

People don't have time to reply levels over and over again and that novelity wears off quickly. I have put hours into this game since launch and I am done until this feature is added. This game completely wastes your time without a save or checkpoint feature. Returnal clearly heralds a new era for Housemarque, in terms of turning the focused arcade-blasting likes of Super Stardust HD into quest-worthy 3D action. But this is the stuff that keeps Sony fanboys drooling: ambitious new IP that succeeds more than it fails while turning the familiar into something fresh. But I won't blame anyone for having less patience with Returnal's uneven ambition (or its $70 price point, which, from what I've seen, does not favorably compare to last year's $60 Last of Us Part 2 or Ghost of Tsushima, also published by Sony). Maybe some of my positive bias comes from dreams of a sequel, which might build upon Housemarque's first stab at the genre.
CRITICAL MALFUNCTION RETURNAL FULL
I needed a full 10 hours for its combat and universe to click in a crucial, "I want to beat this game" way, and I'm still left wondering how many good ideas and systems were left out of this game just to get its sky-high aspirations out the door. I really like Returnal, but if you check the Ars Slack logs, you'll find that I complained quite a bit along the way.
