Returnal was a “unique and exciting” foundation that developer Housemarque intends to keep building upon in the future.
Speaking with TheGamer in a recent interview, narrative designer Eevi Korhonen stated that “there is still so much more to explore” with Returnal.
Whether that is through a sequel or a new game in the genre or perhaps both, Housemarque knows that it has a new way of storytelling on its hands, especially now that Returnal has won accolades for audio achievement and music alongside the best game award in the recent Bafta games awards ceremony.
“We definitely want to keep doing more, I think we defined something really unique and exciting with Returnal, and there’s still so much more to explore with it,” said Korhonen. “I’m excited to see what we make and what others could make with this type of storytelling that isn’t so linear or hand-holding. We’re really excited to hopefully inspire other game makers too.”
Returnal was released last year as a massive success story for Housemarque. The developer is already working on a new project but as much as fans wanted a sequel, Housemarque is looking to create another all-new intellectual property.
The unannounced project is currently in an early, conceptualizing phase and will be focusing on old-school arcade shooters while keeping the essence of Returnal. There will also be no multiplayer support, at least during the current stage of development. Housemarque noted that it has not done well with its past multiplayer stints but will see what comes up as development progresses.
“We had our stint working on multiplayer games because a few years back it seemed like you needed to have some kind of multiplayer experience,” said managing director Ilari Kuittinen last month. “We tried that, and we really didn’t do it as well. But it’s early days with us starting a new game, a new IP, concepting it out. We’ll see what comes with that.”
Returnal will be one of the launch titles of PlayStation Plus Premium in June 2022. The developer hopes that the inclusion will help in finding a new audience.
