Redoing the same areas over and over is a big part of Roguelites like Returnal, but it can be frustrating to have one life in a run that can go on for hours. To remedy this, the game has many artifacts, consumables, and parasites that can help you survive for longer and prevent you from losing all your progress.
Astronaut Figurine is one such artifact, but it can't be unlocked easily in the game. To get your hands on this figurine, you'll have to go explore the Overgrown Ruins area properly and find certain things. Once you do get this artifact, it'll make your life a lot easier.
What Is The Astronaut Figurine?
To put it simply, the Astronaut Figurine acts like an instant-use extra life when Selene perishes. Having this artifact in your inventory will bring you back from death one time in the event that you die. It will also give you a huge portion of your health back and retain all the other artifacts, parasites, weapons, and upgrades that you had.
Another mechanic that might be similar to the Astronaut Figurine is the Reconstructor. You can find these structures once in every biome and spend six Ether to let it scan you. Once that is done, you'll spawn back at the Reconstructor if you end up getting defeated.
The difference between the Astronaut Figurine and the reconstructor is that the former respawns you in the same place where you got defeated while the latter takes you back to the room where the reconstructor was located. The artifact is better since you can continue the battle you got defeated in, especially if it's against a boss.
How To Get Astronaut Figurine In Returnal
While exploring Overgrown Ruins, you might've come across a room that has a big house in it. When you encounter the house for the first time, Selene mentions that this can't be here. As you get close to it, the game will say that you can't open the house at the moment. This is because you need a House Ley.
This key can be found in two ways while you're exploring Overgrown Ruins:
- Firstly, there's a room with one Xenoglyph that allows you to decipher a message based on the Ciphers you've collected. When you visit this room for the first time, you'll see a blue item sitting on a platform at the end. This will be your House Key. The room is optional, and its door is marked with a blue triangle.
- If you miss this door since it wasn't necessary for the story and end up defeating Phrike first, the key will be dropped by the boss instead. You can head over to your house after you get the key before going to the portal leading to Crimson Wastes.
Your house will have a different marker on the map and a Translocator beside it, making it easy to get to it if you're near another Translocator. Go to your house and open it to witness Selene's past and some secrets of the world she's in.
As you enter the house, pay attention to everything Selene says while you explore the area. First, head to the table on your side and interact with the brown book here. You can keep going through the hallway to the side of the stairs, and you'll get to Selene's picture. Interact with it to replay a memory from your past.
Next, turn left and try to open the door at the end of the doorway, but it'll not be open. As you get back to the stairs, you'll hear someone running and slamming a door. Go upstairs and try to open the door to your left. After that, you can pick up the eye on the right side of the stairs on the floor.
Finally, interact with a window that the light is shining through. You'll see an astronaut standing outside and Selene will fall to the ground with a new door opening. After this, you'll wake up outside the house again. Once you can control the character, you can scan and pick up the Astronaut Figurine on the ground.
You'll have more research progress on the Figurine as you get more of them through your runs, and you can find more information on it by heading to the Database screen or checking the item in your Loadout. Keep in mind that you'll lose the artifact after you spawn back because of it, and it's not permanent.
In the subsequent runs, you'll have to find the artifact again, but you won't be able to get it through the house anymore. At random places during your run, you'll be able to find a Fabricator with many artifacts and consumables shown on different pedestals. You have a chance of getting the Astronaut Figurine here.
You'll have to spend a lot of Obolities if you want to claim this item. Since it grants you a second life, it takes priority over everything else that the fabricator can give you. Make sure you save all the Obolities you get and check every secret passage to get some extra.
You also have a chance of encountering the Figurine through the broken Fabricator, but it's a very low chance. Moreover, it'll be harder to encounter this item as your artifact and consumable pool increases when you progress through the biomes.