The new Returnal patch is how broken? It turns out, it's quite broken. If you've been affected, this should help you out though. Here's the latest from Housemarque on the situation.
New Returnal Patch Broken
Earlier, Housemarque confirmed that the error codes some players were seeing when they tried to play Returnal after the 1.3.3 Patch update was in fact a widespread issue.
If you see Error Code "CE-100028-1", this will apply to you.
Patch 1.3.3 has been pulled and we are reverting back to 1.3.1 until it's fixed. We are fixing the issue now and a new patch will be published in a few hours.
The update was a fairly routine one, but Housemarque has identified a major fault in the new Returnal patch that has fully broken some people's games.
They are suggesting fully re-downloading your title if you have been affected by the 1.3.3 Patch error issues.
Is There A Fix?
Thankfully, it appears as though Housemarque have rectified the issue.
If you were affected by the new Returnal Patch and you are under the impression that it's broken your game, you'll still need to redownload the entirety of the title to ensure that this error is fully removed.
However, if you haven't played it since you saw the news, you can now download Patch 1.3.4 from the PlayStation Store and it should fix everything.
This isn't a full fix, but it does revert the title back to its previous state with some minor changes. There are also some new troubleshooting tips for those affected.
Here are the full Patch Notes for this new Returnal update:
Patch 1.3.4 is now live. This patch reverts to a previous stable build (1.3.1), also addressing a known Trophies issue, and fixing a keyboard exploit.
With Patch 1.3.4, all save games are safe to be played now.
- Some game saves will have become corrupted with Patch 1.3.3, but maintained their file size. Players with those save games are able to safely continue their progress after installing Patch 1.3.4, without the need for using a backed up save game.
- Unfortunately other save games will have been effectively "deleted" by Patch 1.3.3, with their file size reducing to 0KB. These save games are not directly salvageable by Patch 1.3.4, without a backup save game available.
- In those cases, please try using a backed up save from PS+ if available, after installing Patch 1.3.4. With an intact save game from PS+, players can safely restore and continue playing with Patch 1.3.4 installed.
- Depending on the console settings, the cloud save may have been overwritten by the "deleted" save game noted above. If this is the case, progress will remain unsalvageable, even with Patch 1.3.4.