Returnal “doors not opening” bug ruins the game for unlucky players

The main gimmick of Returnal is the inability for players to save the game during their runs. In almost every other action/adventure title, players are able to save their progress once they reach a checkpoint or complete a mission. 

Well, in Returnal, players don’t have checkpoints or standard missions. Instead, the game forces players through long runs of randomly-generated levels in order to progress the story. Sometimes these runs can take up to three hours depending on the player’s playstyle and the difficulty of the enemies. 

In theory, this gimmick is great for those looking for a new way to experience a game or for anyone who has multiple hours on their hands at a time. However, the execution of this idea hasn’t been hit on as of yet. The developers at Housemarque Studios have run into several bugs that actually stop players from progressing in Returnal. 

Returnal is the latest PS5 exclusive. (Picture: Housemarque)

Returnal doors not opening - How to fix

One of these bugs causes doors to not open, effectively killing any run for a player because, as previously mentioned, there’s no save progress. If players run into the infamous “doors not opening bug,” they must restart the game and go all the way back to square one.

• Read more: Returnal Easy Mode and how to decrease difficulty

As of the time of writing, there’s no stable fix for the doors not opening bug. The only way to get past it is to restart Returnal and pick up where you started before your last run. This is clearly frustrating for any player and many hope a resolution is in store with the next update. However, there are still no patch notes for either one of the first two updates so it’s likely we won’t know if the bug is fixed for some time. 

For more on Returnal, check out how to unlock daily challenges in Simulation Mode.