New Returnal Trailer Highlights Its Combat

While there has been a fair amount of information released recently about the upcoming video game Returnal from developer Housemarque for the PlayStation 5, today the company has highlighted the game’s combat and weapons specifically with a new trailer. While the game’s weapons all start off a certain way, players can then further modify and upgrade them, stacking different traits to create unique methods of taking on enemies across the game’s hostile landscape.

“The game features a number of base weapons that are augmented as you play,” Housemarque Creative Director Harry Krueger says in a new PlayStation blog. “For example, the living Spitmaw Blaster weapon starts as a shotgun archetype you all know and love. As you progress, you’ll unlock and add on various Weapon Traits, each providing a unique gameplay modifier to the base weapon’s behavior. These Weapon Traits are custom tailored for each gun type – so your Spitmaw Blaster might gain exploding shells or generate acid pools upon impact; while the Electropylon Driver might extract extra loot from enemies, or generate shields for the player. These Weapon Traits will also stack, so the combined effects can lead to many surprising results that can have unique advantages and playstyles to explore.”

Here’s how Housemarque and PlayStation officially describe Returnal:

“After crash-landing on this shape-shifting world, Selene must search through the barren landscape of an ancient civilization for her escape. Isolated and alone, she finds herself fighting tooth and nail for survival. Again and again, she’s defeated – forced to restart her journey every time she dies.”

Returnal is set to release for the PlayStation 5 on March 19th. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the upcoming video game right here.

What do you think about what we have seen of Returnal so far? Are you excited to check it out when it does eventually release? Let us know in the comments, or feel free to reach out and hit me up directly over on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk about all things gaming!