Finnish developer Housemarque has celebrated the 4th anniversary of Returnal with the release of the long-awaited PlayStation 5 Pro patch. The studio didn’t go into much detail about the improvements, though they did say the patch offers up to 2.5x higher resolution than the base PlayStation 5 version.
Based on Digital Foundry’s analysis of the game on PS5, Returnal originally rendered the game at native 1080p, then used temporal reconstruction up to 1440p, and finally added a checkerboard rendering pass to reach 4K output. So, it sounds like the PS5 Pro version might now output native 4K resolution, although we’ll have to wait for a new analysis to get confirmation.
Powered by Unreal Engine 4, Returnal was so successful that it single-handedly convinced Sony to acquire Housemarque. The game earned a 9.3/10 score in Wccftech’s review by Kai Tatsumoto:
Save for an ending that crashes nearly as hard as Helios’ entry onto Atropos, Returnal checks all of the marks for what a best-in-class roguelike should aim for: a gameplay loop that rewards the player for innovation and mastery, loot that can synergize to create some unstoppable character builds, and most importantly, weapons that simply feel right in the player’s hands. Without a doubt, Returnal is one of the finest PlayStation 5 exclusives available in 2021 and those that are eager for the next great challenge can find plenty to look forward to with Selene’s first steps onto the alien planet again and again.
Despite the game’s success, Housemarque is not making a sequel to Returnal. Instead, they are crafting a brand new sci-fi IP called Saros. The developers claim this will be the ‘ultimate evolution’ of their trademark action gameplay when it ships next year on PlayStation 5. The game still uses the roguelike framework seen in Returnal, but this time around, Housemarque will let players keep permanent resources and progression, making deaths more bearable.
Last month, the studio admitted they could never have made a game like Saros if they had remained independent. It reportedly has a budget similar to Alan Wake 2’s (around €70 million).
