Fights can be hard, and if your positioning is bad or targeting is bad, they can be overwhelming. But I never had a death in Returnal that I didn't feel like I couldn't have avoided, or couldn't have better planned for. Sometimes you'll enter an area and you just won't have enough health, or your mix of weaponry and buffs isn't sufficient to clear out targets before you start getting swarmed. But the second you get a decent upgrade from your starting pistol — especially if it's the automatic rifle or shotgun in the first act of the game, or the rocket launcher in the second — Returnal really starts to click.
But even when it all comes together, Housemarque constantly hints hinting at passageways, loot and secrets you can't reach. My second run in Returnal was a great example: I walked into the first room, seeing ramps on my left and right, and a small pool of water with health and Obolites, Returnal's xeno currency that you collect over the course of a run.
Oh neat, I thought. I'd just gotten into a battle and lost a chunk of health, so this was perfect. Into the pond I go.
I should have known better; Selene couldn't swim, and she wouldn't be able to for another 25 hours.
