Returnal was an early highlight for the PlayStation 5. It was released back in April and we loved it. We called it a “brutally challenging thrill ride” in our review and awarded it a score of 9.5 out of 10. But there was one thing we didn’t love. And that was its lack of a save feature. It was certainly an interesting decision by developer Housemarque, and one we thought was unnecessarily punishing. I mean, let’s face it – most people can’t sit playing video games for hours at a time. Thankfully, Housemarque have just added a save feature in Returnal Update 2.0. And we’re super happy about it!
Returnal Update 2.0 Suspend Cycle save feature
“Can you save in Returnal?” was probably the most googled question about the game when it was released. And now you can. Update 2.0 was released today, 26th October 2021. Housemarque confirmed it via a PlayStation Blog post. It’s important to bear in mind, though, that this isn’t a conventional save feature.
Housemarque are dubbing Returnal‘s save functionality as ‘Suspend Cycle’. And the name speaks for itself. You can’t save the game in the traditional sense. Simply put, the new addition suspends your current run and allows you to turn the game off without losing progress. Housemarque explained: “The structure of the game remains unchanged, so this functionality is not a traditional mid-game “Save Game” option: by suspending the cycle, Returnal will simply create a single use suspend point, and once you resume playing the suspend point is deleted and cannot be used again. Your game will continue directly from the moment you left it, and if you want to suspend the cycle again, your progress will be captured from that new point onwards.”
Housemarque also noted some caveats to remember when using Returnal Suspend Cycle, which they hope will bring “quality-of-life convenience” to the game. They said: “players won’t be able to create a suspend point during Boss battles, cinematics, first-person sequences or during intense combat scenarios – as we felt there are certain moments in Returnal that are best experienced unfragmented to preserve the intended challenge and flow.”
Returnal Photo Mode
Another new feature added in Returnal Update 2.0 is Photo Mode. Housemarque acknowledged this functionality has been “highly requested” since the game’s launch. So we’re pleased to see they’ve released it for everyone to enjoy. After all, Returnal is visually stunning and players are sure to experience countless moments worth capturing. Players can now pause the game at any point and use Photo Mode. However, there are “limited circumstances” such as first-person sequences when players won’t be able to use it. You can check Photo Mode (and Suspend Cycle) out for yourself in this new Returnal Update 2.0 trailer.
Are you pleased Returnal has finally received a save feature? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
