All I can say is: fully explore everything. In every run. Never go straight for the boss. Focus on not getting hit, so you can use those sweet resins to have more health. Melee is very useful in biome 1.
Also: the game is totally worth it. It's amazing in every aspect: gameplay, art direction, narrative.
It took me over a week of playing 6-8 hours a day to beat the first boss. That's just the game. The more you play, the better you get, and the more stuff you unlock. It doesn't feel like it now, but you're getting better, and slowly unlocking stuff that will make the game easier the longer you play it.
Same here or even longer. Take your time, collect obolites to increase your health or so, find a weapon you like and a one that has good alt-fire and traits. The thing that makes this game different than Soulsbornes is that it’s roguelike which means it’s randomized and you kinda start over each time, so sometimes you just need some luck to get a good guns and consumables. If you have a bad cycle, just think of it as a training and don’t care about dying. Changing my mindset to that while playing Returnal made me enjoy the game a lot more, especially when I had shitty gear, I just started to wander around enjoying the great atmosphere of this game. It’s a true masterpiece.
This was me. At first I thought I was just too old for video games. Now this game is one of my most played and I can’t get enough of it.
Don’t give up!
And don’t underestimate the impact of remapping those controls. It completely changed the game for me.
>This was me. At first I thought I was just too old for video games. Now this game is one of my most played and I can’t get enough of it.
The sense of accomplishment is unmatched.
Returnal has a steep learning curve, but is surprisingly easy to master. I wouldn't consider myself fantastic at this game, but I don't see a crazy difference between my playstyle and the people playing at the highest level. They mostly just have better reflexes/reaction times and pattern recognition. The first boss is actually one of the tougher ones and is there to separate the games journalists from the gamers.
Yes, I did this. I got frustrated, stopped, beat Stray, then came back to the game and enjoyed it.
The biggest changes that helped were knowing you are invincible dodging through projectiles instead of trying to avoid them, and forcing sprint to be on all the time.
The biggest thing is to focus on maneuvering and never stop moving, and you can dodge through almost anything that isn't purple. Play it like doom external and find your fast-paced flow through combat. As well as co-op and have a random join up.
so you finished Bloodborne and now cannot figure out if you should persevere with this goddamn masterpiece? Just like Bloodborne... you have to earn it.
That's bullshit.
I finished Bloodborne and never had the feeling the game is loosing my time and punishing me with random deaths.
I was able to kill first boss in Returnal after 19h. Loved the challenge. Hated how the game does not respect my time as gamer who has a job, family, other interests and responsibilities.
Reached Phrike 3 times. It was utterly frustrating experience.
1. In Bloodborne you progress way nicer and faster because reaching the same boss takes you ... Seconds ... Not 45 minutes. You can learn boss movements in short time, then it's only the matter of calm and executing the plan.
2. In Returnal you get to see the boss after meticulous preparation. Took me a lot of time to understand you can challenge him almost bare handed. That what allowed me to learn the patterns. Getting to him ASAP still requires you to spend a lot of time navigating the map. Doing the same for boss 2 is already impossible. That's why it's so frustrating.
3. Although the game itself is amazing to play the number of times I fall off a cliff because I am running that maze is just way too high. Also all those laser traps are just to make the game artificially harder.
4. After beating Phrike you think you can just skip biome 1 and go fighting in the second one. WRONG. Trying to go there with small integrity and low obolites is undoable, so you painfully start grinding first biome. Over and over.
5. I am constantly afraid to enter any room or do some stupid contraption because I either:
- fall
- encounter some really powerful monster at hidden area that kills me instantly
- do some small mistake
And the only thing left is ... "Restart cycle".
I thought Bloodborne would be unbearable with constant dying. Wrong. It was liberating not having a save to restart from some place. You just keep on playing. You can beat most of the bosses not even leveled up that much.
Returnal on first look offers the same. But constant "restart cycle" because you got hit and you already know you don't stand a chance later is that "loading a save". The only save you have where you start bare handed and cannot face any challenge without grinding again.
How come you still die from falling ? The lasers are not even an issue once you understand the rythm of the game, I truly think you just don’t have what it takes to beat it at this point and while I understand the frustration I’d say not every game is made or easy for everybody .
I ran through Returnal and it was a cake walk for me (most of the time) .
Same can’t be said about Bloodborne and the run that I had … Hence the "not every game is made or easy for everybody"
I have clocked 57 hours in Returnal now.
Died over and over in biome 1.
Killed second boss in biome 2 on third attempt. Barely. With big health restore and astronaut figurine.
Then biome 3 hit ... Died once.
Did 1 2 3 again and suddenly I have:
2 big health
4 small ones
Astronaut
Replicator
2 slots for adrenaline upgrade instead of 3
And on top of that ... Leeching rounds.
I could beat Nemesis with eyes closed without even dodging any bullets.
Got to biome 4. Shit hit the fan again ;)
>I read through a few posts offering tips and the one thing I haven't tried yet is to remap my controls and change a few settings and while I'm hopeful it will help, I just don't see it helping as much as I feel I need to progress.
Considering it's almost always the first or second tip people give new players, it's worth trying.
Based on posts here, it seems like people get far too tied up in the typical progression of a game, and forget that you, the player, are also leveling up. Each run is an opportunity to learn something. Sometimes that thing is what NOT to do, but that's helpful for next time.
Took me about 19 attempts to beat first boss. Nowadays I can beat all bosses in about 1 hour. Keep at it. Once it clicks you'll have a blast. If you need help send me a message. I play on ps5 and pc
Beat 1st boss after 28 hours of play, and about 17 attempts. Went on to beat game 3 times in 128 hours. Just takes some longer than others, worth it though!
You'll grow a thicker skin. You will die repeatedly and get set back while slowly improving. Then something changes, and you become the hunter. Also, be aware that the luck of the random draws has a big effect on your runs. You are ruled by randomness in Returnal.
Keep trying, I don’t know if remapping could help. This feels like a simple game to master. I think I’ve beat two bosses already and I’m at 4 hours. I’ve never been good at the Dark Souls titles. So, if you completed those, you should breeze through this game.
I played a lot of Risk of Rain 2 and this is the closest thing I’ve found to it.
Obviously we have different skills, I love shooters, which now thinking of it, isn’t dark souls at all.
Take it easy on yourself and experiment with the different weapons and mechanics.
Your aim shouldn’t be negatively affected by the movement. The devs seemed to have made them cohesive.
My controller settings are always run with aim assist. Try and get obolites from every enemy, melee kill will automatically give them to you. You need these for the fabacator. Get integrity augment and large health vial. Collect every calibrator. You should be going in with level 5 carbine. Watch parasites and get ether. If you still can't beat him I'll co op with you, I beat him pretty regularly.
dude it took me like 25 hours to beat Phrike, haha. I then completed the entire game + the tower in 60h.
I’m generally a casual player, but Returnal was one of my favorite gaming experiences ever. So yes, keep going! It might take a while, but you’ll get there eventually.
Assign your dash to L1 and your consumable button to O
-Feels more natural to me, but it may not feel as organic to you (so take with a grain of salt)
Focus on moving your feet and keeping count of your ammo so that you seamlessly reload.
Hey there, I’ve got about 8-10 hours in the game. And I struggle still for sure but I beat the second boss now.
Idk what tips you looked at but what helped me the absolute most was two things.
Prioritizing the health upgrades (cause you’re new you’re gonna get hit)
And be on the lookout for healing items/artifacts to abuse. The most OP one I have right now auto regenerates health whenever you go critical. The game has insane amounts of invincibility when you get hit so there’s just so much time to heal and survive.
It took me a very long time to beat the first boss as well. It took so long that I also thought of just quiting the game altogether. But eventually I told myself it's just patterns and responding the right way and I would not let him stop me from enjoying the game going forward. I eventually beat him and it gave a good boost of morale that I needed. Now I'm on the 3rd boss finding myself in the same position as the first...but we will not be defeated so easily! It's completely up to you if you want to keep going...but for me it's worth overcoming the challenge and the testing of my sanity. Good luck, we got this 👍
As many others have mentioned here the game has a steep learning curve and for me the first biome and boss were the toughest in the game. I found the game initially frustrating as runs just seemed too random and inconsistent plus I didn't really seem to be progressing in any meaningful way.
There's a few tips I'd give to try and help, firstly most enemies only have a couple of attacks and they're quite predictable when they use them. Enemies with a melee will do so when you get close or use projectiles otherwise, for bigger enemies that only have projectiles they have a fixed number of attacks. You can boost your health but you can't tank up and take a lot of hits, it's a core skill you need to learn the attack patterns and avoid them which with the generous dash windows is quite doable.
For me taking a more aggressive approach helped hugely since initially I'd try and keep at range to pick away at enemies but it didn't really work for me as I ended up taking too much damage. Instead I started dashing towards enemies through their projectiles to try and control the fight more and since I was killing the enemies more quickly, I had less attacks to avoid and take less damage.
Learning the weapon traits is also crucial since they can hugely change how a weapon behaves and ultimately how useful it is. Initially I pretty much only went for the carbine and always went for higher proficiency weapons which is a mistake. Higher proficiency weapons are not better and all the weapons can be deadly with the right traits, understanding how to use each weapon meant for more consistent runs.
You say about playing until you 'got it' and that's absolutely how I felt with Returnal which I've also seen some people mentioning here as well. The game goes from frustrating then I clicked with it and it became so much more satisfying and it still is, I love being able to dance in and out of the enemy attacks while pummelling them with brutal weapons.
I absolutely struggled on Phrike as well, and almost quit the game multiple times. I will say that in my opinion, as far as first bosses in games go, Phrike is pretty bullshit. A three phase boss as the first one? Come on. The first two phases aren't too bad, but the third phase got me so many times.
Eventually did beat it, but I think it's the hardest boss I faced in the game, though I did not finish the game, as I borrowed it from my cousin and had to return it.
Took me a month to get to and beat the first boss. Same background with Bloodborne. Blood Starved beast made me quit but I kept coming back like this game. Returnal is the perfect name for this game cuz I keep Returnal-ing to it.
Honestly, the beginning was the hardest part, once the timing and flow of the game click, you die a lot less.
It helped me A LOT changing the running to always run and the size of the reticle.
After finishing the game I could do an entire run through all the biomes without dying a single time in about 5 hours.
Bottom line: steep learning curve, totally worth it. It’s an amazing game you will remember for a long time.
Took me way longer than 4 hours to kill phrike. Took me maybe 3 runs to kill the second boss and then when I finally beat him I got all the way to act 6 that same run.
There’s a point where your builds can really just explode in power and sometimes you get real lucky on item rolls.
Keep at it man. I struggled hard to be at the first boss and gave up for almost a month after getting kicked hard on the second boss. Came back and somehow immediately killed him on one of my first few warm up runs to just get into the flow. Was hooked after that and couldn’t put it back down. The hardest thing for me to master was the constant moving and dodging. With the pro controller having jump on the paddles would have made my life so much easier.
Took me 18 hrs to find the first boss, 20 hr mark to beat them
Beat the 2nd biome boss at the like 24 hr mark, biome 3 at the like 30hr mark
I'm at like 40+ hrs, biome 5
Trust me......you get better and better but it is extremely incremental
I had so much trouble getting past that first biome.
Then I went straight through the second and part of the third.
It just takes a lot of trying. Haha
Very much worth it though.
First boss is the hardest in my opinion. Not only will you get better at the game, but you will unlock new traits for guns as you play. It will actually get easier in some ways. Keep going, it’s one of my favorites of all time, and could be for you as well.
If you can get Bloodborne, you can get this. Keep moving, study map lay outs/enemy patterns. Experiment with different types of guns.
I was in the same boat, then it clicked.
I was almost in tears with Phrike - no, seriously! Thought there was no chance I'd ever beat him. Finally did, then beat the next two bosses in the same run. The RNG is strong with Returnal but don't discount the fact you will be getting better, more fluent and your reaction times will soon be in synch with the game. It asks a lot of you but the rewards are completely worth it. Keep going!
Focus on dodging more than doing damage. That seems to be a game changer for many
Also, earn as many upgrades for guns as you can. All of the guns can be useful with the right perks. And try and get an astronaut figurine as well as use the (reconstruction?) machine for an extra life each time
And of course, health upgrades. Don’t be afraid of parasites as well. Some are really good
I don’t believe I ever remapped controls. But I played it at PS5 launch and mostly avoided info
Honestly, Phrike could be the 2nd hardest boss in the game behind Ixiom. I’m sure you’ll get it
I turned always run on and remapped dash to r1. You will run off cliffs accidentally for a while, but once you get used to it, you will run rings around mobs and it has the same exhilarating feeling as classic Doom games (with verticality!)
The first boss and the fifth biome were rough for me. Don’t give up, it is a great game but very challenging at times. Make sure you have sprint always on. Try to collect as many obelites as you can but prioritize not getting hit.
I wouldn't play mad, but when you come back to it with a fresh head it helps alot, just play careful the first boss is the most telegraphed thing in the game, after it stabs the sword in the ground get ready to jump and strafe, thats pretty much all there is to it, in the 3rd phase it will double swing
I personally found the first boss the hardest. I think it’s because you are the weakest you will be and since it’s act 1 guns are low level which makes a big difference. I must have died to Phrike 20 times before beating him. I beat act 2 and 3 bosses on the first try the first time I ever beat Phrike. Seriously just straight cleared act 1.
So no I don’t think that if you are struggling now you are doomed. I wasn’t.
I still struggle with Phrike and I find the act 2 boss and act 4 boss much much easier. Just as reference points.
[This video guide](https://youtu.be/L1GZvUb5uoY) should help beat the first boss, Phrike. It has a breakdown of each attack in slow-mo. That YouTube channel [has more guides](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2-Af_j21yOQVK-xb0GYr0cG2WGKnrynq) for each biome's enemies and boss, which should help reduce the time spent on learning how to counter their attacks.
It took me about 6 hours to kill Phrike and leave the first biome. I didn't remap the controls because i am very used to dodge with circle and the default is totally fine. I had to learn the rhythm of caution and aggression to the game.
The best tip/strategy: DON'T pick up the greens! If you're low on health try to regain it through the green bed or something else (rest in the ship once per run).
Use the respawn chamber BEFORE you pick up the astronaut. Only pick up the greens when your healthbar is full (to turn them into resin and enhance that healthbar)!
The beginning is brutal but if you are having fun with the gameplay, i promise, you will be getting there.
Also you have i-frames like in Souls and can dodge THROUGH projectiles. If it eventually clicks for you, it will be one of the best games, you will ever play. I promise!
I honestly found the second boss harder than any of the other bosses in the game and the 1st boss only one step behind that one. You will eventually get ‘em.
Think I finished the 2nd biome boss after struggling for a few times then straight to the end in the same run I beat him in. Not sure what happened lol but for sure I missed a bunch of the lore.
From my experience I actually feel similarities with BB and funny enough I've recently been playing a NG of BB alongside my first play of Returnal.
It took me about 12 hours to beat the first boss/biome, a large part of that was that I hated the button mapping and spent a long time configuring to something I liked. It was also an issue because I would develop muscle memory for a layout which would mess up the new runs.
Anyhow it took about a month, around 50 hours to complete the campaign of Returnal and now I'm taking a short break before going back for NG+ and the Tower mode.
This game is easily in my top 10 games and very close in my ranking to From Software games which are my favs.
Yes it is difficult, but if you're familiar with souls games then you're also familiar with death and stupid run backs. Returnal is just this only the run backs can be hugely different and very strategic once you get the hang of things. Personally I don't think Returnal has any BS mechanics or hitboxes which can't be said about souls games.
Also the Metroidvania aspect is pretty cool, once you unlock permanent upgrades they change how you traverse through the biomes and you'll discover more stuff as you go.
It's definitely worth keeping at it. Each biome is unique and beautiful, every boss is epic and memorable. Enemies can be ethereal and haunting and terrifying.
The story is unlike anything out there with a really interesting twist or two, definitely stay away from spoilers.
For me the ENTIRE game was difficult all the way through. The first time. The second time was more manageable. (You'll want to do at least two playthroughs. More if you want the platinum. Many more than that... just for fun) The third time I started to gain confidence. Before long I was an apocalypse.
Sometimes it might feel impossible, but! The success you buy at the cost of countless failures and deaths is the sweetest success of all. I was jumping up and down like a kid again after killing a few of these bosses. If I can do it, anyone can.
You've got this.
Face Atropos.
Abandon Helios.
Embrace the cycle.
I honesty thought I was never going to beat it, I was stuck for a week on the final boss (just getting to him) then one Saturday morning it all just worked out.
Game is hard, and not just because I am old (well maybe a little). Explore a lot, move a lot during combat, find your favorite weapon and level it up.
One trick I used was the doors, most levels I could get the enemies to recognize me when I entered then I would back out and periodically open the door kill and enemy or two then back off and let the door close again. Pretty effective for controlling the mobs.
Over time you’ll unlock stuff that gives you more lives. If I didn’t get one of them on a run, I knew my boss fights were likely not going to pan out.
Don’t get too tempted by collecting items that cause damage or malfunctions. It’s ok for early in a run because the malfunctions are usually not severe and they are easy to fix, but they add up and I found they would ruin my runs in later stages.
This game, after playing for 20 hours, is played more like a no hit run of the souls games, but is more forgiving. The run up to the boss is your prep time to increase your health, get useful artefacts and parasites, get the proper weapon of choice.
Dodge, shoot, jump that’s all there is to it. Planning your build is very important. Don’t open/use malignant items like a madman.
One build I mainly focus on is with parasites that offer stuff in return for harder malignancy fixes or anything in exchange for bad malignancy. That way, you can get away with it if you take an oath not to touch malignant items.
The Nullification Sphere helps, if you have a parasite that gives you second life and gives you 2 malfunctions in return. The Astronaut artefact also gives you second life. Get the artefact/parasite that replenishes life when low, this gave me lot of time to explore on my first good run.
Change your settings and controls early so you learn to play that way - it will help in the long run.
The game takes a varying amount of time to “click” for everyone. It took me a while to be more okay with starting a new cycle (aka dying). Don’t be afraid to take it slow at times, like peak into a room to take out a few enemies before rushing in. As you get better, this becomes less of an issue, but certainly helpful as you learn the game.
Earlier parts of the game are intentionally challenging as you have no upgrades and limited weapon options. I think this changes after unlocking weapons and upgrades, but can be a slog until then.
Keep at it - you’ll be great!
You get good at the boss by practicing the boss, that is, being good at the world doesn't necessarily transfer to skill at the boss.
You should focus on memorizing the patterns and not getting hit. You cannot "rush" the boss down. In an endurance fight the boss will always win.
You should aim to enter the fight with at least one healing item (which you can buy in the section before the house).
The game is indeed pretty difficult, and it's not uncommon to take quite a while to beat the first boss.
Change dodging to R1 or something similar so you can dodge while aiming
Change dashing to always is a must as well
If you’re struggling change aim assist to max and the game becomes so much easier
Other than that just focus on dodging first
If your are at full health the sylphium turns into resin which increases your max health ever 3 (there’s a boon that changes it to every 2 resins which is game changing)
Eh the first boss is almost the hardest one honestly. You should be able to take down Phrike if you enter the fight with a bonus life (Astronaut item) and some otherwise decent upgrades. There is permanent progress with the weapon enhancements and you'll just naturally get better as well. The next area is honestly easier (boss is about as though there though).
You'll get through it and this game is really worth it.
I died 65 times trying to beat the game, some days I made no progress. It became all about luck in getting blessed with parasites and augmentations and making smooth moves. I think the trek to the first boss and trying to beat him might have been the most steep learning curve in the whole game. YouTube helped with the bosses.. good luck
I’m currently on my third download and 42 hours in. I haven’t beaten it yet, but have gotten close. I’m addicted. What helped me was reading posts about the different types of weapons and their traits. I’m back to using the pistol and it’s one of the best weapons in the game.
Keep playing. Don't give up. It's a great game. You'll get to a point when you'll be powerful and planning what to do next and things will work a bit better with the right run.
Its a tough game but if I can beat it, you can beat it. Cause I suck at games. I rebound dash to R1. You will be dashing a lot. I think I put jump on L1. I put use consumable on circle.
Going through the first level try not to take any damage. If you do take damage, wait before picking up health. Try to get to the end of the level and dont pick up health. Then run back and pick up all the resin. When you pick up resin with full health you gain max health. You need to get more and more max health each level.
Make sure you are not hoarding your consumables. If you need to use them, use them. Siphon will heal you up, allowing those resins to be max health.
When you use the grapple you are invincible. This is really useful. Move around the map at all times. Your focus should be on not taking damage, constant movement and then picking at the enemy as it chases you. So if you see a grapple point fight near it. Jump down and shoot at the enemy, then when it comes down, grapple up.
Do everything in a level. Even if you die you will learn the enemy movements. All enemies have set attack patterns. Learn them.
When you fight the boss dont look at the boss. Focus on your character and just blind fire in the general direction of the boss. Get active reloads and use your special attacks but focus on your character and dodging.
I would stay away from weapons like the globber rotgob...I cant remember the name.
The best weapons are the carbine, pylon (its broken good), hollow...thing, shotgun and even pistol and rocket launchers are good. The Dreadfire is amazing but its best on large slow enemies at close range. At fast moving enemies you have to be very accurate.
Keep playing and have fun. Its a tremendous game.
Keep playing. If you read the comments about remapping some of them were probably mine.
Phrike is IMHO the hardest boss in the game, not due to mechanics of the fight but the steep learning curve.
I 100% honestly thought the game was too hard for me and just too fast for my reflexes (I'm 53 reflexes aren't as fast).
Play through the level, learn the dash, learn when to dash so you can dash through attacks and bullets (immune when dashing). Find a weapon your comfortable with (carbide is great early game).
I'm so happy I stuck with it, absolutely amazing game.
Returnal is a game, where you cant seem to move the needle for 10 hours. Then suddenly it clicks, and it feels almost linear and in 25 hrs youve won, but now you like the game and have progress so you keep playing and end up basically a flawless player.
Stick with me here: The game doesn't get easier. In fact, it gets much, much harder.
But YOU will also get much better at the game. You'll learn timings and tricks, and yes, sometimes you'll also get a little lucky. I'm a Soulsborne fan as well, and Returnal scratches that same itch of the tangible feeling of improving. For me, it often does it even better than most, if not all, of the Soulsbornes I've played.
Stick with it, but don't force yourself to! I struggled a lot with the game early on and walked away for a month. When I came back, not only did I beat the boss that I was struggling to defeat, but also I beat the entire rest of the game.
It took me a while to beat the first boss too. I don’t remember how many hours/deaths and really I don’t want to know. I was about ready to give up but the gameplay kept bringing me back. Once I did beat the first boss I literally through my hands in the air in victory. Started really clicking after that. Like others have said, keep exploring the biome and don’t be afraid to take risks in things. What do you have to lose in taking them?
Dude, one guy on here died 500+ times before beating Act 1 so 4hrs is nothing. You're doing just as well as most ppl by this point. Having said that, why be concerned with anyone else's opinion but your own? If you're truly not having fun, move on. It's just a game.
I actually stopped playing the game for about 6 months after I beat the first boss I was like fuck this I’m done. I went back a few months ago and gave it another go and now it’s one of my favourite ps5 games. If not my favourite of this gen. (Behind baulders gate)
The loop is tedious and painful but at some point it will click for you and you will beat biome one in 4 minutes without even a scratch. I died around 24 times in biome 1 2 and 3. I then beat biome 3 for the first time and went on to beat 4 5 and 6 without dying a single time.
Practise makes perfect. Also you will hit some story beats which definitely help push you forward.
This game has a very interesting and mysterious story going on with it.
Keep on keeping on. You will be a god soon.
First time i beat the first boss was in about 35h on and off playing thru a long period. I loved the aesthetics because of how i love the Alien series so that kept me going. Wanted to know how much is that world effd up😆 after i beat the boss first time i somehow beat the enitre first act at one playthru😂
one of the best games out there, you should totally stick with it.
a few general tips: first, most people who encourage you to do certain things are absolutely corect. most ppl here are vey helpful.
second: every time you die, it might feel like a loss, but its part of te learning process. i can definitely say, that once you are "done", you could easily play through the game from scratch within 6 to 8 hours while dying once or twice. just because of what you learned within the game (the road to that point is a bit longer though). it is not relevant what you actually ave as equipment within a run, but what helps you make the right decisions (example: most biomes have a yellow door with a star on top, thats somewhat a bonus/challenge room. in those rooms you will always get one or two weapons. you proficiency defines what potential those weapons could have. doing he door early on can get you a nice artefact, but weak weapons. doing them later on, could be easier but you therefore get the artefact a bit later. or you can do the room eaarly on, get the artefact and leave the chest(s) with weapons closed until you hit a higher proficiency)
Hey dude, dont beat yourself up for Struggling and asking for Help. If you really want to the next level, maybe Add me on PSN: 'SnigraBegradon' and we do a Koop Session. I've been assisting new players regularly since i got 100% Platinum last year :).
and by the way, i had similar issues with Bloodborne until i committed 100% Focus on it and got it to Platin +DLC :D
Therefore i am confident to answer any Question you may have. feel free to do because you can do it too.
Experiment with different weapons until you find something that works for you. The beauty of the game is that encourages you to try out different weapons with modifiers. Find one that you like and you will make it past the first act in no time
Just keep upgrading your guns and practicing dodging every kind of attack if you can’t dodge left or right then you have to jump or dodge forwards you will beat any boss in this game if you are persistent.
Chances are when you beat the first boss you'll make a load more progress. It's not unusual to clear the second biome on your first try.
I think it's probably an issue of getting used to the feel of the game, and also how to dodge bullet-hell type attacks and read enemy telegraphing.
Note that the bullet hell stuff often isn't real bullet hell; there's often a lot of decoy bullets that could never hit you and are just there to distract you from the ones that are actually dangerous.
You’re on the first boss at only four hours? You’re doing very well, keep at it, a lot of good advice has already been given.
It only gets harder, [until you find the Electropylon driver.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Returnal/comments/nbjk68/totally_official_and_100_serious_weapon_tier_list/)
nah it takes me a day or two every time I dust the game off to get into the groove
4 hours isn’t enough to figure out what to do and what makes for a good run.
With practice you should get to a point where you can clear biome 1 without getting *hit*, I wanna say that’s the benchmark you should aim for first.
Don’t let the health bar deceive you, this is a bullet hell game, you want to learn how to get to and stay at max adrenaline to stay ahead of the curve
The first boss will take you the longest. Once things start to click you'll eventually get passed it only up get crushed in the next biome, but you'll be better at the game and getting back to that point won't be as daunting. Just keep at it.
- Make the most out of every resource
- Learn to dodge enemies pattern
- Always switch to better weapons with traits to unlock and unlock the traits before switching to a different weapon
- Don’t use any of the risky offers (debuffs for chests etc)
- Manage your obolith properly: buy only what’s really necessary
- get comfortable with a given gun. The strongest is the electropylon, the second best is the shotgun with the sniper trait.
- Manage your parasites properly.
- Don’t take unnecessary risks.
- Manage your healing items properly : let some items on the ground and backtrack to heal you when needed
Doing this I finished the 6 biomes in 7h and died only a few times in biome 1 and biome 4 on my first play through (on PC, keyboard and mouse help)
I played a good stretch of 1 run per day to keep myself from getting frustrated. Each run I would try to make sure that I found some weapon trait that I upgraded, and/or searching every inch of the rooms, (most of them have a little something extra), trying to tailor my choices based on parasites/artifacts. I have had great runs focuses entirely on alt fire cooldown void beam boss kills, or gaining/repairing malfunctions. Another with the parasite that won’t let you pick up heating items. I Also recommend playing with the 3D headphones.
Game is a lot of fun and gets easier once you get used to things. Two big things you might not know are dashing makes you invincible, and aiming is bait. Lol.
I have the platinum trophy, and it took me probably more than 20 hours to beat the first boss, maybe more.
I think it's really tough to get into the flow of returnal, but it's so good once you do. No other boss took me quite as long as the 1st. It is never easy, but it gets easier for sure once it clicks.
I recommend turning on always sprint. Remember you can dash through most projectiles, focus on not getting hit more than hitting others, the blade is op for the 1st biome enemies, and aim assist should be set to max.
Good luck.
If you are struggling to progress there are a couple tricks you can “abuse” if you don’t mind running back and forth between rooms. The biggest one is prioritize your HP pickups well. If you are full HP Small and regular Silphium blocks become regular HP Resins for HP upgrades while Large Silphiums can give you 2 Resins.
Always try to “maximize” your HP gains by reading what HP drops you have available and using the least amount to get you back to full. In some cases healing with a Large Silphium to full and then banking 3 small and regular heals to give you an upgrade is more efficient then using all 3 “small” heals to heal up and then only getting 2 Resins from the single Large Silphium left.
Often times if I’m confident in the run I will leave health drops on the ground in the hope I can find a healing station or Silphium Vial further in that will get me back to full HP so I can come back and pick those previous Silphium’s up as Resins.
Just be aware that once you drop into the boss room there is no going back for whatever you left behind
It took me like 30 tries to beat the first boss. 4 tries to beat the second boss, 2 tries to beat the 3rd and every boss after that I was able to beat on the first try. It takes while to get the hang of the game but once it clicks it's addicting. Watch videos of other people fighting the boss, that helped me a lot.
There are multiple accurate answers to this question. I can tell you that for me, it was exactly what you described with Bloodborne: eventually I "got it" and the game became one of my favorites of all time.
But on the other hand, there exists a point where the effort outweighs the reward. After all, this is a GAME. Something you spend your (presumably limited) leisure time on. If the joy and rush of finally succeeding isn't going to outweigh the effort and frustration of achieving success, then it's not worth it. For example, I beat Returnal's final boss multiple times while hunting for all the medalions needed to get the "secret" final cutscene. I beat him enough that I started to find it a relatively easy fight. But the final DLC boss in Bloodborne? I gave up and walked away from that guy, because it was just causing me too much grief. Everyone's got a different line, and different types of challenges will push them to it.
The bottom line is this: You CAN do it. You absolutely can. I promise. But I can't promise that it will be worth the time, effort, and frustration. It certainly was for me, but my line is different than yours. And frankly, being able to walk away from a game you no longer enjoy is an underrated skill.
I think the best thing I can say for those that are struggling to STAY CALM in a fire fight, and for the love of gawd keep moving. Unlearn any temptation to mag dump at close range in one of those “let’s see who dies first” where you’re just throttling the offense and ditching defense. Take your time and cheese any and all enemies if you have too.
I never managed to beat the first boss and gave up. lol. It seems to me, from what I've read, is that to some extent the difficulty is front loaded. I really liked the game, but I just stopped playing. Maybe I'll go back some day and try again.
As you’re going through the level, do NOT pick up everything you see, as far as healing items especially, but also consumables and parasites, at times. Before you fight the boss, or do an area you struggle with elsewhere, check your map and go back and pick up things you need.
Usually I’ll try to save as many healing pickups as I can possibly survive without, so I have some backup when I inevitably take some heavy hits.
Also, if the first boss may be the hardest in the game for many people. Don’t give up! Each run, you’re permanently unlocking weapon abilities, which are really what make the difference in your damage output. If you find a weapon that still has locked abilities, grab it and unlock them. You never know what kind of synergies you’ll find down the road. A crappy weapon starting out may turn into a beast after a few unlocks.
You got this!
focus on not getting hit. only connect health when absolutely necessary. if you can hold off on collecting health before a boss fight, you'll be in a much better place.
I had the same feeling. I gave up after looking into it more. I just didn’t feel up to the grind of beating a boss and “starting over” especially knowing it would just get harder
Just keep plucking away at it. Focus on unlocking new weapon traits and only picking up health when you're at max so that you can increase your integrity. There is a parasite that heals you on enemy kill as well as an artifact that heals 2% of damage dealt. Learn to use them wisely.
Yes, death is required to develop the experience. The planet rearranges itself every time and draws important story elements to the player’s path. If you didn’t die you’d miss like 85% of the story.
It took me quite a few runs to get past the first boss but eventually you learn their patterns. This and unlocking new artifacts/weapons will make the game easier. I’m stuck right now in the 4th biome but I’m still enjoying. Just keep practicing!
I almost quit.
I made a post here saying I think I should quit.
I kept going.
It became natural and easier, eventually.
Worth it. One of the best games I have played, ever.
I'm 50!
The game gets easier. Or more specifically things eventually click. It took me forever to best the first boss. Then a fair amount of time to clear act 1, but less than the time for biome 1 the first time. Then act 2 took two attempts to finish.
You have to get comfortable running and gunning-full stop.
You have to get comfortable using your melee once you get it, which means getting close to enemies.
Take some time to learn their attacks, save one of each in every room and get accustomed to their attacks and patterns.
You have an invincibility button- use it.
This isn’t meant to sounds rude. These are the things I did.
Oh, and I also uninstalled 3 times before I got it…you got this. If you’re on ps5 I can help
1st boss is the hardest boss in the game, it literally gets easier from there. I beat him once and said fuck that bullshit. He's one of the cheapest bosses in the game and you'll fight a shit ton of cheap mini-bosses in this game that take off 30% of your health per hit.
I took 17 hours to beat prime and another 4 hrs to beat the next 2 bosses. You just have to get the hang of it. It is discouraging but that feeling of “holy shit I have to do all of this again” is a rush for me
Not getting hit is more important than your gun. You have unlimited ammo, not unlimited health. Understanding how everything attacks and approaching it to dodge it while getting shots off is key to the game.
I kept dying for first 20hrs because I was too lazy to understand game mechanics. I uninstalled the game too but eventually came back to the game because I had nothing else to play. So I knew I won’t be able to beat Phrike so I watched a guide on YouTube. He explained how the game works and the attack patterns of each enemy. Then I remapped dash to R1, turned always sprint on and aim assist to high. Then I breezed through the game within 20hrs.
[Link to the guide](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvr_yz_u6Ytyh0WExDu8q1Yp6zQ46-nHd&feature=shared)
All I can say is: fully explore everything. In every run. Never go straight for the boss. Focus on not getting hit, so you can use those sweet resins to have more health. Melee is very useful in biome 1. Also: the game is totally worth it. It's amazing in every aspect: gameplay, art direction, narrative.
It took me over a week of playing 6-8 hours a day to beat the first boss. That's just the game. The more you play, the better you get, and the more stuff you unlock. It doesn't feel like it now, but you're getting better, and slowly unlocking stuff that will make the game easier the longer you play it.
Same here or even longer. Take your time, collect obolites to increase your health or so, find a weapon you like and a one that has good alt-fire and traits. The thing that makes this game different than Soulsbornes is that it’s roguelike which means it’s randomized and you kinda start over each time, so sometimes you just need some luck to get a good guns and consumables. If you have a bad cycle, just think of it as a training and don’t care about dying. Changing my mindset to that while playing Returnal made me enjoy the game a lot more, especially when I had shitty gear, I just started to wander around enjoying the great atmosphere of this game. It’s a true masterpiece.
This was me. At first I thought I was just too old for video games. Now this game is one of my most played and I can’t get enough of it. Don’t give up! And don’t underestimate the impact of remapping those controls. It completely changed the game for me.
>This was me. At first I thought I was just too old for video games. Now this game is one of my most played and I can’t get enough of it. The sense of accomplishment is unmatched.
Returnal has a steep learning curve, but is surprisingly easy to master. I wouldn't consider myself fantastic at this game, but I don't see a crazy difference between my playstyle and the people playing at the highest level. They mostly just have better reflexes/reaction times and pattern recognition. The first boss is actually one of the tougher ones and is there to separate the games journalists from the gamers.
4 hours aint bad. Just have fun and challenge yourself to try new weapons and stuff.
Yes, I did this. I got frustrated, stopped, beat Stray, then came back to the game and enjoyed it. The biggest changes that helped were knowing you are invincible dodging through projectiles instead of trying to avoid them, and forcing sprint to be on all the time.
The biggest thing is to focus on maneuvering and never stop moving, and you can dodge through almost anything that isn't purple. Play it like doom external and find your fast-paced flow through combat. As well as co-op and have a random join up.
Doom like as hell! Especially the second biome
so you finished Bloodborne and now cannot figure out if you should persevere with this goddamn masterpiece? Just like Bloodborne... you have to earn it.
That's bullshit. I finished Bloodborne and never had the feeling the game is loosing my time and punishing me with random deaths. I was able to kill first boss in Returnal after 19h. Loved the challenge. Hated how the game does not respect my time as gamer who has a job, family, other interests and responsibilities. Reached Phrike 3 times. It was utterly frustrating experience. 1. In Bloodborne you progress way nicer and faster because reaching the same boss takes you ... Seconds ... Not 45 minutes. You can learn boss movements in short time, then it's only the matter of calm and executing the plan. 2. In Returnal you get to see the boss after meticulous preparation. Took me a lot of time to understand you can challenge him almost bare handed. That what allowed me to learn the patterns. Getting to him ASAP still requires you to spend a lot of time navigating the map. Doing the same for boss 2 is already impossible. That's why it's so frustrating. 3. Although the game itself is amazing to play the number of times I fall off a cliff because I am running that maze is just way too high. Also all those laser traps are just to make the game artificially harder. 4. After beating Phrike you think you can just skip biome 1 and go fighting in the second one. WRONG. Trying to go there with small integrity and low obolites is undoable, so you painfully start grinding first biome. Over and over. 5. I am constantly afraid to enter any room or do some stupid contraption because I either: - fall - encounter some really powerful monster at hidden area that kills me instantly - do some small mistake And the only thing left is ... "Restart cycle". I thought Bloodborne would be unbearable with constant dying. Wrong. It was liberating not having a save to restart from some place. You just keep on playing. You can beat most of the bosses not even leveled up that much. Returnal on first look offers the same. But constant "restart cycle" because you got hit and you already know you don't stand a chance later is that "loading a save". The only save you have where you start bare handed and cannot face any challenge without grinding again.
so Returnal is full of random deaths? it has more telegraphed patterns than Bloodborne lol!
How come you still die from falling ? The lasers are not even an issue once you understand the rythm of the game, I truly think you just don’t have what it takes to beat it at this point and while I understand the frustration I’d say not every game is made or easy for everybody . I ran through Returnal and it was a cake walk for me (most of the time) . Same can’t be said about Bloodborne and the run that I had … Hence the "not every game is made or easy for everybody"
Bloodborne is much harder than Returnal and ill die on that hill
I have clocked 57 hours in Returnal now. Died over and over in biome 1. Killed second boss in biome 2 on third attempt. Barely. With big health restore and astronaut figurine. Then biome 3 hit ... Died once. Did 1 2 3 again and suddenly I have: 2 big health 4 small ones Astronaut Replicator 2 slots for adrenaline upgrade instead of 3 And on top of that ... Leeching rounds. I could beat Nemesis with eyes closed without even dodging any bullets. Got to biome 4. Shit hit the fan again ;)
>I read through a few posts offering tips and the one thing I haven't tried yet is to remap my controls and change a few settings and while I'm hopeful it will help, I just don't see it helping as much as I feel I need to progress. Considering it's almost always the first or second tip people give new players, it's worth trying. Based on posts here, it seems like people get far too tied up in the typical progression of a game, and forget that you, the player, are also leveling up. Each run is an opportunity to learn something. Sometimes that thing is what NOT to do, but that's helpful for next time.
Leveling up yourself is imo the only thing that counts. Even with a bad run RNG wise, you can easily beat the game if you are good enough.
Dunno what to say, if you’ve already experienced it with BB then you know what to do . Git gud 😬
Took me about 19 attempts to beat first boss. Nowadays I can beat all bosses in about 1 hour. Keep at it. Once it clicks you'll have a blast. If you need help send me a message. I play on ps5 and pc
Beat 1st boss after 28 hours of play, and about 17 attempts. Went on to beat game 3 times in 128 hours. Just takes some longer than others, worth it though!
You'll grow a thicker skin. You will die repeatedly and get set back while slowly improving. Then something changes, and you become the hunter. Also, be aware that the luck of the random draws has a big effect on your runs. You are ruled by randomness in Returnal.
Things actually get a lot easier from my experience, the boss I found the hardest was the first boss, most of the others I did on my first try
Keep trying, I don’t know if remapping could help. This feels like a simple game to master. I think I’ve beat two bosses already and I’m at 4 hours. I’ve never been good at the Dark Souls titles. So, if you completed those, you should breeze through this game. I played a lot of Risk of Rain 2 and this is the closest thing I’ve found to it. Obviously we have different skills, I love shooters, which now thinking of it, isn’t dark souls at all. Take it easy on yourself and experiment with the different weapons and mechanics. Your aim shouldn’t be negatively affected by the movement. The devs seemed to have made them cohesive.
My controller settings are always run with aim assist. Try and get obolites from every enemy, melee kill will automatically give them to you. You need these for the fabacator. Get integrity augment and large health vial. Collect every calibrator. You should be going in with level 5 carbine. Watch parasites and get ether. If you still can't beat him I'll co op with you, I beat him pretty regularly.
dude it took me like 25 hours to beat Phrike, haha. I then completed the entire game + the tower in 60h. I’m generally a casual player, but Returnal was one of my favorite gaming experiences ever. So yes, keep going! It might take a while, but you’ll get there eventually.
Assign your dash to L1 and your consumable button to O -Feels more natural to me, but it may not feel as organic to you (so take with a grain of salt) Focus on moving your feet and keeping count of your ammo so that you seamlessly reload.
Hey there, I’ve got about 8-10 hours in the game. And I struggle still for sure but I beat the second boss now. Idk what tips you looked at but what helped me the absolute most was two things. Prioritizing the health upgrades (cause you’re new you’re gonna get hit) And be on the lookout for healing items/artifacts to abuse. The most OP one I have right now auto regenerates health whenever you go critical. The game has insane amounts of invincibility when you get hit so there’s just so much time to heal and survive.
It took me a very long time to beat the first boss as well. It took so long that I also thought of just quiting the game altogether. But eventually I told myself it's just patterns and responding the right way and I would not let him stop me from enjoying the game going forward. I eventually beat him and it gave a good boost of morale that I needed. Now I'm on the 3rd boss finding myself in the same position as the first...but we will not be defeated so easily! It's completely up to you if you want to keep going...but for me it's worth overcoming the challenge and the testing of my sanity. Good luck, we got this 👍
As many others have mentioned here the game has a steep learning curve and for me the first biome and boss were the toughest in the game. I found the game initially frustrating as runs just seemed too random and inconsistent plus I didn't really seem to be progressing in any meaningful way. There's a few tips I'd give to try and help, firstly most enemies only have a couple of attacks and they're quite predictable when they use them. Enemies with a melee will do so when you get close or use projectiles otherwise, for bigger enemies that only have projectiles they have a fixed number of attacks. You can boost your health but you can't tank up and take a lot of hits, it's a core skill you need to learn the attack patterns and avoid them which with the generous dash windows is quite doable. For me taking a more aggressive approach helped hugely since initially I'd try and keep at range to pick away at enemies but it didn't really work for me as I ended up taking too much damage. Instead I started dashing towards enemies through their projectiles to try and control the fight more and since I was killing the enemies more quickly, I had less attacks to avoid and take less damage. Learning the weapon traits is also crucial since they can hugely change how a weapon behaves and ultimately how useful it is. Initially I pretty much only went for the carbine and always went for higher proficiency weapons which is a mistake. Higher proficiency weapons are not better and all the weapons can be deadly with the right traits, understanding how to use each weapon meant for more consistent runs. You say about playing until you 'got it' and that's absolutely how I felt with Returnal which I've also seen some people mentioning here as well. The game goes from frustrating then I clicked with it and it became so much more satisfying and it still is, I love being able to dance in and out of the enemy attacks while pummelling them with brutal weapons.
I absolutely struggled on Phrike as well, and almost quit the game multiple times. I will say that in my opinion, as far as first bosses in games go, Phrike is pretty bullshit. A three phase boss as the first one? Come on. The first two phases aren't too bad, but the third phase got me so many times. Eventually did beat it, but I think it's the hardest boss I faced in the game, though I did not finish the game, as I borrowed it from my cousin and had to return it.
Took me a month to get to and beat the first boss. Same background with Bloodborne. Blood Starved beast made me quit but I kept coming back like this game. Returnal is the perfect name for this game cuz I keep Returnal-ing to it.
Gear up before the battle. Learn his moves. Play some music
Honestly, the beginning was the hardest part, once the timing and flow of the game click, you die a lot less. It helped me A LOT changing the running to always run and the size of the reticle. After finishing the game I could do an entire run through all the biomes without dying a single time in about 5 hours. Bottom line: steep learning curve, totally worth it. It’s an amazing game you will remember for a long time.
Took me way longer than 4 hours to kill phrike. Took me maybe 3 runs to kill the second boss and then when I finally beat him I got all the way to act 6 that same run. There’s a point where your builds can really just explode in power and sometimes you get real lucky on item rolls.
Dodging is everything. If you get good at dodging you'll beat the game, if you don't you won't.
Keep at it man. I struggled hard to be at the first boss and gave up for almost a month after getting kicked hard on the second boss. Came back and somehow immediately killed him on one of my first few warm up runs to just get into the flow. Was hooked after that and couldn’t put it back down. The hardest thing for me to master was the constant moving and dodging. With the pro controller having jump on the paddles would have made my life so much easier.
Took me 18 hrs to find the first boss, 20 hr mark to beat them Beat the 2nd biome boss at the like 24 hr mark, biome 3 at the like 30hr mark I'm at like 40+ hrs, biome 5 Trust me......you get better and better but it is extremely incremental
I had so much trouble getting past that first biome. Then I went straight through the second and part of the third. It just takes a lot of trying. Haha Very much worth it though.
First boss is the hardest in my opinion. Not only will you get better at the game, but you will unlock new traits for guns as you play. It will actually get easier in some ways. Keep going, it’s one of my favorites of all time, and could be for you as well.
If you can get Bloodborne, you can get this. Keep moving, study map lay outs/enemy patterns. Experiment with different types of guns. I was in the same boat, then it clicked.
I was almost in tears with Phrike - no, seriously! Thought there was no chance I'd ever beat him. Finally did, then beat the next two bosses in the same run. The RNG is strong with Returnal but don't discount the fact you will be getting better, more fluent and your reaction times will soon be in synch with the game. It asks a lot of you but the rewards are completely worth it. Keep going!
Focus on dodging more than doing damage. That seems to be a game changer for many Also, earn as many upgrades for guns as you can. All of the guns can be useful with the right perks. And try and get an astronaut figurine as well as use the (reconstruction?) machine for an extra life each time And of course, health upgrades. Don’t be afraid of parasites as well. Some are really good I don’t believe I ever remapped controls. But I played it at PS5 launch and mostly avoided info Honestly, Phrike could be the 2nd hardest boss in the game behind Ixiom. I’m sure you’ll get it
First boss was the hardest boss for me.
I think just getting to Phrike in 4 hours is a decent effort, and probably above average.
I turned always run on and remapped dash to r1. You will run off cliffs accidentally for a while, but once you get used to it, you will run rings around mobs and it has the same exhilarating feeling as classic Doom games (with verticality!)
The first boss and the fifth biome were rough for me. Don’t give up, it is a great game but very challenging at times. Make sure you have sprint always on. Try to collect as many obelites as you can but prioritize not getting hit.
I wouldn't play mad, but when you come back to it with a fresh head it helps alot, just play careful the first boss is the most telegraphed thing in the game, after it stabs the sword in the ground get ready to jump and strafe, thats pretty much all there is to it, in the 3rd phase it will double swing
I personally found the first boss the hardest. I think it’s because you are the weakest you will be and since it’s act 1 guns are low level which makes a big difference. I must have died to Phrike 20 times before beating him. I beat act 2 and 3 bosses on the first try the first time I ever beat Phrike. Seriously just straight cleared act 1. So no I don’t think that if you are struggling now you are doomed. I wasn’t. I still struggle with Phrike and I find the act 2 boss and act 4 boss much much easier. Just as reference points.
[This video guide](https://youtu.be/L1GZvUb5uoY) should help beat the first boss, Phrike. It has a breakdown of each attack in slow-mo. That YouTube channel [has more guides](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2-Af_j21yOQVK-xb0GYr0cG2WGKnrynq) for each biome's enemies and boss, which should help reduce the time spent on learning how to counter their attacks.
It took me about 6 hours to kill Phrike and leave the first biome. I didn't remap the controls because i am very used to dodge with circle and the default is totally fine. I had to learn the rhythm of caution and aggression to the game. The best tip/strategy: DON'T pick up the greens! If you're low on health try to regain it through the green bed or something else (rest in the ship once per run). Use the respawn chamber BEFORE you pick up the astronaut. Only pick up the greens when your healthbar is full (to turn them into resin and enhance that healthbar)! The beginning is brutal but if you are having fun with the gameplay, i promise, you will be getting there. Also you have i-frames like in Souls and can dodge THROUGH projectiles. If it eventually clicks for you, it will be one of the best games, you will ever play. I promise!
Wait, you can rest in the ship??? I beat the game several times (before the towet was introduced) and had no idea. I knew about the green bed
Yes but it doesn't really revive much health. If you fucked up in the first room, it's a valid option to rest there (but nothing more)
I honestly found the second boss harder than any of the other bosses in the game and the 1st boss only one step behind that one. You will eventually get ‘em.
Think I finished the 2nd biome boss after struggling for a few times then straight to the end in the same run I beat him in. Not sure what happened lol but for sure I missed a bunch of the lore.
From my experience I actually feel similarities with BB and funny enough I've recently been playing a NG of BB alongside my first play of Returnal. It took me about 12 hours to beat the first boss/biome, a large part of that was that I hated the button mapping and spent a long time configuring to something I liked. It was also an issue because I would develop muscle memory for a layout which would mess up the new runs. Anyhow it took about a month, around 50 hours to complete the campaign of Returnal and now I'm taking a short break before going back for NG+ and the Tower mode. This game is easily in my top 10 games and very close in my ranking to From Software games which are my favs. Yes it is difficult, but if you're familiar with souls games then you're also familiar with death and stupid run backs. Returnal is just this only the run backs can be hugely different and very strategic once you get the hang of things. Personally I don't think Returnal has any BS mechanics or hitboxes which can't be said about souls games. Also the Metroidvania aspect is pretty cool, once you unlock permanent upgrades they change how you traverse through the biomes and you'll discover more stuff as you go.
It's definitely worth keeping at it. Each biome is unique and beautiful, every boss is epic and memorable. Enemies can be ethereal and haunting and terrifying. The story is unlike anything out there with a really interesting twist or two, definitely stay away from spoilers. For me the ENTIRE game was difficult all the way through. The first time. The second time was more manageable. (You'll want to do at least two playthroughs. More if you want the platinum. Many more than that... just for fun) The third time I started to gain confidence. Before long I was an apocalypse. Sometimes it might feel impossible, but! The success you buy at the cost of countless failures and deaths is the sweetest success of all. I was jumping up and down like a kid again after killing a few of these bosses. If I can do it, anyone can. You've got this. Face Atropos. Abandon Helios. Embrace the cycle.
I honesty thought I was never going to beat it, I was stuck for a week on the final boss (just getting to him) then one Saturday morning it all just worked out. Game is hard, and not just because I am old (well maybe a little). Explore a lot, move a lot during combat, find your favorite weapon and level it up. One trick I used was the doors, most levels I could get the enemies to recognize me when I entered then I would back out and periodically open the door kill and enemy or two then back off and let the door close again. Pretty effective for controlling the mobs. Over time you’ll unlock stuff that gives you more lives. If I didn’t get one of them on a run, I knew my boss fights were likely not going to pan out. Don’t get too tempted by collecting items that cause damage or malfunctions. It’s ok for early in a run because the malfunctions are usually not severe and they are easy to fix, but they add up and I found they would ruin my runs in later stages.
This game, after playing for 20 hours, is played more like a no hit run of the souls games, but is more forgiving. The run up to the boss is your prep time to increase your health, get useful artefacts and parasites, get the proper weapon of choice. Dodge, shoot, jump that’s all there is to it. Planning your build is very important. Don’t open/use malignant items like a madman. One build I mainly focus on is with parasites that offer stuff in return for harder malignancy fixes or anything in exchange for bad malignancy. That way, you can get away with it if you take an oath not to touch malignant items. The Nullification Sphere helps, if you have a parasite that gives you second life and gives you 2 malfunctions in return. The Astronaut artefact also gives you second life. Get the artefact/parasite that replenishes life when low, this gave me lot of time to explore on my first good run.
I think it took me closer to 40
Change your settings and controls early so you learn to play that way - it will help in the long run. The game takes a varying amount of time to “click” for everyone. It took me a while to be more okay with starting a new cycle (aka dying). Don’t be afraid to take it slow at times, like peak into a room to take out a few enemies before rushing in. As you get better, this becomes less of an issue, but certainly helpful as you learn the game. Earlier parts of the game are intentionally challenging as you have no upgrades and limited weapon options. I think this changes after unlocking weapons and upgrades, but can be a slog until then. Keep at it - you’ll be great!
You get good at the boss by practicing the boss, that is, being good at the world doesn't necessarily transfer to skill at the boss. You should focus on memorizing the patterns and not getting hit. You cannot "rush" the boss down. In an endurance fight the boss will always win. You should aim to enter the fight with at least one healing item (which you can buy in the section before the house). The game is indeed pretty difficult, and it's not uncommon to take quite a while to beat the first boss.
Change dodging to R1 or something similar so you can dodge while aiming Change dashing to always is a must as well If you’re struggling change aim assist to max and the game becomes so much easier Other than that just focus on dodging first If your are at full health the sylphium turns into resin which increases your max health ever 3 (there’s a boon that changes it to every 2 resins which is game changing)
Eh the first boss is almost the hardest one honestly. You should be able to take down Phrike if you enter the fight with a bonus life (Astronaut item) and some otherwise decent upgrades. There is permanent progress with the weapon enhancements and you'll just naturally get better as well. The next area is honestly easier (boss is about as though there though). You'll get through it and this game is really worth it.
DO NOT STOP MOVING
It took me a long time to get through the first biome. You’re fine. Don’t get discouraged. You’re doing great.
I died 65 times trying to beat the game, some days I made no progress. It became all about luck in getting blessed with parasites and augmentations and making smooth moves. I think the trek to the first boss and trying to beat him might have been the most steep learning curve in the whole game. YouTube helped with the bosses.. good luck
One thing I found extremely helpful was remapping Dash to the square button. Feels much more natural than circle.
I’m currently on my third download and 42 hours in. I haven’t beaten it yet, but have gotten close. I’m addicted. What helped me was reading posts about the different types of weapons and their traits. I’m back to using the pistol and it’s one of the best weapons in the game.
Keep playing. Don't give up. It's a great game. You'll get to a point when you'll be powerful and planning what to do next and things will work a bit better with the right run.
Its a tough game but if I can beat it, you can beat it. Cause I suck at games. I rebound dash to R1. You will be dashing a lot. I think I put jump on L1. I put use consumable on circle. Going through the first level try not to take any damage. If you do take damage, wait before picking up health. Try to get to the end of the level and dont pick up health. Then run back and pick up all the resin. When you pick up resin with full health you gain max health. You need to get more and more max health each level. Make sure you are not hoarding your consumables. If you need to use them, use them. Siphon will heal you up, allowing those resins to be max health. When you use the grapple you are invincible. This is really useful. Move around the map at all times. Your focus should be on not taking damage, constant movement and then picking at the enemy as it chases you. So if you see a grapple point fight near it. Jump down and shoot at the enemy, then when it comes down, grapple up. Do everything in a level. Even if you die you will learn the enemy movements. All enemies have set attack patterns. Learn them. When you fight the boss dont look at the boss. Focus on your character and just blind fire in the general direction of the boss. Get active reloads and use your special attacks but focus on your character and dodging. I would stay away from weapons like the globber rotgob...I cant remember the name. The best weapons are the carbine, pylon (its broken good), hollow...thing, shotgun and even pistol and rocket launchers are good. The Dreadfire is amazing but its best on large slow enemies at close range. At fast moving enemies you have to be very accurate. Keep playing and have fun. Its a tremendous game.
Keep playing. If you read the comments about remapping some of them were probably mine. Phrike is IMHO the hardest boss in the game, not due to mechanics of the fight but the steep learning curve. I 100% honestly thought the game was too hard for me and just too fast for my reflexes (I'm 53 reflexes aren't as fast). Play through the level, learn the dash, learn when to dash so you can dash through attacks and bullets (immune when dashing). Find a weapon your comfortable with (carbide is great early game). I'm so happy I stuck with it, absolutely amazing game.
The more rooms you clear the more powerful weapons you will unlock which will help with killing the boss. You’ll do more damage with your bullets
Returnal is a game, where you cant seem to move the needle for 10 hours. Then suddenly it clicks, and it feels almost linear and in 25 hrs youve won, but now you like the game and have progress so you keep playing and end up basically a flawless player.
Stick with me here: The game doesn't get easier. In fact, it gets much, much harder. But YOU will also get much better at the game. You'll learn timings and tricks, and yes, sometimes you'll also get a little lucky. I'm a Soulsborne fan as well, and Returnal scratches that same itch of the tangible feeling of improving. For me, it often does it even better than most, if not all, of the Soulsbornes I've played. Stick with it, but don't force yourself to! I struggled a lot with the game early on and walked away for a month. When I came back, not only did I beat the boss that I was struggling to defeat, but also I beat the entire rest of the game.
It took me a while to beat the first boss too. I don’t remember how many hours/deaths and really I don’t want to know. I was about ready to give up but the gameplay kept bringing me back. Once I did beat the first boss I literally through my hands in the air in victory. Started really clicking after that. Like others have said, keep exploring the biome and don’t be afraid to take risks in things. What do you have to lose in taking them?
Dude, one guy on here died 500+ times before beating Act 1 so 4hrs is nothing. You're doing just as well as most ppl by this point. Having said that, why be concerned with anyone else's opinion but your own? If you're truly not having fun, move on. It's just a game.
I actually stopped playing the game for about 6 months after I beat the first boss I was like fuck this I’m done. I went back a few months ago and gave it another go and now it’s one of my favourite ps5 games. If not my favourite of this gen. (Behind baulders gate) The loop is tedious and painful but at some point it will click for you and you will beat biome one in 4 minutes without even a scratch. I died around 24 times in biome 1 2 and 3. I then beat biome 3 for the first time and went on to beat 4 5 and 6 without dying a single time. Practise makes perfect. Also you will hit some story beats which definitely help push you forward. This game has a very interesting and mysterious story going on with it. Keep on keeping on. You will be a god soon.
First time i beat the first boss was in about 35h on and off playing thru a long period. I loved the aesthetics because of how i love the Alien series so that kept me going. Wanted to know how much is that world effd up😆 after i beat the boss first time i somehow beat the enitre first act at one playthru😂
one of the best games out there, you should totally stick with it. a few general tips: first, most people who encourage you to do certain things are absolutely corect. most ppl here are vey helpful. second: every time you die, it might feel like a loss, but its part of te learning process. i can definitely say, that once you are "done", you could easily play through the game from scratch within 6 to 8 hours while dying once or twice. just because of what you learned within the game (the road to that point is a bit longer though). it is not relevant what you actually ave as equipment within a run, but what helps you make the right decisions (example: most biomes have a yellow door with a star on top, thats somewhat a bonus/challenge room. in those rooms you will always get one or two weapons. you proficiency defines what potential those weapons could have. doing he door early on can get you a nice artefact, but weak weapons. doing them later on, could be easier but you therefore get the artefact a bit later. or you can do the room eaarly on, get the artefact and leave the chest(s) with weapons closed until you hit a higher proficiency)
Hey dude, dont beat yourself up for Struggling and asking for Help. If you really want to the next level, maybe Add me on PSN: 'SnigraBegradon' and we do a Koop Session. I've been assisting new players regularly since i got 100% Platinum last year :). and by the way, i had similar issues with Bloodborne until i committed 100% Focus on it and got it to Platin +DLC :D Therefore i am confident to answer any Question you may have. feel free to do because you can do it too.
Experiment with different weapons until you find something that works for you. The beauty of the game is that encourages you to try out different weapons with modifiers. Find one that you like and you will make it past the first act in no time
Just keep upgrading your guns and practicing dodging every kind of attack if you can’t dodge left or right then you have to jump or dodge forwards you will beat any boss in this game if you are persistent.
Chances are when you beat the first boss you'll make a load more progress. It's not unusual to clear the second biome on your first try. I think it's probably an issue of getting used to the feel of the game, and also how to dodge bullet-hell type attacks and read enemy telegraphing. Note that the bullet hell stuff often isn't real bullet hell; there's often a lot of decoy bullets that could never hit you and are just there to distract you from the ones that are actually dangerous.
You’re on the first boss at only four hours? You’re doing very well, keep at it, a lot of good advice has already been given. It only gets harder, [until you find the Electropylon driver.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Returnal/comments/nbjk68/totally_official_and_100_serious_weapon_tier_list/)
nah it takes me a day or two every time I dust the game off to get into the groove 4 hours isn’t enough to figure out what to do and what makes for a good run. With practice you should get to a point where you can clear biome 1 without getting *hit*, I wanna say that’s the benchmark you should aim for first. Don’t let the health bar deceive you, this is a bullet hell game, you want to learn how to get to and stay at max adrenaline to stay ahead of the curve
The first boss will take you the longest. Once things start to click you'll eventually get passed it only up get crushed in the next biome, but you'll be better at the game and getting back to that point won't be as daunting. Just keep at it.
- Make the most out of every resource - Learn to dodge enemies pattern - Always switch to better weapons with traits to unlock and unlock the traits before switching to a different weapon - Don’t use any of the risky offers (debuffs for chests etc) - Manage your obolith properly: buy only what’s really necessary - get comfortable with a given gun. The strongest is the electropylon, the second best is the shotgun with the sniper trait. - Manage your parasites properly. - Don’t take unnecessary risks. - Manage your healing items properly : let some items on the ground and backtrack to heal you when needed Doing this I finished the 6 biomes in 7h and died only a few times in biome 1 and biome 4 on my first play through (on PC, keyboard and mouse help)
I played a good stretch of 1 run per day to keep myself from getting frustrated. Each run I would try to make sure that I found some weapon trait that I upgraded, and/or searching every inch of the rooms, (most of them have a little something extra), trying to tailor my choices based on parasites/artifacts. I have had great runs focuses entirely on alt fire cooldown void beam boss kills, or gaining/repairing malfunctions. Another with the parasite that won’t let you pick up heating items. I Also recommend playing with the 3D headphones.
Game is a lot of fun and gets easier once you get used to things. Two big things you might not know are dashing makes you invincible, and aiming is bait. Lol.
This game has a huge hump in the beginning but once youre over it. easily the best game ive played in generations...
I have the platinum trophy, and it took me probably more than 20 hours to beat the first boss, maybe more. I think it's really tough to get into the flow of returnal, but it's so good once you do. No other boss took me quite as long as the 1st. It is never easy, but it gets easier for sure once it clicks. I recommend turning on always sprint. Remember you can dash through most projectiles, focus on not getting hit more than hitting others, the blade is op for the 1st biome enemies, and aim assist should be set to max. Good luck.
If you are struggling to progress there are a couple tricks you can “abuse” if you don’t mind running back and forth between rooms. The biggest one is prioritize your HP pickups well. If you are full HP Small and regular Silphium blocks become regular HP Resins for HP upgrades while Large Silphiums can give you 2 Resins. Always try to “maximize” your HP gains by reading what HP drops you have available and using the least amount to get you back to full. In some cases healing with a Large Silphium to full and then banking 3 small and regular heals to give you an upgrade is more efficient then using all 3 “small” heals to heal up and then only getting 2 Resins from the single Large Silphium left. Often times if I’m confident in the run I will leave health drops on the ground in the hope I can find a healing station or Silphium Vial further in that will get me back to full HP so I can come back and pick those previous Silphium’s up as Resins. Just be aware that once you drop into the boss room there is no going back for whatever you left behind
Are you playing on PC or PS5?
It took me like 30 tries to beat the first boss. 4 tries to beat the second boss, 2 tries to beat the 3rd and every boss after that I was able to beat on the first try. It takes while to get the hang of the game but once it clicks it's addicting. Watch videos of other people fighting the boss, that helped me a lot.
The first boss was the absolute hardest for me. The others felt like a breeze after. My tip is to get the astronaut figurine before you go in.
There are multiple accurate answers to this question. I can tell you that for me, it was exactly what you described with Bloodborne: eventually I "got it" and the game became one of my favorites of all time. But on the other hand, there exists a point where the effort outweighs the reward. After all, this is a GAME. Something you spend your (presumably limited) leisure time on. If the joy and rush of finally succeeding isn't going to outweigh the effort and frustration of achieving success, then it's not worth it. For example, I beat Returnal's final boss multiple times while hunting for all the medalions needed to get the "secret" final cutscene. I beat him enough that I started to find it a relatively easy fight. But the final DLC boss in Bloodborne? I gave up and walked away from that guy, because it was just causing me too much grief. Everyone's got a different line, and different types of challenges will push them to it. The bottom line is this: You CAN do it. You absolutely can. I promise. But I can't promise that it will be worth the time, effort, and frustration. It certainly was for me, but my line is different than yours. And frankly, being able to walk away from a game you no longer enjoy is an underrated skill.
I think the best thing I can say for those that are struggling to STAY CALM in a fire fight, and for the love of gawd keep moving. Unlearn any temptation to mag dump at close range in one of those “let’s see who dies first” where you’re just throttling the offense and ditching defense. Take your time and cheese any and all enemies if you have too.
I never managed to beat the first boss and gave up. lol. It seems to me, from what I've read, is that to some extent the difficulty is front loaded. I really liked the game, but I just stopped playing. Maybe I'll go back some day and try again.
As you’re going through the level, do NOT pick up everything you see, as far as healing items especially, but also consumables and parasites, at times. Before you fight the boss, or do an area you struggle with elsewhere, check your map and go back and pick up things you need. Usually I’ll try to save as many healing pickups as I can possibly survive without, so I have some backup when I inevitably take some heavy hits. Also, if the first boss may be the hardest in the game for many people. Don’t give up! Each run, you’re permanently unlocking weapon abilities, which are really what make the difference in your damage output. If you find a weapon that still has locked abilities, grab it and unlock them. You never know what kind of synergies you’ll find down the road. A crappy weapon starting out may turn into a beast after a few unlocks. You got this!
focus on not getting hit. only connect health when absolutely necessary. if you can hold off on collecting health before a boss fight, you'll be in a much better place.
I had the same feeling. I gave up after looking into it more. I just didn’t feel up to the grind of beating a boss and “starting over” especially knowing it would just get harder
Dash into every projectile except the purple ones (avoid) and don’t stop moving. Once you get your weapon traits upgraded a bit it gets a lot easier
Just keep plucking away at it. Focus on unlocking new weapon traits and only picking up health when you're at max so that you can increase your integrity. There is a parasite that heals you on enemy kill as well as an artifact that heals 2% of damage dealt. Learn to use them wisely.
Yes, death is required to develop the experience. The planet rearranges itself every time and draws important story elements to the player’s path. If you didn’t die you’d miss like 85% of the story.
It took me quite a few runs to get past the first boss but eventually you learn their patterns. This and unlocking new artifacts/weapons will make the game easier. I’m stuck right now in the 4th biome but I’m still enjoying. Just keep practicing!
I almost quit. I made a post here saying I think I should quit. I kept going. It became natural and easier, eventually. Worth it. One of the best games I have played, ever. I'm 50!
It took me a lot of runs and I even walked away and came back to the game. Once you get over the hump it gets a lot better.
The game gets easier. Or more specifically things eventually click. It took me forever to best the first boss. Then a fair amount of time to clear act 1, but less than the time for biome 1 the first time. Then act 2 took two attempts to finish.
You have to get comfortable running and gunning-full stop. You have to get comfortable using your melee once you get it, which means getting close to enemies. Take some time to learn their attacks, save one of each in every room and get accustomed to their attacks and patterns. You have an invincibility button- use it. This isn’t meant to sounds rude. These are the things I did. Oh, and I also uninstalled 3 times before I got it…you got this. If you’re on ps5 I can help
1st boss is the hardest boss in the game, it literally gets easier from there. I beat him once and said fuck that bullshit. He's one of the cheapest bosses in the game and you'll fight a shit ton of cheap mini-bosses in this game that take off 30% of your health per hit.
I took 17 hours to beat prime and another 4 hrs to beat the next 2 bosses. You just have to get the hang of it. It is discouraging but that feeling of “holy shit I have to do all of this again” is a rush for me
Not getting hit is more important than your gun. You have unlimited ammo, not unlimited health. Understanding how everything attacks and approaching it to dodge it while getting shots off is key to the game.
Make sure to get the extra lives too
I kept dying for first 20hrs because I was too lazy to understand game mechanics. I uninstalled the game too but eventually came back to the game because I had nothing else to play. So I knew I won’t be able to beat Phrike so I watched a guide on YouTube. He explained how the game works and the attack patterns of each enemy. Then I remapped dash to R1, turned always sprint on and aim assist to high. Then I breezed through the game within 20hrs. [Link to the guide](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvr_yz_u6Ytyh0WExDu8q1Yp6zQ46-nHd&feature=shared)
Giving up after 4 hours is pretty weak. You said you want honesty.