It’s been a few days since the release ofReturnal, the third-person horror roguelite from Housemarque and Sony Interactive Entertainment.Returnalis a PlayStation 5 exclusive, and set on the alien planet of Atropos. Players take on the role of ASTRA Corporation explorer Selene Vassos as she attempts to land on Atropos in search of the mysterious White Shadow signal.
After crashing on arrival, Selene discovers that she is stuck in a time-loop, and will return to the crash each time she dies. To discover the secret ofReturnal’s White Shadowand break the loop, she must explore the planet, battling hostile alien creatures along the way. Selene can pick up a variety of weapons throughout the game, but some are more powerful than others.
S-Tier Returnal Weapons
Pyroshell Caster
One of therarest weapons inReturnal, the Pyroshell Caster is an explosive launcher that’s capable of dealing massive amounts of damage over a large area. Although it has a slower rate of fire than its cousin, the Thermogenic Launcher, the Pyroshell Caster deals even more damage.
Spitmaw Blaster
Returnal’s shotgun-like weapon, the Spitmaw Blaster is a great pick at any point in a run. Many ofReturnal’s enemies like to get up-close and personal, which is the range at which the Spitmaw Blaster’s powerful shots do their best work.
A-Tier Returnal Weapons
Tachyomatic Carbine
The Tachyomatic Carbine isReturnal’s equivalent of the standard assault rifle. However, this shouldn’t discourage players from picking it up. Although each bullet deals little damage, the Tachyomatic Carbine can build up a terrifying fire-rate and massive clip-size with the bestReturnalweapon perks.
Thermogenic Launcher
Despite being the less-flashy cousin of the Pyroshell Caster, the Thermogenic Launcher is easily capable of dealing with most ofReturnal’s enemies. Its combination of huge splash radius and high damage mean it particularly excels when taking out crowds.
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B-Tier Returnal Weapons
Rotgland Lobber
One of thestrangest artifacts inReturnal, the Rotgland Lobber is an alien weapon that fires blobs of acid. Overall, the weapon functions like a grenade launcher, with decent damage and splash, as well as a damage-over-time effect.
Electropylon Driver
Another unusual weapon, the Electropylon Driver fires pylons that attach to enemies or surfaces. Once two or more pylons have been attached, they’ll connect to each other with an arc of lightning, causing damage to anything caught between them. Although the damage is good, the trickiness and situational nature of the Electropylon keeps it in B-Tier of ourReturnalweapons tier list.
Coilspine Shredder
The Coilspine Shredder is another weapon made byReturnal’s alien enemies, which fires a serrated disc that pierces through enemies. The disc can be charged up for greater damage, and will bounce off surfaces when it comes into contact with them.
C-Tier Returnal Weapons
Modified Sidearm SD-M8
The SD-M8 is the first weapon that players will receive at the start ofReturnal’s campaign story. While it’s not a bad weapon, particularly with perks like the Homing Bullets, it can’t stand up to the rest of the game’s arsenal.
Hollowseeker
The final two entries on our tier list ofReturnalweapons are both guns that are good in certain situations but tricky to use effectively. The first is the Hollowseeker, a rapid-fire alien weapon that discharges a torrent of homing needles. While the Hollowseeker fires very quickly, it requires sustained fire to do any real damage, something that’s difficult when dodgingaggressive monsters inReturnal.
Dreadbound
The Dreadbound is anotherunique weapon inReturnal, but also one that’s quite finicky to use. It’s a crossbow-like gun that fires a projectile which can be called back after being fired. The projectile deals damage to enemies on the path of its return as well as when it’s fired, giving the Dreadbound the potential to be effective in skilled hands.
Returnalis available now on PS5.
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