Plug in a PS5 keyboard to access Returnal’s hidden “debug mode” codes
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Returnaling, over and over, to remember the things we shot.
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In earlier battles, waves of enemy attacks usually come in the form of slow laser orbs. They attack at a reasonable speed.
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Before long, the number of orbs, their speed, and their patterns ramp up. And that’s not even accounting for the pounce-and-strike foes. Hence, Selene’s very quick feet become imperative to your survival.
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Enemies from above and below. The watermark here confirms that everything in this gallery was provided to Ars by Sony because the game is otherwise too hectic for the screens we captured to translate well. These images are fairly representative of the game in action, even if they’re probably sweetened a bit.
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The turret to the left has a shield, so it will need extra firepower.
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Selene eventually unlocks the sword seen here, which, among other things, instantly destroys some enemies’ shields.
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These freaking bats, man. They will swarm your position and raise utter hell in an average session.
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You don’t want to get hit by this walking tree’s spores. They will slow you down and set you up for a brutal follow-up attack.
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You better hope your favorite gun is upgraded by the time you meet this flying monster.
It’s not too surprising that a game like Returnal would have some hidden cheat codes allowing players to lighten the game’s punishing difficulty. But the method—which requires players to plug a USB keyboard into their PS5—for entering those newly discovered “debug mode” codes has some wondering if developer Housemarque intended for them to be accessible in the final product.
YouTuber TheRandomizer was among the first to publicize the cheats, posting a video showing a Returnal player dropping new weapons at will and teleporting to previous locations in the middle of play. A Reddit thread goes into more detail on the keyboard combinations required to get the codes to work, including warnings for certain situations where they may permanently ruin a run.
Developers traditionally use “debug modes” during a game’s development to test specific in-game situations without having to go through the sometimes arduous process of setting them up. There’s a long history of games that make extant debug modes accessible to players on the final released version, sometimes through hidden codes, sometimes through external cheat devices, and sometimes through an on-screen “debug console” that lets players type complex commands directly.
Returnal‘s debug codes seem a little different, though, requiring a keyboard to enter commands in a game that doesn’t feature native keyboard controls. This suggests developer Housemarque may have left these debug commands in the game as an oversight at the end of development, or maybe the company decided it wasn’t worth the effort to remove commands that would be difficult for users to find. (Housemarque has not responded to a request for comment from Ars Technica.)
YouTuber TheRandomizer shows off how Returnal‘s debug codes work.
Housemarque has already announced that a patch for the game is coming later today, and some players fear this debug mode may be patched out now that the information to access it is out in the wild. Players who want to ensure their access to these codes doesn’t go away should turn off auto-updates on their PS5 until others test debug mode access in future updates.
Housemarque is already recommending that players in the middle of a run should turn off auto-updates to avoid an issue where the update erases any current progress. While some players have been clamoring for a save option to help secure progress in the notoriously tough game, Housemarque has said, “We hear the community and we love you all. Nothing to announce now [on save functionality], but keep playing and enjoying the challenge as you can!”
Listing image by Sony Interactive Entertainment / Housemarque
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