I’m going to go out on a limb with a hot take. Housemarque’s 2021 hit Returnal is the best game on the PS5 so far. If I’m completely honest, I very comfortably fall into the camp that would argue there aren’t enough PS5 games – and by that I mean original, truly next-gen feeling games made specifically for the console. Of course, there are great third-party offerings, and there are some great first-party sequels to PS4 games, but I’m not sure any of those feel distinct enough from what came before to truly argue they’re PS5 games.
Returnal is one of very few first-party exclusive games that understood the PS5 assignment, in my opinion. And that’s coming from a guy who usually dislikes roguelikes. Returnal has it all, from using haptic feedback and trigger resistance cleverly, to a structure that feels narratively relevant, to making something that caters to a PlayStation player base that’s getting a little older. Thanks to Prime Day, you can get this truly exceptional video game for only $29.99 at Amazon (was $69.99).
Put it this way, Returnal is a game so good that Sony pretty much immediately bought the studio that made it after it was released. If you’re yet to sample it, now is a fantastic time. We don’t often see first-party exclusives like this drop in price to this extent, and this Prime Day PS5 deal means its only $3 off its lowest-ever price at Amazon.
The only caveat I should add here is that, unless you like owning physical versions of your games, there’s no need to buy this if you’re a paying PlayStation Plus subscriber. Returnal currently features on the PlayStation Plus Extra catalog, so as long as you’re signed up to that tier at least, you’ll be able to download and play Returnal at no extra cost.
If you’ve been waiting for a physical copy to come down in price though, Prime Day gaming deals are presenting you with a great opportunity.
Should you buy Returnal?
Returnal is a third-person action-adventure game where you play as a futuristic astronaut named Seline. After responding to a distress call, Seline finds herself stranded on an unknown planet, with no hope of being rescued. Exploring the planet, she quickly realizes an alien species once settled there, but realizes she’s caught in a loop of her own mortality. After she dies, she wakes up back at her ship’s crash site, doomed to begin her impossible escape attempt again, and again.
Narratively, that’s all I really want to tell you right now, because although narrative isn’t the central focus of this game like it is a game like The Last of Us, there are some amazing thematic discoveries to uncover – but they aren’t for me to spoil.
This is a game that will challenge you. It’s known as a bullet-hell game because combat encounters will see you dodging, sprinting, and jumping to avoid the sickening amounts of alien firepower that’s coming at you. It’s also a Roguelike, which means every time you die you’ll be sent back to the beginning to start your run again.
Luckily, it’s not all doom and gloom. The game features 2-player online co-op, which might be one of its best features. You can also save your game-mid loop, which, controversially, you couldn’t do when the game launched.
One of my favorite things about Returnal, as someone who reviews controllers, is its use of the DualSense’s niche features. Haptic feedback is amazing in this game. Every raindrop taps at your palms, and you feel every bit of incoming damage. Trigger Resistance is a similar story because of this game’s ingenious alt-fire weapons.
Clearly, I’m a big fan of this game, and if there’s one PS5 game I recommend above all others at the moment, it’s probably Returnal.
While they’re still here, why not check out some more Prime Day Meta Quest deals, Prime Day PC deals, or Prime Day Kindle Deals?
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