The next big PlayStation 5 exclusive Returnal, from developer Housemarque, is arriving at the end of April. Players will crash-land on a mysterious planet called Atropos where the game's protagonist, Selene, gets stuck in a time loop. Returnal will be Housemarque's first foray in AAA territory, but won't be entirely unfamiliar to fans of the studio. Housemarque has a lot of experience in bullet-hell style games, and Returnal looks to bring the idea into the realm of a visually powerful third person shooter.
The planet of Atropos will be filled with all manner of enemies for the player to encounter, from organic aliens to cosmic horrors and hostile automatons. Returnal's planet has different biomes to be explored, with unique enemies present in each. Most of the creatures on Atropos prefer to engage the player from a distances, using various types of projectiles or long tentacles to attack. A handful of Returnal's other enemies, though, are well equipped for melee combat, and might pursue the player relentlessly. The game is designed for the player to remain highly mobile, avoiding large amount of projectiles and learning enemy attack patterns in order to prevail.
Ever since it was announced, a steady trickle of information about Returnal has been revealed. A PlayStation Blog post from Returnal's creative director Harry Krueger gives some insight into the connections between enemy creation and gameplay design. The blog post comes as a companion to a new trailer showing off some of the hostile creatures found on Atropos.
New Enemies Revealed in Returnal Trailer
The new gameplay trailer (visible below) comes with some short explanations of the enemies being shown. Housemarque appears to be showing just one from each biome, and hopefully the game will feature many more than just the six that are featured in the trailer. The developer is also keeping some select Returnal details fairly close to the chest, since two of the video's subjects are missing descriptions.
- Mycomorph – "A large fungus-like entity that can launch its own spores which slows down target's movement."
- Titanops – "Moves fast by lunging and jumping to get into range, where it can maim its target with its bladed limb."
- Automaton – "In addition to the rapidly firing guns, can use its claws to lash at the target or grab them."
- Gorgolith – "An ambush predator that lies under the sand. Can use its tail or tongue to lash at its target."
- Ixion – "[Not found]"
- Infected Scout – "[Not found]"
The Ixion appears to be one of the game's bosses, being shown flying around an arena with multiple health bars, and Housemarque is apparently cautious about revealing too many details on one of Returnal's larger enemies. The Infected Scout, on the other hand, is described by Selene as resembling herself, and is most likely a part of the larger mystery that the player will unfold on Atropos. Returnal will be one of the first blockbuster exclusives for the PS5, and the enemies look to take advantage of the new hardware with a lot of flashy, moving parts. It remains to be seen whether the gameplay will have the variety impress, but the enemy types shown in this trailer is a promising start.
Source: PlayStation Blog