Returnal’s Time Loop Mechanic Gets Breakdown Explanation

Next week will see the release of Returnal. The game is the next from Housemarque and is both a major departure for the developer as they craft a more narrative-based experience than ever before, as well as familiar with its incredible “bullet-hell” style action. As you may also know at this point, the game has elements of roguelite, as it involves a woman stuck in a time loop where she must start over after each death. How exactly does it work, though? Well, now we have a simple breakdown.

Thanks to the good folks at IGN, we have a pretty straightforward explanation of how the time loop mechanic actually works. The game does take many elements from the roguelite genre, when you do die, you do start over, and when you do so, you do so completely fresh with only your sidearm. You have to fight through each biome and find weapons and upgrades again, though some major upgrades will carry over. One key way in which it differs from the usual genre far is that once you clear a biome and go onto a next one, you do not have to start completely over, and you won’t have to kill bosses more than once. Instead, you will be able to go straight into the next biome with a new item.  You can check out the full video and explanation below.

Returnal will release on April 30th for PlayStation 5. The game’s preload is up now, and you can check out the first 45 minutes through here.