Housemarque’s PS5-exclusive roguelike shooterReturnalreleased in April 2021 to high critical and player acclaim, launching near the top of sales charts in different countries and receiving predominantly positive review scores from various media outlets.Returnalseems primed for some Game of the Year nominationsand, given the title’s rewarding combat and intriguing storyline, it’s not surprising that even other game developers were impressed by Housemarque’s venture into psychological horror.
Returnalfollows the unsettling story of Selene, a space pilot who finds herself crash landed on the planet Atropos, where she is inexplicably caught in a time loop. The planet is filled with strange and hostile alien life, and Selene quickly succumbs to their attacks. Yet after every death, Selene somehow resurrects, encountering the corpses of her former selves as she ventures into the ever-changing, i.e. procedurally generated, environment.
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In an interview with online magazineComingSoon, the creative director of the action roguelikeHadesshared his appreciation for Housemarque’s creation. Greg Kasavin of Supergiant Games revealed that the title is one of his favorite games of the year, even though he has yet to clear a run. HavingplayedReturnalfor several dozen hours, Kasavin explained that he has been following Housemarque’s games for years.
“It just goes to show how much breadth there is in this genre.” BothHadesandReturnalare categorized as roguelikes, but are extremely different in everything from art style to story to gameplay. In the interview, Kasavin stated that he “loved how Housemarque took…the arcade-style bullet hell combat” from their previous releases and successfully molded it into a roguelike. The Supergiant developer compared it to how his company had taken the hack-and-slash combat of their narrative-driven RPGBastionand incorporated it intoHades.
Throughout 2020 and 2021,Hadeswas nominated for and won a number of industry awards, including Best Indie Game and Critic’s Choice at the Golden Joystick Awards, Best Indie and Best Action at The Game Awards 2020, and the prestigious Nebula Award for Best Game Writing. Perhaps another mark of the game’s widespread success is theHades-themed Nintendo Switch controller by PowerAthat will be launching on September 17.
