Housemarque’s audition before the Sony acquisition is back after a year with some free DLC, titled Returnal: Ascension.
Returnal was one of the most underrated games of 2021, failing to capture a much larger audience due to its unforgiving difficulty that belied a gripping narrative that took multiple playthroughs and a thorough analysis to wrap your head around. The game revolved around the space pilot, Selene, a woman who finds herself trapped inside a time loop as she fights against monstrous creatures from a foreign planet.
For nearly a year, Returnal was a single-player experience, with the handful of fans hoping that Housemarque would release post-launch story content that would explore Selene’s cyclical nightmare even further. Unfortunately, it appears that the story has all wrapped up and fans are free to make of it what they will. But, Returnal is getting free DLC that adds a new co-op mode as well as a single-player only survival mode, Tower of Sisyphus.
According to the official description, the Tower of Sisyphus is an “ascending gauntlet of increasingly dangerous phases” where players will have to clear each floor to move to the next one. The mode is also teasing something that might be story-related, asking players to prepare themselves for what they “might encounter within.”
Brutally difficult and unapologetic, the addition of a co-op mode to Returnal is a godsend. This will make it easier for players who are new to bullet hole titles to acclimate themselves to this kind of gameplay. Unfortunately, Tower of Sisyphus is exclusive for solo players, so you still can’t rely on someone to hold your hand.
Players will be able to unlock the Tower of Sisyphus after finding the Icarian Grapnel starting on March 22.
In other news, Sony’s State of Play drew mixed reactions from fans. The disappointment appears to stem from the lack of Hogwarts Legacy news while Square Enix didn’t even mention Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy Remake Part 2 at all. On the other hand, the showcase did include news about Capcom’s upcoming Dino Crisis-like title, Exoprimal. Also, speaking of Square Enix, you can check out the new website for Final Fantasy’s 35th anniversary.
