To start off, I loved Returnal. It had some fantastic combat mechanics, incredible atmosphere and is easily my runner up for GOTY as of now.
However, playing Hades over the last few weeks has made me realize just how flawed Returnal is when it comes to rougelikes, and it's infuriating that Hades came out almost 8 months before Returnal because Returnal took nothing from it.
Hades has a better end game. Better build variety. Better weapon variety. More depth. Better storytelling. More unlocks. Way better sense of progression. And best of all, the game saves whenever you enter a new room or die so you dont have to leave the game in rest mode and you cant save scum.
- Better Storytelling
Beating Hades does not mean you have seen the ending. The game continues to offer new story bits and dialogue every single time you beat the game. I am 60 runs in and still finding new dialogue. The story is also very well written by Greg Kasavin who should be well known to any of the Gamespot oldies here. I cannot tell wtf Returnal was about. I cant even tell you who the main character is and wtf those flashbacks were. I dont mind vague David Lynch stories, but there is a time and a place, and this is not it. If you fuck up a run, it's a waste because the story does not move an inch.
- Incredible Depth
I am 60 runs in and I havent unlocked everything yet. I am missing weapons. Weapon Upgrades. Companions who help out in battles. There is a whole secondary upgrade system I havent even touched yet. There are 10 different gods who offer different upgrade paths ingame so every run feels entirely different even if you take the same weapon over and over again. And they dont limit you to five upgrades per run like Returnal does. I can carry almost 30 boons at once. There is no penalty for taking every upgrade. In fact, they encourage it by offering you damage buffs for taking upgrades from multiple gods.
- Better Progression
This was my biggest gripe with Returnal at launch and something they didnt even bother fixing. There is just one progression system in Returnal. Your weapon perks. Nothing else. Hades lets you carry over 5 different currencies that let you upgrade 40 different skills, and 4 weapon perks per weapon. No run feels like a waste of two hours because you are always getting stronger. More attack power, more health, better RNG percentage, more spells, more everything.
It's frustrating that not only did they not learn from this amazing game, they also havent updated the game at all since release. Zero post launch support.