Returnal’s 2.0 update is live today, allowing players to pause mid-run with Suspend Cycle, and get creative with Photo Mode

[Captain Minanda]

Really pleased to see Housemarque listening to feedback and implementing this. Picked the game up a few months back, played a bit, loved it (obviously) but never really had opportunity to play for extended periods of time so would be have abruptly end a run and lose progress so I sort of just dropped off from it. Can't wait to jump back in this weekend and live, die, repeat several times over

 

[breakfuss]

Well, I said I'd pick it up when this happened so I'll stick to my word. And I was almost starting to believe that, "bUt ITs tHEir VISion!" nonsense.

 

[2Blackcats]

So nothing at all new found by those who've dived back in? Other than suspend\photo mode.

Figured there'd be some kind of Easter egg.

 

[Deleted member 12833]

Ok, I reinstalled the game to try out the new "suspend cycle", for science.

So, save scumming works perfectly as you would expect. And in fact, it's now been streamlined: when on the PS5 home screen and on top of the game icon, press OPTIONS, then UPLOAD/DOWNLOAD SAVED DATA, and you'll have the two needed functions right there in the same screen, UPLOAD or DOWNLOAD. It really couldn't be easier.

A few notes of stuff I noticed while retrying a couple of times:

• Room layout is the same, so this appears to be randomized only when first entering the biome, not when retrying from your save
• Chests, Obolite chunks, resins, keys all appear in the same places and with the same malignant status, so also not random
• But interestingly, destroyable walls are random, although it appears that if a room has a destroyable wall, it will also have one when scumming, just in a different part of the room
• Enemy composition is random, you won't face the same enemies when scumming
• Although you can also suspend with enemies around, so if you've already triggered an enemy wave, it's the same enemies when you reload
• Dropped loot from enemies (items, weapons, parasites) is random
• Chest contents are random
• Fabricator stuff is random
• Terror image Splash screens when reloading are random
• Parasites on the ground are not random, they have fixed bonuses and maluses
• Bonus rooms entrances are not random, but the bonus room itself is random
• Didn't try it, but since the Obolite repository is tracked online, you could save scum right before depositing obolites, reloading and depositing again until full to get an item

Save-scummers rejoice! The time it takes from pressing the PS button, closing the game, downloading your data from the cloud and restarting to the point you're back in action is 42 seconds.

I hadn't played the game since I got the platinum a few months back, got reminded how cool it is and just how great it feels when playing.

Click to shrink...

Doing the lords work.
I may actually beat this game now.

 

[8bit]

So nothing at all new found by those who've dived back in? Other than suspend\photo mode.

Figured there'd be some kind of Easter egg.

Click to shrink...

The underwater blobs in Biome 4 now have different colours. And the blade in the weapons databank looks as if it might have weapon traits available to it in future if I were to speculate a bit.

 

[TransEuropaExpress]

And the blade in the weapons databank looks as if it might have weapon traits available to it in future if I were to speculate a bit.

Click to shrink...

I haven't checked yet but...that would be a pretty cool addition. I was actually thinking before that it'd be cool if they expanded the melee system. It's satisfying as hell as it is but still, that'd be fun.

 

[Magic Mushroom]

The underwater blobs in Biome 4 now have different colours. And the blade in the weapons databank looks as if it might have weapon traits available to it in future if I were to speculate a bit.

Click to shrink...

Interesting. I'll have a look myself tonight.
I'm pretty confident in future DLC.

 

[HStallion]

Well, I said I'd pick it up when this happened so I'll stick to my word. And I was almost starting to believe that, "bUt ITs tHEir VISion!" nonsense.

Click to shrink...

It was their vision but they changed things because of demand and it took a while as they're not a gigantic studio and it's their most ambitious game by far.

 

[SuiQuan]

What's this thing about difficulty people keep bringing up? I'm interested in the game, but I'm not buying it at this ridiculous price right now. But I wanted to ask: how many boss fights does this game have? And how often does it have them?

 

[Magic Mushroom]

What's this thing about difficulty people keep bringing up? I'm interested in the game, but I'm not buying it at this ridiculous price right now. But I wanted to ask: how many boss fights does this game have? And how often does it have them?

Click to shrink...

I don't think the game is that difficult, especially if you spend time unlocking weapon traits. The more you play, the easier it gets, like most roguelites. And there is a boss for each of the six biomes, except for biome 5. One of them is arguably the coolest boss of the year.

 

[OnanieBomb]

I'm pretty confident in future DLC.

Click to shrink...

I hope so. I imagine we would have gotten a "this is our final update" message if that wasn't the case.

 

[SuiQuan]

I don't think the game is that difficult, especially if you spend time unlocking weapon traits. The more you play, the easier it gets, like most roguelites. And there is a boss for each of the six biomes, except for biome 5. One of them is arguably the coolest boss of the year.

Click to shrink...

I don't mean to say that all rougeLITEs are the same, but how similar is it, for example, to Hades, if you've played it? Because I honestly don't like Hades at all (just the music, the characters and the atmosphere).

 

[Kiro]

HM is known for continuous support on their games. Resogun had lots of post-launch content added. I am sure they are working on other weapons/perks and maybe seeds/arcade mode as well as alternate biome pathways.

Blade getting perks would be awesome.
I would also love to see some more areas to use weapons Lvl 25-30.

 

[rahji]

Nice update. I hope for a nice sale end of November or for Christmas.

 

[8bit]

I haven't checked yet but...that would be a pretty cool addition. I was actually thinking before that it'd be cool if they expanded the melee system. It's satisfying as hell as it is but still, that'd be fun.

Click to shrink...

Interesting. I'll have a look myself tonight.
I'm pretty confident in future DLC.

Click to shrink...

Completely speculative on my part, but I'm sure the Blade didn't appear like this in the weapons listing previously.

 

[TransEuropaExpress]

Completely speculative on my part, but I'm sure the Blade didn't appear like this in the weapons listing previously.

Click to shrink...

I'm also really confident that it did not. The only screenshot I found right now but I recall this being all there was to its databank entry:

 

[Magic Mushroom]

I don't mean to say that all rougeLITEs are the same, but how similar is it, for example, to Hades, if you've played it? Because I honestly don't like Hades at all (just the music, the characters and the atmosphere).

Click to shrink...

It's similar in that it weaves its narrative into the concept of a roguelite. Structurally it's quite similar in that you start over when you die, but Returnal has bigger levels, shortcuts and you can skip bosses in subsequent runs. I also think Returnal has far better gameplay in terms of combat and traversal and it has actual level design.

So it's hard to say if you will like it, depending on what you disliked about Hades. Perhaps give it a try when it's cheaper to pick-up?

 

[8bit]

I'm also really confident that it did not. The only screenshot I found right now but I recall this being all there was to its databank entry:

Click to shrink...

Also worth noting that the entries on the left have been reorganised into Hostiles, Resources, Equipment, Consumables, Upgrades, Artefacts, Scout Logs, Xenoglyphs, Xeno-Archives.

What was Equipment is now Equipment, Consumables & Upgrades. And the Databank in Helios has been changed to have fewer entries.

 

[Kiro]

Completely speculative on my part, but I'm sure the Blade didn't appear like this in the weapons listing previously.

Click to shrink...

Definitely new. I have been checking the weapon page very frequently the past week as I've been leveling my guns, I would have noticed that.

Very interesting.

 

[MegaSackman]

Are we sure that there's no traits now on the blade? maybe it's not an upcoming dlc and it's already in.

 

[SuiQuan]

It's similar in that it weaves its narrative into the concept of a roguelite. Structurally it's quite similar in that you start over when you die, but Returnal has bigger levels, shortcuts and you can skip bosses in subsequent runs. I also think Returnal has far better gameplay in terms of combat and traversal and it has actual level design.

So it's hard to say if you will like it, depending on what you disliked about Hades. Perhaps give it a try when it's cheaper to pick-up?

Click to shrink...

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Skippable bosses once you've beaten them sounds really nice - this is huge for me personally. Wonder exactly how that works. It's exactly the thing I didn't really much like about Hades - not much in terms of shortcuts and having to redo the bosses every time - even with some changes in boss battles the variety wore thin pretty quickly to me. Now I really want to give it a try.

 

[Euler007]

Also worth noting that the entries on the left have been reorganised into Hostiles, Resources, Equipment, Consumables, Upgrades, Artefacts, Scout Logs, Xenoglyphs, Xeno-Archives.

Click to shrink...

So we can tell exactly which glyph we're missing?

 

[TransEuropaExpress]

And the Databank in Helios has been changed to have fewer entries.

Click to shrink...

As in they deleted some of the lore entries/conversations you get in the ship? Interesting and also weird if so.

 

[MegaSackman]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Skippable bosses once you've beaten them sounds really nice - this is huge for me personally. Wonder exactly how that works. It's exactly the thing I didn't really much like about Hades - not much in terms of shortcuts and having to redo the bosses every time - even with some changes in boss battles the variety wore thin pretty quickly to me. Now I really want to give it a try.

Click to shrink...

Each boss holds a key to a portal for the next biome you need to travel, after you kill the boss and get the key it becomes permanent so you can just go straight to the portal (which is always close to where you start) and avoid bosses. You can still fight them again if you want to but there's no much point.

 

[8bit]

As in they deleted some of the lore entries/conversations you get in the ship? Interesting and also weird if so.

Click to shrink...

Well, I'm not sure. There used to be 257 entries in the databank in the ship, and this would correspond to the number of items that appear in your personal databank. But it seemed that not every entry in the ship databank could be completed by 100%ing an entry such as creature or artefact. Now there's about 231, I think. 100% Level III Weapon Traits for instance didn't fill out a ship databank box.

So we can tell exactly which glyph we're missing?

Click to shrink...

No, I don't think so but the Glyphs are listed a bit differently and I didn't look too closely. I'm in teleconferences for the next hours so can't check.

 

[TransEuropaExpress]

Well, I'm not sure. There used to be 257 entries in the databank in the ship, and this would correspond to the number of items that appear in your personal databank. But it seemed that not every entry in the ship databank could be completed by 100%ing an entry such as creature or artefact. Now there's about 231, I think. 100% Level III Weapon Traits for instance didn't fill out a ship databank box.

Click to shrink...

Oh you meant that Databank Matrix specifically. I thought you meant the lore entries in the ship's Databank. I still don't know what the Matrix is supposed to do ultimately if it's completed.

 

[Kuro]

I feel like lighting or contrast may have been tweaked in darker areas. Maybe my brightness settings got reset idk.

 

[8bit]

Oh you meant that Databank Matrix specifically. I thought you meant the lore entries in the ship's Databank. I still don't know what the Matrix is supposed to do ultimately if it's completed.

Click to shrink...

I don't think it can be completed. Not yet anyway. I've 100% all creatures, all weapon traits and I'm missing 100% completion on 3 artefacts, I can't think of anything else that would contribute to it.

 

[8bit]

The Databank matrix has shrunk! I've still got the same number of incomplete entries, though. (Left was a week ago, right is today post patch.)

:(

And save scumming can be done, if you reload a save it doesn't have exactly the same chests/trap door drops/artefacts, but the biome layout seems to be the same.

Click to shrink...

Other things I've noticed, the lava has a different texture and the portal from the Hollowseeker portal beam is flatter.

 

[Rendering...]

I dunno, Suspend Cycle seems to go against the roguelike spirit of playing until 3am, putting the game on suspend for the night, and awaking to a reset console thanks to an automatic update.

But seriously, thanks to this feature, which should have been available from the very start, I will probably buy this game on sale now.

 

[2Blackcats]

The underwater blobs in Biome 4 now have different colours. And the blade in the weapons databank looks as if it might have weapon traits available to it in future if I were to speculate a bit.

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the reply. That's pretty interesting about the blade.

I find it hard to imagine how they'll hook any dlc into the main game. Saying that, I have total faith they'll do a stellar job.

 

[breakfuss]

It was their vision but they changed things because of demand and it took a while as they're not a gigantic studio and it's their most ambitious game by far.

Click to shrink...

Receipts, please. When did they say it was their vision? I'd like to think they just didn't commit the resources to including it because they figured the OS suspend feature was enough. I could be wrong though. Not suggesting they haven't crafted something masterful here but imma need to not have to complete it in a single 7-hour session. That was ridiculous and I'm glad it's fixed.

 

[jayu26]

Ok, I reinstalled the game to try out the new "suspend cycle", for science.

So, save scumming works perfectly as you would expect. And in fact, it's now been streamlined: when on the PS5 home screen and on top of the game icon, press OPTIONS, then UPLOAD/DOWNLOAD SAVED DATA, and you'll have the two needed functions right there in the same screen, UPLOAD or DOWNLOAD. It really couldn't be easier.

A few notes of stuff I noticed while retrying a couple of times:

• Room layout is the same, so this appears to be randomized only when first entering the biome, not when retrying from your save
• Chests, Obolite chunks, resins, keys all appear in the same places and with the same malignant status, so also not random
• But interestingly, destroyable walls are random, although it appears that if a room has a destroyable wall, it will also have one when scumming, just in a different part of the room
• Enemy composition is random, you won't face the same enemies when scumming
• Although you can also suspend with enemies around, so if you've already triggered an enemy wave, it's the same enemies when you reload
• Dropped loot from enemies (items, weapons, parasites) is random
• Chest contents are random
• Fabricator stuff is random
• Terror image Splash screens when reloading are random
• Parasites on the ground are not random, they have fixed bonuses and maluses
• Bonus rooms entrances are not random, but the bonus room itself is random
• Didn't try it, but since the Obolite repository is tracked online, you could save scum right before depositing obolites, reloading and depositing again until full to get an item

Save-scummers rejoice! The time it takes from pressing the PS button, closing the game, downloading your data from the cloud and restarting to the point you're back in action is 42 seconds.

I hadn't played the game since I got the platinum a few months back, got reminded how cool it is and just how great it feels when playing.

Click to shrink...

Not gonna lie, if the game gives me option to save scum, I will save scum. And save scumming here seems very useful.

 

[HStallion]

Receipts, please. When did they say it was their vision? I'd like to think they just didn't commit the resources to including it because they figured the OS suspend feature was enough. I could be wrong though. Not suggesting they haven't crafted something masterful here but imma need to not have to complete it in a single 7-hour session. That was ridiculous and I'm glad it's fixed.

Click to shrink...

Their long history of making very challenging, brutal even, arcade style games. It seems totally in line with their way of doing things much like many aspects of Returnal which while being a AAA affair very much harkens back to their roots.

 

[Lord Error]

Ha, so it looks like it really is not possible to save a file on PS5 that exists outside of the save-game API. I'm sure they'd done that if possible, rather than creating a suspend state be part of the save file that can be simply backed up. I'm now glad I've already finished the game, because just knowing that I can do this would remove much of the crazy rollercoaster panic and excitement I felt while playing it, haha.

I finished one 4/5/6 run last night, and in the new update, I've noticed that weapon description progression is even slower than before for level 3 descriptions :( It now goes up by just 1% when I pick up the new weapon. Also, can confirm that Doombringer no longer breaks the orange barriers.

 

[8byte]

Interesting. I'll have a look myself tonight.
I'm pretty confident in future DLC.

Click to shrink...

I think we'll for sure see DLC...but I don't think we'll see it today / soon. If they were prepping for any DLC supported by this patch, it would almost certainly have a menu option for DLC. So, I expect it to be a ways off, and come with a new patch.

 

[sandboxgod]

I dunno, Suspend Cycle seems to go against the roguelike spirit of playing until 3am, putting the game on suspend for the night, and awaking to a reset console thanks to an automatic update.

But seriously, thanks to this feature, which should have been available from the very start, I will probably buy this game on sale now.

Click to shrink...

Wish it was on sale in PS store right now. I know it was on sale just a few weeks ago but at the time was afraid of the time commitment. But the suspend cycle thing alleviates my anxiety there lol

Ok, I reinstalled the game to try out the new "suspend cycle", for science.

So, save scumming works perfectly as you would expect. And in fact, it's now been streamlined: when on the PS5 home screen and on top of the game icon, press OPTIONS, then UPLOAD/DOWNLOAD SAVED DATA, and you'll have the two needed functions right there in the same screen, UPLOAD or DOWNLOAD. It really couldn't be easier.

A few notes of stuff I noticed while retrying a couple of times:

• Room layout is the same, so this appears to be randomized only when first entering the biome, not when retrying from your save
• Chests, Obolite chunks, resins, keys all appear in the same places and with the same malignant status, so also not random
• But interestingly, destroyable walls are random, although it appears that if a room has a destroyable wall, it will also have one when scumming, just in a different part of the room
• Enemy composition is random, you won't face the same enemies when scumming
• Although you can also suspend with enemies around, so if you've already triggered an enemy wave, it's the same enemies when you reload
• Dropped loot from enemies (items, weapons, parasites) is random
• Chest contents are random
• Fabricator stuff is random
• Terror image Splash screens when reloading are random
• Parasites on the ground are not random, they have fixed bonuses and maluses
• Bonus rooms entrances are not random, but the bonus room itself is random
• Didn't try it, but since the Obolite repository is tracked online, you could save scum right before depositing obolites, reloading and depositing again until full to get an item

Save-scummers rejoice! The time it takes from pressing the PS button, closing the game, downloading your data from the cloud and restarting to the point you're back in action is 42 seconds.

I hadn't played the game since I got the platinum a few months back, got reminded how cool it is and just how great it feels when playing.

Click to shrink...

Yeah I wonder if I'll be a save-scummer but if I do go that route I'll make sure to try playing it "legit" and die a bunch normally

 

[AwShucks]

It's interesting to me to see the people talking about save scumming. It's not something I've ever bothered doing in a game, even rogue likes. Though I also don't care if people do it, I've just never thought "that was a cheap death, let me download my save to try again".

 

[Qudi]

I will save scum to get the platinum. Im missing like 2 glyphs and cant be bothered to waste hours just to gear up for the later biomes.

 

[ghibli99]

I really appreciate how quickly I can get in and out of this game now, both with the suspend assurance and cold booting being so fast.

 

[GoodFun_HaveLuck]

Adding a photo mode and a save option doesn't seem a lot for a "2.0" update. I was expecting some new content.

 

[Rzarekta]

Anyone find out what the "quality of life" updates include? I haven't found any info on this.

 

[Rzarekta]

I will save scum to get the platinum. Im missing like 2 glyphs and cant be bothered to waste hours just to gear up for the later biomes.

Click to shrink...

What is this? Hours to gear up? You can fully get through multiple biomes in less than an hour, easily, and stack up like crazy on artifacts, parasites, health upgrades, whatever you need. And I'm not even that good of a gamer.

 

[Euler007]

I will save scum to get the platinum. Im missing like 2 glyphs and cant be bothered to waste hours just to gear up for the later biomes.

Click to shrink...

Won't work, according to the scum tester above the rooms are already selected. I guess you could save scum just before warping to B2/4/5/6 to save a few minutes.

 

[8bit]

Anyone find out what the "quality of life" updates include? I haven't found any info on this.

Click to shrink...

new textures, effects, coloured blobs, map magnification slider, colour blind friendliness.

 

[Qudi]

Won't work, according to the scum tester above the rooms are already selected. I guess you could save scum just before warping to B2/4/5/6 to save a few minutes.

Click to shrink...

Yeah will save right before entering a new biome. Better than nothing. RNG tropphies are the worst.

 

[StreamedHams]

I grabbed this months ago for 50 dollars, but dropped it due to the difficulty. I picked it back up last night and it feels…easier? Was there some balancing done over the past few months?

 

[DC5remy]

I grabbed this months ago for 50 dollars, but dropped it due to the difficulty. I picked it back up last night and it feels…easier? Was there some balancing done over the past few months?

Click to shrink...

every run is different. Some are super hard, some easier.

 

[Rookhelm]

Ok, I reinstalled the game to try out the new "suspend cycle", for science.

So, save scumming works perfectly as you would expect. And in fact, it's now been streamlined: when on the PS5 home screen and on top of the game icon, press OPTIONS, then UPLOAD/DOWNLOAD SAVED DATA, and you'll have the two needed functions right there in the same screen, UPLOAD or DOWNLOAD. It really couldn't be easier.

A few notes of stuff I noticed while retrying a couple of times:

• Room layout is the same, so this appears to be randomized only when first entering the biome, not when retrying from your save
• Chests, Obolite chunks, resins, keys all appear in the same places and with the same malignant status, so also not random
• But interestingly, destroyable walls are random, although it appears that if a room has a destroyable wall, it will also have one when scumming, just in a different part of the room
• Enemy composition is random, you won't face the same enemies when scumming
• Although you can also suspend with enemies around, so if you've already triggered an enemy wave, it's the same enemies when you reload
• Dropped loot from enemies (items, weapons, parasites) is random
• Chest contents are random
• Fabricator stuff is random
• Terror image Splash screens when reloading are random
• Parasites on the ground are not random, they have fixed bonuses and maluses
• Bonus rooms entrances are not random, but the bonus room itself is random
• Didn't try it, but since the Obolite repository is tracked online, you could save scum right before depositing obolites, reloading and depositing again until full to get an item

Save-scummers rejoice! The time it takes from pressing the PS button, closing the game, downloading your data from the cloud and restarting to the point you're back in action is 42 seconds.

I hadn't played the game since I got the platinum a few months back, got reminded how cool it is and just how great it feels when playing.

Click to shrink...

Presumably, you should be able save right before a boss, die and reload outside of the boss room with this method?

 

[Suedemaker]

Oh god. Just when I was thinking I didn't know what I wanted to play next...they go and release photo mode for Returnal.

I'm about to take a disturbing amount of screenshots.