24th February 2023
Hello! Welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we’ve found ourselves playing over the last few days. This time: space, pirates, and music.
If you fancy catching up on some of the older editions of What We’ve Been Playing, here’s our archive.
Returnal, PC
I’ve been waiting for an age for Returnal to land on PC. Housemarque are properly up there for me, and the idea of this brilliant team stepping into new territory is almost too much to bear.
Now it’s out, I’m thoroughly on board. The sci-fi stylings are wonderfully chilly, and there’s something lovely about the moment where the first baddy fires the first volley at you and you get that arc of slow moving laser ball things that tells you that Housemarque has not forgotten where it came from.
I’m still early in, but what I’m enjoying most so far is a total surprise – it’s the main character discovering that they’re in a Roguelike, and then discovering what Roguelikes are.
First they come across a body and discover it’s theirs. Then they start to learn about the loop, the business of coming back to live, and even the process of saving progress at points – so I guess I should have said it’s a roguelite?
It’s one of the first times I can remember the rules of a game serving double-time as the plot of a game quite so nakedly. It’s a boldness that seems very Housemarque to me. Can’t wait to play more.
Chris Donlan
Konkan Coast Pirate Solutions, PC
Konkan Coast Pirate Solutions isn’t out until the 1st of March, but I’ve been playing it this week and I already can’t get it out of my head. Billed as a cosy game about helping pirate ships do piratey things, it’s deft, minimalist and exacting.