The new Housemarque shooter shows that Sony only wants to publish one kind of game.
Heck, for all we know this isnt even another roguelike.
And yet, this trailer has Returnals stink all over it.
God, I missed that stink.
In case you havent yet been indoctrinated by the Church of Returnal, Ill break it down.
Then everything begins again.
An eight-armed creature with dagger-like fingers emerges from the sea.
Humanoid monstrosities are also featured all throughout Returnal, including the multi-armed boss Phrike.
Selene lost her son in Returnal, but who is Devraj looking for?
Then the titles appear, and it says Saros, not Returnal 2.
Not even Saros: A Returnal Story.
ThisisReturnal 2, even if its not called that.
Returnal 2 Never Would Have Worked
Sequels can be a bit of a double-edged sword.
Trading on the name of a successful game is good for marketing, and sequelsusuallyoutsell the original.
But, the number two in a title can also drive potential new fans away.
Housemarques strategy is to have its cake and eat it too.
This is a brand new IP, come one come all!
But for those of us in the know, we see whats going on here.
We seeexactlywhats going on here.
There could never be a traditional sequel to Returnal.
It also wouldnt work with another character.
A huge part of Returnals mystery is figuring out what Atropos is and why the time loops are happening.
It just wouldnt work.
If Housemarque does eventually write a new story for Selene, Ill happily eat those words.
Its not that much of a sequel obviously.
I suspect Housemarque is building something more along the lines of the Remedy Connected Universe.
