Returnal

Few games show off what the PS5 can do better than Returnal. Developed by Housemarque (the folks behind PS4 launch title Resogun), Returnal is a cross between a roguelike and a third-person shooter. You play as Selene Vassos, an interstellar scout who crash-lands on the uncharted planet of Atropos. Your goal, which sounds simple, is to escape Atropos and crawl your way back to civilization. However, every time you die, you’re sent all the way back to where you started, with none of the items or weapons you acquired in the prior life. Yes, Returnal is a time loop game—and a relentlessly difficult one at that—but Returnal is much more than what you see on the screen. When it rains in-game, you’ll feel the cadence of a gentle rainstorm in your palms. When you shoot, you’ll feel the trigger tense up at the halfway point; pushing past the tension activates a secondary firing mode in a technical display you can’t experience on the PS4 or a simple DualShock. Plenty of games look like next-gen games. Returnal feels like one, too.

A Good Match For: Fans of time loops, particle effects, roguelikes, and time loops.

Not A Good Match For: Players who grapple with soul-crushingly challenging gameplay. Anyone who’s willing to lose everything (knowing that runs can easily last hours).