Returnal is an interesting game in many ways, but one of its most intriguing qualities is the way it keeps players coming back. Despite countless deaths, an unforgiving progression system, and a generally challenging experience, many players find themselves either playing the game or thinking about playing the game. This has resulted in some interesting parallels, with players reporting real world sightings that remind them of something from the game, and now PlayStation's very own Mark Cerny is getting in on this trend as well. His recent tweet discussing his obsession with the game resulted in a hilarious response from developer Housemarque.
For those that may not be familiar with the name, Mark Cerny is the Lead System Architect on both the PS4 and the PS5, and he always makes sure to make time for playing games on those systems as well. Cerny's followers are always looking forward to seeing what game he will get the platinum trophy for next, but this tweet about Returnal was a bit different than his standard ones.
Cerny shared an image comparing his own HRTF (Head Related Transfer Function) to the average HRTF of any given person. This image is sort of a meme in and of itself, with PS5 players relishing in Cerny's comments about sending ear pictures during his The Road to PS5 presentation last year, but he takes things a step further. The caption reads "Playing too much #Returnal ... saw this in an article and my first thought was PARASITES!!!!" Indeed, Cerny's HRTF image does have an uncanny resemblance to the shape of Returnal's parasites.
In response to this, Returnal's developer Housemarque made a comment. The tweet references the countless other similarities players have found in the real world, believing they've seen Returnal's creepy astronaut or houses that look identical to Selene's 20th century home, but references Cerny's parasite sighting with a bit of playful banter. It seems as though players seeing parasites out in the wild isn't something that has happened yet, making Cerny the first to make this connection with something in the real world.
Players seem to be loving this interaction, with many agreeing that Cerny may be playing a little too much Returnal. Others believe this is an indicator of what his next platinum will be, with one commenter even showing that Cerny is already 41% of the way there. While Returnal's platinum trophy doesn't require any online multiplayer, it does call for quite a bit of luck and patience.
Returnal is available now on PS5.
