Selene

Portrait of Selene Vassos

Selene Vassos is the protagonist of Returnal. She is a Greek-American deep space scout working for ASTRA. While on a mission, she defies orders and follows a mysterious signal codenamed "White Shadow," which leads to her crash-landing on the planet Atropos.

Description

Selene Vassos grew up with space in her life, with her mother Theia training to become an astronaut and being seldom present in her daughter's life. As a result, Selene came to suffer childhood trauma from the neglect and disregard at her mother's hands. Her main company was a stuffed octopus-like toy, her expansive imagination, and her own developing interest in space. Additionally, the phrase "White Shadow" would somehow make itself known to Selene, permanently following her throughout life.

One night on a drive with Theia, Selene murmured from the back of their car, "Do you see the White Shadow?" Shortly after, Theia saw an astronaut appear in the middle of a bridge. Unable to fully swerve out of the way, she clipped the astronaut and drove both of them into the water below. Subsequently, both mother and daughter survived, though Theia would be permanently crippled and unable to continue participating in the space program while Selene would come out completely unscathed.

It is implied that this event left Theia and Selene's relationship even further marred, with the young child unable to see her mother as anything other than an abuser due to Theia's grief and pain. This negative image would persist well after her mother's death.

In adulthood, Selene pursued an aerospace career as her mother, signing up and training for an astronaut program as well. In this time, she additionally formed a family with an unknown partner and had a child named Helios. However, Selene's focus was not on her family but rather the career she vied for. It is indicated that she secretly hoped for an accident to befall her child and untether her from earth, and one night in a car ride her negligence and detachment granted her just that: a car struck her while driving her son, and Selene chose to save herself rather than her Helios. This is directly referenced at the start of every run, with the game displaying the text "HELIOS ABANDONED". The guilt from this would persistently haunt Selene and further spur her to make it to space and off of the planet.

Eventually, ASTRA picked her for deep-space exploration and gave her a ship and spacesuit of her own. Selene's suit, an advanced ASTRA prototype, is armed with multiple functions, like a scan pulse, Wrist Computer, and a side camera that swivels on an arc around Selene's neck to focus on items of interest. As for her ship, Selene named it Helios after her son, possibly both to honor her child and to serve as a reminder of her neglect.

While on a deep space mission, Selene encounters the White Shadow broadcast signal emanating from the planet Atropos. Seeking answers to her own life, Selene goes against the chain of command and enters the planet's orbit, only for the Helios to be struck by something and causing her to crash-land. This would be the beginning of a possibly endless nightmare for Selene.

Behind the Scenes

Selene has been described as having "a scientist's mind" as well as being "highly intelligent, driven to a fault, and relentless in pursuit of what she wants" by Returnal narrative director Greg Louden.

Selene is voiced by Canadian actor Jane Perry, known for her work as Diana Burnwood in the recent Hitman series. Selene's appearance and performance capture is based on the likeness of German model and actor Anne Beyer.

Gameplay

Selene starts every run with a Modified Sidearm SD-M8 (except for the very first one, but it is found soon after) and with 100% Integrity (there is one exception to this in an important story moment). 100% Integrity is the maximum Integrity at the start of every run. By picking up Silphium Resin, Selene can increase her maximum Integrity up to 300%.

Selene also moves incredibly fast, with her rocket-boosted suit letting her jump and dash long distances. Selene's scan pulse highlights the surrounding area and reveals nearby exits for a brief duration.

Whenever Selene gets 3 kills without being hit, she gains an Adrenaline level, up to a maximum of 5 Adrenaline levels. Adrenaline levels give potent passive bonuses, but are all removed upon being damaged. Reaching 5 Adrenaline levels gives a bonus Shield.

Selene's suit can also be augmented with various items to further her offensive abilities and odds of survival. These include Artifacts (which are stored in the suit and give Selene passive bonuses; a maximum of 15 Artifacts can be held at a time), Parasites (which attach to Selene's suit and provide random buffs and nerfs; a maximum of 5 Parasites can be attached at a time), and Ether (a permanent resource that can used to prolong runs, unlock new items, or activate certain devices).

Selene's suit also has various stats that increase her efficiency in combat. These include Weapon Damage (how much damage weapons and Alt-Fires deal), Protection (how much damage Selene takes), Proficiency Rate (how quickly Proficiency is gained), Repair Efficiency (how much Integrity is restored by Silphium and other healing items), and Alt-Fire Cooldown (how long Alt-Fires take to recharge).

Trivia

• Selene has a condition called complete heterochromia iridium. The irises of her eyes are two different colors. This is a very rare real-world condition affecting less than 0.001% of humans.
• Her birthdate is on March 25th.
• From the Ship Log Selene Vassos Personnel File, it is revealed that her heterochromia is trauma induced.

Images

All of the below images are taken from Paul Ruano-Borbalan's Artstation account, which can be found here.