Beau Dutton

You're supposed to die. Let that thought put its alien roots firmly in your gamer DNA. What Returnal does well is really make you feel you're walking in Selene's space boots. You are going to get as frustrated and confused as the main protagonist. The game does story immersion well. It helps that it runs at 60fps perfectly and the world looks amazing. You feel like a scout in uncharted territory. As you discover alien artifacts, Selene must scan and record each item. Exploration and immersion are done well enough to keep you wanting to learn more. What about combat, you ask? Fast-pace, intense shoot outs are commonplace on Atropos. The developer used "bullet-hell" to describe the action. I say that phrase about sums it up. Once I unlocked the blade, it made combat a smooth transition between range and cqc that I could not stop looking for more hostile xenotypes to destroy. I gave it 4/5 because the dying and returning will become redundant too soon for some gamers. Yes the map/world changes each time you return, but if you cannot immerse yourself into the sci-fi story of Selene and needing to know her ending, then the amazing combat may not be enough to keep you wanting to wake up and explore the ever-changing environments of Atropos.