Errors are an unfortunate but almost necessary part of gaming.
Some get them more often than others though, and if your luck is like mine, you’ve probably seen almost every error the world of games has to offer.
It can be very frustrating dealing with them at times, so let’s try to fix it as soon as possible.
Returnal: Fatal Crashes on PC – Any Fixes?
The developers of Returnal implemented a feature that lets you save some progress after you experience a fatal crash, some like to call this “Crash Resistance” or “Crash Protection”.
Whatever it’s referred to as, it isn’t enough to make the game truly playable if the game’s going to keep crashing every 15 minutes, which has been the case for some people.
Crashes are particularly frustrating for CO-OP, making it practically impossible to play and progress for as long as the crashes are occurring.
Below we will explore some options that may help you continue playing.
Potential Fixes
As always, the first step is to check your graphics.
Your PC may be able to take the heat and then some, but some players claim lowering graphics down a notch helped them get rid of fatal crashes.
If you’re using Epic settings, try to bump it down to High, or even Medium. It’s not guaranteed to help, but it’s worth trying.
Try to launch the game with the “Run As Admin” option.
Right Click > Run As Admin.
It’s a very simple thing, but sometimes it’s all you need to fix your game. Start with the basics, give it a shot and if it doesn’t help, read on.
If it ends up working, follow the instructions below to make the “Run As Admin” option the default one.
Locate the game in the folder it’s installed in -> right-click into Properties -> move to the Compatibility tab -> tick the “Run this program as an administrator” option.
Make sure that your Drivers are up-to-date.
I cannot stress the importance of this one enough.
The reason you see this as one of the first steps everywhere is that it’s the root of many crashes across various different games.
Keep your drivers up-to-date at all times.
Make sure that your Windows is up-to-date.
Another simple but often overlooked fix is to check your Windows for updates, and install them if there are any.
Assuming you’re on Windows 11, look below.
Don’t forget to restart your device after updating!
Verify Game Files – most of the time, this fixed any error I was having (in any game).
To do this, open Steam -> open your Library -> right-click Returnal and click Properties -> go to Local Files -> click “Verify Integrity of game files”.
This will begin a process so make sure to leave your device ON until Steam is done verifying your game files.
As an extra step, feel free to restart your device once this is done, for good measure.
Alternatively: open Epic Games -> head to your Library -> open the three dots section (next to Returnal) -> click Manage -> click on the Verify -> wait for the verification process to finish.
Add the game as an exception in your anti-virus software. Sometimes, anti-virus’ get confused with certain games and software, which can lead to them mistakenly being marked as threats.
A quick Google search will tell you exactly how to do this step depending on the software you use, as every software is different and requires its own “guide”.
Fatal errors and crashes aside, the game looks absolutely astonishing!
As a fellow gamer, errors are my enemies, no matter how unavoidable they may be. I hope this guide helped at least some of you find a solution for the crashes.
If it didn’t, don’t worry – I’m certain that Returnal’s dev team is staying on top of things. I’m sure we can expect this to be ironed out quickly!
ALSO READ: Returnal Back to Normal With Less Bugs – Patch 1.3.4 Is Live
