A new preview for Housemarque’s Returnal is available courtesy of the PlayStation Blog and provides more details on its rogue-lite elements. Artifacts are your standard passive buffs for each run and include benefits like 10 percent more damage dealt to low health enemies, activating bullet time with alt-fire and more. We also know about Parasites which can provide benefits but carry certain risks while Oblities gather from slain foes can be used to remove them.
One new feature is Adrenaline, which has five different levels and pushes you to play skillfully. As you deal damage and avoid taking hits, you’ll gain increased weapon damage, more powerful melee attacks and benefits to vision (like enemies being marked by red circles). However, if you’re hit once, the Adrenaline will reset.
Instead of reloading, weapons recharge with an active reload mechanic akin to Gears of War. Tap the trigger at the right moment to instantly recharge a weapon and receive a damage bonus called Overload – mess it up and it’ll jam. Along with an alt-fire, weapons also have an unlockable ability earned by killing enough foes. There’s a range of possibilities available which should provide strong diversity.
Returnal recently went gold and is out on April 30th, exclusively for PS5. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.