Returnal guide: How to complete biome survey trophies

Tucked into the fairly straightforward Returnal trophies list are several tasks that require a bit of exploration. While other trophies only ask that you beat certain bosses or complete easily defined goals, a few of them need you to hunt for a few key items and locations.

In this Returnal guide, we’ll explain how to complete the biome survey trophies. We’ll show you what three tasks you need to complete in each area to get the trophy and how to track your progress.

How to complete biome surveys

If you look at the trophy list in Returnal, you’ll see several trophies require you to complete a biome survey. They are:

• Past the Ruins — Finish Overgrown Ruins Survey
• Ascending the Mountain — Finish Crimson Wastes Survey
• Through the Forgotten City — Finish Derelict Citadel Survey
• Echoes of the Past — Finishing Echoing Ruins Survey
• Frozen in Time — Finish Fractured Wastes Survey
• Submerged in Memories — Finish Abyssal Scar Survey

Image: Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon

To complete each of these surveys, you must:

• Collect every Xenoglyph Cipher in each biome
• Retrieve every Scout Log in each biome
• Scan every Xeno-Archive in each biome

You can check your progress on each trophy by pressing the PlayStation button on your DualSense controller. Doing so will bring up progress cards for several activities, including your path to completing each biome survey.

Since the cycle of Returnal remixes the layout of each stage, it’s impossible to detail the location of each of these collectibles. However, if you understand how to read Returnal’s maps and know what the collectible icons look like, you’ll have a better chance of finding each of these items as you explore.

Grid View

• Scout Log Image: Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
• Xenoglyph Cipher Image: Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
• Xeno-Archive Image: Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon

Scout logs can be found on the deceased versions of yourself you’ll find throughout each biome.

You will usually find Xenoglyph ciphers along walls throughout biomes. If you come across one you haven’t seen before, it will have a red glow to it. You can use these to decipher the various Xenoglyph tablets found in each biome.

Xeno-Archives are found behind the dark blue triangular doors that house optional rooms in each biome. To complete a Xeno-Archive, you need to find each message the room holds. To find each piece of the story in some of archive rooms, you may need the grappling hook.