Returnal is a ruthless, uncompromising roguelike from Housemarque. It’s a game that, if it gets its hooks into you, won’t let go until you reach its true ending, as you take Selene on a difficult journey that is as fulfilling as it is challenging. As you travel through its various biomes, you’ll uncover a number of different weapons to help you in combat. Each has their strengths and weaknesses, as well as various traits that can buff them up to draw out their full potential.
Below are five of the best weapons the game has to offer on your journey through Returnal.
Spoilers Ahead
5. Tachyomatic Carbine
Next to the Modified Sidearm SD-M8, the Tachyomatic Carbine is probably the most familiar weapon players will be with right when they pick it up. It’s the gun that feels the most like any other weapon in other games, so it’s really easy to use. However, with that being said, it’s still incredibly satisfying to play with, and in the right situation, can carry you through the most difficult levels of the game.
Acting like a typical machine gun you’d find in most games, the Tachyomatic Carbine has a number of really cool weapon traits. “Leech Rounds” are one you’d wish would be on every weapon, as it has the chance to return damage done as health. “Rising Pitch” is also a trait that can really help in fights against bosses that go on for long durations, as your fire rate will increase the longer you shoot your weapon.
4. Hollowseeker
When Housemarque tweeted out some player stats for the game about a month after release, it was no surprise to see that the Hollowseeker was the most popular weapon. Acquired somewhat early in a playthrough, it’s a gun that has arguably the best weapon traits in the game, and ones that can easily rip through some of the more difficult bosses you’ll encounter. Some of these traits include “Portal Beam,” which, while firing, has the chance to create a portal that will target nearby enemies with a beam. This beam can do devastating amounts of damage to enemies, and because it stays around for a little bit after spawning, can be a great help with bosses.
Another trait that’s exclusive to this weapon which buffs up the Hollowseeker is “Waves,” which, in addition to your normal projectiles, will send out waves that also damage enemies. Another positive of the Hollowseeker is that it allows for long continuous streams of fire, which is a plus that a lot of the other weapons in the game don’t possess.
3. Dreadbound
Found pretty late in the game, the Dreadbound can be both the best and worst gun in the game, depending on how well your aim is. Of course you could say that about pretty much any weapon in any game, but it rings truer here than in many other cases. The Dreadbound has the ability to take down enemies faster than any other gun you come across if utilized correctly. This is a weapon that doesn’t need to be reloaded, and carries three shards that it fires off. These shards end up returning to Selene if she connects directly with her target, but if she doesn’t she’ll have to end up waiting for a recharge, which at times, in the heat of battle, can cause a lot of problems.
Although it’s described as a long-range weapon, it’s at its best when you get up close and personal with enemies, as you’ll notice when you start using it. Since the projectiles return on impact, if you’re right next to your enemy while directly hitting them, the shards jump back incredibly quick, allowing for, at times, a continuous stream of shots that can tear through enemies. This gets even better when you take into consideration one of its best traits. Though it only boasts three weapon traits, “Fourth Shard” can be devastating, as it bumps up your total of projectiles from three to four. The Dreadbound is one of the most fun weapons to use when you’re feeling good enough with your aiming abilities.
2. Electropylon Driver
Quite possibly the most fun weapon in the game to play with is one you might be a bit confused by at first glance. When you first pick up the Electropylon Driver and mess around with it, you might end up looking for your last used weapon because you don’t know what in the world is happening. If you take it out into the action, however, you’ll see it rip through enemies even if you’re carrying it with the worst possible traits. Shooting out pylons when fired, they’ll connect between each other, creating a web or line. In that line, energy will be pulsing between them, damaging whatever they come into contact with.
Although these pylons can be attached to surfaces, they can also be shot directly into enemies, damaging them for a massive amount over time. Weapon traits like “Pylon Web,” which sees all your pylons shot at once in a web pattern, and “Finisher,” which has your pylons do more damage when enemies are at lower health, are really effective. Have fun spinning some webs with this weapon, and watch it devour enemies.
1. Rotgland Lobber
When you first encounter the Rotgland Lobber, chances are you’ll be using it sometime in the early stages of Biome 2. Because of that, it might not excel the way it will in later areas, as you’ll be fighting off a number of different flying enemies at that point. Also at this point, you probably won’t have access to the traits that really make the Rotgland Lobber shine. It’s a weapon that shoots out a type of poison that does a great job of handling large numbers of enemies, which you’ll more often than not encounter during your Returnal runs.
It’s a weapon that has some of the most devastatingly brutal traits in the game. Find the right ones in a run for it and you’ll end up tearing through enemies. One of these is “Explosive Rot,” which, just as the name implies, has your acidic projectile explode when impacting with enemies. This is especially good when dealing with both single targets and multiple enemies. If the explosive rot doesn’t quickly rip through an enemy, there’s also “Caustic Rot,” which is a DOT (damage over time), and can be really helpful against bosses.
Although it didn’t make the list, a shout out is deserved for what is not a typical weapon you might consider in the game, as there’s only one, and it’s always on you. Your Atropian Blade, which you get in the first biome, and which stays by your side the entire game, is one of the most effective tools you’ll have cutting down enemies throughout the game.
Taking one of the best qualities from Doom, Returnal delivers in spades when it comes to weapon variety and experimination through combat. One of the great things about the game is that no matter the weapon, chances are you’ll be able to have fun running through multiple biomes. There’s no doubt that players will find their favorite weapons throughout their playthrough, and in doing so you’ll be able to get a better understanding of the game’s mechanics while increasing your skill set.
Returnal is one of the best games of the year so far, and the weapons and combat that Housemarque cooked up are some of the most satisfying in recent memory.