Returnal developer considering mid-run save feature

Following complaints about the lack of a save option, the studio behind Returnal is looking into it but the solution isn’t simple.

Returnal is easily one of the best PlayStation 5 exclusives available at the moment. It’s roguelike randomness and challenging difficulty isn’t for everyone, however, and some aren’t fond of the lack of a manual save feature.

Since there’s no option to save your progress in the middle of a run, some have expressed frustration about having to commit to a play session that can potentially last hours or be completely undone by an unfortunately timed crash or power outage.

New patches can also interrupt a run but while the solution to that is to simply turn off auto-updates Housemarque has revealed it is looking into a more definitive way to the address the issue

Speaking with Axios Gaming (as transcribed by VG247), marketing director Mikael Haveri stated that the situation is being looked into. Unfortunately, adding such a save feature isn’t as simple as you may think.

‘We understand that there are some systems in place that are currently a hindering factor,’ said Haveri. ‘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.’

On the very day the game launched, a Reddit post arguing for a save option went viral and, in turn, caught Housemarque’s attention. At the time, it addressed the complaints with ‘We hear the community, and we love you all. Nothing to announce now but keep playing and enjoying the challenge as you can!’

While some may argue that the implementation of a save feature undermines the point of a roguelike, there are other similar games that allow their players to take breaks mid-run, such as Hades and The Binding Of Isaac.

Although adding the feature would aid accessibility the more serious issue with Returnal is the bugs, including crash bugs, which are much more likely to interfere with a run and seem to be Housemarque’s current priority.

Once those are sorted out it sounds like Housemarque will instigate some sort of limited save system that lets you leave the game but return where you left off later.

Returnal is available only on PlayStation 5.

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