Housemarque, the developers behind Returnal, are hopeful the newly revamped PlayStation Plus will encourage more gamers to try out the third-person shooter. The 2021 title won Best Game at the 2022 BAFTA Game Awards, prompting developers to discuss their hopes for the future of the game. An interview with Eurogamer at the award show had the studio’s managing director, Ilari Kuittinen, say it was “brilliant” the game had been added to the PlayStation subscription service.
Kuittinen went on to say, “As you know, it’s been a while since the release. And we know the people who get into [subscriptions] play a lot.” Adding, that he’s hopeful the service will prompt new players to “dare to try” the game. He said, “There’s no hidden cost, if you like, it’s easy to get into. Sony does [make] some wise decisions, like funding this game. They started to fund this game five years ago, they took a leap of faith.”
Housemarque’s managing director made these comments at the BAFTA Games Award show after Returnal had just won Game of the Year, Audio Achievement and Music awards, and actress Jane Perry had taken home the win for Best Performer in a Leading Role for her portrayal as Selene Vassos.
Lead Designer Henri Mustonen spoke on how the roguelike shooter had impacted Housemarque’s DNA saying, “I mean, gameplay always comes first. So we always want the gameplay and the systems focus to be at the forefront. Obviously, we want to have an even better marriage between the two moving ahead.” He added that Returnal helped the studio take “massive leaps” to “establish [narrative] as a core part of the experience.”
Continuing on the importance of story, Narrative designer Eevi Korhonen said, “We definitely want to keep doing more, I think we did find something really unique and exciting with Returnal. But we still definitely think that there’s more to explore. I’m excited to see what we make and what others could make with this type of storytelling that isn’t so linear, that isn’t so hand-holdy. And we’re really excited to hopefully inspire other game makers to do the same.”
Check out Returnal exclusively on PS5.
