Returnal™
Give it 10 hours
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours almost 1 in 2 reviews are negative (43%); after 20h it's 1 in 11 (9%).
- Fully opens up by hour 20.
- 26% of players who start reach the ending.
- Most players drop off before “Atropian Survival” (Learn the basics of survival on Atropos): only 80% of starters get there.
- 94% of owners got the first achievement.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 11,289 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 300 reviews: 17.8h for positive, 8.6h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (93.6% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- Atropian Survival Learn the basics of survival on Atropos Most players quit here 80% −20
- A Shadow in the Fog Defeat Phrike 66% −14
- Ascension Defeat Ixion 50% −16
- Trial by Judgement Defeat Nemesis 40% −10
- Failed Escape Finish Act 1 40%
- Silence the Song Defeat Hyperion 34% −6
- Inner Darkness Defeat Ophion 26% −7
- Last Drive Finish Act 2 26%
story milestone ending biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (38)
story milestone ending side
- Eternal Return Experience a new cycle after death 100%
- Cryptic Messages Scan a Xenoglyph 90%
- Adrenaline Spike Achieve maximum Adrenaline Level 88%
- Atropian Survival Learn the basics of survival on Atropos 80%
- Surgical Precision Perform 5 successful Overloads in a row 74%
- Welcome Home Complete the first House sequence 73%
- Second Chance Returned by an Artifact 70%
- Alternate Fates Retrieve 10 Scout Logs 70%
- A Shadow in the Fog Defeat Phrike 66%
- Cryptic Translations Unlock all translation tiers of a Xenoglyph 64%
- Ascension Defeat Ixion 50%
- Failed Escape Finish Act 1 40%
- Trial by Judgement Defeat Nemesis 40%
- Risk Assessment Finish Calculated Risk 40%
- Visions of the Past Complete a Xeno-archive set (excluding Tower of Sisyphus) 39%
- Hardened Shell Achieve 200% Max Integrity 37%
- Silence the Song Defeat Hyperion 34%
- Irreversibly Contaminated Have 5 Parasites simultaneously 32%
- Eternal Ascent Die and return in the Tower 31%
- Broken, Restored, Empty Complete the first Hospital sequence 27%
- Inner Darkness Defeat Ophion 26%
- Last Drive Finish Act 2 26%
- The Watcher Defeat Algos' first form 26%
- Adapting to Circumstance Achieve Weapon Proficiency level 30 23%
- In-Field Training Complete a daily challenge in Simulation Mode 14%
- Eyes Closed Defeat Algos' final form 8.3%
- Sins of the Mother Complete all House sequences 7.5%
- White Shadow Finish Act 3 6.8%
- Empty Embrace Open the Locked Door 4.8%
- Past the Ruins Finish Overgrown Ruins Survey 4.1%
- Echoes of the Past Finish Echoing Ruins Survey 4.1%
- Find Release Gain a moment of peace 2.6%
- Destroyer Kill 100 Hostiles with Disgorgers 2.5%
- Frozen in Time Finish Fractured Wastes Survey 2.2%
- Through the Forgotten City Finish Derelict Citadel Survey 1.8%
- Submerged in Memories Finish Abyssal Scar Survey 1.8%
- Ascending the Mountain Finish Crimson Wastes Survey 1.5%
- Helios Collect all main Achievements 1.4%