Spoiler alert: You will die in Returnal. Quite a lot too. The game is just hellbent on killing you and not letting you win. It’s like a really bad nightmare that just seems to be on a constant loop. Huh, maybe that’s where Housemarque got the inspiration for this game. While this makes the game a bit annoying as you keep going to the start of a loop every time you die, you will develop good motor skills as you progress in the game. So, just maybe, there is a silver lining to it all. Well, without any more delays let’s find out what happens when you die.
What will happen if you die in Returnal?
Whenever you die in the game you will find yourself back near the Helios Crash Site. You will find your character, Selene, back at the initial crash site, with only a handgun. You won’t lose any of the progress you’ve made in the game, you will just reset at one spawn point, without your inventory too we should add. Even if you are on a run through a loop, there are no checkpoints that will save your game. You need to complete the objective you’re on to get your progress saved.
Once you get through Biome 3, you get an option to start all your runs from Biome 4. With this, if you do die in Returnal, you won’t have to go through all the biomes all over again. You do get the option to fight all your completed boss fights again. It’s a good way if you want to get high-quality items quickly. You get better weapons that help you further on in the game.
Every time you die you will lose all your inventory items. This includes everything from your weapons and ammo to all your consumables and healing items. So now, you will have to explore all the biomes once again to find all your items. This can get pretty annoying as the map generates itself randomly, making it hard to pinpoint a single location.
What items do you retain after you die?
The only items that you will hold on to after you die in Returnal are equipment items like the Hermetic Transmitter and Atropian Blade. Such items will unlock during specific points in the game. They are important for fast travel through the various biomes in Returnal.
Also, every time you die in the game, you will learn more about Selene and the story of the game. This gives more character depth to Selene and you also find out about the Atropos plant.
With all that said, this is everything you need to know about what happens when you die in Returnal. Now that you know all that find out more about a Reconstructor as well as how to beat the first boss Phrike.
