Summary
Returnalwas one of 2021’s best video games, and surprisingly, as of right now, it has not had too many imitators, apartfrom Housemarque’s next title, Saros. The bullet-hell third-person shooter is widely recognized as one of the PlayStation 5’s premier console exclusives, so a flurry of Returnal-likes might have been expected, but it never came to pass.
Fast-forward to 2025, and the game has finally inspired a new title, with Japanese-developed Scar-Lead Salvation combining Returnal’s fast-paced action, with a gooner-friendly armour disintegration system.
Scar-Lead Salvation’s Steam pagedescribes the game as: “Play as Willow, who awakens in a deserted military facility with no memory of how she got there, accompanied only by an AI in her ear and a swarm of deadly robots. Can you uncover the mystery of what happened in the facility, learn about Willow’s past, and make your way out alive?” However, what may just be the case in Western marketing is the fact that it doesn’t mention that one of its core mechanics sees Willow’s clothing disintegrate when she is damaged.
The game’s Returnal inspirations are clear, with dozens of bullets flying at Willow as she skirts around them across anime-inspired 3D planes.
In a new interview withAutomaton Japan, Scar-Lead Salvation’s producer Hiroshi Aoki admitted that the game is heavily inspired by Returnal but actually started off as a “sexy game.”
I was conscious of making her [protagonist Willow] into a more mature woman, a beautiful woman, but without looking like a teenager.
Aoki was asked if he wanted the players to enjoy the “sexy aspect of costume destruction,” to which he responded, “I really had that image in mind when I made it. However, when I finished it, I think that only the game’s difficulty remained.”
The producer also shared how the character design for Willow came about, saying, “I was conscious of making her into a more mature woman, a beautiful woman, but without looking like a teenager. Also, a weak woman would be too cunning, so I tried to make her a bit more headstrong. " This led to the game becoming less sexy and more serious, with Aoki saying the team “couldn’t go in the full direction of sex appeal.”
The game definitely looks like a stereotypical Japanese title, and you’ll be able to check it out for yourself when it launches onSteamon May 29.
