Returnal is an incredibly difficult game that relies on a lot of trial and error to succeed. There are ways to make the game easier, thanks to different tips and strategies that can be employed by the player.
It was brave of Sony to allow one of the first PS5 exclusives to be incredibly difficult, even if it does showcase the power of the hardware in amazing ways. Returnal is a roguelite third-person shooter, which means that the player will be dying a lot. The player only gets to keep a few possessions after they die (a currency called Ether and a couple of permanent upgrades), which means that it's hard to cheese a run with items. As such, the player needs to master the main character herself in order to succeed. Selene's ranged weapons will change over the course of the game, but she always retains a powerful (but slow) melee sword attack and a dash action, that gives her a moment of invulnerability.
Like many roguelites, Returnal's game world is broken up into a number of different rooms. There are times when the number of enemies in the room will spawn beforehand, but they'll often teleport in. The biggest killer by far in Returnal is groups of enemies that can fly. This is because they can swarm the player and attack from their blind spots. As such, the player should play defensively as much as possible. One effective way of dealing with groups of flying enemies is using one of the doorways as a choke point and whittling them down one by one, as they can't open the door themselves. If the room enters lockdown, then run as fast as possible to the nearest corner and try to snipe them one by one as they approach. The longer the player stays still, the more of a chance they will have to spam their ranged attacks. There are some enemies in Returnal that are covered in a red shield, which means that they need to be hit by a melee attack. This is especially common with turrets, so try to take out the other enemies first, before working out an approach for the shielded foes.
The two main item types in Returnal are Artifacts and Consumables. Artifacts grant passive buffs that remain until the next run and Consumables are single-use items. Artifacts are usually the better choice if the player has a chance to purchase items, due to their duration. The best Consumable items are healing potions. It's possible to find healing items during a run, but they mostly raise the character's maximum HP score, rather than refilling it. As such, stocking up healing potions can make a run last a lot longer, especially as enemy damage drastically increases with each Biome.
Death isn't always the end in Returnal. The player can find massive chambers called Reconstructors in the wild. These cost a lot of Ether to use, but they will bring the player back to life once during a run and spawn them in its chamber. There are also some items and Parasites that will let the player come back to life, most notably the Astronaut figure. The Reconstructor is better for when the player wants to scope out a level first, while the Astronaut and other mid-battle revival items are best saved for boss battles. If the player finds some healing potions and revival items during a run, then consider rushing straight to the boss chamber, as they can be invaluable for defeating it, or at least getting a feel for its moves. The game will also provide the player with a better weapon just before the boss chamber. If the player has unlocked one of the later Biomes, then they can run to its entrance for a free healing potion and Proficiency boosting Artifact, which will make exploration or Ether farming a lot easier. Returnal doesn't have any difficulty options, but if the player wants to make things a little easier, then they can turn up the Aim Assist in the options menu, which will make bullets swarm toward the enemy a lot easier. Returnal itself loves to inflict cheap deaths on the player, so don't feel bad about cranking up the Aim Assist as soon as possible.
Returnal will be released for the PS5 on April 30, 2021.