Returnal: Walkthrough & Boss Guide
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🗺️ Main Story Walkthrough
Tick off each step as you go — your progress saves locally, no account needed.
This is a short overview of Returnal's structure, its six biomes and five bosses, with attack notes for each boss from the One More Game guide. It is not a full run guide and does not cover items, traits or collectibles in detail. Biome and boss mapping follows Shacknews; the plot follows Wikipedia.
Selene Vassos, an ASTRA Corporation pilot, lands on the forbidden planet Atropos to investigate the White Shadow signal. Her ship crashes and she is trapped in a time loop that resets when she dies. The game is split into two halves of three biomes each, and dying sends you back to the start of the current half (Wikipedia). It launched on PS5 on 30 April 2021 and on Windows on 15 February 2023.
According to Shacknews, the five bosses are Phrike (Overgrown Ruins), Ixion (Crimson Wastes), Nemesis (Derelict Citadel), Hyperion (Echoing Ruins) and Ophion (Abyssal Scar). The Fractured Wastes biome has no boss. After you beat a boss you do not have to fight it again after dying, and the path to the next biome stays open. Biome layouts are randomised each run.
Selene can dash, later gains a grappling hook, and finds many weapons that can be levelled up (Wikipedia). Almost every boss in the One More Game guide is beaten by constant strafing and well-timed dashes.
The free Ascension update (2022) added two-player online co-op and the endless Tower of Sisyphus mode (Wikipedia).
Returnal has 31 trophies (1 Platinum, 7 Gold, 5 Silver, 18 Bronze). The Platinum, Helios, is awarded for collecting all the others. PowerPyx estimates 50 to 100+ hours.
Selene learns that she caused her own marooning. After reaching Earth she dies of old age and wakes up back at the crash site. Later she finds a vision of a car crash involving a child named Helios, and the story implies she is the astronaut the driver swerved to avoid (Wikipedia).
⚔️ Boss Guides
Phrike (Overgrown Ruins)
Attacks
Phase 1 uses simple projectiles and occasional homing beams, so strafe left and right and dash for the main laser. Phase 2 adds a ground wave followed by a melee attack and a sweeping laser. Phase 3 combines two attacks at once and adds ground projectiles.
Ixion (Crimson Wastes)
Attacks
Phase 1 is similar to Phrike but more long-range. In phase 2 he charges in the centre and releases waves of blue light along with projectiles, and you can shoot him to cancel this mode. Phase 3 adds sword melee attacks and ground smashes that send red rings across the arena, which you jump over.
Nemesis (Derelict Citadel)
Attacks
Phase 1: dodge blue projectiles by strafing, dash through the yellow barrage and jump and dash sideways to avoid sentry lasers. Phase 2: the environment changes into a platforming section. Phase 3 happens mostly at long range, so a shotgun is a poor choice.
Hyperion (Echoing Ruins)
Attacks
He stays in one spot in phase 1 and fires projectiles, a red ring and a sweeping purple laser. Phase 2 adds green projectile volleys and a blue X-shaped attack. Phase 3 is the most aggressive, with a stronger X attack and a blue projectile shower from above. Standing still or getting close makes you vulnerable.
Ophion (Abyssal Scar)
Attacks
Phase 1 uses projectiles and purple waves. Phase 2 adds a side-swiping melee attack and the weak point moves to his shoulder. Phase 3 is more aggressive, and once he reaches half health his weak points move to the bottom sides, so move closer.
Sources & fact-check
Release facts, mechanics and boss details on this page were checked against these sources on 12 October 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us.