Returnal Ascension update: Co-op, Tower of Sisyphus, release date and more

Housemarque have revealed Returnal's next major update called Ascension, which is coming this month with a couple of big new additions. 

Returnal will be getting a brand new update later this month. The update is titled Ascension and it brings co-op and survival mode-like experience named Tower of Sisyphus. The update will be free for all owners of the game and if you're looking forward to some hardcore challenge, here is everything you need to know about Returnal's Ascension update.

Co-op update

You can play co-op by accessing the Chronosis portal near the crash landing (and in other select parts of the game), you’ll have the option to either host or join a public cycle. There's also an option to host a private cycle. 

Once your connection is established, a Selene from another timeline will join your session and your shared journey will begin. While the experience remains pretty much the same, players won't be able to get too far apart since the game will automatically tether them back together.

Progression will be tied to the host and players will be able to revive each other if one of them is down. Pretty much, a standard co-op experience. 

Returnal - Co-op in action

Tower of Sisyphus

The Tower of Sisyphus is basically an endless mode where the goal is to ascend the tower as high as possible. There is no end to the tower and you'll eventually die as you climb its increasingly harder levels. It's all about getting to the highest level possible. 

Each Phase in the Tower will culminate with an encounter with Algos, which will also get increasingly harder as you advance through the mode. Unlike the campaign, in the Tower players will also have a score to chase. 

Returnal - Tower of Sisyphus

You can track your progress and the highest score on a leaderboard, and compete against your friends and foes for the highest rank.

There's also a score multiplier that will deplete if you get hit or if you don’t deal damage for a while, so you’ll need to be constantly dealing damage to ensure you maintain strong forward momentum. 

The tower includes new levels, a new boss, items and brand new narrative content.