bullet-hell nightmare.” — The AAA Roguelike. Scored 22/30.

Score Breakdown

GameplayControls, mechanics, moment-to-moment fun factor
9/10
InnovationHow much it pushed the medium forward at release
7/10
LegacyLasting influence on the industry and culture
6/10
Total Score22/30

The Review

Returnal proved that roguelikes can be AAA. Housemarque combined their arcade expertise with a harrowing sci-fi narrative about a pilot trapped in a death loop on an alien planet. The DualSense haptic feedback is the best implementation on PS5, the biome variety keeps runs fresh, and the bullet-hell boss fights are spectacular. The story unfolds through environmental details and cryptic sequences that reward dozens of runs.

Fun Fact

The game had no save system at launch, meaning a single run could take hours with no way to pause — a controversial choice that was later patched.

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