The Gamers Nation: Returnal Update Lets Players Pause Cycle With Single-Use Suspend Point and Exit Without Losing Progress

Tuesday 26 October 2021

Returnal Update Lets Players Pause Cycle With Single-Use Suspend Point and Exit Without Losing Progress

Surprise! Housemarque has made good on its promise and released Returnal update 2.0, which allows players to pause their current cycle and exit the game without losing their progress. The caveat is that the ‘Suspend Cycle’ feature only allows a single-use suspend point, which means that if you play a little bit and want to suspend the cycle again, your game will continue from the new point onwards.

In addition to the above, players won’t be able to use the Suspend Cycle feature during boss battles, cinematics, first-person sequences, and “intense combat scenarios.” In that sense, this feature isn’t a traditional Save Game option. Housemarque has said that it feels “there are certain moments in Returnal that are best experienced unfragmented to preserve the intended challenge and flow.”

“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,” the studio wrote on the PlayStation Blog.

Alongside the Suspend Cycle feature, Returnal update 2.0 has added the highly-requested Photo Mode. All you have to do is pause the game, enter Photo Mode, and get creative. There are a variety of filters, effects, and frames at your disposal so enjoy capturing some unique moments.

Housemarque further wrote that Returnal has had a “fantastic” reception, and it’s “truly pleased and grateful” to see players enjoy the experience.

Last but not least, Returnal update 2.0 includes a number of bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements, patch notes for which aren’t available at the moment.