People just want to be able to walk away mid-run without having to use the PS5’s hit-or-miss rest mode
There’s only one thing putting me off playingReturnalright now — okay,two. Three, tops.
This will potentially be the second time I’ve spent $70 on a PS5 game (the first beingDemon’s Souls), and honestly, I’m still adjusting to the sticker shock. As someone who already was willing to wait to avoid paying $60 at launch, I now feel even pickier about what’s worth getting and when.
I also don’t necessarily have a lot of time to sink intoReturnalright now, and from everything I know and love about Housemarque games, it takes a while to get into the groove. That was true of shorter arcade romps likeResogunandNex Machina, and it’sdefinitelytrue ofReturnalgiven its bigger-budget scope and potentiallyverydrawn-out roguelike runs. I’m expecting to put in dozens of hours, all told.
But really, those are mental barriers I can work through — the thing about saving, though, that’s still weighing on me. As Chrisexplained in his review(and as other players havesince complained about on Reddit),Returnaldoesn’t have a good option for temporary mid-run saves. Basically, you can’t — not really. If you’re in a run and you need to take a break, you’ve got to put your PS5 in rest mode.
For many people, the lack of a save-and-quit option won’t be too hard to work around most of the time. But as someone who’s woken up to a pissed-off PlayStation 5 that “wasn’t properly shut down” due to middle-of-the-night power fluctuations, or the cat stepping on the power strip, or other random mishaps, it’s a bit concerning. I don’t exactly have peace of mind that my PS5 will slumber peacefully while myReturnalrun is left hanging because I had something pry me away from the game.
In response to complaints about the lack of an in-game “suspend and resume” solution inReturnal(which other roguelikes have embraced),Housemarque tweeted: “We hear the community and we love you all. Nothing to announce now, but keep playing and enjoying the challenge as you can!”
I’d like the developers to stay true to their tough roguelike vision forReturnal. At the same time, player-centric quality-of-life options are super super appreciated in this genre, and there’s room to budge.
If this game is going to draw the large crowd it probably needs to, this stuff is worth considering.
