We finally have it, ladies and gentlemen…
A long-standing Returnal player complaint was the inability to save your progress mid-run. Players would have to finish their current run before they could tune out, or all progress made in that run would be lost. This is particularly frustrating as runs can take hours to complete. Well, people, our prayers have been answered. A new version 2.0 update for PlayStation 5 exclusive Returnal has added a system that allows players to temporarily save their progress and shut down their console.
Returnal was critically acclaimed, but players quickly became frustrated by how long its runs are. Roguelikes typically do not have saves but are usually short games that can be attempted in a single session. The multi-hour length of a single run of Returnal meant that it demanded a lot of time from players, especially if they died and had to start over. Where roguelikes such as Hades have systems that hold your progress from the start of an area, Returnal’s design did not initially incorporate anything like that.
Revealed on the PlayStation Blog, the new system is called Suspend Cycle. This feature allows you to pause your current run, exit the game, and turn off your console. Rebooting the game will then allow you to continue your run.
It’s important to note that while Suspend Cycle creates a save state, this save is not permanent and can only be reloaded once. As Returnal’s Game Director, Harry Krueger, explains: “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.”
“With this approach, we can keep the roguelike spirit and “high stakes” commitment to your run intact, while still providing some quality-of-life convenience for players who like to experience Returnal in shorter bursts,” concluded Krueger.
Hopefully, this new Suspend Cycle system will make the game more accessible to those whose gaming sessions are limited.
In addition to Suspend Cycle, the Returnal 2.0 update adds a photo mode. Alongside fine tuning an angle for your subject, there are also different sources of light to highlight the scene, a variety of additional filters, effects, frames, colouring options, and more to be used.
In other news, October has seen some big next-gen titles being released, including the likes of FIFA 22, Far Cry 6 and Left 4 Dead’s spiritual successor, Back 4 Blood. You can purchase all of these titles, as well as pre-ordering Call of Duty Vanguard, from our Go2Games website.
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