On April 30, Housemarque’s procedurally generated sci-fi psychological thrillerReturnallaunched exclusively on the PS5 and received predominantly positive reviews, despite someplayers trying to review bomb the gamefor its bugs and an unforgiving save system.Returnalcombines the feel of an arcade shooter like the studio’s 2013 hitResogunwith mind-bending horror, Greek mythology, and impressive graphics.
The third-person roguelikeReturnaltells the story of an Astra scout named Selene, who crash lands on a mysterious planet after tracking an emergency signal. With her ship destroyed, Selene sets out to explore, only to find that the planet is filled with hostile creatures and the remnants of an alien civilization. Oh, and for some reason, whenever she dies, Selene inexplicably returns to life and must start all over again.
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Housemarque being an indie studio, many people may not have heard of the company’s previous games, other than perhapsResogun,which was lauded by players and critics, won several awards, and was a PlayStation Plus offering when it launched. But Housemarque has existed since 1995, and some of the company’s previous titles are currently available on the PlayStation Store at large discounts through May 12.
Matterfallreleased on the PS4 in 2017 and is another sci-fi side-scrolling shooter, this time with platforming elements thrown in. The game takes place on a futuristic world that has been overrun by a mysterious alien infection known as smart matter. Players take on the role of a hero-for-hire, fighting through vertical cityscapes and using alien technology to take out infected enemies. The game is currently 50 percent off and now costs $9.99.
