PlayStation’s Returnal has recently launched Ascension, a substantial free update that is now available almost a year after the original release. Alongside the addition of the Tower of Sisyphus, which presents an arcade mode of sorts with increasingly harder floors as you move to the top, you can now play Returnal co-op with people online. This guide explains how it works and all the differences from the single-player experience.
How to Play Returnal Co-op
Once you’ve installed the Ascension update, all you have to do to play Returnal co-op is to interact with a new orb present in the crash site. The location is to the right of the path that leads to the main door, which you use to start a run.
Once you interact with the Chronosis station in Returnal, you get three options to play online:
- Host public cycle: Create a session to invite anyone to join (they don’t have to be on your friends list). As the host, you can gain permanent equipment, but you won’t be able to increase your Scout Rank.
- Host private cycle: Create a session to invite a friend from your PlayStation list. As the host, you can gain permanent equipment, but it’s not possible to increase your Scout Rank.
- Join a cycle: Enter another player’s session. In this mode, you’re able to increase your Scout Rank, but you can’t gain any permanent equipment.
Those are the basics to get into Returnal co-op, although you can also opt to be either online or offline from the Settings menu if you’re not interested in multiplayer. In my experience, it didn’t take long for me to join another player’s cycle, and the experience was fairly smooth.
How Returnal Co-op Works – How to Revive and How Loot is Shared
You may or may not be a fan of this, but co-op in Returnal is rather simple, all things considered. Once you’re in another player’s cycle, or if somebody joins yours, each one of you plays as Selene. That’s pretty much it! There aren’t many variations except for a couple of mechanics in place.
The first is that you can revive in Returnal if you’re playing co-op. For this, the other player in the session needs to approach you and hold the revive button for a couple of seconds. They’re vulnerable during this period, so make sure to plan accordingly. Once you’re back on your feet, you won’t automatically regain all of your health back — just a small portion.
If the players in co-op are too far from each other, the game will display a bar on the top of the screen showcasing this. If there is too much distance, the player who is behind is automatically reunited with their partner. Keep this in mind in case you’re doing a specific task or looking to explore a certain room. Returnal doesn’t have a ping system or any similar features, so you will have to get creative or use the in-game voice chat when playing with randoms online (as opposed to friends on PlayStation).
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In terms of loot, it’s a bit trickier here. Both players share obolities, Returnal‘s in-game currency, and each can pick up Weapon Proficiency upgrade items. That being said, health items aren’t shared. At the very least, both of you can access the same items in shops regardless of whether or not either of you buys one from the stock. Have fun with Returnal‘s co-op!
