Returnal April 30, 2021

Union Game Rating

  • ☆☆☆☆☆

    Votes: 1 50.0%
  • ☆☆☆☆

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ☆☆☆

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ☆☆

    Votes: 1 50.0%
  • Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    2
Yeah nah I dont have the time for a game like this lol. Love the gameplay but got to the boss after a good 30 min of farming, got him nearly down, then died. Start all over. Almost nothing carries over to make next run easier. Those are sadly the only roguelikes I can play. I can’t image what it’ll be like when I get to Biome 3 or 4 and die and start all over.

Can’t do it! Will watch a full playthrough instead. This is a game I’d grind away at in my younger years where I has infinite free time.

There is some permanent progression in the game :

here is a list of the things you hold on to after dying/closing the game.

1. Story Progression

You will not have to go through the entire story from the beginning when you close the game. As you complete missions, read notes, and view scenes that push the story forward, you will continue to see more as you play, even after switching off the console.

2. Weapon Skills

There are a list of perks under the alt fire description of each gun type. You unlock them as you play each run, and use the weapon directly throughout your entire playthrough. These skills persist after death, and after you switch your console off.

3. Ether

You will keep any Ether, up to 30, that you have collected on your multiple runs.

4. Key items

Your melee sword, the grapnel, portal keys and so on. These do not disappear after you die, or switch your console off after a run.

Also this part may be kind of spoiler ish... But if you want to read it:

Extra info: straight after a death, when you wake up next to your ship. If you are on biome 1 to 3, you will start at biome 1, but can progress quickly, if you wish, by skipping content to reach the next biome's portal. You can skip repeating boss fights this way.

You can also safely switch off after death in biome 4, and start at the beginning of this biome if you die in biomes 4-6, even after closing the game.

You can switch off the game whenever you wish, and all the above items will persist when you start your game again. All you lose, is your current run's progress. Single use items, weapon progression levels, obolites, and wherever you were in that biome's map.
 
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There is some permanent progression in the game :

here is a list of the things you hold on to after dying/closing the game.

1. Story Progression

You will not have to go through the entire story from the beginning when you close the game. As you complete missions, read notes, and view scenes that push the story forward, you will continue to see more as you play, even after switching off the console.

2. Weapon Skills

There are a list of perks under the alt fire description of each gun type. You unlock them as you play each run, and use the weapon directly throughout your entire playthrough. These skills persist after death, and after you switch your console off.

3. Ether

You will keep any Ether, up to 30, that you have collected on your multiple runs.

4. Key items

Your melee sword, the grapnel, portal keys and so on. These do not disappear after you die, or switch your console off after a run.

Also this part may be kind of spoiler ish... But if you want to read it:

Extra info: straight after a death, when you wake up next to your ship. If you are on biome 1 to 3, you will start at biome 1, but can progress quickly, if you wish, by skipping content to reach the next biome's portal. You can skip repeating boss fights this way.

You can also safely switch off after death in biome 4, and start at the beginning of this biome if you die in biomes 4-6, even after closing the game.

You can switch off the game whenever you wish, and all the above items will persist when you start your game again. All you lose, is your current run's progress. Single use items, weapon progression levels, obolites, and wherever you were in that biome's map.
Don’t tempt me to keep playing this lol.

It’s good to know there is some progression - however none of it is an eventual guarantee that I will be able to beat the game, which as someone who is not inherently good at video games to begin with, that is kinda what I am looking for. I dropped Sekiro for similar reasons. I play Souls games and eventually you will out-level content and be able to progress, Sekiro as it is not an RPG , not so much. So I quickly realized I’d probably never beat the game and dropped it despite loving it. Returnal is much the same.

Still that is good that there are mechanics in place to progress biomes quickly after you defeat the bosses. That part is great. I almost had Phrike down, I think if I’d beaten him I would have been energized to keep playing. I used the Carbine and honestly he doesn’t seem super tough but I know the game’s difficulty just scales more after that. I can admire the game while admitting it is likely beyond my patience/skill haha.
 
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There is some permanent progression in the game :

here is a list of the things you hold on to after dying/closing the game.

1. Story Progression

You will not have to go through the entire story from the beginning when you close the game. As you complete missions, read notes, and view scenes that push the story forward, you will continue to see more as you play, even after switching off the console.

2. Weapon Skills

There are a list of perks under the alt fire description of each gun type. You unlock them as you play each run, and use the weapon directly throughout your entire playthrough. These skills persist after death, and after you switch your console off.

3. Ether

You will keep any Ether, up to 30, that you have collected on your multiple runs.

4. Key items

Your melee sword, the grapnel, portal keys and so on. These do not disappear after you die, or switch your console off after a run.

Also this part may be kind of spoiler ish... But if you want to read it:

Extra info: straight after a death, when you wake up next to your ship. If you are on biome 1 to 3, you will start at biome 1, but can progress quickly, if you wish, by skipping content to reach the next biome's portal. You can skip repeating boss fights this way.

You can also safely switch off after death in biome 4, and start at the beginning of this biome if you die in biomes 4-6, even after closing the game.

You can switch off the game whenever you wish, and all the above items will persist when you start your game again. All you lose, is your current run's progress. Single use items, weapon progression levels, obolites, and wherever you were in that biome's map.
Yeah. Noticed this as I a have been playing.

This game easily stands out against Playstation's abundance of 3rd person action exclusives.

I'm really enjoying it.
 
I think I got to the second or maybe third biome at release, then gave up. Like a year later I go back to it and became addicted to it. I think there are times you need to be in a certain mindset to enjoy some games. Plus when the combat clicks it is a blast.

The buildup and then fight with the 4th boss is one of my favorite experiences in any game recently.
 

Oh No Fire GIF
 
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