I knew Max was talking about Hyperion as soon as he started talking about the bosses. That whole build up and boss fight was an audio-visual treat I had chills, I was (quite literally) ascending. If you've played Returnal you know why. 👀
I'm a sucker for mystery plots. The little clues hidden around everywhere and being able to put them together is so special. Definitely my goty for 2021
Despite the bugs that plagued the achievement hunting in this game, getting the Platinum for it was an incredible experience. I absolutely loved my time playing this game. I was completely hooked.
I loved everything about this game. The visuals, gameplay, the lore, the audio…the DAMN AUDIO! As a sci-fi nut this was so awesome. For me, it did Metroid better than Metroid Dread, the shooting mechanics were better than Ratchet and Clank and the sound of those drones were more terrifying than anything in RE8. I anticipated and expected those games to be great and they were but they weren’t Returnal, my game of the year also! Excellent choice Max!!
It's kind of unfair to compare this massive game being on the PS5 to Dread that came from an indie team for the Switch. Atmosphere and immersion is a huge thing for Metroid and Returnal alike, and they do share similarities outside of that too. Also, the dollhouse section in RE8 is pretty freaking terrifying lol. Returnal is amazing though :)
Climbing the tree to Hyperion and hearing the organ intensify is an astonishing goosebump inducing experience that will stay with me forever. If you like gaming and scifi, you just have to play this game.
Even though I watched Max play this before having a chance to on my roommate's PS5, that eerie tingling on my neck was just as intense as I climbed that spire.
It was the highlight of the game for me. It almost felt like a reward of sorts as I struggled and was squashed multiple times to make it through biome 3 and take that fucker nemesis down. After entering biome 4 and making my way to Hyperion, like you said, goosebumps. I new right there is was one of the best games I've played in recent memory.
To me gameplay wise, Returnal plays a whole lot like what I'd imagine a "modern Sonic" equivalent of Megaman X would play like. I can easily imagine a Megaman X skin mod feeling so perfect that you'd think it was X Adventure or some shit
There are rumors that's coming to PC so you have a GPU with enough vram you may be able to play it sometime this year or early next year Sony's kind of slow with their PC releases.
@@Eja_Shaki When Microsoft stops being so aggressive in the market then maybe Sony will allow them to play they’re excellent titles that Xbox are so incompetent to make themselves..
And it only sold 500,000 copies and only 10% even played it past act II........Its also blatantly obvious why, being one of those people who finished the game and likely wont go back any time soon.... Its kinda garbage that you can get seeds that don't have shortcuts so IF you die and your 4 areas deep you might just have to work your way back through 3 to get to that 4th....Its also kinda garbage that you can't keep guns and upgrades between biomes. Even the worst rogue-like games allow you to collect and keep everything between dungeons/areas. Pistol starting with a level zero proficiency at the first area is kinda garbage when you get deep into the game and are hilariously expected to get all the way back to where you were to maybe get part of your proficiency back..And I have friends who wont even play it because of terrible design like that, yet love normal rogue-like games....Without a doubt there wont be a sequel.
@@lutherheggs451 You can keep guns and upgrades between biomes though. Shortcuts are persistent so you just didn't find them. Sounds like you suck at the game honestly.
@@lutherheggs451 you can keep weapons and upgrades between biomes. You can also take a shortcut straight to your most recent biome from the first biome. You also get proficiency upgrades at the start of each biome so there's no penalty to skipping a biome. Also 10% of people got the true ending and about 24% rolled credits and got the shorter ending. Getting the true ending doesn't really have any new content so it's more for people who want to keep playing or those who are invested in the story. I'd recommend giving it a try if you like 3rd person shooters and sci fi.
@@lutherheggs451 You do know that 500,000 millions covers the entire budget for this game like 10 times right? In Sony eyes this is a huge win!! Like the joker movie that it had a budget of 60,000 only and it sold over 1.2 millions tickets that's a huge win bro the same thing happened to this. They got way more money outta it than that they put in it.
Not just game of the year, but Returnal is easily one of my favorite games ever. Very quickly rose up to join my favs like Hollow Knight, Monster Hunter, and Phantasy Star Online
What an amazing game. Max giving this high praise eventually making this his game of the year is well deserved. Much like how Metroid dread is a must buy for Switch owners, people should definitely check this one out when they have the chance. The boss fights here are insane despite having so few, the very definition of quality over quantity. Hyperion (piano boss) was definitely my favorite. Also, kudos to the devs for adding a save option. They didn't have to do it, but tye fact that they did shows they are willing to listen to feedback and make this game accessible to a wider range of audience.
Fun fact: only 30.3 percent of Returnal players finished Act 1, about 23 percent finished Act 2, and about 10 percent finished Act 3. Seems like most people who bought this game didn’t beat it.
To be fair act 3 involves revisiting areas you've been to for collectibles and then fighting the final boss one more time. I enjoyed it because I love the gameplay but act 3 doesn't offer any new content outside of two story sequences. Plus after act 2 you get an ending and the credits roll so I'm sure a lot of people were unaware there was more to do.
I finished Act 3 a day after I thought I finished the game. I thought act 2 was the ending, but then I saw trophies that are still hidden and thought my trophies glitched out, so I checked online and saw a screenshot of a scene I didn't see before so I went back into it to find anything I can, and voila; There were more stuff to do. 😅 Loved getting the true ending tho
"Seems like most people who bought this game didn’t beat it." this is true for most games. I remember when tlou2 showed something like a 55% completion rate and that was apparently unheard of.
Story time. I am not sure if anyone will see this or read it as I know this video is a few years old. I got this game last summer. My senior cat was nearing twenty years old. His health was in poor condition and my wife and I knew it. I had the cat since I was a senior in high school when he was only a few months old and took him on my journey into life as an adult. He was beside me every evening I was captivated by this games journey for weeks. We'd sleep on the couch together... He was dying and we booked the date to put him down. It was the last stretch of quality time with him even though he had no quality of life. Yet he would come to me to get picked up onto the couch and hang out with me for comfort.The themes of death and loss... really hit home hard while playing this game. The soundtrack by Bobby Krlic really resonated with me and still does. I can't help but tear up a bit when I hear certain parts of the soundtrack to this game. and I had to say goodbye to my best friend days after finishing this game. It will stick with me forever and I am not sure I can ever play it again. I bought the soundtrack vinyl to display as it means so much to me. Thanks for navigating life with me and I hope I didn't make any mistakes along the way. I miss you Earl.
I agree, this was so inmersive and detailed for a rogue like. Combat was engaging and fast paced, but very rewarding for getting good. This is definitely not a game for everybody, but if you get hooked you'll uncover one of the most beautiful games ever made. Incredible
It's normal for these types of games. Dead cells is super popular but the amount of people that even got to the true final boss is probably less than 5%.
@@bruhder5854 fair point, but Dead Cells doesnt go for $50-$60. i don't mind paying near full price for a AAA title if I know I'm (legit) able to finish it.
@@Blearcord But that's kind of the fun part of games as well. When we were little and played supermario for example. Some levels felt impossible maybe but you eventually get through it by getting better, it feels great.
There is a shortcut to each level you unlock. Once you beat the biome 1 boss and you die and go back to the beginning you can run to biome 2 in a minute or 2. The portal is permanently unlocked and there's a pick up at each biome to increase proficiency to that area. Not advised as you want to increase health in each area.
Man..i have this and still didnt play it for real...my problem was the "no save system"...max nailed the point that lof of people cant afford to play more than 3 hours per day.. i have two little kids and two jobs... so it was impossible to play..but now with the option to suspend the cycle i can play it... i reached the first boss and im loving the game...the gameplay is amazing... im playing this game and halo infinite.... both games are incredible.
This is among my favorite games of 2021 as well. Such a nice surprise. I love almost everything about this game. Story was gripping. Gameplay is absolutely insane and satisfying. Art direction and theme is very well thought out and executed. But I think the one thing that elevated this game for me as one of the best is its Sound Track. Oh my god! What an absolute master class in audio design and immersive music and building atmosphere. The Hyperion build up was nothing short of genius..and all of the tracks for the bosses were insanely good. Especially Phrike, Nemesis, Hyperion and Ophion.. wait.. that's almost all of them.. well that's because everything here is brilliant and very well done. My only gripe is that I wish there were more bioms and bosses. Very happy for Housemarque to be back this strongly and congrats to every single dev that worked on delivering this amazing video game. I still have to get the platinum (Damn you RNG lol) but I absolutely will one day!
Well deserve. My personal theory - Selene has been on Atropos since the very start of the civilization we called the "sentient". Case and point being most if not all of their techs are compatible with Selene's suit and OS. They also named her the creator (and the destroyer)
The score was done by Bobby Krlic ( The Haxan Cloak) he's one of my favorite producers. Knowing that they added a save feature makes me want to play this. Thanks Max
It's extremely underrated since it's a new IP exclusive to a next gen system. Most people I've spoken to who completed the game consider it their GOTY as well. I really hope they turn it into a series with Scouts exploring deep space and getting into all sorts of mythological fuckery.
I had a similar feeling last year. The Last of us part 2 definitely didn't deserve it, my personal choices were either FF7 or Ghost of Tsushima. However this year I wasn't too bothered as it lost out to It Takes Two and Resident Evil Village, both incredible games in their own right. I just think Returnal only appeals to a niche audience which is why it isn't as popular as it should be. Im just glad Deathloop didn't win, don't get me wrong it was also incredible but had quite a few short comings
@@Wi11iamNZ i felt like the last of us 2 deserved it, that game was incredible, the story and gameplay were awesome, I was not attached to Joel so I didn't care that he died, characters die that's the way it goes in a post apocalyptic world. Ghost of Tsushima was awesome however very hard to beat TLOUS 2 that had the edge in the graphics department, it isn't all about gameplay and story jury that voted on the games also take Graphics advancements in considered, sure FF7 and Ghost of Tsushima looked great but not as even close to TLOUS 2 in terms of graphics , that's why TLOUS 2 deserved and took the award and the other aforementioned tittles.
Tbh that is a good way of putting it making the game more accessible by adding a save feature is a good thing since a lot people do not have time to enjoy games that require you do long runs to complete the main story or whatever to completion. In fact features where there are limited or no saves should really stay as optional difficulties for players with more time or wanting a challenge like in Lisa the painful with pain mode where you can only interact with a save crow once and it would explode even if you didn't actually save your game (yes i did this once by accident on my pain mode playthrough). I think it's good when games are made more accessible by adding better save features/mechanics and balancing tedious grind which isn't difficult and disability features (colourblind,visual alerts for deaft etc)vs making games more accessible for players who aren't willing to try to improve their skills for a game's intended difficulty like dark souls everyone who plays it blind first time sucks but the more you play the better you get and end up creating new tactics or making new discovering on handling enemies that were giving you problems before. But i will say its not wrong to have difficulty setting but if a developer chooses not have different difficulties to choose from it's their right to stand by it and each person experience difficulty differently finding it easier on hard or hard on easy. also some genres are just mean to be hard (unless its intentionally bs which is a different case altogether) like bullet hells are a genre i can barely do and i dare not touch the ones that require pixel perfect movement to avoid every bullet. but good vid max
I agree this game is awesome. My playthroughs sucked because we have rolling blackouts, so my run would disappear everyday. I quit. Now that they have fixed the save feature I will give it another chance.
I've been waiting for this video! As soon as I beat the final boss back in May, I headed to TH-cam and watched your playthrough and your reaction. I loved watching someone else love this game! One of my favorite games ever. I was so hooked. My very first platinum. Thanks for the great year of content, dood!
Really a phenomenal game, don't be put off by the difficulty. It's really not that bad and quite a lot of your progress will actually remain. The only negative I have is that the platinum trophy wasn't fun due to the random nature of the game and I got a couple of bugs too.
Damn freaking right man this game was also my game of the year. The gameplay is just too good. Come on Housemarque pleaseeee make DLC for this game. Even if it’s a small DLC.
There's a comicbook character called Resurrection Man, everytime he dies he gets a different power. Someone should try and convince WB to make that concept into a rogue-like game.
This game was the absolute biggest surprise for me! So incredibly fun and rewarding man! Beaten it so many times and I'm so close to the Platinum trophy too.
Couldn't ask for a better situation for Housemarque, Returnal ended up doing everything I wanted. Stick to crisp Arcade bullet-hell with a AAA twist. I hope Sony allow this for the future of Housemarque's DNA as they already announced their goodbyes from pure Arcade experiences R.I.P, also QA test the downfalls of systems a bit better. Maybe Max gets a chance in the far future he plays Resogun one day
This game frickin rocks! Easily the best game of last year,such an incredible feeling when i finally beat it .Every run feels different,,and a really hard game to put down ! Just gotta get that secret ending now.:)
picked this up because of this video and it's kicking my butt. I thought I'd learn it pretty fast since I'm good at Hades but it's crazy how much the third person perspective changes things
gameplay's pretty different from Hades, you'll have to get used to the twitchy shootbang. A few tips to try out: turn on 'always sprint' (made a huge difference for me), set the aim assist to high, move dash to R1 so you have it closer to the fire button. Dash gives i-frames and there's hardly any cooldown so use it all the time. You can also increase the size of the crrosshair. That and try to keep the fire button pressed instead of spamming it so you can hit your active reloads. Otherwise you'll mistime it if you spam the fire button.
still haven't got a PS5, yet. But when I do, Returnal will be the first game I play on it. I saw your playthrough and Excessive Profanity's and I felt the enjoyment you both had when playing it. Its not often when a game comes along and fully engulfs you into it and want to find every bit of information possible in order to piece together the full story. When it does, the experience sticks with you for a very long time. To the point where if someone asks you what are some of your favorite games you've played, Returnal is one that is in the front of your mind.
Yeahhhhh, I was all interested until I've heard the no-save and dedication-needed part. There goes my interest in a flash, I don't and can't play THAT long for most of the time.
Honestly kinda conflicted about Returnal myself. I loved every freaking second of the gameplay but there just wasn't enough of it, I beat the final boss in around 15 hours. Was actually legit shocked when the credits started rolling, I was just like "that's it?" But honestly what made it so bad was how poorly implemented the post-credit grind is for Act 3 (and the plat if you go for it, which I did.) Everything after the final boss is just collectibles so there is no reason to actually fight any enemies. I learnt that the hard way too, cause I spent another like 10 hours going for the collectibles but got annoyed at the RNG so I said f it and just started skipping everything (minus rooms in lockdown obviously) and made more progress in like 3 hours than I had in the previous 10. Wish they'd done like lots of other roguelikes/lites and made it so after you beat the final boss the game got harder and then tied fragment farming to harder versions of the bosses since there is no real reason to fight them more than once. And also just made the other collectibles random drops so you didn't have to keep resetting runs looking for specific rooms.
@@None38389 bloodborne is at 15% and that was on ps plus and on its ps plus collection thing. That 10% for returnal is for people interested enough to buy it, that’s extremely low.
just imagine, when this game was first announced people were not interested at all and were saying it looked bad, talk about a shocking development huh? i really hope they do more with this game, the ending still has me ultra confused for the most part, i get it and i don't at the same time
I'll put my hand up and say that the trailers didn't enthuse me. But then I saw what it was actually, and the reviews, and I got interested. Just got it, so I'm very early days. Have hit the first boss once. I like it so far.
The best games i have played these last few years were all roguelike or metroidvanias, so i not surprised. Hades, Dead Cells, Monster Train, Hollow Knight they are all addictive, in a good way... a healthy way of addictive.
I knew Max was talking about Hyperion as soon as he started talking about the bosses. That whole build up and boss fight was an audio-visual treat I had chills, I was (quite literally) ascending. If you've played Returnal you know why. 👀
It is ascending that allows you to finally turn off the music ;)
It was the only way you could find the "keys" to your trauma 👀
@@infinitybelt that was a good one I like it 😂
Seriously. Hyperion wasn't a boss, Hyperion was a whole effing experience.
Wow Rock Howard is the game of the year amazing Max congratulations
AGAIN???
He can’t keep getting away with it!!😩
"I don't believe it!"
The Rock Howard Everywhere System
@@Fasumbra you aren't allowed to mention that, they may be watching man
I knew it was Balan Wonderworld!!!
I'm a sucker for mystery plots. The little clues hidden around everywhere and being able to put them together is so special. Definitely my goty for 2021
Same, I love Remedy's "Control" for that
Wow. Three different Metroid games on Max’s Top 5. What a great year for Metroid games and the fans alike!
He only played 6 games lol
Despite the bugs that plagued the achievement hunting in this game, getting the Platinum for it was an incredible experience. I absolutely loved my time playing this game. I was completely hooked.
I loved this game so much that I watched all the streams and videos of Maximillian playing it, definitely game of the year for me as well
I loved everything about this game. The visuals, gameplay, the lore, the audio…the DAMN AUDIO! As a sci-fi nut this was so awesome. For me, it did Metroid better than Metroid Dread, the shooting mechanics were better than Ratchet and Clank and the sound of those drones were more terrifying than anything in RE8. I anticipated and expected those games to be great and they were but they weren’t Returnal, my game of the year also! Excellent choice Max!!
It's kind of unfair to compare this massive game being on the PS5 to Dread that came from an indie team for the Switch. Atmosphere and immersion is a huge thing for Metroid and Returnal alike, and they do share similarities outside of that too. Also, the dollhouse section in RE8 is pretty freaking terrifying lol. Returnal is amazing though :)
@@samy29987 HouseMarque is half the size of the Dread developers
Returnal is also my GotY 😌
In addition to the amazing gameplay, the haptics and 3D audio are superb.
Climbing the tree to Hyperion and hearing the organ intensify is an astonishing goosebump inducing experience that will stay with me forever. If you like gaming and scifi, you just have to play this game.
Even though I watched Max play this before having a chance to on my roommate's PS5, that eerie tingling on my neck was just as intense as I climbed that spire.
It was the highlight of the game for me. It almost felt like a reward of sorts as I struggled and was squashed multiple times to make it through biome 3 and take that fucker nemesis down. After entering biome 4 and making my way to Hyperion, like you said, goosebumps. I new right there is was one of the best games I've played in recent memory.
@@Wi11iamNZ THE highlight indeed, also glad to read I wasn't the only one having a hard time with biome 3
To me gameplay wise, Returnal plays a whole lot like what I'd imagine a "modern Sonic" equivalent of Megaman X would play like.
I can easily imagine a Megaman X skin mod feeling so perfect that you'd think it was X Adventure or some shit
Megaman Legends : Horror Genre Edition probably?
YESSS
I completely overlooked this game, but after watching this I'm now interesting. If only I had a ps5
There are rumors that's coming to PC so you have a GPU with enough vram you may be able to play it sometime this year or early next year Sony's kind of slow with their PC releases.
@@Eja_Shaki pog
@@Eja_Shaki When Microsoft stops being so aggressive in the market then maybe Sony will allow them to play they’re excellent titles that Xbox are so incompetent to make themselves..
Housemarque really risked it all with this and they knocked it outa the park for sure
And it only sold 500,000 copies and only 10% even played it past act II........Its also blatantly obvious why, being one of those people who finished the game and likely wont go back any time soon....
Its kinda garbage that you can get seeds that don't have shortcuts so IF you die and your 4 areas deep you might just have to work your way back through 3 to get to that 4th....Its also kinda garbage that you can't keep guns and upgrades between biomes. Even the worst rogue-like games allow you to collect and keep everything between dungeons/areas.
Pistol starting with a level zero proficiency at the first area is kinda garbage when you get deep into the game and are hilariously expected to get all the way back to where you were to maybe get part of your proficiency back..And I have friends who wont even play it because of terrible design like that, yet love normal rogue-like games....Without a doubt there wont be a sequel.
@@lutherheggs451 those sales are still good and the game is by far one of the best this year
@@lutherheggs451 You can keep guns and upgrades between biomes though. Shortcuts are persistent so you just didn't find them. Sounds like you suck at the game honestly.
@@lutherheggs451 you can keep weapons and upgrades between biomes. You can also take a shortcut straight to your most recent biome from the first biome.
You also get proficiency upgrades at the start of each biome so there's no penalty to skipping a biome.
Also 10% of people got the true ending and about 24% rolled credits and got the shorter ending. Getting the true ending doesn't really have any new content so it's more for people who want to keep playing or those who are invested in the story.
I'd recommend giving it a try if you like 3rd person shooters and sci fi.
@@lutherheggs451 You do know that 500,000 millions covers the entire budget for this game like 10 times right? In Sony eyes this is a huge win!! Like the joker movie that it had a budget of 60,000 only and it sold over 1.2 millions tickets that's a huge win bro the same thing happened to this. They got way more money outta it than that they put in it.
Not just game of the year, but Returnal is easily one of my favorite games ever. Very quickly rose up to join my favs like Hollow Knight, Monster Hunter, and Phantasy Star Online
What an amazing game. Max giving this high praise eventually making this his game of the year is well deserved. Much like how Metroid dread is a must buy for Switch owners, people should definitely check this one out when they have the chance.
The boss fights here are insane despite having so few, the very definition of quality over quantity. Hyperion (piano boss) was definitely my favorite.
Also, kudos to the devs for adding a save option. They didn't have to do it, but tye fact that they did shows they are willing to listen to feedback and make this game accessible to a wider range of audience.
Hyperion and the first boss were absolutely the most fun in a video game I've had since my d*mn childhood dude!
Fun fact: only 30.3 percent of Returnal players finished Act 1, about 23 percent finished Act 2, and about 10 percent finished Act 3.
Seems like most people who bought this game didn’t beat it.
To be fair act 3 involves revisiting areas you've been to for collectibles and then fighting the final boss one more time. I enjoyed it because I love the gameplay but act 3 doesn't offer any new content outside of two story sequences. Plus after act 2 you get an ending and the credits roll so I'm sure a lot of people were unaware there was more to do.
I finished Act 3 a day after I thought I finished the game. I thought act 2 was the ending, but then I saw trophies that are still hidden and thought my trophies glitched out, so I checked online and saw a screenshot of a scene I didn't see before so I went back into it to find anything I can, and voila; There were more stuff to do. 😅 Loved getting the true ending tho
"Seems like most people who bought this game didn’t beat it." this is true for most games. I remember when tlou2 showed something like a 55% completion rate and that was apparently unheard of.
Yeah this game taught me that I don’t like rogue likes lol.
@@reed1645 I agree I beat act 2 and when I saw act 3 changed almost nothing I didn't bother
This was a game that touched me in a very different way. Such a beautiful and incredible experience. Bought it day 1.
My local priest also touched me in a different way
Uncle Rick touches me differently, in a cabin, at Gatlinburg, a lot.
Poor phrasing bro..
Story time. I am not sure if anyone will see this or read it as I know this video is a few years old.
I got this game last summer. My senior cat was nearing twenty years old. His health was in poor condition and my wife and I knew it. I had the cat since I was a senior in high school when he was only a few months old and took him on my journey into life as an adult.
He was beside me every evening I was captivated by this games journey for weeks. We'd sleep on the couch together... He was dying and we booked the date to put him down. It was the last stretch of quality time with him even though he had no quality of life. Yet he would come to me to get picked up onto the couch and hang out with me for comfort.The themes of death and loss... really hit home hard while playing this game. The soundtrack by Bobby Krlic really resonated with me and still does. I can't help but tear up a bit when I hear certain parts of the soundtrack to this game. and I had to say goodbye to my best friend days after finishing this game.
It will stick with me forever and I am not sure I can ever play it again. I bought the soundtrack vinyl to display as it means so much to me. Thanks for navigating life with me and I hope I didn't make any mistakes along the way. I miss you Earl.
❤
RIP Earl ❤
I agree, this was so inmersive and detailed for a rogue like. Combat was engaging and fast paced, but very rewarding for getting good. This is definitely not a game for everybody, but if you get hooked you'll uncover one of the most beautiful games ever made. Incredible
isnt the completion rate somewhere around 10%? thats what scares me away from it.
It's normal for these types of games. Dead cells is super popular but the amount of people that even got to the true final boss is probably less than 5%.
@@bruhder5854 fair point, but Dead Cells doesnt go for $50-$60. i don't mind paying near full price for a AAA title if I know I'm (legit) able to finish it.
@@jfncho that’s my problem, 70 quid for a game I might be unable to actually be any good at is not happening.
@@Blearcord But that's kind of the fun part of games as well. When we were little and played supermario for example. Some levels felt impossible maybe but you eventually get through it by getting better, it feels great.
@@twopeople158 for me the desire is still there, its the old man hands and reflexes that are getting in the way lol
There is a shortcut to each level you unlock. Once you beat the biome 1 boss and you die and go back to the beginning you can run to biome 2 in a minute or 2. The portal is permanently unlocked and there's a pick up at each biome to increase proficiency to that area.
Not advised as you want to increase health in each area.
You and the Easy Allies had Returnal as the GOTY, all is good for me.
So my dad busted out a camera when I was fighting the 2nd boss like it was 90s because I was blowing his mind that was dead in 2 seconds.
Man..i have this and still didnt play it for real...my problem was the "no save system"...max nailed the point that lof of people cant afford to play more than 3 hours per day.. i have two little kids and two jobs... so it was impossible to play..but now with the option to suspend the cycle i can play it... i reached the first boss and im loving the game...the gameplay is amazing... im playing this game and halo infinite.... both games are incredible.
Returnal is just fking great
This is among my favorite games of 2021 as well. Such a nice surprise. I love almost everything about this game. Story was gripping. Gameplay is absolutely insane and satisfying. Art direction and theme is very well thought out and executed.
But I think the one thing that elevated this game for me as one of the best is its Sound Track. Oh my god! What an absolute master class in audio design and immersive music and building atmosphere. The Hyperion build up was nothing short of genius..and all of the tracks for the bosses were insanely good. Especially Phrike, Nemesis, Hyperion and Ophion.. wait.. that's almost all of them.. well that's because everything here is brilliant and very well done. My only gripe is that I wish there were more bioms and bosses.
Very happy for Housemarque to be back this strongly and congrats to every single dev that worked on delivering this amazing video game. I still have to get the platinum (Damn you RNG lol) but I absolutely will one day!
Pipe organs played by a literal boss blew my mind
Returnal was the game of the year. Idk why it takes 2 won.
Probably because it takes 2 was better for most
@@alteredizzy it probably wasnt
@@lckfan3696 imo it was
Better story
Wayyy more creative and different
Art style
Music
Especially if you have a partner to play it with.
Change your jump and dash to L1 and R1. Doing this will keep your thumbs on the analog sticks and make your runs way easier.
Well deserve.
My personal theory - Selene has been on Atropos since the very start of the civilization we called the "sentient". Case and point being most if not all of their techs are compatible with Selene's suit and OS. They also named her the creator (and the destroyer)
The score was done by Bobby Krlic ( The Haxan Cloak) he's one of my favorite producers. Knowing that they added a save feature makes me want to play this. Thanks Max
That’s high praise.
It's extremely underrated since it's a new IP exclusive to a next gen system. Most people I've spoken to who completed the game consider it their GOTY as well. I really hope they turn it into a series with Scouts exploring deep space and getting into all sorts of mythological fuckery.
Ooooh, I like that man! Builds on the world without forcing Selene's narrative beyond the tight package we got.
@@Alex_Logan22 It's both, right? But the psychological part is a bit more of a spoiler.
This is my GOTY as well, I feel like the Game Awards robbed this game.
I had a similar feeling last year. The Last of us part 2 definitely didn't deserve it, my personal choices were either FF7 or Ghost of Tsushima. However this year I wasn't too bothered as it lost out to It Takes Two and Resident Evil Village, both incredible games in their own right. I just think Returnal only appeals to a niche audience which is why it isn't as popular as it should be. Im just glad Deathloop didn't win, don't get me wrong it was also incredible but had quite a few short comings
@@Wi11iamNZ i felt like the last of us 2 deserved it, that game was incredible, the story and gameplay were awesome, I was not attached to Joel so I didn't care that he died, characters die that's the way it goes in a post apocalyptic world.
Ghost of Tsushima was awesome however very hard to beat TLOUS 2 that had the edge in the graphics department, it isn't all about gameplay and story jury that voted on the games also take Graphics advancements in considered, sure FF7 and Ghost of Tsushima looked great but not as even close to TLOUS 2 in terms of graphics , that's why TLOUS 2 deserved and took the award and the other aforementioned tittles.
Tbh that is a good way of putting it making the game more accessible by adding a save feature is a good thing since a lot people do not have time to enjoy games that require you do long runs to complete the main story or whatever to completion. In fact features where there are limited or no saves should really stay as optional difficulties for players with more time or wanting a challenge like in Lisa the painful with pain mode where you can only interact with a save crow once and it would explode even if you didn't actually save your game (yes i did this once by accident on my pain mode playthrough).
I think it's good when games are made more accessible by adding better save features/mechanics and balancing tedious grind which isn't difficult and disability features (colourblind,visual alerts for deaft etc)vs making games more accessible for players who aren't willing to try to improve their skills for a game's intended difficulty like dark souls everyone who plays it blind first time sucks but the more you play the better you get and end up creating new tactics or making new discovering on handling enemies that were giving you problems before. But i will say its not wrong to have difficulty setting but if a developer chooses not have different difficulties to choose from it's their right to stand by it and each person experience difficulty differently finding it easier on hard or hard on easy. also some genres are just mean to be hard (unless its intentionally bs which is a different case altogether) like bullet hells are a genre i can barely do and i dare not touch the ones that require pixel perfect movement to avoid every bullet.
but good vid max
I agree 100%. I beat the game 5 times already and is still not 100% complete. It is my mission to unlock every trophy and platinum this damn game!!!
People swear to christ a 3D third person Metroid would never work but here's returnal showing them otherwise
I agree this game is awesome. My playthroughs sucked because we have rolling blackouts, so my run would disappear everyday. I quit. Now that they have fixed the save feature I will give it another chance.
I've been waiting for this video! As soon as I beat the final boss back in May, I headed to TH-cam and watched your playthrough and your reaction. I loved watching someone else love this game!
One of my favorite games ever. I was so hooked. My very first platinum. Thanks for the great year of content, dood!
I had 2 crashes at the final boss and quit. Now I'm too lazy to go back.
Really a phenomenal game, don't be put off by the difficulty. It's really not that bad and quite a lot of your progress will actually remain. The only negative I have is that the platinum trophy wasn't fun due to the random nature of the game and I got a couple of bugs too.
Wdym the difficulty wasn't that bad? It's an easy game.
1 cypher away from platinum... my sanity is withering away
@@bruhder5854 🤓
@@dar_qness7890 oof I've been there... it's rough. which area are you searching?
@Kuma this was one of the most fun games I played all last year
Damn freaking right man this game was also my game of the year. The gameplay is just too good. Come on Housemarque pleaseeee make DLC for this game. Even if it’s a small DLC.
There's a comicbook character called Resurrection Man, everytime he dies he gets a different power.
Someone should try and convince WB to make that concept into a rogue-like game.
This game was the absolute biggest surprise for me! So incredibly fun and rewarding man! Beaten it so many times and I'm so close to the Platinum trophy too.
Returnal is such a great game, I still need to go back and beat it lol
Max's slow evolution from retro and fighting games only to roguelike fanboy is something I'm 100% on board with.
My game of the year for 2021 is 2015's The Witcher 3 and UnMetal. That's the kind of year it's been for gaming.
Wish you and Jessica would stream
It Takes Two, i think you will really like it
GOTY for me was Guardians of the Galaxy with Resident Evil 8 as a very close 2nd
Couldn't ask for a better situation for Housemarque, Returnal ended up doing everything I wanted. Stick to crisp Arcade bullet-hell with a AAA twist. I hope Sony allow this for the future of Housemarque's DNA as they already announced their goodbyes from pure Arcade experiences R.I.P, also QA test the downfalls of systems a bit better. Maybe Max gets a chance in the far future he plays Resogun one day
A multiplayer dlc would be sick af
YESS MAX! Finally somebody with some damn sense!
This game frickin rocks! Easily the best game of last year,such an incredible feeling when i finally beat it .Every run feels different,,and a really hard game to put down ! Just gotta get that secret ending now.:)
Returnal is oustanding. It's a piece of art.
Definitely GOTY and this game deserves all the praise and awards it's been getting.
Max , is there any chance of revisiting some of your favorite Transformers games?
picked this up because of this video and it's kicking my butt. I thought I'd learn it pretty fast since I'm good at Hades but it's crazy how much the third person perspective changes things
gameplay's pretty different from Hades, you'll have to get used to the twitchy shootbang. A few tips to try out: turn on 'always sprint' (made a huge difference for me), set the aim assist to high, move dash to R1 so you have it closer to the fire button. Dash gives i-frames and there's hardly any cooldown so use it all the time. You can also increase the size of the crrosshair. That and try to keep the fire button pressed instead of spamming it so you can hit your active reloads. Otherwise you'll mistime it if you spam the fire button.
Were in this together… RETURNAL IS MASTERPIECE.
Returnal 2: Returnaler
Returnal was great, but SMT5 all day.
You Are Not Alone
You must absolutely play the Metroid Prime series
still haven't got a PS5, yet. But when I do, Returnal will be the first game I play on it. I saw your playthrough and Excessive Profanity's and I felt the enjoyment you both had when playing it. Its not often when a game comes along and fully engulfs you into it and want to find every bit of information possible in order to piece together the full story. When it does, the experience sticks with you for a very long time. To the point where if someone asks you what are some of your favorite games you've played, Returnal is one that is in the front of your mind.
Walmart plus drop Jan 13 at 3pm est
Just found this now and couldn't agree more!
Other people make it a mystery revealing their Gotys . Max puts custom arts of them on the thumbnail 😭
This game gives me heavy enter the gungeon vibes
I agree. Bought it later in the year and became my favourite of 2021. Props to Housemarque!
Yeahhhhh, I was all interested until I've heard the no-save and dedication-needed part.
There goes my interest in a flash, I don't and can't play THAT long for most of the time.
Alright dood, you've convinced me. Im going to check it out!
I agree with everything and want to add 1 thing; this game has the best TELEPORTATION ANIMATION I’ve ever seen in any form of media
Did Max ever play Risk of Rain 2? Seems like he would love it.
I'm hoping for a PC version of this game as well, since I don't have a PS5 and they are almost impossible to get.
BALAN WONDERWORLD WE ALL KNEW IT
I just like how its open ended as to whether atropos is real or not
Supa Mario Brothers 2!
Still the king
Honestly kinda conflicted about Returnal myself. I loved every freaking second of the gameplay but there just wasn't enough of it, I beat the final boss in around 15 hours. Was actually legit shocked when the credits started rolling, I was just like "that's it?" But honestly what made it so bad was how poorly implemented the post-credit grind is for Act 3 (and the plat if you go for it, which I did.) Everything after the final boss is just collectibles so there is no reason to actually fight any enemies. I learnt that the hard way too, cause I spent another like 10 hours going for the collectibles but got annoyed at the RNG so I said f it and just started skipping everything (minus rooms in lockdown obviously) and made more progress in like 3 hours than I had in the previous 10.
Wish they'd done like lots of other roguelikes/lites and made it so after you beat the final boss the game got harder and then tied fragment farming to harder versions of the bosses since there is no real reason to fight them more than once. And also just made the other collectibles random drops so you didn't have to keep resetting runs looking for specific rooms.
Returnal and RE village were my goty
Glad people agree
I really hope Max plays Dead Cells or Enter the Gungeon sometime.
Yeah, also easily my GOTY of 2021. And yeah Hyperion best Boss of 2021 :D
Damn i have to try '' Returnal '' soon !
Only 10% of the people who played this game have finished it. It's actually really sad. Thank god I did and it's also my goty.
I mean that goes for any souls games too.
@@None38389 bloodborne is at 15% and that was on ps plus and on its ps plus collection thing. That 10% for returnal is for people interested enough to buy it, that’s extremely low.
just finished the first half of the game...just wow...incredible
Can't belive Top 3 games of the year are all Metroid.
It used to be RE8 but then i played Returnal afterward!
So yeah it is GOTY! So addictive!
The year max became a Metroid fan, and he hasn't even gotten to Prime yet.
I only got to play a little at my brothers house because I still don't have a PlayStation 5. I did enjoy what I did get to play.
Bought it, kept doing the same shit over and over and I got lost. Gave up but I’ll try again. Any tips????
Sadly, no fighting game on Max's top five.
just imagine, when this game was first announced people were not interested at all and were saying it looked bad, talk about a shocking development huh? i really hope they do more with this game, the ending still has me ultra confused for the most part, i get it and i don't at the same time
I'll put my hand up and say that the trailers didn't enthuse me. But then I saw what it was actually, and the reviews, and I got interested. Just got it, so I'm very early days. Have hit the first boss once. I like it so far.
Hopefully come out for pc soon.
Awesome game, coming from Metroid Dread it fell right in the vybes
Returnal is the first good 3D Metroidvania
Did Max get the secret ending?
The best games i have played these last few years were all roguelike or metroidvanias, so i not surprised.
Hades, Dead Cells, Monster Train, Hollow Knight they are all addictive, in a good way... a healthy way of addictive.
Returnal is a masterpiece
It is a Hades like game and that's why I love it!
I second everything you said.
def thought you were going to pick metroid :p
Gotta be real here: I forgot the PS5 was already out until just now. Also, nice girl butt.