Returnal 2.0 update patch fixes major gameplay issue with PS5 exclusive

Sam Comrie
Returnal screenshot showing combat with an alien enemy

Housemarque’s Returnal launched in April, offering PlayStation 5 players a rogue-like experience that harnessed the full potential of the console. Now, a controversial element of the game has finally been rectified with the Returnal 2.0 update. 

The rogue-like genre has seen an incredible surge of interest over the years, with players choosing to hone their skills within challenging games such as Hades, Slay The Spire, and Dead Cells. Returnal is a Ridley Scott-influenced sci-fi take on the genre, with plenty of white knuckle action to experience along the way.

However, the Housemarque developed title quickly became controversial for its lack of a traditional save system, meaning players could not leave the game until their current run was completed sufficiently, also causing loss of progress if the console was switched off or updated itself. Thankfully, this is all about to change, as revealed on the PlayStation Blog.

Returnal gameplay
Returnal makes the most out of Sony’s flashy new hardware.

Returnal players can finally ‘save’ the game

While many titles in the same genre offer a save system of sorts, Returnal opted to go down the route of full-on commitment. Unable to save the game traditionally at checkpoints or via quicksave, players would have to dedicate large chunks of their time to ensure they arrived at the next area of the game in one piece.

Understandably, most players didn’t take to this implementation fully. However, the latest 2.0 update has offered a resolution for players wanting to prolong their current run, to deal with errands outside of gaming. Adding a “Suspend Cycle” feature to the game’s pause menu, now means any current run will be saved, letting you dip away without losing vital progress. However, returning to the game to continue will delete this save state and must be activated again before closing the application.

https://twitter.com/jeffzoldy/status/1452980248031776779?s=20

Fans of the game are already responding positively to the news: “As someone who just started Returnal, this is pretty much the best news ever”, while the game’s Reddit is also full of praise for Housemarque’s new update.

“I’m so, so, so happy I’ll finally be able to enjoy the game to its fullest,” one comment reads.

Also added is a photo mode, allowing players to take gorgeous images when they’re not being devoured by the creatures of Atropos.

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