New Returnal Update Released, Patch Notes Revealed

Update: Returnal‘s first update is not, in fact, going well. The update was pulled with some users who installed it now being forced to redownload the game.

Original Story: Returnal’s first post-launch update dropped this week just as the developer Housemarque promised it would on Tuesday. Also expected were the contents of the update with the patch notes detailing mostly stability fixes and other improvements for parts of the game that were negatively impacting players’ experiences. The update should be out now for everyone’s PlayStation 5 consoles, and assuming you followed Housemarque’s instructions from Tuesday, you hopefully didn’t lose any progress in your current cycle.

Developers typically announce when their updates will be released with Returnal’s coming not long after the game itself launched, but Housemarque had a special reason for warning players about the new patch. Because of Returnal’s cyclical nature, installing the update meant that players would have to be kicked back to the starting point in Returnal as if they’d died or quit out of the game completely. If you didn’t follow those instructions, you’ll have to start anew and fight your way back to where you were before.

Regardless of if your progress got reset or not, you’ll benefit from the fixes included in this week’s Returnal update. The patch notes for that update can be found below courtesy of Housemarque.

Returnal Patch Notes

• Fixed an issue where certain Trophies might not unlock under specific gameplay conditions. Note: missing Trophies will need to be replayed to unlock.
• Multiple stability fixes addressing rare crashes/hangs.
• Fixed issue with pre-order suits occasionally blocking item collection and door opening.
• Fixed incorrect healing behaviour when resting in Helios.
• Configuration changes to increase the number of scout corpses available in all biomes.
• Fixed issues with certain custom controller mappings.
• Numerous minor fixes and improvements.

If you’re just now starting out in Returnal or haven’t gotten too far into the game, we’ve got a couple of tips prepared for newcomers to make your first few cycles a bit less daunting than they need to be. We’ve also got answers for some of the more common questions players have had such as the purpose of the Reconstructors and what types of consumables players should bring with them.

You can also check out our Returnal review here to see our full thoughts on Housemarque’s new PlayStation 5 hit.