Returnal Team Out to Prove It's More Than Just the 'Resogun Studio'

I wish they make metroidvania with returnal gameplay for their next game 😃

I beginning to think maybe returnal gameplay is how 2D megaman can be made to 3D games, pure arcade shooting with great evade system but no cover/hiding gameplay.

Well they've certainly achieved that imho.

Returnal deserves to be on the GOTY shortlist.

@Xenomorph_79 You will be waiting for a loong time for this game to be on ps plus, sony is not microsoft that gave their games day one on gamepass. If you want discount, sony usually gave it after it's been on the market for 6 month and up.

I dont know wtf 🤔 is sony is waiting for to buy 🏠 housemarque and bluepoint studio.both studios are worthy of aquisition.word up son

@Xenomorph_79 "especially a new IP"

I'd much rather support a new IP than yet another sequel (much as I've enjoyed lots of them).

i prefer save state been loving that for years. this is s run and gun game for me

I don't have a ps5 yet, but I'm looking forward to giving returnal a try and see how far I get on it, lol. I hope Sony will buy housemarque soon, if only to keep Microsoft and their grubby hands away.

@Xenomorph_79 I’ve played for 50+ hours and the only bug I’ve experienced is some sound cutting out. Meanwhile I’ve played Resident Evil Village for less than 10 hours and am near the end of the game. Though I can appreciate Returnal is on the expensive side I certainly think Its been worth the money. I’ve rolled credits, completed the third act and am close to the platinum and it keeps pulling me back in for more.

@Xenomorph_79 If an unpolished game like like Outriders or a short experience like RE8 go for $60 than Returnal is fairly priced. Nintendo is charging $60 for Skyward Sword plus $25 for its cheat code and plastic amiibo. If Returnal is unfairly priced, than 99% of games are as well.

I agree £70 is probably to much for alot people but speaking on digital stand point I managed to get £100 PSN for £73, I also share PSN accounts so me and my friend have both got a copy actually makes it dirt cheap probably cheaper than a uber eats takeaway for the whole family..... In terms of sales you're suggesting it sold bad but hearing housemarque on a podcast they were saying how sales have been alot better than expected and I really hope so bcus I've loved the game so much, hoping they add too it.

I'm no expert but personally I'm not sure pricing it at $60 would make a huge impact on Returnal's sales.
It was never going to the biggest game sales-wise, because:

• it's a new IP by a studio not associated with AAA games
• the word "rougelike" alone makes many people stay away
• they made sure that it's very clear that it's a difficult game that makes you start over when you die (maybe overdone it a bit because honestly it's not that bad)

I hope it sells enough to meet expectations. Other than that, I think Housemarque already proved they're ready to move into the AAA games space.

It sure has its tentacles in me. Phenomenal game. Will certainly be keeping an eye on what Housemarque work on next.

The slower sales are likely due to it being a PS5 exclusive. Being a very difficult rogue-like also means its appeal is limited even to PS5 owners but as more PS5s get out there, the game will low key keep selling. If their next game hits when a lot more people have a PS5, then it could sell big numbers fast.

This Game is €39.99 game . No game is worth €70 , I own a couple of hundred PS4 games im actually replaying a few since they got a FPS upgrade , PS4 sales on the store are good i can wait till PS5 games come down in price , Sony need to wake up .

I’m totally happy with my purchase of Returnal and I know there are lots of other people who feel the same despite the message some people seem determined to spread. This is a fantastic new IP with some brilliant gameplay and an intriguing story.

Ok there have been a few problems and the difficulty plus lack of save might have lost it some sales but I think it still sold well enough for HM and Sony to recoup their investment. I really hope that they can carry this experience and momentum into their next project and produce something equally as outstanding and original.

@Xenomorph_79 I got only 1 crash when playing this game (the launch + day 1 patch version), the game bugs are being greatly exaggerated by people.

The save game isn't perfect though, I want "save & quit" as much as next guy, but the gameplay is so good that I just want to finish the game now rather than later. I prefer $60 price but additional $10 is okay for true next-gen games, I already got ps5, I don't want to play only ps4 games with 60 fps patch.

@Xenomorph_79 don't waste your time with this lot mate. Anyone that argues £70 is worth it for ANY game is living in a dream world, thinking Sony is their pal. You can't reason with them.

sorry Housemarque but games that are too hard and waste my time arnt my thing

@playstation1995 if they can save themselves the cost of buying the studios, which may not want to be bought, and still get exclusives from them why bother?

This is what their reationship with Insomniac used to be and it worked for a looong time. Things changed when Insomniac had some misfires prior to Spider-Man, and the acquisition became mutually beneficial.

@playstation1995 Well the current heads of Sony need to see that they are indeed worth purchasing. I don't mean seeing the studios release high quality games but bringing in lots of revenue, mountains of profits if possible.

Personally I think everyone is fine the way they are although I could definitely see Microsoft going after Bluepoint at some point so they can do remakes from their back catalog.

@AdamNovice people forget there are 1000%+ more customers buying games than there was back then.

Edit: got there in the end.

I think they have definitely proved they can do more! And if the next game is an improvement in any way on Returnal then it will no doubt be a success.

@Juanalf. Microsoft bluepoint.worst comment on pushsquare.no history with micro you so soft😱😄😳😃.haha.word up son

@AdamNovice i'm just saying with the amount of customers there are now, games have no reason to go back up to £70 anyway. Only the arcade conversions had mad difficulty as they were designed to be that way. Nintendo games where perfectly balanced.

@Ward_ting agreed. Well worth the 70 I put into it. If we measure content and hours as price then I don’t understand how 30+ hours isn’t worth 70. People paid 60 for REVillage and beat it in 10 hours, yet I see very few complaints. This is my GOTY right now and this is from someone who plays a lot of games (as we all do).

@playstation1995 "worst comment on pushsquare"

That coming from you of all people is as big a insult as one can possibly get 😑

Good. If that chip on the devs shoulder will push them to even greater heights in the future than I'm all for it.
When you're in the creative field, you have to keep challenging yourself. It keeps things fresh and innovative.

70 $ isn't that much more than 60$. Yes it's one less game over the course of the year, but not enough for me to bite my tongue and pass up a fantastic game to move to the top of my list.

Hopefully this game gets a second wind when more consoles are made available as the fact it's PS5 only and a very hard rouguelike game limit the potential audience.
If I was Sony, I'd give them another shot at a big budget game, but maybe something with more mainstream appeal or more accessible.

Well worth the money for me. Value is subjective and I’ll get 80 hours out of this no problem. I’ve enjoyed every minute thus far.

It’s frustrating because the vast majority of comments are blanket “I would never pay £70 for a game” or “this is a £40 game”...yet none of these people profess to have actually played the game. Yes it may be a little niche and not to everybody’s taste but that shouldn’t warrant the bashing some of these guys give it.

Housemarque will always be the Outland studio to me!

@playstation1995 - Bluepoint handled the Titanfall port for 360 as well as the Metal Gear ports. Sure, they've done more for Sony but to say there's no history with Microsoft is wrong.

@weR1youR2Podcast AC Valhalla should be over £100 then with that rationale.

@Xenomorph_79 Only thing I have to say is I COMPLETELY disagree. Returnal is not only worth the price but is the best release this year including RE.

Back on topic, I hope they add co-op to this game! Imagine bullet-hell with a buddy!

@Shigurui. Still no history.its like saying insomiac games did sunset overdrive and have history with Microsoft.come on playa.no way.word up son

@Juanalf. Bluepoint is signing with sony.the g.o.a.t of gaming 👑.word up son

@playstation1995 - Of course there's history, if I sleep with someone once then there's history. Even a rabid fanboy like you knows that dude.

@Xenomorph_79 personally, as you can see, I can't help myself 😂. Let them have it!

@NomNom absolutely right that you think like that, but in UK we had a £15 increase which is worth $23 give or take. I nearly bit my tongue off.

Edit: and we were already paying $74 for our games before the price hike.

@Shigurui. No i don't know dog.😏🤔.word up son

Nothing at all wrong with being "The Resogun Studio". the game was awesome and never left my PS4.

As for Returnal, looks great and I will play it. Not for £70 though. Happy to leave it a while a pick it up in a sale or second hand. Long gone are the days where I need to play a game on day one.

I was a bit skeptical about this game before release but it is highly addictive with that "just one more run" feel. My one mate was over the other day and he couldn't put it down and he is not into rogue lites. Totally worth full price (what constitutes full price us another story lol)

I never understood the strong backlash against this generation's $70 price tag, but will admit I come from a place of privilege: I chose not to have children, so I have disposable income. That said, I come from the era of the NES, where games cost (my parents) upwards of $50 - $60 — which, after adjusting for U.S. inflation, is equivalent to around $112 - $135 now. (And I remember hearing the insane prices of NeoGeo games being as much as $300 a pop back then, or $613 now!!!) So $70 for a game now in 2021 is not a big deal at all to me. And we all know these games cost upwards of $1M and more for these game studios to develop games with high-end 3D graphics. And a game like [Returnal] was most definitely worth its $70 price tag, to me

Gaming was never a cheap hobby, it is a luxury. And most of the great games that we play go on sale within 6 months, if not see a sharp price cut by the end of the calendar year ...

Just my 2¢ ...

@Loftimus $70 is totally a fair price for a game. Maybe you should check out the shovel ware they have on the mobile games market?

Returnal is one of those games where you can play and play and play and discover new things on your next run. They turned on the running into corpse feature recently and wow that has transformed the game even more. I’m on the fourth biome now and I must have poured in over 50 hours, my GOTY so far

@AgentGuapo yeah i've just said that, but £70 is pretty much $100. Is $100 a fair price for a game? No!

Housemarque are one of my fav developers of last/and a bit of the preious gen.

I went through the effort of importing the Asian alienation (despite already having the digital version)
I had to dig hard to find a physical matterfall (it didnt seem to get a release in the UK? Ended up asking someone to pick it from a gamstop from their trip into Europe)

I doubled up on the LRG print of Nex Machina.

Unfortunatly I dont have Returnal yet (I still been unable to pick up a PS5 at no scalper price)
But it is the first PS5 title that made me really want a console.

Even as big Housemarque fan the £70 price tag puts me off a little. Nothing against Housemarque. But had the UK got the same kinda hike as US (so its £50-£55) it would have been a no brainer.

But this is the first gen since the Nes days where I havent jumped onto the next gen day one. (mainly to do with supplies but partly to do with price increases)
Probably one of the few reason I would have for moving to America

@wiiware I actually thought the same thing the 1st day I played it

To all Americans: If all retailers in America started demanding $90 + tax for any (standard edition) ps5 game, would you pay it?

Housemarque went from an unknown studio in my eyes to one of the most exciting emerging prospects in the gaming industry moving forward, if they keep the same momentum, their next big budget title could be legendary!! I’ve never really cared to “support a studio” before learning more about these guys. Will buy this game again to see a sequel!

@Constable_What it depends which supermarket, but £70 can feed two for a week. It is a big ask for one game, especially for niche or family friendly games like we've been getting.

@Loftimus I paid £64 for it and don't regret it for a second, and I don't normally like roguelike games. The price and value of something is always subjective, nobody forces people to buy these games. I've put 30 plus hours in, lost count of how many deaths I've had and I still want to do one more run. The game is a masterpiece of gameplay and immersion. I've not had one crash or bug. I remember buying kirby on switch for my boy, £50, he beat it in 5 hours, that definitely wasn't worth the money. I don't think Sony are going to change their pricing structure at all this gen, so people against it are going to have to wait for sales this whole generation. Me personally, R&C looks amazing and has taken years to develop so my £70 is already down.

@Serialsid well done! I personally see no value in it, my £70 will be staying in my wallet and i'll buy them all dirt cheap at end of gen. I know for a fact i wont feel ripped off then. Thats a lot of my money being left on the table though, as i would have gladly paid £55 or begrudgingly paid £60 day 1.

@RavenWolfe81 What does a game being short matter? Saying stuff like that is how we get padded games. 8-10 quality hours is worth as much money as a great 100 hour game. It’s about the quality, not the length. In some cases, a game being shorter with so many long games increases its value to me.

@AdamNovice people have selective memories

Interesting topic and nice to see the same old whining going on from the usual suspects.

They'd probably complain if the game was £60 and still say they're going to wait for a sale. Why can't they just admit that they're tight?

😉

As for the game, I haven't got a PS5 unfortunately but this is definitely on my list. I have a feeling that I'll find it a challenge but an enjoyable one. Maybe by the time I do buy a PS5, Retunal will be on sale.

😝

No regrets buying this game. Just wish I didn't suck at it, haha.

Platinumed Returnal in about 72 hours. Good time-to-value ratio if you think in those terms.

Main problem I see on price is those in the UK get screwed on the conversion rate. I paid $70 + tax, why are they paying the equivalent of around $20 more? That should be addressed because the UK market is huge for Playstation.

@trev666

Returnal isn't too bad in terms of difficulty. I just think it has been very overstated. Died 5 times beating it the first time through, and one of those deaths was the intro sequence. And I'm by no means a pro MLG super gamer. Very average skill level, I just play slowly and collect all the resources in each map. This is not a hard game once it sort of clicks how to approach it. Explore slowly/thoroughly and fight aggressively with a lot of movement.

Their previous games - Resogun, Super Stardust, Dead Nation, etc. - were much tougher and I had a hard (but fun) time with those.

@Col_McCafferty They Aren't Tight If This Was a New Zelda Or GTA Game These Same People Would Buy It No Problem.

So maybe they should go back to arcade games which they are good at instead of this overhyped title instead?

In fact why didn't they make a cool arcade game for ps5 instead of this title?

I will buy this game but not yet .70 pounds in the uk not worth it no game is in my opinion if this was 40 pounds I would have got it day one without a doubt .but I will wait .I was giong to wait with resedent but tesco had for 40 pound ps5 version got it there and then

@huyi because the arcade games they were making didnt sell

Some shocking takes in these comments.

If you don’t think any game is worth £70 then you’re a bit of a clown and don’t really deserve to play games. Obviously the price can be subjective for games like Returnal which clearly are niche in its genre, but you’re telling me GTA V or The Witcher, Monster Hunter World or Wild Arms 3 aren’t worth £70 for 100+ hours of gameplay and enjoyment? Even Returnal is exceptional quality at 50+ hours, yet most of you haven’t even played it but a friend said this, or a family member said that...

Its like £0.75-£1 an hour!

Top quality games should be priced accordingly, if you don’t think its “fair” then find a new hobby or get GamePass.

@Jacko11 we paid £55 for all of those games, so how can they be worth £70? Sound like a bit of a clown/sonys prime target. Championing paying more isn't big or clever! You sound like a mug for happily paying more than its worth. Developers aren't struggling! Sony paid for returnals dev costs and housemarque didn't even know the game would be £70 until Sony let us all know.

You keep white knighting it for Sony. I'm sure they appreciate it...

@Xenomorph_79 I was of the same attitude about Returnal $70 for this sort of game just doesn't feel right. I was determined not to purchase it until after a discount, but I had some extra cash lying around and bought it on a whim. Is it worth $70? I think Sony is taking advantage of the lack of PS5 content and overcharging for this. That said, I am enjoying it quite a bit and I usually hate these types of games.

@Jacko11 I own the game and I'm not sure it is worth $70. What I do know is that the industry is enjoying the highest profits in their history and don't need to increase their profits. They are doing it because gaming media and gamers don't pay attention to economic data and trusted them when they cried poverty and claimed they needed to raise prices.

@trev666 I thought dead nation and resogun were solid titles imo

@playstation1995 I'm guessing they haven't purchased them cause it take money, and Sony so far have been only spending money on stuff that benefit Sony as a whole, and just not playstation.

@Loftimus "To all Americans: If all retailers in America started demanding $90 + tax for any (standard edition) ps5 game, would you pay it?"

LOL. But we (Americans) aren't paying $90, we're paying $70, up from $60. Ultimately, it is a 14% price hike in the US.

If you're currency is pounds, you went from 60£ games to 70£ games. With conversion rate, the price goes from 85 USD to 99 USD — which, is still a 14% price hike.

So when you when you ask, Would I pay $90 for games now in 2021, the answer is YES, because when you factor in the conversion rate, we're coming from games that cost $85, not $70!

@UnlimitedSevens @eagletrippin
I hate to add more to the discussion, but I do feel the need to clarify a little, even though as an American I don’t completely understand the UK pricing... but here goes:
Their price has tax baked into it. And their sales tax, what they call “VAT” is actually something like 20%. Ours is around 8-9%, depending what state you live in, and is added afterwards — so we’re paying around $77 in the end. I guess their tax/VAT is higher perhaps because of more social programs, centralized healthcare, etc. Anyways, so when you factor all that in, the base cost of the game is not as big a difference as it might appear (They’re probably paying a base price of around $75). If we subtract what the government is getting, the difference is only around $5 between what Sony is getting from each sale. It’s still higher, but honestly not quite as big as most are making it out to be. Much of the issue is just a higher tax rate. But, on the one hand, they are getting something out of that (healthcare, etc). So honestly, it’s almost like comparing apples to oranges in the two economies.
When you look back on game prices before with this information, especially sale prices, you realize there are a lot of times in the past that the US price has actually been higher for some games, given the whole VAT issue.

@eagletrippin our games went up £15 which is around $23. How much of a percentage is that? Developers and publishers were making record profits before the price hike. All we are being told from media outlets is the ps5 is a dream to develop for, unreal engine 5 and face maker tech means development should be easier and cheaper than ever, so the price is pure greed and cannot be seen as valuable.

@Th3solution Just to add a tiny bit: Somehow it's always about UK prices (I know this is a British site but it's not just here), while the price in most of Europe (€80) is almost exactly the same.
I'm not sure what to think of it, just making an observation
I guess €10 is technically a smaller hike than £10... which would mean the UK had cheaper games than most of Europe for the last 2 generations?
That actually makes sense because a lot of the times when I managed to buy a cheaper physical copy on launch, it seemed to be the UK version.

@Voltan Yes, see there is the a lot of variance that is being swept under the rug on this whole pricing debate. I’m not sure about the Euro, but the UK £ exchange rate is pretty bad right now. A quick google says £1=$1.42, but the conversion chart is skyrocketing the last few months. At the time the PS5 released it was about £1=$1.3, and at the time that the pricing was announced last summer it was £1=$1.2.

So honestly for perspective — when the UK citizens bought their PS5 at launch last November for £450 (disc edition), if we first subtract the VAT (so UK gov’t got £90 of that) Sony got to bring in £360 per console. At the time the exchange rate meant they brought in $460, whereas each US gamer paid $540 for the console (after sales tax added) and Sony got to keep $500 with each US sale. So US gamers were paying a lot more for their PS5’s and Sony was profiting much more from each US sale. With the exchange rate at 1.42, it’s now more even as far as the base cost of the console, with each PS5 sold in the UK netting Sony about $504, if my math is correct, which is basically the base cost in the US.

It’s not Sony’s fault the VAT is so high and the pound exchange rate has been so labile this year.

@Ward_ting I had a lot of problems with Returnal, I've just put it on the shelf for a while to wait for the devs roll out patches, I don't regret buying it though, it's something different.

@Loftimus Seriously, enough talking about record profits like you have any clue how much these companies spend. It's called the game industry for a reason. These are businesses that intend to make money, and to use some of those profits for future projects.
These things cost money to make, publishers and developers have to pay employees and other contractors too. When companies make a huge yearly profit do you think all their items should go on sale forever? no that's not how business works.
Why do "gamers" like yourself think that everything should be free for you?. You cry and moan non stop on every article about game prices as if playing a game is a standard of living, when gaming is a recreational hobby not a necessity of life. If you can't afford it, you might need to think about your priorities and maybe give gaming a rest.

Took me over 100 hours to platinum Returnal. Safe to say I got my money’s worth and then some. I just hope more content is made for this phenomenal game so I can dive back in.

Can’t wait to see where Housemarque go from here as Returnal was a huge leap forward compared to anything they’d done in the past.

@GamingVeteran so, because i'm not willing to spend more than £60, i expect everything for free? Thats fools math right there.

@GamingVeteran and if Housemarque had no idea the game was going to be £70 until the same time we found out and were "as shocked" as us, that begs the question, what priced game did they think they was making?

@Loftimus Just curious, why did you put “as shocked” in quotation marks? Have Housemarque said this themselves? I have read the articles that they found out about the price the same time as the general public, but I don’t remember reading that they were shocked about it in any way.

@DeepSpace5D yes they said it. It was in the ign articles headline i believe. It was definitely in the article. I remember it winding me up 😂.

@DeepSpace5D it still asks the question as to what price they thought is was going to sell for. Surely they would have known it would be high if the development is costing as much as they're saying. Hopefully we get to find out with the upcoming lawsuit.

@Loftimus I would need you to point that out to me because I’ve read that same ign article and nowhere does Housemarque say they were shocked about anything regarding the price. You can’t even find the word “shocked” in the article. I think you are not remembering things accurately with that quote.

@DeepSpace5D i'll go off and look for it then just for you. My point still stands either way they didn't know they were making a £70 game so the extra cost argument doesn't hold water.

@DeepSpace5D Sorry "surprised" not "shocked". Well worth pointing that out mate well done!

@Loftimus My friend, is this the article you’re referring to?

https://www.ign.com/articles/housemarque-found-out-about-returnals-70-price-tag-the-same-time-as-everyone-else

I don’t see anywhere Housemarque were shocked or surprised by the price of the game.

That was an editorial choice in the headline of the article by writer Joseph Knoop to use the word “surprised” but it did not come directly from Housemarque themselves nor were they quoted as saying that anywhere in the article. Even if you follow the original source which isn’t even IGN, it’s Axios, nowhere does Housemarque use the words “shocked” or “surprised” to describe the $70 price tag.

And I believe you are confusing the intent behind it. Housemarque weren’t surprised at the cost amount of the game, rather, surprised in the sense that they found out the same time as everyone else instead of Sony informing them before the public. There’s a big difference between the two.

It’s not like that article is suggesting Housemarque believe their game is worth less than the price tag Sony set, although it seems that was your personal interpretation of the article.

The only thing Housemarque said was they found out the same time as everyone else, and that they were doing their job to make the best game possible and that’s pretty much all they could do on their side of things.

I understand that a lot of people at comments think $70 is a fair price for Returnal. But, at the end of day, it all comes down to 'how many people agrees that the price is right and buys the game'.
What I am most concerned about Returnal is not its price thought (that is fixable with eventual sales) but with the game longevity.
I think Housemarque was spot on in terms of gameplay and progression for Returnal, but the game's narrative is not on the same level. They should have worked in that area more. If you compare it with Hades for example, there is a difference there.
Regardless of that, there is absolutely no doubt that Housemarque should work on another big project like Returnal. That game definitely brought them to the big leagues. I believe a more mainstream game would give Housemarque a better chance to compete there though.

@DeepSpace5D yeah spin it how you want. It works both ways. At the end of the day £70 is a ridiculous price and i wont be paying it as i know it comes from greed. Resi villiage proved that.

@Loftimus Care to explain what spin I used? The word “surprised” came from an ign writer not Housemarque. Sorry if that offends you buddy.

Those headlines really made it sound like something that wasn't there. They always knew they were making a "full price" game. They said they weren't aware of Sony's plan to change the "full price" tag before everybody else. That's it.

@Voltan @DeepSpace5D Yeah, I hadn’t read that article before but after following the link to the original article in Axios and also watching some of the developer interviews over the last few weeks, my feeling was that at the outset Housemarque was just making the best game they could muster and as Sony saw how good things were looking they decided to go for the full price tag. As HM got more and more feedback, they knew Sony was pleased and were given increasing support so as to justify a potential full price point. HM didn’t know what that price point would be, until the end, but poured as much effort into creating a game that could be marketed at any level.
“The studio was already focused on justifying a higher price than Housemarque’s older $20 arcade-style titles, precluding any developmental impact of $60 vs $70, he said.”
Which is a slightly confusing quote, but preclude meaning ‘to avert the occurrence of by taking preventative action’ makes me interpret it that HM were ready to defend and justify the games cost, whether it ended up $60 or $70, since that decision was not theirs to make. Probably they suspected that Sony was going to go the $70 route and didn’t want to have to spend all their time substantiating the price and have the game quality speak for itself. Which, unfortunately the price still has become the prevailing narrative from those who haven’t played the game.
Regardless, I think like others have said, HM have shown they can no longer be shackled as a small game developer. Future projects will most assuredly be full featured and fully priced going forward.

@DeepSpace5D nothing you can say will offend me. You're not important enough to get to me. Sorry.

I'm not sure Returnal proves they're doing bigger games. It proves if someone hands them a ton of money and tells them to make polished visuals in a very niche-indie-type-game to justify a price point, they can do it. I suppose that's what AAA really is at this point (ahem, FIFA), but, still... If you strip out the "AAA" graphics and leave the game what it is, it's still very much their indie wheelhouse with an arcade shmup/rogue fusion.

@Loftimus Still waiting for you to point out the part where I spin something that wasn’t true. On the contrary, it was you that claimed Housemarque said they were “as shocked” as everyone else about the $70 price tag of Returnal. Then you changed it to Housemarque saying they were surprised.

Then we come to find out that they never said anything of the sort, it was just used in a headline by an ign writer and nothing remotely close to that was said by Housemarque.

So in reality, I cut through the spin YOU were trying to use to bolster your argument, which was false. Either that or you only read the headline without actually taking the time to read and comprehend the article, and assumed it was said by Housemarque.

Either way, glad we could clear that up. You take care now.

@DeepSpace5D like i said earlier, hopefully the lawsuit will clear it up. Then we will know for sure. Looks like someone is too bothered with trying to get one over Loftimus than to actually read what i said. Look at resi 8! Capcom used santa monicas mo cap studio (apparently it costs more than other mo cap studios), so we can say the production values are as high as any ps studios game considering it has been in development since before 7 released. Capcom sold at £55 and had to give sony/ms £17 of that. So if capcom can sell and make profit with the £38 they recieve and reach high production values, why can't sony?

What does Returnal actually do to warrent £70 (not dollars)?

@DeepSpace5D or to make the robbery even easier to see. Are you honestly telling me Returnal (£70) cost more than Tlou2 (£55) to develop? Are housemarque games suddenly that of Naughtydog standards because theyre working on ps5?

Plus, Sony selling on their own store should lower prices not raise them as they are getting 100% of the pie.

Its a Playstation tax mate, plain and simple.

@DeepSpace5D now after reading my reasoning, look back at what Housemarque said from my point of view.

Can you see it?

@Loftimus Look mate, sorry if I came on strong, I’m not just trying to get one over on you.

I’m not here to argue with you the subjective opinion of whether Returnal is worth $70 or not. For you, it’s not, although I would argue you haven’t played it yet to form your own opinion on it.
For myself, it was totally worth it and so far my game of the year.

I haven’t played Resident Evil: Village yet, but it really seems like an apples-to-oranges comparison. One is a highly linear, polished experience that is very short in length. Most people are claiming to beat Resi 8 in 8-10 hours, maybe 15 hours if you are a completist.

Returnal is a procedurally generated rogue-lite bullet hell shooter that many people are taking 40+ hours just to reach the true ending, and 100+ for completists. The two games dont play anything alike.

You seem to have a real problem with the price hike of games for this new generation that companies like Sony and Take Two have implemented, and you are entitled to your opinion.

For me, it’s a case-by-case basis. If it’s a game I really want to play, I have no problem paying full price for it, and I’m very satisfied with my purchase of Returnal.

I have no issue with your personal gripe about the price hike. The only thing that bothers me is how people make up things on the internet these days that just aren’t true, and it seemed like that’s what you were doing putting words in Housemarque’s mouth that they didn’t actually say.

But I acknowledge that the writer for ign was misleading with his headline and don’t fault you for thinking it came from Housemarque.

@DeepSpace5D i'm not saying others shouldnt enjoy it if they are happy paying that price. I was saying the price is the price when they first told us. Then i asked myself why is the price that price and i'm still looking for an answer.

If you're buying in America though you're right $70 is a fair price, as that is what i was paying for games last gen and i was happy to do so.

@Loftimus I just think with inflation it was probably overdue for a general price hike, but I am in the States so I can admit I don’t feel it nearly as much going from just $60-$70.

I think Sony knew this increase was inevitable eventually, but they also realized that they can differentiate their Playstation Studios games from others on the market to better justify the price increase.

I honestly think if you played Returnal you would find something uniquely compelling about it.

It has the best Dualsense implementation since Astro’s Playroom. Everything in the game has a different feel to it with the haptic feedback, and even the guns feel different to fire. You hear them firing through the speaker of the Dualsense. You stand next to a parasite and the Dualsense beats like a heart. Stand in the rain and you feel little pitter-patter raindrops. Fall off a cliff and get sudden strong jolt as Selene screams to her death. It has an alt-fire adaptive trigger that makes it feel like a gun trigger on the controller.

Combine the dualsense with a pair of headphones, especially if you have adjusted the 3D audio settings, and it’s a really immersive experience.

The game plays so fast. Selene runs at a pace that I honestly think would need to be slowed down on last-gen consoles, or at least some type of loading sections would need to be added in by design. There’s no apparent loading anywhere in the game, it’s seamless once you start the game up. There’s not even a title screen. You can even skip the animations for things like picking up items if you want to play even faster. You can run straight through the doors at full speed and have every new area on the map fully loaded and ready to go with enemies and no wait time or loading. The teleportation portals instantly take you anywhere on the map, and the maps are quite big.

If this was made for PS4, there would be compromises that would have to be made that I think would detract from the experience and vision Housemarque had for the game.

So I guess my point is that the price hike is unfortunate, but at least it seems that Sony is trying to give you something that is only possible on next-gen hardware to justify their personal increase.

I’m just going to take it on a case-by-case basis and decide if the individual game is worth it for me.