Returnal™

Third-person roguelike shooter with shifting worlds and bullet-hell combat

Housemarque, Climax Studios · Published by PlayStation Publishing LLC · Released Feb 15, 2023

Reviews: Very Positive; 81% of 11K
Recent reviews: Mostly Positive; 71% of 66 in 30 days
Playing now: 59; peak 24h 97
Steam Deck: Playable
Last update: 3 years ago; Apr 25, 2023

What is Returnal™?

A third-person action roguelike set on the shape-shifting alien world of Atropos. As stranded astronaut Selene, you explore, fight through bullet-hell encounters, collect changing item combinations, and restart the run after each death. It supports solo and online co-op play.

For you if...

+you enjoy fast, punishing bullet-hell gunfights
+you like roguelike runs with changing worlds and items
+you want solo play or online co-op

Not for you if...

−you dislike losing long runs after a single death
−you want steady progression with a relaxed difficulty

What players say

81% of 11,110 reviews are positive · 71% of 66 in the last 30 days

Players most often praise the fast gunplay, movement, sound, and dark sci-fi atmosphere. The most common complaint is an unresolved VRAM memory leak and frame-time stutter that players say appeared after a past patch; others report crashes, loading failures, and co-op bugs that can end runs.

Screenshots and trailer

Returnal™ system requirements

As published by the developer.

Minimum

OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 1903)
Processor: Intel Core i5-6400 (4 core 2.7GHz) AMD Ryzen 5 1500X (4 core 3.5GHz)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB) AMD Radeon RX 580 (8 GB)
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Storage: 60 GB available space
Notes: SSD Recommended

PC version details

DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Full controller support
Platforms: Windows
Achievements: 38
Steam features: Cloud saves, Family Sharing
Age rating: 13+

Steam Deck: Playable

Default configuration is not performant
All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
Shows Steam Deck controller icons
In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
External controllers are not supported for the primary player

Multiplayer and co-op

Languages

Full audio: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese - Portugal, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Spanish - Latin America. Text only: Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Simplified Chinese, Swedish, Traditional Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian.