Returnal

About Returnal

Returnal came out on PlayStation 5 in 2021 and on PC in 2023, made by the Finnish studio Housemarque with Climax Studios on the PC version. You play Selene, an astronaut who crash-lands on the shifting planet Atropos and relives the same run each time she dies, fighting through bullet-hell clashes in a procedurally arranged world. On Steam it holds a Very Positive rating from more than 11,000 reviews.

The Daily Challenge is reached from a terminal in the game once you have cleared the first biome, the Overgrown Ruins, and beaten its boss. Its own description is plain: compete against other Scouts in a single-biome run, with one opportunity to set a score. Each day the biome, your starting weapon, your traits and the modifiers change together, and they are the same for everyone, so the dead Selenes you find along the way are other players who fell on that day's run.

Your score comes from kills, exploration and reaching the exit, and at the end the game shows where you stand on the day's leaderboard and among your friends. Because there is only one try, the daily run rewards careful play over the risk-taking of the main game. The game itself is paid; the Daily Challenge needs an online connection.

How to play Returnal

1. Clear the first biome, the Overgrown Ruins, and beat its boss to unlock the Daily Challenge terminal.
2. Start the day's challenge: you get the set weapon, traits and modifiers for that day.
3. Fight through the single biome, scoring for kills, exploration and reaching the exit.
4. You have one attempt; when it ends, see your rank on the day's leaderboard.

Screenshots

Tips

• Explore rooms fully: exploration adds to the score as well as kills.
• Read the day's modifiers before you start; they change which risks are worth taking.
• There is no second try, so play the opening rooms carefully.

Questions