Returnal brings the infamous roguelike genre to PS5 and is probably one of the prettiest titles to release on Sony’s new flagship console. However, despite it being pretty, Returnal is not an easy game to play probably because the game has no mid-level checkpoints and if you die in the game, you will have to replay all of the level again from the start and it will be a completely different level as well because that is how roguelike titles work. For this very purpose, we have curated this Returnal Beginner’s Guide for you to help you get a strong start in the game with some tips and tricks to help you out in your early hours.
Beginner’s Guide – Returnal
Our Returnal Beginner’s Guide details everything that you need to know for starting Returnal for the very first time.
Always Look Out for Health Items
The most important tip for Returnal comes very first and it is that you must always look for health items. There are two health pickups in the game, one is Silphium and the second is Resin. The main pickup is the same which is Silphium however if you pick it up when your health bar is full, it becomes Resin. Silphium restores your health if your health is low however if you pick Silphium when your health is full, it becomes Resin and it extends your health bar.
These are relatively easy to spot on the map as well as these are the green plus icons on your mini-map and you can identify them with their distinctive green glow thanks to the game’s beautiful visuals. Due to Selphium’s dual nature of healing and increasing your health meter, it is important that you do not miss a single pickup that you see in the game. Even if your health is full, pick every single one of it when you see it in your mini-map because more health bar is always good in the game.
Build Up your Adrenaline
Killing three enemies in a row will build up your adrenaline and it stacks up five times. Every successive level after that grants you a random buff that keeps active until you are hit. The adrenaline build does not come down with time as well so your only chance of keeping it active is to remain on the move and avoid getting hit by enemies in the game. If you get hit, your adrenaline builds up, and your buff will go away and you will have to start working towards it from scratch. Make sure that your adrenaline is always high and you are buffed up for making combat a little bit easier in certain cases.
Look For Breakable Walls and Hidden Floors
Some of the walls in Returnal are breakable as they are extremely fragile. These walls can be easily identified with a red glow in them at various locations showing that something is behind these walls and you can break through them. You can easily break them with your melee attacks so if you see a breakable wall, quickly hit them with your melee and uncover the hidden area behind them granting you some good, easy loot. Apart from the breakable walls, there are also secret floors marked by a golden glow in the ground. If you see them, walk over them and they will break to reveal the hidden area for you.
Do Not Waste Ether and Save it For Reconstructors
One of the biggest problems that you will come across in Returnal is that you will die a lot in the game. Since the game has no mid-level checkpoints, chances are that you will have to restart the level from the beginning if you have no resurrection artifacts in the game. However, there is one way by which you give yourself a second chance and that is by spending some Ether at Reconstructors and giving yourself a respawn point. If you die on the run, you will respawn back at the Reconstructor.
There are no fixed locations of these Reconstructors so your chances of coming across one will be completely based on your luck. You may come across one late in the level, at the start of the level, or not at all. For securing a respawn, you will also need to dish out 6 of your precious Ether however Ether is not lost when you die, and you can use ether later as well so you can keep collecting them. Also, only spend Ether for resurrecting if you have progressed in the level to a good degree. Don’t waste Ether in the early stages on Reconstructors.
Give Malignant Items a Shot
Malignant Items are the items that you can pick up in Returnal however they have a chance of making your suit malfunction. These malfunctions are not 100% guaranteed however they might eventually happen in the game. You will find them randomly as well as in chests or loot items. While normally, you would probably want to avoid these items if you are already struggling with the game however some of the items could prove beneficial down the road.
While picking up the malignant item, you will be notified about what sort of malfunction it might give your suit and what sort of chance it has of happening. Depending on your choice, you can take the risk because the malfunction might not even happen if you are lucky enough and you might get a decent item at your hand. However, on the plus side, you can get rid of these malfunctions by completing a few tasks as well as making these items worth a try.
Do Not Hoard Obolites
Obolites are the yellow gems that you get from killing enemies and random rocks in the game. Obolites is one of the resources in the game that is strictly tied to that particular run. Meaning if you die, you lose all your Obolites and do not bring them back to the Crash Site as well. For this very reason, you must never hoard Obolites and always use them when you reach a Fabricator. These will help you purchase artifacts, stat boosts, and different items from Fabricators so make sure that you are always spending them rather than hoarding them.
Look for Resurrection Artifacts
A cheaper way of having a checkpoint in the game is to find an artifact that will resurrect you when you die in the game instead of having you restart the entire run. These artifacts are not that easy to find in the game however if you do manage to find them, you must have them in your inventory because they are the best artifacts in the game. If you find these resurrection artifacts such as the Astronaut Figurine, keep them equipped because they will bring you back to life with full health when you die in the game.
Try Online for an Increased Challenge
If you are finding yourself confident now and think that you are pretty good at the game, you can try playing online as well. Playing online has its own advantages as you will get to interact with projections of other players in the game. Apart from the online leaderboards of Daily Challenge, you can interact with projections of players who died in the same places as you are. By interacting with them, you can take part in three types of activities.
If you have enough Ether, you can spend some to loot their dead bodies. If you do not want to do that, you can avenge them as well. If you choose this option, a tough enemy spawns at the location that killed the player and you have to fight the monster and kill it. Winning the battle will grant you some cool loot. The avenged player also gets a little reward the next time they are at the crash site. The third case happens when a monster directly spawns at its dead body and you have to fight it with little to no bonuses in return so it is always a bargain in Returnal.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Finally, I will conclude this guide by saying that nothing works more than practice. Returnal is not a set-pattern game and there are no set levels in the game. Every level is different and the enemies you face each time are randomized so you cannot really predict what to expect in each run. For this very purpose, you must learn the mechanics of the game and practice by running random runs. It does not matter if you keep dying in the game. Going through a few of the runs just to get the hang of the game is perfectly fine and you should actually do it. Run a few practice sessions, die a lot, and keep trying before taking your runs seriously. It will help you a lot in the game.
For more Returnal guides, check out our Returnal Wiki.
This concludes our Returnal Beginner’s Guide. If you have some tips and tricks for us, feel free to use the comments section below.
