Returnal is a game with a kind of story that makes you keep thinking even after you finish it. Due to such a nature, you will probably ask for a "Returnal-ending-explained" type of content from the media, and that's what we have here for you.

Before playing the game, you have probably assumed Returnal as a roguelike shooter in an alien space, where you end up when Selene, the main protagonist of the game, cannot grab the hold of its spaceship an crashes into the alien planet.

  • REVIEW: Returnal — I Guess I'll Die Now

However, the true story behind the game and its endless loop is much more complicated than you would've thought. Without further ado, let's what the typical ending of the game has for us.

Returnal Typical Ending Explained

The road to both endings of the game cross in the final boss of Act 2, Ophion. Beating this monstrous sea creature is a must for players to reach the ending.

Once you eliminate Ophion in three phases, the giant will be gone and you can access the sea crater beneath it. Once you go to the bottom of the sea, you will find a car and then a planet-shaped sphere that then turns into a sea creature and shows Selene the last minutes of her life.

This ending implies that Selene was so obsessed with her job that she almost ignored her son and family entirely. You can get from the astronaut appearing in front of Selene while she is driving on the road. That was certainly not an astronaut, but Selene's obsession with her job makes everything related to astronomy.

After a crash into the sea, which led to the death of both Selene and her son, the obsession of Selene with Astronomy still stays strong. Her brain tries to turn the true event of car crash into a space crash on a new planet that leaves Selene alone with a number of hostile creature.

Simply put, all we have experienced during our playthrough was only a dream of Selene, while the actual crash incident was the one we saw at the ending.

When the second act ends, you will find Selene waking up on the surface again, but don't be mistaken, this the beginning of Act 3.

How to Reach Returnal's Secret Ending

Unlike the typical ending that happens in Act 2, the secret ending happens in Act 3, but you will need to get three biomes in Act 1 and three other biomes in Act 2 to trigger the secret ending in Act 3. Below, you can find out the location of Biomes:

  • Act 1: Overgrown Ruins - Crimson Wastes - Derelict Citadel
  • Act 2: Echoing Ruins - Fractured Wastes - Abyssal Scar

Be aware that each Biome has a specific Sunface Fragments, and the key to the secret ending is collecting all six fragments. If you have not secured the Biomes previously, head toward the time travel machine in Helios Armor and return to the Act 1 and Act 2 locations to find the Biomes and collect their Sunface Fragments.

Remember that you don't need to collect all of fragments in one run. Once you pick a Sunface Fragment, it will remain with you even if you die.

Now, you need to complete the House sequences in Act 1 and Act 2 again. First, head into Act 1 to Overgrown Ruins where the House appears for the first time. Once completed, go to the second act and complete the House sequence in Echoing Ruins. This time around, you will be able to enter the House and be teleported to a new place where you will find a car key.

This the key to the car that you saw on your way to the typical ending of the game. Now, it's time to beat the final boss once again to reach the car. Defeat the boss fight, jump into the hole, find the car, and use the key to unlock the secret ending. (Thanks, Polygon!)

Returnal Secret Ending Explained

This time around, things are much complicated. First, Selene finds herself in front of a sea creature on wheelchair, whom I believe is Ophion. Looking at Ophion's belly, it seems like she is pregnant. She grabs Selene's neck but Selene pushes her away and then teleports in to the body of the Astronaut that she hit him with the car in the typical ending scene.

After the accident, we see Selene going out of the car and reaching the surface of the river, which implies that she survives the car crash and the loop, but her son's destiny apparently remains the same.

Returnal is now available on PS5.