Housemarque shows off more Returnal gameplay

Developer Housemarque Games has revealed more gameplay from its PlayStation 5 exclusive Returnal in the form of an extended interview with game director Harry Krueger.

The actual gameplay moments in the “HouseCast” episode are fleeting, but some new weaponry in protagonist Selene’s arsenal is shown off, including a gun that shoots out mines that connect to form laser barriers, and a grappling hook that can be used for traversal quickly around Returnal‘s strange sci-fi world.

During the interview, Krueger explains that the game’s creation came from a mishmash of disparate ideas based on the question, “What would be your absolute dream project if you didn’t have to compromise on anything?” Krueger said that “dark sci-fi,” time travel, and an “maybe unconventional, maybe female protagonist carrying some kind of trauma, some kind of psychological horror” were the first things that came to mind for him.

Returnal is the first Housemarque game that has a more in-depth narrative that explores the emotional space of the characters, but the development team was always set on also maintaining the studio’s trademark gameplays style.

“We do have our fundamental values in terms of gameplay,” Krueger said. “We have the razor-sharp controls, we have that really tight and rewarding core feedback loop, lots of explosions of course. Just tapping into the part of the brain that feels enjoyment when it sees things blow up, and that was a constant in the equation from the beginning.”

Returnal is launching on March 19th, 2021, for PlayStation 5.