ADRENALLY RETENTIVE

Given its back catalogue, it’s no surprise that Housemarque doesn’t just want you to survive in Returnal, but expects you to do so in style. The Adrenaline meter, which builds as you chain kills without getting hit, is a vitally important tool. Killing three enemies levels it up, and at each stage comes a valuable buff: a stronger melee, improved vision, an easier alt-reload, and so on. Yet it’s at the maximum, level five, that it truly comes into its own. Downed enemies now drop far more of the essential Obolite currency, bringing the more powerful Artifact upgrades more realistically within your grasp. A harsh punishment for players still learning the game who are getting hit all the time? Sure. But such is the way of the arcade.