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EA’s $2.1 billion deal to buy Glu Mobile is now complete. The publisher announced the news in a press release, which followed on from the announcement of the deal in February.

EA expects the deal to help the company make more microtransaction money on mobile, which it says is the biggest gaming platform in the world. EA also gets access to Glu’s 100 million monthly active users.

“The combination of our talented teams and powerful IP positions us as a leader in the largest gaming category in the world,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson said in a statement. “We are forming a powerful growth engine that will expand our current games and deliver more amazing new experiences across sports, lifestyle, mid-core, and casual for players everywhere.”

Glu’s CEO, Nick Earl, said the deal with EA will help franchises like Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, MLB Tap Sports Baseball, and Design Home reach the “next level.”

“Together, we will accelerate a strategic mobile-first approach and drive innovation through creative leadership while delivering world-class interactive experiences to our players,” Earl said.

As part of the acquisition, Glu’s 800 employees, including 500 game developers, will join EA. The publisher previously talked about how buying Glu will help the publisher reach into other key genres such as sports, RPG, lifestyle, casual, and mid-core.

The deal also helps EA make even more money from live services and microtransactions. “Glu’s expertise in building and monetizing sports and casual mobile games, combined with Electronic Arts’ industry-leading IP in sports and beyond, will accelerate the creation of exciting new experiences for broad audiences,” EA said.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email [email protected]

There’s no shortage of planes to explore the skies with in Microsoft Flight Simulator, but for those pilots seeking to experience air travel without their aircraft being cocooned in a metal chassis, there’s a new addition to the game that gives players the opportunity to fly the Solo 103 ultralight plane.

While it may look like an oversized model airplane, the Solo 103 is actually a very real aircraft that has a top speed of 63 mph with its Polini Thor 250 engine and weighs less than 254 pounds. And yes, it does come with a parachute.

For players looking to appreciate the sights and sounds of international landmarks, the Solo 103 is a better option than your regular Cessna or an intercontinental version of the Boeing 747 airliner. It comes at a good time as well, as the latest world update for Microsoft Flight Simulator has added numerous European landmarks such as the Eiffel tower, Bruges’ Church of Our Lady, the Arc de Triomphe, and many more.

If you feel like modding the game you can even visit the global economic crisis that was the cargo ship Ever Given when it was wedged into the Suez Canal.

Update 04/29/2021: After it leaked last month, Disney has officially confirmed that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will receive a free next-gen upgrade for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, which will arrive this summer.

On StarWars.com, a small update explains that the upgrade will bring “a number of technical improvements” to the game on next-gen consoles. More details are coming soon, apparently.

As part of the announcement, the game received a 70% discount on its standard and deluxe editons for PS4, Xbox One, Origin and Steam – so you can buy it cheap now and get your free upgrade this summer, if you need to.

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Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order could be getting a native next-gen console release, after the German ratings board listed new PS5 and Xbox versions.

As reported by Gematsu, USK, the German video game classification system, has rated Fallen Order on PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox. These are new listings alongside the existing last-gen ratings, and suggest that a full, native next-gen upgrade of the game could be on the way. As you’d expect, those age ratings haven’t changed.

The Xbox classification doesn’t mention a specific console, but given that there’s already a classification for the Xbox One version of the game, it’s thought that this relates to the Series S and X family of consoles. The game was updated for next-gen consoles back in early January which upped the game’s framerate alongside some small optimizations, but didn’t go as far as a new native version of the game.

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Fallen Order recently came to Xbox Game Pass for PC after the EA Play library was added to the service earlier this week. We’re also expecting a Star Wars Jedi sequel at some point, after EA said it wouldn’t be slowing down its production of Star Wars games, and confirmed the game was the start of a franchise.

We reviewed Fallen Order upon its launch in November 2019, scoring it a 9 and calling it a “fantastic single-player action-adventure.” It recently made our list of the best Soulslike games for fans of From Software’s influential Dark Souls series.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

A new version of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will release this summer for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The game will have unspecified “technical improvements,” according to the announcement on the Star Wars website.

Players who currently own Jedi: Fallen Order for PS4/Xbox One can upgrade for free. More details about the next-gen edition of the game will come “soon.”

PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of Jedi: Fallen Order previously appeared on a ratings board website, suggesting an announcement was imminent.

Jedi: Fallen Order was already updated to take advantage of the power of the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. A free update added a frame rate boost and dynamic resolution, among other things. Presumably the bespoke next-gen editions coming this summer will have expanded improvements, but no official information is available yet.

Jedi: Fallen Order was developed by Titanfall and Apex Legends studio Respawn. The company is currently working on a new IP and is hiring for it now. The studio was in the news recently when it became the first video game company ever to win an Oscar, thanks to the movie Colette that was included with Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond.

If you don’t have PlayStation Plus, you’re going to have to wait nearly a month longer than everyone else before you can play Wreckfest on PS5. Like Destruction AllStars, the game will be exclusive to the service on PS5 until its originally announced June 1 release date.

When asked by GameSpot why the release date in trailers and promotional material was still June 1, a THQ Nordic representative said the game’s PS5 version would be a PS Plus exclusive from May 4 until June 1, at which point it will be available to everyone for purchase. This also goes for the PS4 to PS5 upgrade, which you can only get from June 1 onward. Of course, if you have a PS Plus subscription, you’ll get the PS5 version for free anyway, so it’s a bit of a moot point.

A spiritual successor to the FlatOut series, Wreckfest first released for PC back in 2018 before coming to consoles the following year. An Xbox Series X|S version is also in the works, but it doesn’t have a release date yet, and the PS Plus inclusion for the PS5 version means it will have a bit of a head start in terms of attracting players.

Wreckfest was revealed this week as one of May’s free PS Plus games, being the only PS5 game alongside the PS4 titles Battlefield 5 and Stranded Deep. All three are playable on PS5, as are the vast majority of PS4 games, though there are a few exceptions that won’t work as well as games that do work but with some technical glitches.

Sweet Tooth, a new series based on the DC comic book series by Jeff Lemire, will premiere globally on Netflix on June 4, 2021.

Sweet Tooth is a story that takes place ten years after “The Great Crumble,” an event that “wreaked havoc on the world and lead to the mysterious emergence of hybrids – babies born part human, part animal.”

You can watch the first teaser trailer and see the first looks images for Sweet Tooth below!

this is the story of a very special deer-boy named Sweet Tooth. based on the beloved DC Comic, coming June 4th pic.twitter.com/HIq4jWVDNE

— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) April 29, 2021

Humanity is unsure if these hybrids are the result or the cause of a widespread virus, which means many humans either fear and/or hunt them down.

Sweet Tooth follows the tale of a sheltered hybrid deer-boy named Gus who befriends a wandering loner named Jepperd before going on an “extraordinary adventure across what’s left of America in search of answers— about Gus’ origins, Jepperd’s past, and the true meaning of home.”

This new series stars Christian Convery, Nonso Anozie, Adeel Akhtar, Aliza Vellani, Stefania LaVie Owen, Dania Ramirez, Neil Sandilands, Will Forte, and James Brolin. Sweet Tooth is executive produced by Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey’s production company and is directed by Jim Mickle.

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“We wanted to make a show that offers escape and adventure, where nature is reclaiming the world and in many ways it feels like a fairytale,” Mickle said. “SWEET TOOTH is a new kind of dystopian story, it’s very lush and hopeful. We want people to come into this world where there’s beauty and hope and adventure. This is a sweeping story — we ride on trains, climb mountaintops, run through forests. This is a show about what makes a family, what home really means, and why it’s important to keep faith in humanity.”

Sweet Tooth was part of Vertigo’s golden age of comics, and was an early showcase for Jeff Lemire and was billed as a combination of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and Disney movies like Bambi.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Razer’s Blade has been one of the most iconic gaming laptops on the market over the last decade and this year is no exception. I’ve spent the last several weeks with the Razer Blade 15 Advanced Edition in its highest configuration. Coming in at an eye-watering $2999, is this the flagship gaming laptop you’ve been waiting on or merely another contender for best gaming laptop of 2021?

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Razer Blade 15 Advanced Edition – Design and Features

What’s in a name? In this case, quite a lot. As a high-end laptop from Razer, you can count on focused gaming performance. The “Blade” speaks to its thin and light design – well, reasonably light, anyway. This unit features a 15-inch Full HD Display configured to run at an esports-grade 360 Hz. Under the hood, it’s running on a 10th generation Intel Core CPU, an Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU, and 32GB of system memory. The total specs as configured are:

• Price: $2999.99
• Processor: Intel Core i7-10875H (8-core/16-thread, Max Boost 5.1 GHz)
• Display: 15.6-inch Full HD (1920×1080) IPS 360Hz
• Graphics: RTX 3080 (Mobile Version)
• Memory: 32GB DDR4, 2933 MHz, 64GB Maximum
• Storage: 1TB NVMe (Expandable with Additional Slot)
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E AX210, 2X2, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.2
• Battery: 80WHr, Up to 7 Hours, 230W Adapter
• I/O Ports: 1x Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C), Supports 20V USB-C chargers with PD 3.0,  3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (USB-A), USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, Supports 20V USB-C chargers with PD 3.0, SD Card Reader, UHS-III, HDMI 2.1 output (Up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 120Hz)
• Dimensions: 0.67 x 9.25 x 13.98 inches
• Weight: 4.4 lbs

 

Like most Razer laptops, the Blade 15 is available in multiple configurations that will set you back anywhere from $1699 to $3299 depending on the components and display you choose. On the cheaper end, you’ll be downgrading to an Intel i7-10750H, an RTX 3060, and half the memory and storage. The most expensive version is similar to the one I’m reviewing today but is equipped with a 4K OLED touchscreen.

The exterior design of the Blade 15 is similar to last year’s model. It’s outwardly simple but unmistakably a gaming laptop. The matte-black aluminum chassis is unassuming except for Razer’s large, backlit snake icon smack-dab in the center. The lighting can be turned off, but if you’re hoping to hide the fact you’re carrying a gaming laptop to class or the office, think again. Personally, I rather like the look of it lit up in classic Razer green.

Thin and light has been the name of the game in gaming laptops for several years. The Blade series definitely embraces this maxim and this year’s model comes in at only 0.67 inches thick. I was easily able to slide it into my messenger bag and still have room for papers and materials. It’s light, but not industry-leading at 4.4 pounds. Over the course of the day, my bag definitely started to feel heavy carrying the laptop with me, but it’s a trade-off for the extra-durable design and caliber of components therein.

The aluminum chassis is very durable and rigid. There’s no discernable screen flex opening the laptop, which has been a concern on other models. An all-metal shell also aids in heat dissipation but does mean the entire lower-half of the laptop eventually feels warm to the touch. Unlike the Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 I last reviewed, the area above the keyboard didn’t get so hot, which speaks to the vapor chamber cooling solution Razer has applied. The biggest downside to the frame is that it’s an absolute fingerprint magnet. It will show every bit of oil from your fingers, which leaves it looking messy within a day of normal use.

The Blade 15 is a beast of a gaming laptop. It’s Intel Core i7-10875H processor features 8-cores and 16-threads of processing power, but more important for in-game frame rates is its 5.1 GHz boost clock. It pairs wonderfully with the Nvidia RTX 3080 mobile graphics card which is currently the most powerful on the market. Like all RTX 30-Series mobile GPUs, it won’t run quite as fast as a desktop 3080 but absolutely dominates at 1080p gaming. The 1TB NVMe SSD is also very fast, reducing load times to the bare minimum, and has enough storage to hold a decent selection of games and applications. It also sports a second M.2 slot to quickly expand the storage without the need to reinstall Windows. The system came with 32GB of pre-installed memory, which is more than enough for any game on the market today in conjunction with streaming apps and even a few browser windows with room to spare.

These specs also make the Blade 15 a very solid choice for streamers and content creators. While many games aren’t able to leverage all eight cores of the CPU or all 32GB of DRAM, many creative applications will happily use these resources and benefit from them. I recorded 4K video directly to the laptop with OBS and an Elgato CamLink and then edited it in Adobe Premiere Pro – the process was virtually seamless. Like most (all?) consumer laptops currently available, it did stutter when rendering certain aftermarket transitions, but its ability to handle massive video files with ease was impressive. Since the unit has a 1080p screen, most gamers will be working with 1080p video files and the experience was even smoother there.

The real highlight of the screen is its incredibly fast 360 Hz refresh rate, which is ready to compete with cutting-edge 360Hz and 240Hz gaming monitors. This can offer real benefits in motion clarity and responsiveness if your reaction speed is up to the challenge. Even though the RTX 3080 is a powerful mobile GPU, it won’t be pushing many games to 360 FPS outside of esports, however, so be wary if you’re expecting to play AAA games at such high frame rates. Still, offering such a high refresh rate pays dividends in the smoothness of games even below 360 FPS, so it’s a welcome addition – albeit one that will more quickly drain the battery.

The laptop also has a number of other features going for it. For day to day use, the keyboard is outstanding. The keys offered greater travel and tactility than most other laptops I’ve tested, which made typing reliably accurate. The touchpad is also very large, which makes navigation quite easy and even opens the door to some casual gaming if you forget your mouse at home. The keyboard offers bright, saturated, per-key programmable backlighting and is also completely programmable akin to Razer’s standalone keyboards. Above the screen is also a 720p webcam with Windows Hello compatibility for biometric login.

To either side of the keyboard are the built-in speakers, which feature THX Spatial Audio and 7.1 surround sound support. They are able to get exceptionally loud and seem to project out in a way that gives a greater sense of space than you would expect from a pair of laptop speakers. They work very well for most kinds of content, though bass is stereotypically lacking. The dynamic range and frequency response of the transducers is enough to give rifles a satisfying “crack” in Battlefield V – they just don’t have enough punch for a good explosion.

As a gaming laptop, connectivity is much more important than laptops designed for productivity. The Blade 15 has it in spades. There are three USB 3.2 Type-A ports, one USB 3.2 Type-C port, another USB Type-C with Thunderbolt 3 (the latter two ports also supporting 20V chargers with PD 3.0), a combo audio jack, a UHS-III SD card reader, and an HDMI 2.1 video output for external monitors capable of 8K40 or 4K120 output. For networking, it supports WiFi 6E for high-speed wireless internet but doesn’t offer an RJ-45 ethernet port. It also supports the latest Bluetooth 5.2 standard for wireless peripherals. Taken as a whole, this is a generous array of connectivity options that easily allows for a full array of USB peripherals and external storage and display options – just keep in mind you’ll need a USB ethernet adapter if you want a wired internet connection.

Compared to a number of other RTX 30-series laptops we’ve looked at here at IGN, the Blade 15 appears to have a surprisingly sparse arrangement of vents to support its cooling. This is partially because Razer cleverly hides the rear exhaust under the edge of the lid, but it’s also because there are flat out fewer vents. The reason for this is that the laptop uses a vapor chamber cooling solution that better isolates thermal flow through the unit. This approach to cooling is common on graphics cards and high-end CPU heatsinks as it allows the manufacturer to better guide the flow of heat and direct it in the path of blowing air. In this case, that results in heat expelling from the rear of the PC.

In practice, the cooling solution proved to be reasonably effective, albeit not exceptionally so. The CPU regularly peaked at 100C, a behavior that’s common among gaming laptops with this particular chip. The GPU, on the other hand topped out at 77C after extensive testing. Not bad, but right in line with the similarly equipped MSI GS66 Stealth that featured more traditional heat-pipe cooling. In addition, the Blade became quite loud under heavy load managing those thermals, forcing my wife to turn the TV up while sitting next to me on the couch. There is an ongoing balance in the world of gaming laptops between heat, noise, and performance. In this case, there’s definitely room to better balance those elements.

Razer Blade 15 Advanced Edition – Software

When it comes to software, the Razer Blade 15 Advanced Edition is delightfully sparse. My unit shipped with a basic Windows installation in addition to Razer’s Synapse management software. This was my first experience with a Blade laptop but I was familiar with Synapse from many peripherals over the years, so getting up and running with it was fast and easy.

Upon opening it for the first time, you load into the Dashboard which shows a picture of the laptop. Clicking it takes you to the Customize screen with an overview of the keyboard. This is a rather counter-intuitive design since this screen doesn’t actually allow you to change the settings of the laptop. Instead, clicking a key opens up the programming options, exactly like a standalone Razer keyboard. You can record macros, create shortcuts to launch programs, map media controls, and more. Thanks to Razer Hypershift, you can even create entire secondary layouts for storing macros or alternate key sets.

The lighting tab controls your system lighting. The available options allow you to control system-wide rules – such as how long it needs to be idle before disabling lighting to preserve battery or brightness – to individual lighting presets. The illuminated logo can be made to breathe or stay lit at a custom brightness, while the keyboard is much more programmable with animated presets like fire, rainbow waves, spinning color wheels, or entirely custom layouts created in the Chroma Studio. These lighting effects can also be synced with other Razer peripherals to quickly color-match your whole setup.

When it comes to actual system settings, these are tucked away on the performance tab. Razer has done an arguably too good job simplifying the settings here. Performance modes are limited to Balanced and Custom when plugged in and just Balanced when running on battery. Setting custom specifications doesn’t give the same degree of control found on flagship MSI or Asus gaming laptops and instead gives you a basic performance slider. Custom fan curves or overclocking are out of the question with this version of Synapse.

This tab also allows you to choose the current GPU mode. Like some other RTX 3080-equipped notebooks, the Blade 15 supports Nvidia Optimus and can intelligently swap between the integrated GPU on the processor or the dedicated RTX 3080 to save battery. Enabling Optimus defaults the system to 60 Hz outside of games, however, which is very noticeable even in basic mouse movement. That said, it’s very effective in extending battery life through most of the day.

 

Benchmarks	Razer Blade 15 Advanced Edition	Origin EVO15-S	MSI GS66 Stealth	Asus ROG Zephyrus G15
Price as tested	$2,999	$2,997	TBA	$1,799
CPU	Intel Core i7-10875H	Intel Core i7-10870H	Intel Core i7-10870H	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS
GPU	Nvidia RTX 3080	Nvidia RTX 3080	Nvidia RTX 3080	Nvidia RTX 3070
3DMark Time Spy	9973	10163	9623	9417
3DMark Fire Strike	21765	19318	19725	20947
3DMark Night Raid	48029	44155	40996	35633
Total War: Three Kingdoms	82	80	83	71
Borderlands 3	88	89	89	110
Metro Exodus	63	63	64	57
Hitman 3	134.5	129.4	NA	113.9
Unigine Heaven 4.0	123	135	124	123
PCMark 10	6697	6029	5892	7016
PCMark 10 Battery Test	5:52	1:56	5:44	5:01

Razer Blade 15 Advanced Edition – Performance

As a flagship gaming laptop, what really matters most is how it performs in games. I conducted my testing using IGN’s standard array of games and benchmarks. Since thermal solutions can make such a big difference in overall performance, I’ve shared the results alongside other competing laptops with similar specs. All of my tests were conducted at Ultra settings.

Note: We added Hitman 3 to our test rotation after the MSI GS66 had already been returned, so that entry is marked with an NA.

The Razer Blade 15 performed very well across these tests. In synthetics, it led the pack in all but 3DMark Time Spy. Performance in Unigine Heaven did fall slightly behind the Origin EVO15-S but it made up for that with real world performance gains in Hitman 3. In other game tests, the Blade 15 performed right on par with other mobile RTX 3080s we’ve tested.

Since the NVMe SSD in this drive was undisclosed, I also tested its speed using CrystalDiskMark. If offered impressive, if not cutting edge, results. At 2.9 GB/s for both read and write speeds, the Razer Blade 15 will be able to optimize load times and offer good performance in creative apps like Premiere Pro. Still, given the price, I would have liked to have seen Razer include a drive that runs a bit faster. The same is true of the memory, which is clocked to only 2933 MHz versus the 3200 MHz offered by some of the competition. These might seem like small things, but remember, the Blade 15 Advanced Edition is actually more expensive than many models currently available today.

For gaming outside of these tests, the Blade 15 was excellent. Even though I’m not an esports player, the fluidity of motion with the 360 Hz screen was fantastic. There is subtly more clarity in quick turns and the system does feel more responsive, though I wish it came with Nvidia G-Sync as a cherry on top. I also loved how color rich the screen was, which made both gaming and watching shows on Netflix more enjoyable. It was also nice to be able to use and enjoy the built-in speakers. They do sound thin but are perfectly sufficient for gaming and loud enough to hear clearly even when sat back with a controller.

For normal use, it was also exceptionally good. The keyboard was great for getting work done and the touchpad made carrying a separate mouse optional for me. The webcam also worked well and colleagues on the other end reported that I both looked and sounded good. I do wish it was slightly lighter, however, as I could definitely notice it in my bag after a while.

Razer Blade 15 Advanced Edition – Battery Life

The Razer Blade 15 Advanced Edition features a large 80 WHr battery. This falls somewhat behind the likes of the ROG Zephyrus or MSI GS66 Stealth that offer 90 and 99 WHr batteries respectively. Still, it optimizes battery usage well. With Optimus enabled and the screen and backlighting at 50% brightness each, it lasted 5 hours and 52 minutes in the PCMark 10 Modern Office Battery Test. This falls short of the average workday; however, by turning lighting off completely and further dimming the screen could likely be extended to the full seven hours of rated uptime.

An interesting feature of this laptop is the braided cable on the charging brick. The brick is large and rated for 230 watts, so is already challenging to carry along with the laptop itself if you need more battery life (and you just might). The braided cable looks very nice on the surface and will certainly help protect the charging cable over time, but is very stiff and difficult to manage. It’s also flat-out bigger, taking up more space in your bag. In the end, I would prefer something slimmer and easier to work with.

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Purchasing Guide

The Razer Blade 15 Advanced Edition is available from the Razer Store for $2999. Razer also offers alternate configurations ranging from $1699 to $3299. The line-up can also be purchased from Amazon.

Housemarque has made its name on games like Resogun and Nex Machina, but the PS5-exclusive Returnal looks to be a bigger and more ambitious project than it’s ever taken on. The action-adventure game has been highlighted at Sony events as a system exclusive.

And true to the studio’s roots, Returnal incorporates elements of bullet hell shooters alongside its creepy survival-horror and roguelite elements. You play as Selene Vassos, a survivor of a crash on an alien planet who quickly discovers that whenever she dies, she returns to the site of the crash to start again. There’s more to this alien planet than meets the eye, and Selene unravels the mystery slowly as she continuously makes her way through diverse biomes.

The reception to Returnal has been generally positive, with critics especially praising its atmosphere and unique blend of elements, while some have dinged it for sharp difficulty spikes and runs feeling repetitive. Several reviewers have also noted how it makes especially great use of the PS5 DualSense’s haptics.

“Returnal is a hard game to pin down,” Mike Epstein wrote in GameSpot’s Returnal review. “On the one hand, it is very much a pastiche of existing game genres: Play one run and you will see how it very clearly draws elements from roguelikes, Souls-likes, metroidvanias, action-platformers, bullet hell shooters, and horror games. But while it borrows from all those genres, its unique flow ensures that its chaotic shooting galleries and creepy storytelling feel decidedly new. A shifting, but not jarring pace, an unpredictable narrative, tough-as-nails gameplay, and a constant sense of ambient terror–Returnal’s many moving parts coalesce into a rare shooter that grabs you with its mechanics and its story and never lets go, seducing you with its challenges and a foreboding sense of dread every step of the way.”

Returnal is coming to PlayStation 5 on April 30. For a broader range of critical impressions, we’ve compiled reviews from around the industry. For even more, check out GameSpot sister site Metacritic.

• Game: Returnal
• Platforms: PlayStation 5
• Developer: Housemarque
• Release Date: April 30
• Price: $70 / £70

GameSpot — 9/10

“Returnal is constantly unsettling and consistently challenging. Its mysterious story and demanding action feel intense, urgent, and fresh. The fast-moving combat manages to appear incredibly daunting, bordering on overwhelming, without ever actually becoming insurmountable. Every moment is a rush, either because you just barely evaded a giant purple laser or because you have no idea why there’s an Apollo-era astronaut following your every move. Do you need to be a little brave to play Returnal? Yeah. Do you need to be glutton for punishment? It helps. They say that anything worth doing should scare you at least a little bit. I’m not sure if that’s always true, but Returnal makes a strong case.” — Mike Epstein [Full Review]

GameRant — 5/5

“Returnal is an excellent video game flirting with perfection. It has the most satisfying gameplay loop Housemarque has crafted to date, which says a lot considering the studio’s pedigree. If PlayStation’s other PS5 exclusives feel even half as satisfying as Returnal does, fans are in for one hell of a console generation.” — Cameron Corliss [Full Review]

Game Informer — 9.5/10

“Returnal is a relentless nightmare that’s a dream to play. The journey is full of horror and terrible discoveries, but also unbridled curiosity and wonder. If you have the taste for it, this is an adventure that begs to be experienced.” — Daniel Tack [Full Review]

VideoGamer — 9/10

“Complex systems are made simple, by committing their clutter to muscle memory, and play—good play, at any rate—requires that you, like Selene, ride its enigmatic loop.” — Josh Wise [Full Review]

Push Square — 9/10

“Housemarque has delivered the PS5 promise with Returnal. All the console’s bells and whistles enhance the experience, making this a real showpiece for the hardware. But more than that, the game is a force to be reckoned with; the breathless combat, super slick gameplay, and the subtle but unsettling story combine for an experience of surprising scale. Rogue-lite aspects mean it won’t gel with everyone, but for those looking for a challenging, addictive arcade shooter, this comes highly recommended.” — Stephen Tailby [Full Review]

Telegraph — 4/5

“Returnal is a punishing game which revels in the brutality of its challenge – and given the randomness baked in to the roguelike conceit, it doesn’t always feel like a fair one. Extreme difficulty spikes abound and ultimately twitch-like reflexes will only get you so far; the success or otherwise of any given run can often depend on which weapon types, buff-bestowing artefacts or consumables appear early on. I managed to blitz through one of the game’s six biomes, boss-fight and all, at the first attempt thanks to a fortuitous combination of auto-healing augmentations and a launcher blessed with homing ammunition. Conversely, soldiering on with a sub-optimal build can be a dispiriting struggle.” — Dan Silver [Full Review]

GamesRadar — 4/5

“Returnal can be messy, tough, and perhaps a little too uncompromising for a $70 game. And yet, despite the moments of pad-clenching exasperation, it remains a moreish experience even after you’ve plummeted its depths.” — Ben Tyrer [Full Review]

VG247 — 4/5

“While Returnal’s marriage of rogue-like loops and serpentine story isn’t perfect, it’s a dark, engaging, and innovative experience which provides plenty of gameplay grunt to match its brain-teasing plot. There’s symbolism to ponder, Easter eggs to spot, and tons of memorable moments across the 20 or so hours it’ll take you to reach the end the first time, with yet more to unlock and mess with after you’ve mastered the core concepts on your initial clear.” — James Billcliffe [Full Review]

Video Games Chronicle — 4/5

“Returnal’s constant action and clever semi-procedural structure make it an engaging adventure, not to mention a visually stunning one. The lack of any difficulty levels may unfortunately exclude less experienced gamers, but anyone who doesn’t mind dying a bunch of times will thoroughly enjoy themselves.” — Chris Scullion [Full Review]

GamesBeat — 3/5

“I now plan replicate this build on every run, and if the world doesn’t give me the necessary gear to do that, I’m going to feel like it’s wasting my time again. This is not a fatal flaw. But it is one that I think turns significant chunks of Returnal into a slog. And that reduces what is otherwise a great game into one that I merely like.” — Jeff Grubb [Full Review]