New Returnal gameplay features deeper look at combat and roguelike elements

State of Play Returnal gameplay trailer
(Image credit: Housemarque)

Upcoming PS5 title Returnal has released a new gameplay overview trailer which features a closer look at combat, upgrades, and the game’s roguelike elements. 

Premiering at PlayStation’s State of Play showcase, the new trailer reintroduces lead protagonist Celine as she attempts to navigate the dark alien planet of Atropos. 

The trailer showcased the game’s roguelike combat system which according to the trailer, requires “Dashing and quickly maneuvering your way above and around enemies” to survive, as well as a glimpse into one of many alt-fire weapons, found in-game, which the trailer details are “great for crowd control.” 

As well as Returnal’s reward system which takes the form of devices that are placed throughout the world which aid players through the game with weapons, consumables, and upgrades that “can completely change your play style and make each cycle feel unique.” 

It also highlighted Returnal’s “deep and engaging” story which encourages players to piece together Celine’s story as they traverse through the dark, alien planet. This extended gameplay overview also contains more footage of a house that seems to plague Celine’s memories that according to the main protagonist are “corroded” with some parts missing and others that seem manufactured, and was first featured in a trailer released yesterday.

Returnal will be released on April 30, 2021, exclusively on the PS5.

For more next-gen games to get excited about, take a look at our upcoming PS5 games list

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at 12DOVE before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.  

Latest in Third Person Shooter
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing a fully geared/armored diver standing with gun in hand as three jets soar the skies behind him
Arrowhead reveals the Helldivers 2 ideas left on its cutting room floor, from 5-player squads to low-gravity planets and a whole new armor system
Helldivers 2 Ultimatum
Helldivers 2 has a Major Order problem, but the solution isn't simple because "having 100% participation means the MOs will always be won and that introduces other issues"
Marvel Rivals Clone Rumble
Marvel Rivals' new Clone Rumble mode sounds like the kind of absolute chaos multiplayer games need more of
Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 has an endgame problem, but a developer assures us "things are coming," they just can't say what yet because otherwise our expectations will be too high
Jeff the Land Shark as he appears in Marvel Rivals
"Sounds like a skills issue": Jeff the Shark co-creator says Marvel Rivals players "should get better at the game" if "my boy is beating your ass every night"
Helldivers 2 intro cutscene helldiver thumbs up
Helldivers 2's Galactic War resumes as Arrowhead fixes its broken liberation rates, and High Command insists anyone who saw anything weird "may be suffering from Illuminate mind-influence"
Latest in News
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
5 years after starting development, Neil Druckmann says Naughty Dog's new game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "still evolving and changing as we're making it"
Silent Hill f
After 2 years of silence, the next mainline Silent Hill game is getting a dedicated stream this week with "the latest news"
Original Xbox console
Former Microsoft exec says the first Xbox was killed early in favor of 360 because it was "losing money left right and center," but luckily "we could afford to hemorrhage cash"
A Monster Hunter Wilds character holding binoculars.
Despite Monster Hunter Wilds suffering monstrous performance problems on PC, it still outsold the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions in the US
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann says Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will also be about "being lonely," as if his zombie apocalypse wasn’t isolating enough: "I really want you to be lost"
A screenshot of Jordan drinking a soda during the reveal trailer for Intergalactic: The Hertic Prophet.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "a game about faith and religion," which Neil Druckmann jokes will surely get less hate than The Last of Us 2