Returnal Developer Still Hasn’t Figured Out Saves

Although developer Housemarque is working on implementing a save system into Returnal, the studio has confirmed that it is still some way off at the moment.

Unlike many other Roguelikes, which allow players to save the game mid-run, Returnal doesn’t allow players to quit the game without having to start over.

However, marketing director Mikael Haveri has now said that the developer has no announcement to make about a save system. Speaking to Axios Gaming on Thursday, he said:

“We understand that there are some systems in place that are currently a hindering factor. 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.”

I talked about Returnal's save system with Housemarque's Mikael Havari today. Regarding an update: "It's something that we're actively, very actively trying to get out as soon as we can," he told me.

A bit more in today's newsletter. Much more from the interview in tomorrow's. pic.twitter.com/8iI4i7ckPH
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) May 13, 2021

The lack of a proper save feature has been a notable criticism of Returnal from both reviewers and players. It is especially problematic because runs in the game can last several hours — a time commitment that most users simply cannot guarantee.