Not being able to save in Returnal is still the game’s biggest problem, and even using the PS5’s rest mode hasn’t stopped players from getting screwed. But in a new interview, the studio has revealed that they’re still not really sure how to fix the problem.
Implementing saves in Returnal, clearly, isn’t as easy as flipping a switch or just copying a simple save state. Developers Housemarque have said repeatedly that they had “no further plans to announce at this time”, but in a chat with Axios Gaming’s newsletter (headed up by Kotaku alumni Stephen Totilo), the Finnish studio’s marketing director was speaking a different tune.
“We understand that there are some systems in place that are currently a hindering factor,” Mikael Havari, marketing and business development director of Housemarque, said. When asked about a possible solution, Havari simply replied “But currently, we just don’t know exactly what it is.”
“So it’s very difficult to announce anything, because I think there’s a lot of different people looking for different things,” he was quoted as saying.
It’s hard for the studio, given their arcade roots and the obvious intent to ensure Returnal‘s sense of accomplishment is well and truly earned. And while there’s absolutely a sense of achievement in going on a mammoth Returnal run, it’s also deeply unfair to have runs ruined by things out of the player’s control — like system updates you forgot to disable. Or because someone else in the household wanted to watch Disney+ or Netflix or something over dinner.
As others pointed out, busy people need save states. And at the time, Housemarque said they had heard the criticism from the community. The problem, then, seems to be a technical one. If Returnal was never designed to support room-to-room saves or a proper pause functionality in the first place (like many other roguelikes do), implementing it post-launch could be vastly more difficult.
As for the rest of Returnal, we’ve got plenty of advice to help you get the most out of each run. Our full guide here is a great place to start, but also: grab the rocket launcher. Always grab the rocket launcher.
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