Returnal Makes Use Of PS5's SSD For A Less-Frustrating Rogue-Like

Finnish developer Housemarque has been one of PlayStation's most reliable partners over the years, with exclusives like Resogun and Dead Nation offering best-in-class arcade-style shooting. The studio stopped developing arcade shooters a few years ago in favor of larger-scale projects, but its PS5 game Returnal hasn't abandoned its roots. Now, we have more information on how it will make use of the console's features to enhance its gameplay.

As explained in PlayStation Official Magazine, the PS5's extremely fast NVMe SSD enables players to respawn nearly immediately after getting killed. Because it's a rogue-lite game that emphasizes repeated runs as you enhance certain abilities and try to progress further, this is should mitigate the frustration we often see in the genre.

Additionally, the DualSense controller's adaptive triggers are used for quickly switching between firing modes on the game's weapons. Given the frenetic pace of the action in most Housemarque games, it should help to keep things manageable. We're also seeing a similar alternate-mode firing feature in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart later this year.

Every run in Returnal will be different, and you'll need to master several weapons and strategies in order to get through the game's many enemies. The game releases exclusively for PS5 on March 19, and it will be Housemarque's first new game since 2017's Matterfall. A battle royale game called Stormdivers had been in development, but it was put on hold in favor of Returnal. Prior to that, the game Nex Machina was released for PS4 and PC, and it was developed in partnership with Robotron 2084 and Smash TV designer Eugene Jarvis. However, it didn't sell well, resulting in the studio declaring its arcade era to be dead.

For more about Returnal, check out our survival guide and our guide for opening those confusing orange barrier doors. You can also see how the game stacks up in our Returnal review. And if you're intrigued by the game, we've also got a piece explaining why you should probably die more and keep your runs shorter in Returnal, and how the story is better for it.