History VideoGame / Returnal

* OminousPipeOrgan: One of the bosses, Hyperion, is playing an extra ominous [[AccidentalPun organic]]-looking one during his boss fight. [[spoiler:As the fight progresses, it becomes increasingly obvious that the song she is playing is "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Music/BlueOysterCult.]]

''Returnal'' is a {{Roguelike}} ThirdPersonShooter with BulletHell elements developed by Creator/{{Housemarque}} and published by Creator/SonyInteractiveEntertainment. It was released on April 30th, 2021 initially as a UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 exclusive, and was later released on PC on February 15, 2023. It is most notably Housemarque's first [=AAA=] production.

** Selene's dad is {{implied|Trope}} to have been at least a downplayed example. While the player does learn a few substantial things about him throughout the game, namely that [[spoiler:he was a talented organist, his favorite song was "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Music/BlueOysterCult, and Selene's most vivid memory of him is him playing a "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swallow%27s_nest_organ swallow's nest organ]]" in a church]], he on the whole appears to been a mostly absent figure in her life, compared to her emotionally abusive mother, Theia's very overshadowing presence. His most "overt" appearance is through [[spoiler:the boss of the Echoing Ruins, Hyperion, who is heavily implied to be based on Selene's memories of him]].

** Selene's dad is {{implied|Trope}} to have been at least a downplayed example. While the player does learn a few substantial things about him throughout the game, namely that [[spoiler:he was a talented organist, his favorite song was "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Music/BlueOysterCult, and Selene's most vivid memory of him is him playing a "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swallow%27s_nest_organ swallow's nest organ]]" in a church]], he on the whole appears to been a mostly absent figure in her life, compared to her emotionally abusive mother, Theia's very overshadowing presence. [[spoiler:The boss, Hyperion, is heavily implied to be based on him.]]

** Selene's dad is {{implied|Trope}} to have been at least a downplayed example. While the player does learn a few substantial things about him throughout the game, namely that [[spoiler:he was a talented organist, his favorite song was "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Music/BlueOysterCult, and Selene's most vivid memory of him is him playing a "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swallow%27s_nest_organ swallow's nest organ]]" in a church]], he on the whole appears to been a mostly absent figure in her life, compared to her emotionally abusive mother, Theia's very overshadowing presence.

* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: The climb towards the confrontation with one of the bosses, Hyperion, is accompanied by sinster organ and synth music. Selene even complains about being able to hear it, feeling tormented by it. When Hyperion is encountered at the top of her tower, she is actually found hunched over an organ which she proceeds to keep playing for her entire boss fight. It is first when Hyperion finally goes down that the music, to Selene's outspoken relief, stops.

* OminousPipeOrgan: One of the bosses, Hyperion, is playing an extra ominous [[AccidentalPun organic]]-looking one during her boss fight. [[spoiler:As the fight progresses, it becomes increasingly obvious that the song she is playing is "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Music/BlueOysterCult.]]

* StationaryBoss: At the start of its boss fight, Hyperion is tethered to a pipe organ and cannot move. She starts breaking her tethers from the second phase onward, becoming more mobile as the fight progresses.

[[PlayerCharacter Selene Vassos]] (voiced by Creator/JanePerry) is a Greek-American space pilot who crashes into an alien planet called [[MeaningfulName Atropos]], after trying to locate a mysterious signal she dubs "White Shadow". With her ship, Helios, sustaining critical damage, Selene is forced to explore the hostile environment of Atropos, using whatever equipment or weaponry she can find. Soon enough, however, she realizes that escaping Atropos won't be an easy task, and [[GroundhogDayLoop every death brings her back to the moment she crash-lands into the planet]].

* NumerologicalMotif: 8:36. The clocks in the House sequences are always at 8:36. During the fourth House section, Selene tells her daughter to put her dinner in the microwave for 8:36. [[spoiler: It was the time on the dashboard clock when Selene had her accident.]]

* DrivingQuestion: Throughout Act 1, Selene is trying to find the answer to the phrase "Do you see the White Shadow?" that was sent to her across the galaxy from Atropos. The ending in Act 2 reveals the true significance of the phrase. [[spoiler: In the past, Selene and her daughter were driving down a moonlit road when her daughter asked "Do you see the White Shadow?" At first she thought it was the full moon, but it ended up being the Astronaut, which caused Selene to drive the car into the river.]]

''Returnal'' is a {{Roguelike}} ThirdPersonShooter with BulletHell elements developed by Creator/{{Housemarque}} and published by Creator/SonyInteractiveEntertainment as a UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 exclusive. It was released on April 30th, 2021. It is most notably Housemarque's first [=AAA=] production.

* DyingDream: [[spoiler:One interpretation of the story is that it's a death fantasy Selene is experiencing as she dies of her injuries from the second car crash.]]

* BizarreAlienBiology: The fauna of Atropos fits this to a T. Save for the extinct and [[HumanoidAlien largely humanoid]] Sentients, the aliens are a nightmarish combination of [[BioluminesceneIsCool bioluminescence]], tentacles, and some bizarrely impossible asymmetry.

* BreakMeter: In addition to regular damage, some weapons and artifacts add Stagger Power to your weapon. Stagger builds up as a meter on enemies, and filling it all the way stuns them for a bit, letting Selene really bring the pain.

* RecurringRiff: A unique melody dogs Selene through the Echoing Ruins, which she recalls from her time on Earth. She would often play it on the piano in her spare time, but hearing it on Atropos over and over seems to cause her a serious amount of distress. Tracking down the source of the music and silencing it becomes one of her primary objectives. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed to be "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Music/BlueOysterCult, and was the song playing on the car radio when Selene had the car crash that resulted in her son's death.]]

** Selene's running commentary on what’s going on around her gradually changes over the course of the game. In the earlier areas, she approaches her situation with cautious curiosity, documenting her discoveries and making scientific notes; but as her situation grows more desperate she loses her composure, until by the end of the game pretty much every word that comes out of her mouth is delusional, pseudo-religious nonsense.

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: The game's events are implied to take place within a couple decades of the present day - Apollo-esque astronaut suits are familiar, and a Playstation 5 can be seen in a flashback - but ASTRA's sleek spacesuits and deep-space shuttles are closer to science fiction. [[spoiler:It's a major hint that the game's events aren't entirely real.]]

* ATasteOfPower: The [[PlayEveryDay daily challenges]] can offer this early on, as they can equip the player with weapons they haven't collected yet, stacked with multiple, high-level traits that can make short work of the enemies they encounter.

* OneUp: There are a few ways for Selene to keep herself in the current loop a little longer when her health reaches 0, such as the Astronaut Figurine or Reconstructors, which bring back Selene after a fatal blow on the spot/at the reconstructor's location, respectively.* PhotoMode: Added as of 2.0 Update with classic lens and lighting settings.

* TheMusketeer: Selene's main combat options are the [[LaserBlade Atropian Blade]] and whatever [[RayGun laser gun]] she can get her hands on.

* OneUp: There are a few ways for Selene to keep herself in the current loop a little longer when her health reaches 0, such as the Astronaut Figurine or Reconstructors, which bring back Selene after a fatal blow on the spot/at the reconstructor's location, respectively.

* DeadGuyJunior: In reverse! [[spoiler:Selene is implied to have named her ship, Helios, after her dead son.]]

* ExistentialHorror: [[spoiler:As the player gather and put together the clues providing the game's story, it becomes clear that the crux of the plot is that Selene is essentially forced to relive her own worst nightmare over and over, time again and again. [[AndIMustScream And even death, whatever forms it comes in, will never save her.]] Even when it seems she have managed to escape Atropos, she is still not safe; the midpoint game has Selene managing the feat of calling a rescue team, who pick her up and get her off the planet, allowing her living out her natural lifespan in peaceful retirement on Earth, and eventually dying from old age. But this doesn't stop the cycle -- after all is said and done, she is once more forced to wake up on Atropos at the point were she woke up the first time and go through everything again. And there is no appearent reason ''why'' all of this happening to her, other that the vague and rather ambigous suggestion that it might be her own guilt that is keeping her trapped in a DyingDream.]]

* GroundhogDayLoop: Selene is doomed to loop back to the crash after each and every death. [[spoiler:The idea ends up being subverted, however. It doesn't take long for Selene and the player to encounter evidence that her actions leave lasting changes on Atropos. Then there is the fact that she will occasionally run into a corpse of one of her previous selves, still lying where she fell, though showing obvious signs of decay and exposure to the elements. Turns that whatever is happening on Atropos is [[WellThisIsNotThatTrope not truly a "Groundhog Day" Loop]]. It is a ResurrectionDeathLoop. Selene might die and get resurrected over and over, but time on Atropos keeps on moving along independent of what is happening to her.]] [[spoiler:Even after she gets off Atropos, although the true ending implies Selene was able to break the loop.]]

* PhotoMode: Added as of 2.0 Update with classic lens and lighting settings.

* ExistentialHorror: [[spoiler:As the player gather and put together the clues providing the game's story, it becomes clear that the crux of the plot is that Selene is essentially forced to relive her own worst nightmare over and over, time again and again. [[AndIMustScream And even death, whatever forms it comes in, will never save her.]] Even when it seems she have managed to escape Atropos, she is still not safe; the midpoint game has Selene managing the feat of calling a rescue team, who pick her up and get her off the planet, allowing her living out her natural lifespan in peaceful retirement on Earth, and eventually dying from old age. But this doesn't stop the cycle -- after all is said and done, she is once more forced to wake up on Atropos at the point were she woke up the first time and go through everything again.]]

* GroundhogDayLoop: Selene is doomed to loop back to the crash after each and every death. [[spoiler:The idea is quickly subverted, however. It doesn't take long for Selene and the player to encounter evidence that her actions leave lasting changes on Atropos. Then there is the fact that she will occasionally run into a corpse of one of her previous selves, still lying where she fell, though showing obvious signs of decay and exposure to the elements. Turns that whatever is happening on Atropos is [[WellThisIsNotThatTrope not truly a "Groundhog Day" Loop]]. It is a ResurrectionDeathLoop. Selene might die and get resurrected over and over, but time on Atropos keeps on moving along independent of what is happening to her.]] [[spoiler:Even after she gets off Atropos, although the true ending implies Selene was able to break the loop.]]