Returnal Suspend Cycle more or less allows a player to temporarily save their game and turn off their console to resume from the same point they left off in the game. Unlike many other combat and story mode games such as Elden Ring and the newly released Hogwarts Legacy, players do not have an ultimate option to save their runs or cycles.
Meaning that they either have to complete a cycle or most likely defeat a boss. It is evident that a suspend cycle utilizes a single save file and is deleted once a player resumes from that particular point in the game. Needless to say, numerous players have found it to be an astonishing new feature that saves them the hurdles of completing runs repeatedly.
Key Takeaways
- The Suspend Cycle can serve as a one-time save point for players.
- Suspend Cycle takes up only a single ‘save’ file, which means a player cannot do it more often than usual.
- Once a player suspends their cycle, they have the option to completely shut down whatever console they are playing on, and continue with their daily life “quests.”
- After you resume your journey in Returnal, the save point is deleted. However, you can always repeat the process.
- The Suspend Cycle cannot be used during a cutscene, boss fight, and first-person sequences. Don’t expect to suspend a cycle when you’re taking a beating!
- The feature is only available after the Returnal 2.0 update and not before!
The Immediate Need For Returnal Suspend Cycle
An absence of save points and similar checkpoints caused panic for Returnal players, causing an alarming rate of issues considering how the game is already designed to be difficult. Additionally, to help counter the cries of players, a Returnal 2.0 update was released which features the Suspend Cycle.
However, everything good thrown your way can have its downsides as well. Nothing can be too perfect, and in this case, we have the temporary solution for a successful save point, which might I add, does not work on cutscenes, boss fights, unskippable stories, and such.
I would advise others not to confuse Checkpoints with a Suspend Cycle as they work entirely differently. When a checkpoint is achieved and a player dies right after it or somewhere along the way. The game reloads from that specific checkpoint, allowing a player to retain his items, inventory, and others up until that point!
A Suspend Cycle needs to be activated manually through the menu. A player may simply open the menu and hover over the last option “Suspend Cycle.” If you feel like there is no need for suspending your cycle and you can play for more hours, you can press and hold the “O” circle button on your Playstation to cancel or delete the suspend cycle.
Related: To find out more about any permanent Xenotech upgrades, you can hover over to our “Returnal: All Permanent Xenotech Upgrades” guide!
The Upside
A player can only ask for a more suitable outcome to avail their needs. The Suspend Cycle, in this case, serves as an ultimate save point for players if they find themselves in a pickle. Choosing to pause the game or leave the game to finish your chores can be a scenario that anyone can relate to, and finding it hard to save your progress even temporarily can be troublesome when you’re playing Returnal.
However, that is not the case anymore. If you feel like you need to do something important other than completing your cycle, or there is a scheduled power outage in your area, you can immediately open the menu and Suspend your Cycle to resume it exactly from that point without altering anything you did before the “Suspend Cycle.” Once the action is completed, a player can happily turn off their console and rest assured that the game will start from that exact point.
Reasons can differ from player to player, you may be a gamer that frequently dies in the game and want to avoid losing all the progress, right? Suspending the cycle can serve to tackle that situation where you lose all your progress.
Related: If you were somehow unable to understand the ending in Returnal, you can always read our “Returnal Ending and Secret Explained” guide.
The Downside
With certain advantages can come disadvantages, and in this particular moment, the con of using the Suspend Cycle is limited to one-time use. That does not necessarily mean that a player can only suspend a cycle or run through the game only once. No, my friends, it simply means that once you resume your game from the point you suspended the cycle, the file will be deleted. You will then have to repeat the steps manually in case you have to leave again.
Moreover, there are certain hiccups along the way. Players that thought of this as a loophole against boss fights may want to take their seats again for it is not a feature that can be used during boss fights. I mean, it was a clever idea that you could temporarily save your game during a boss fight and use it to your advantage. However, Returnal Suspend Cycle can only be used before engaging in a heated battle against bosses.
With that said, I end my guide and hope that players were able to gather and use the information to continue on with their games in a more efficient manner! For guides on different games, you can visit VeryAliGaming and scroll through our endless supply of guides!
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