Housemarque says "we hear the community" as Returnal players call for save and quit option
Give it a rest, mode.
Housemarque has suggested better saving is in the works for its PlayStation 5-exclusive Returnal.
Quote Tweeting a thread on Reddit titled "No need to be toxic about people who need save-options!", Housemarque said: "We hear the community and we love you all. Nothing to announce now, but keep playing and enjoying the challenge as you can!"
This is in response to roguelite Returnal's lack of a save and quit option. You cannot save a run and come back to it. If you quit during a run, the run is lost. You can use the PS5's rest mode to suspend the game and return to where you left off later, but that's far from ideal.
Returnal does have a checkpoint system, but it's not particularly helpful. As Chris Tapsell wrote in his wonderful Returnal review:
"... checkpoints only work once per run, so you better be sure when you spend half a day's resources on one."
As redditor AbUndMax explains in their thread:
"Busy people need to save!
"Players shouldn't be able to choose between save-files and the save-files should be automatically deleted as soon as you die so the roguelite character of the game won't get destroyed."
Based on its tweet, Housemarque is looking at a solution for this problem. I imagine its consideration will be how to preserve the essence of the game and its roguelite foundations, while also providing a save and quit option for time-starved players.
I'll leave you with this anecdote from Tapsell's Returnal review, which feels relevant:
"I'd paused the game while on my best-ever run, and came back not two minutes later to find my loaner PS5 in the middle of an auto-update. I lost all progress on the run, roughly a whole morning of my life. Turn auto-updates off!"
Oh, and if you're just getting started with Returnal this weekend, be sure to check out our 12 Returnal tips and tricks for surviving your next run.