Returnal Ending Explained: Base, Secret & Theories

With Returnal returning to PC,  it can become obvious that players are utmostly excited. The storyline of Returnal is filled with extremely dark, twisted realities, and Selene is just a mess of her own hell, with the two different endings available to players.

Main Ending 

Selene, post-Ophion victory, descends into a deep hole, expressing determination despite breathing difficulties. She recalls the crash, realizing it defines her presence. Progressing through water, she encounters the crashed car, leading to a suspended orb triggering a crucial cutscene.

Selene stands amid giant orbs in the cutscene, treads onto a lit area, and experiences violent shaking. A beam of light causes her to fall, hitting her head hard. Battling pain, she regains energy, sits up, and confronts a creature with familiar red lights. She questions its role in bringing her to this place.

The Crash

Another cutscene triggers, shifting to a flashback of the crash preceding Selene’s current situation. An overhead and back shot shows a car moving through a forest along a nighttime highway.

Inside the car, a small child sits in a baby seat, secured by a seatbelt, clutching an octopus plushie. Her focused gaze on the plushie shifts to the woman driving. Attempting to express something, the child ultimately gives up, tightening her grip on the plushie and leaning against the car.

The scene transitions to a front shot of the car with headlights on, revealing the child in the backseat through the front-view mirror. The child calls, “Mom?” and asks about the White Shadow. The woman adjusts the mirror to exclude the child, lost in thought with her hand on her forehead, arm out the window.

The child, visibly distressed, holds the plushie tighter as the woman continues driving, seemingly oblivious to the child’s concerns.

She places her hand on the plushie, leaning back into the seat. The radio starts to static, catching the driver’s attention. Looking up, she spots an astronaut in a white space suit on the bridge. Life flashes as she hits the brake, swerves off the highway, and crashes into the water.

The car sinks, headlights fading. A red light appears ahead. Despite the struggle, Selene unlocks her seatbelt, reaching for the child in the back. As she does, a smoky white fog envelops the screen, pulling her up. The cutscene ends.

True/Secret Ending 

Now, while there is most definitely a base Returnal Ending Explained to the game, there is also a secret ending that players can get. After the triggering cutscene, the car, submerged in water with headlights on, is shown. Distant heavy breaths, seemingly from a woman, are audible.

The next moment, Selene emerges, walking from the right, approaching the moss-covered car. She examines it, reaching for the windows, but can’t touch them. Turning her head right, she breathes deeply, attempting to open the car door unsuccessfully. Frightened yet curious, she holds car keys, jabbing them into the handle’s keyhole. Turning the key right, the lock opens, leading to a black screen.

Black Screen 

After the black screen, a distant smoky cloud appears. In the void, a creature in a wheelchair, its head hung low, is focused on by Selene. Another woman stands before the creature. Selene, observing closely, gasps as the creature, a mere skull, and remnants, lunges at her, choking her. Selene breaks free, pushing the creature away and causing it to crash. The creature groans and looks at Selene as a voice says, “I told you to leave me alone.”

In a first-person view, Selene examines her hands, forms a fist, and moves deeper into the void. She’s then transported to a highway, revealing she was the white astronaut. The car from the crash collides with her. Selene lies down, and water bubbles appear, leading to an underwater scene.

Amidst a loud gasp, Selene screams, “Helios,” and the screen fades to black.

Ending Explanations And Theories 

Now, there is no detailed explanation of how the story ends, or rather the hidden meaning behind each act since the game has left much of the ending open to interpretation. There are tons of theories, some crack theories, and random explanations, but none tie together into one deception explanation; therefore, let’s pick up different theories. 

Remember that these are just theories, and the game makers give no explanation. Therefore, taking inspiration, here are 4 theories that might open new doors for discussion. 

Hostage Situation 

One theory posits that the game portrays everything as real. Selene, after crashing into the planet, roams before returning to the Derelict Citadel.

A captivating time loop theory suggests Selene is perpetually trapped in it. Creatures exhibit psychic abilities, meddling with thoughts, as the Xenoglyph warns: “…it will not stop them…Digging into our mind.”

Hellhole 

The second theory brings back to the car crash, but the adverse reality is that Selene never ended up surviving the crash. In one of the Audio logs that is read as “The Lying Truth,” the title, together with the “Did I even survive the initial impact,” is present in the log. 

In “The Truth Lying” audio log, she acknowledges she can’t atone and embraces the reality of her actions, suggesting a possible afterlife. Her fate is tied to the stars and the depths below, hinting at a profound connection.

The mention of “hell” in the audio log fuels speculation about an afterlife. Her life on the planet becomes a redemption arc, a journey where she must confront her faults, understand her relationships, and find peace for her soul. Desiring redemption, she must actively seek it, enduring trials to atone for her actions.

Nightmare Situation

Now, if we look at things from a psychological standpoint, we can take into account that there is a possibility that all the events that occur after the car crash are not the truth. 

It could have been the creation of her imagination, and she is simply imagining everything occurring. When she applied, she was originally rejected by Astra, as she was deemed unfit, but what if there were other reasons for them rejecting her since her journey throughout the planet was anything but unprofessional? 

Perhaps one of the reasons she ended up being rejected was because she wasn’t mentally sound, and mental stability is one of the most important elements of space recruitment. 

In one of the Audio logs called Mothership Psych Evaluation, she mentions the idea of delusions, and this can be tied together to her PTSD that was caused by the car crash, perhaps which makes it difficult to live her life normally now.

Extinction 

What if we bring up the topic of Selene’s existence never being there? What if Selene was never real but was instead a mirror of her mother, Theia? 

• What seems to be the most interesting about this theory is how Selene’s heterochromia (different colored eyes) match together with the name Theia, which conveniently means Goddess of Sight if you delve deeper into Greek mythology. 

And there we have it! All that players need to know about the Returnal Ending Explained, and with the crack theories out of the way, we will wrap up our guide!