Helios has been abandoned! This week we’re playing the multiple BAFTA Award-winning Triple-A roguelite shooter Returnal. We continue bullet hell/heck month with swarms of huge colorful orbs, energy swords, and as many tentacled Matrix-inspired laser squids as you can shake your noodly appendages at! Join us in our foray into the first actual big-budget rogue-game of the pod with a game that had been locked behind Playstation 5 exclusivity like a gigantic interlocking metal door. We were able to just barely eek through the podcaster-sized hole in the bottom, but can we beat the boss that is…uh…well the first boss even??? Aim assist to maximum!

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Transcript

2:10 - game stats

4:53 - one sentence description

5:30 - all devs go to heaven warning (sort of)

7:34 - Difficulty preferences and boss fight frustrations

16:18 - Story introduction and crash landing setup

22:33 - Atmosphere and alien environment descriptions

27:53 - Biome structure and room types explanation

32:46 - Progression systems and weapon upgrading mechanics

39:03 - PC port performance and hardware requirements

44:11 - Weapon synergies and parasite systems

51:24 - Game length criticism and pacing issues

55:00 - story spoilers discussion

1:04:05 - rankings and final thoughts

1:14:30 - similar games

Next episode: Barony

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: McCoy Tyner - Search For Peace

Outro music: Bobby Krlic - Hyperion