Some Returnal tips and tricks will help players get into a game that can be incredibly brutal, with advice on exploration, bosses, and more. Returnal’s barrier to entry can be incredibly brutal, and we don’t blame gamers for feeling pretty overwhelmed, but don’t worry about those coming to the game now that Returnal is on PC – these little bits of information will still apply. So, if you’re stranded at the head of the Ruins or in the Crimson Deserts, our Returns tips will help you begin to master the cycle and find a path to the truth of this world…
1. These long tentacles can be used to reach otherwise inaccessible areas.
There are long, overhanging red tentacles scattered throughout the Overgrown Ruins area. If you walk too close, they’ll catch you and you’ll have to dash to escape. Your first instinct will likely be to avoid them at all costs, but they’re usually found near ledges and platforms you might otherwise not be able to reach. Once you’ve cleared the area of enemies, use these tentacles to elevate yourself, then dash out in the direction of the platform.
2. Kill creatures with golden tentacles for more obolites
Occasionally, when you enter an area with no standard hostile enemies, you may encounter a small group of creatures with golden tentacles. These mysterious beings are not hostile; instead, when they detect you, they will start to flee and go underground. Killing them nets a lot of obolites used as money in the game, so try to collect as many as you can before they disappear. Also, for even More watch out for golden-eyed statues as obolites can be destroyed and leave more alien coins.
3. Shoot the eyes on the overhead towers to temporarily remove the searchlights
Sometimes you stumble upon huge, vast fields with enormous towers shining spotlights looking for you. Being spotted by these huge fixed overheads results in a shot towards you, which you can avoid if you’re fast enough, but if they hit you they do a lot of damage. So don’t risk it – you can aim and fire a single bullet at each eye to temporarily disable the spotlights and create a safe passage through them.
4. Concrete doors can be opened by finding the glowing light somewhere nearby and igniting it.
Found a chest, artifact, parasite, or other loot collector that seems to be blocked behind some concrete pillar? At first I thought I was waiting for a later upgrade to turn these on, but actually all you have to do is find and shoot the glowing light that will be somewhere nearby. Most of the time it’s on the wall above but can be hidden by something so do some proper hunting around the area to unlock the loot.
5. After defeating a boss, you don’t have to fight it again every time to get back to the next world.
Unlike other roguelike games, you don’t have to fight the boss in every world to progress. For example, after defeating the first boss in Overgrown Ruins, you will receive the Crimson Key, which opens the portal to the Crimson Wastes. When you die and have to start over, even if you go back to Helios and start with nothing but a pistol, simply find the portal again instead of looking for the boss.
6. Once you have the sword, you can only destroy red glowing vines and damaged walls.
In the Overgrown Ruins, you’ll find lots of red glowing vines and walls that look structurally weak. These to be It can be destroyed, but only when you unlock the melee attack. You find this the first time you reach the Crimson Wastes portal, before you even have the activation key.
7. In Overgrown Ruins, your sword kills most enemies in one hit
As long as you’re adept at dashing, most enemies in Overgrown Ruins will die with a single sword blow. Therefore, instead of using the Modified Waist Gun, you will undoubtedly not do much damage, run, jump, and swing your sword to quickly destroy smaller enemies, while also collecting all the obolites before they expire. .
8. Do not be afraid of malfunctions, as the correction requirements are usually not very difficult
Malignant products have an important risk/reward factor. On the one hand, it may seem like a bad idea to pick up something that is “high” likely to cause a malfunction, but on the other hand, the requirements for troubleshooting the malfunction are usually pretty straightforward. Experiment with different villains early in the game while you’re still unlocking new items and progressing through the story until you realize how easy it is to fix. Don’t shy away from them because they can completely turn a bad run into a great one.
9. On the map, blue triangles indicate gates, resources or by-roads.
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As you play through the story you will always have an orange target marker to follow and guide you in the direction you need to go, but this will definitely be the fastest route.
Wondering what else is around you? Dark blue triangular doors on the minimap are doors behind which are more likely to have better weapons, artifacts, and consumables; so it’s worth exploring so you can put aside the starting pistol for something better and boost your integrity before fighting tougher enemies. If you don’t, you will suffer for your choice before you even leave the first area of the game.
