Review Duskwind 4/5 · Sep 26, 2022
General Review- Returnal
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Presentation: 8.5/10
Story: 6/10
Overall Score: 7.6/10
Gameplay= Mechanics, gameplay options (freedom), repetition, goals, difficulty
Story= plot, engagement, characters, world-building
Presentation= graphics, animation, environment/character design, Art direction, Script, music
The game has a difficult start, but if you can get your way past the first 2 bosses you will be on track to a much easier playthrough. Weapon …
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Presentation: 8.5/10
Story: 6/10
Overall Score: 7.6/10
Gameplay= Mechanics, gameplay options (freedom), repetition, goals, difficulty
Story= plot, engagement, characters, world-building
Presentation= graphics, animation, environment/character design, Art direction, Script, music
The game has a difficult start, but if you can get your way past the first 2 bosses you will be on track to a much easier playthrough. Weapon traits and special tools will stay permanent with you upon death, but that is about the only thing that does. Skill and learning enemy attack patterns come with repetition, but once you know them you will be hard-pressed to die very often outside of a boss fight after that. It is a very fast-paced and fun take on the shooter genre.
The story is very interpretive and all the elements to have an understanding of the story are there for you. That said, you don't really end the game (regular or true ending) feeling like the plot is understood fully or resolved. Which I guess plays into the title. Returnally incomplete story.
On the presentation side the sound design is where it is at. The very atmospheric sounds of this wild alien world. There are even story elements that are blended into the sound design which upon repetition get to be a bit bothersome, but are interesting to notice at first. The visual presentation was also great. Each biome was unique even if some of the room layouts were copies it played into the story well and still made the levels unique. It was even fun sometimes to notice that the room you were in is one reskinned and design slightly differently from one in another part of the game.
