From the first moment I got it return the goods On PS5, I knew I was in for something special. Even before I even fired a shot, the game spoke to me through its retro ’80s sci-fi aesthetic, dark, obscure world, and mystery that captivated me from the start.
Returnal ended up being the first (and only) game to justify my purchase of Sony’s unusually large, expensive, and hard-to-find console.
When the first run ended because I couldn’t aim fast enough, I knew I was going to struggle the rest of the race. I just want to play games with a mouse in the 90’s and 100’s. This week, I finally got my wish.
To say playing Returnal with a mouse was transformative would be an understatement. Anyone who enjoys using a mouse to aim in a shooter will immediately know how accurate it can be.
That’s not a revelation; it’s clearly applicable to most games — even those designed primarily for controllers. While Returnal does offer aim assist and other options to keep things manageable, its encounter demands far exceed what controller-dominated games usually ask of players.
Someone better at playing shooters on the mat would be nice, but I struggled, making an already difficult game even more punishing. It’s only when I play the PC version at 90fps+ and use my favorite control method that it really shows how well Returnal plays with a mouse.
So much so that it almost feels like a PC game ported on a console.
The key to maintaining an edge in Returnal’s tough encounters is to quickly analyze the layout of the arena and use it effectively for cover, repositioning, and the occasional two-second break. Analog controls are great for this, and more cluttered areas work well on DualSense.
An equally important part of your mission is to consistently shoot the ball when you do Start fighting back. The problem was that it took me longer to line up my shots on the controller, which greatly narrowed the window of opportunity. I’m actually more defensive than I’d like, and more than I feel the game demands of enemy design.
At the end of the day, this is the crux of why I struggled to score well in many of Returnal’s encounters. Of course, as a rogue-lite, sometimes the odds work in my favor and I just move on. But I’ve never been able to get over the fact that there’s a gap between what I know I can do and what my input method allows me to do.
Especially the later stages of the game start to introduce enemies that make you dash down or fire tracked projectiles, and as you get deeper, the stop-and-pop strategy becomes less and less useful, requiring quicker target acquisition in a tighter window.
now i can actually To save my life, I’m curious how I’ll feel about the few enemies I remember making it so hard for me on PS5. The third biome in particular, with its heavy focus on ranged combat, is the part of the game that almost puts me off the PS5.
Being able to effectively stop enemies from approaching and overpowering me feels empowering in a way I can’t do on the PS5. Quickly switching from long-range aiming to close-range aiming is another thing I’ve had trouble doing with a controller; it’s one or the other.
But does DualSense offer any real advantages? The answer is clear, yes! Return uses DualSense in two main ways, both of which trump any other PS5-exclusive – but one that I don’t think I’m missing that much.
By default, a short press of the right trigger fires the standard projectile, but a full pull fires the weapon’s special action. Given that I was already struggling to manage standard movement and shooting, I turned the feature off almost immediately.
Weapons in Returnal usually have special traits that determine how they fire alternately, but I just moved it to a different button. But how do you know when your alt fire is ready? Well, you have to pay attention to the charging meter on the crosshairs.
It’s usually not hard to keep track of, but I suspect most players just forget it’s there because things get so confusing and busy. Housemarque’s ingenious solution is to use the DualSense’s haptics to send very specific pulses, accompanied by an unmistakable queue of sounds, reminding you that your cool move is ready.
I’m so attuned to this rhythm that I can feel the haptics picking up speed without even glancing at my HUD, and as soon as I feel that pulse, I instantly activate the special function.
I wish my mouse could do this; it would give me a trance. I’m still playing around with the mouse, but damn if I didn’t miss that obvious rumble. Before I go back and plug in the DualSense, I plan on finishing a game, if only to feel that feeling again.
Impressions based on PC code provided by Sony.
