Topic: Returnal

@MatthewJP Yes, that thing near the ship has a specific ordered list of items it yields and there’s a few price tiers. It will go up even higher later.
There’s no other way to get those items btw (until you unlock them there, that is).

Wow guys... this game!

After struggling for some time on B2, mainly due to rush-play, I employed a different tactic. Instead of a quick blitz, I spent about 1.5hrs going through B1 very tactfully.

After 1.5hrs in B1, I had: 3 x small health vials / 1 x large health vial / astronaut / assortment of solid parasites / L4 Carbine

Then about an hr in B2 meant I was probably the most OP I've been in this game, and the B2 Boss was no issue.... only used 1 small health vial!

PS5 now in rest mode overnight, I'm having nervous sweats just thinking about potential power cuts ha!

Loving this game, an incredible vision brought to life.

My one and only critique, and I know this is quite contentious... I would have loved some kind of save function, or anything that would allow a temp save as opposed to putting PS5 in rest.

What are peoples opinions on this? I think Hades did a good job in this respect, but I can of course appreciate that Returnal was designed to be played a 'certain way'. Perhaps for a certain amount of currency a 'save consumable' could even be purchased from the fabricator? (dependant on RNG, not necessarily available each run)

I've barely stepped foot in B3, hoping for an easier time considering I'm fairly stocked up with decent consumables and have a solid weapon

@CJD87 you're doing exactly what I do (minus the rest mode) to build myself up for biome 3. The game definitely needs a save function, even if it just wiped upon death.
Thing is tomorrow when you pick it up again (power cuts avoided) you'll be starting afresh as it were, I find this game you need to warm up and get in the groove.

Housemarque did acknowledge this I believe but I can't see a save feature being added now this far after release.

I'd be interested to know how many of the amazing players on this forum that have beaten the game, did so without using rest mode?

@CJD87 I never really felt the need for a save function but I do think the game would benefit from it.
The difference between Returnal and Hades in that regard is that Returnal would have to save a ***** of data.
In Hades, you go from room to room, the next one being generated the moment you step into it and you can never go back. That means the game only needs to save your current stats, the current room and the number of rooms you already went through.
In Returnal, the entire biome is available to free roam, dropped items stay on the ground and enemies don’t heal or respawn. It would have to save the entire map layout, the exact position of every silphium, ether and every other item, weapon with its stats, the state of every container, whether or not you walked into each room and even the exact state and position of every enemy (technically you could damage but not kill dozens of them and have them follow you between multiple rooms).
It’s just a very different case from a technical viewpoint. I’m not saying it’s impossible but it might not be as simple as it seems, especially if the original game design didn’t account for it.

@MatthewJP @CJD87 I’m not an amazing player but I’m almost glad it didn’t have save. It pushed me to finish a run and to try and be decisive rather than take too much time. I also thought it increased the tension knowing that I would be done with the run that night and either have made it or be back where I started.

Also I always needed time to warm up to a run so felt that by starting off from Helios each time gave me chance to get up to speed and in the groove so to speak.

@MatthewJP Got the platinum but there is no way I could have done without using rest mode.

@MatthewJP I only used rest mode a couple times but that was when I specifically knew I could play for a short time and come back a few hours later. Never left it overnight.
I also basically only had one run that I would call very long.

@MatthewJP Never used rest mode. I did leave it paused for an hour or two, here and there, though!

@MatthewJP @CJD87 Yeah, I did that when I finally cleared Biome 3. I spent a ton of time building myself up and I went into that last difficult climb toward the boss with a boatload of health vials and intergrity, keys, and an astronaut, and I think maybe even paid for the reconstructor in the biome. I was so incredibly overpowered and over-prepared that I had health vials to spare after the boss.

But yes, I wish there was some kind of mid-run save function, even though I was able to beat the game without it. I used rest mode a handful of times and honestly I can’t remember if any of my boss clearing runs were done on a rest mode run. I think maybe that epic Biome 3 run was one where I depended on rest mode. But I remember after beating Biome 3 and moving on to Biome 4 I was so fatigued that I just died really quickly in B4 because it knew I was going to respawn there and had nothing to lose. And I think that actually I didn’t have to use rest mode at all for the second half of the game. It doesn’t feel like quite as much of a slog and Biome 4 was probably the easiest Biome to get through for me, so I didn’t mind repeating it.

@MatthewJP - I'm in agreement with you here, that whilst I don't think a 'save function' is entirely essential... it would certainly be desirable! I have small pockets of time through the day where I might be able to put away 45-60 mins at a given time, but work/family commitments mean that it would be near impossible for me to dedicate a straight 2-3 hours to a given run. I completely respect how Housemarque intended the game to be played, and rest mode seems 'good enough' as a compromise.... but the comfort blanket of a real save would be nice for sure! Assume you've beat the game, how long was your winning run?

@render Agee about the warmup, I always play better and more successfully when starting from Helios... vs kicking off a session in the middle of complete B2 chaos!

@Th3solution Yes I was honestly exactly the same in B2, spent so long getting OP that the boss almost felt like a cheese! Is there some form of mid-function save or reset then when B1-3 are cleared? Your post suggests that you respawn from B4 onwards?

Thanks again for all the helpful comments, can't believe I had this game in backlog for so long...

It will be a struggle to decide what is next. In the backlog I have Kena / DeS / GoT

Considering Kena as a pallet-cleanser, then on properly to DeS

@CJD87 Yes, hopefully it’s not too much of a spoiler, but there is a new respawn point at Biome 4. So once you clear Biome 3 then you’ll always start from the beginning of Biome 4. It makes for a more digestible sectioning of the game. Getting through Biome 3 is the end of Act 1.

Having the game split into these acts makes it so that the longest run I had to do was probably about 3-4 hours, to answer your earlier question. It can be done faster probably, but I definitely remember at least 3 hours on some of those runs. It’s tough, because you kind of lose track of time and end up doing the “one more run” thing into the wee hours of the night and realize you’ve spent 5 hours, but may have died 7 times.

My total game time to finish all the Acts to get to the true ending was about 60-70
hours I think. Somewhere in that neighborhood, with about 80-90 deaths.

@CJD87 I went from Returnal to Ratchet & Clank and then to Demon's Souls. Even though I enjoyed both of those games after they just didn't feel as good to play as Returnal did. I actually found I was dying a lot in Ratchet due to it just not being as responsive and Demon's Souls again was soooo much slower. Still both great games so can recommend either.

@Th3solution - Continued my successful B2 run (no power-cut overnight!) and flew through B3 fairly easily. The boss fight in B3 was incredible, particularly phase #3!

Now landed in B4, and had a quick & reckless run which culminated in a fairly imminent (and well-deserved) death. Happy with progress, and I am honestly more impressed with this game the more I play. In terms of difficulty, I can definitely see myself completing the 'basic' game.... I've not yet hit a Sekiro-esque wall where success seems impossible ha.

Quick observation - upon completing Act1 and receiving the trophy, the attainment statistic is that only 30% (!) of players get through Act1? Be interested to know what the stat is for Act2...

@render - Bet R&C was a nice move post-Returnal, for a settle-down period before DeS. I think I will do pretty much the same and tackle Kena, which has had mixed-positive review. How did you find DeS? In terms of FS games, I have only beaten Sekiro and play a bit of DS1 remastered on Switch (About 2hrs, then got stuck into Monster Hunter Rise). Would you say DeS is as big a challenge as Returnal?

@CJD87 looks like a new system update is out today so you might've dodged a bullet there if you have automatic updates enabled

@CJD87 Great! Congratulations! Yea, what an epic boss, eh? 😄 It does really pay off to may a concerted effort to strengthen your build before getting to the hard parts at the end of Biome 3.
I think you probably had a similar response as me in the early part of Biome 4. Gave it a small effort and conceded with a timely death knowing it was safe to do so since it’s one of the few save points in the game. But you’ll probably find that Biome 4 will feel a little easier now, with everything you’ve been through. In fact, despite future Biome being plenty difficult, I don’t think any are as frustrating as Biome 3.
As far as Act 2 — I looked up on my trophy list and it says 22.5% of players get the Act 2 trophy.

@CJD87 It sounds like @velio84 opinion probably matters more here as DeS is the only FS game I've played. In terms of difficulty compared to Returnal though I'd say Returnal definitely "felt" like it was more difficult to me. After the end of each boss fight I was on the edge of my seat with my hands physically shaking. It seemed to really push me to my limits but that could be to do with the pace of the game. On the other hand I died a lot more in DeS but I never felt like It was as challenging - just annoying as it was more down to timing and being exactly in that window.

I'd agree about the long runs back to a few of the bosses though. I can think of two that were particularly frustrating and they did make me jack in playing a few times when I couldn't be bothered with the slog.

@CJD87 A quick look at the trophies;

Act 1 - 30%
Act 2 - 22.5%
Act 3 - 9.9%

4% of people have yet to experience a death, only 58.5% have made it past the first boss.

And 2.8% with the platinum!

@Thrillho Wow, that is quite surprising that >40% of players haven't survived Biome 1...

I suppose there will be a few cases where people try the game, decide it isn't for them, and then return it perhaps? Platinum % is horrific, can only begin to imagine the level of dedication needed there...

Anyways - cheers for the share, makes me feel infinitely better about my own mediocre performance ha

@CJD87 The platinum can become a little frustrating the closer you are to it - when you only need a couple things left but they have a low chance of spawning, so you can play for hours and not make any progress. Luckily the game is just fun to play so I got it anyway

@CJD87 I said on this thread I would never go fro the platinum, however, I got it a few weeks back. You might change your mind.