Returnal: How to Delete the Unnecessary Files

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Taking out the trash.

 

.PDB Files

Used for debugging in the Unreal Engine. They take up over one tenth of the game’s install size, and you likely have no use for them.

Location:

[Installation Directory]\Returnal\Binaries\Win64\

Delete these, and you’ve freed up 5.16GB of HDD space.

Alternate Languages

Returnal includes voiceover audio for thirteen languages (and a folder for Finnish, containing no voiceovers.) Chances are, you aren’t using all of them.

Location:

[Installation Directory]\Returnal\Content\WwiseAudio\Windows\

Each language is in its own subfolder.

The folders, their corresponding languages, and how much space they take up are listed below.

Folder
Language
Filesize
ara
Arabic
105MB
Deu
German
114MB
Eng
English
109MB
esm
Spanish (Mexican)
100MB
Fin
Finnish
18MB
Fra
French
111MB
ita
Italian
100MB
jpn
Japanese
105MB
kor
Korean
106MB
plk
Polish
109MB
por
Portuguese
106MB
ptb
Portuguese (Brazilian)
104MB
rus
Russian
116MB
spa
Spanish
109MB

Despite containing no voiceover, the Finnish folder still manages to take up space.
Sorry, Finland. 🙁

Deleting all but one language nets you, at minimum, 1.26GB of HDD space.

4K Cutscenes

If you aren’t using a 2160p monitor, these are wasting hard drive space (and may be dropping frames when they play in-game.)

Location:

[Installation Directory]\Returnal\Content\Movies\

You can download transcodes in various resolutions from NexusMods.[www.nexusmods.com]

Depending on your resolution, you’ll be saving between 600 and 900 MB.

Tutorials in Triplicate

Many of Returnal’s tutorial videos have three versions: One with PlayStation button prompts, one with Xbox button prompts, and one with keyboard-and-mouse button prompts. So, if you use a DualSense or a DualShock, you can delete the Xbox and keyboard videos without missing out on anything.

Location:

[Installation Directory]\Returnal\Content\Movies\

 

PlayStation
Keyboard+Mouse
Xbox
GameHelp_ActiveReload_3.m4v
Game_Help_active_reload_pc.mp4
Game_Help_active_reload_xbox.mp4
GameHelp_Adrenaline.m4v
Game_Help_adrenaline_pc.mp4
Game_Help_adrenaline_xbox.mp4
GameHelp_AltFire_2-1.m4v
Game_Help_AltFire_pc.mp4
Game_Help_AltFire_xbox.mp4
GameHelp_Artifact.m4v
Game_Tutorial_Artifact_pc.mp4
Game_Tutorial_Artifact_xbox.mp4
GameHelp_Augments.m4v
Game_Tutorial_Augments_pc.mp4
Game_Tutorial_Augments_xbox.mp4
GameHelp_Consumables_1-1.m4v
Game_Help_Consumables_pc1.mp4
Game_Help_Consumables_xbox.mp4
GameHelp_Dash_3-1.m4v
Game_Help_Dash_PC.mp4
Game_Help_Dash_XBOX.mp4
GameHelp_DataCube_2-1.m4v
Shared
Shared
GameHelp_Enemy_1.m4v
Shared
Shared
GameHelp_GrindingMachine .m4v
Game_Tutorial_Grinding_Machine_pc.mp4
Game_Tutorial_Grinding_Machine_Xbox.mp4
GameHelp_ImmunityDash_1.m4v
Shared
Shared
GameHelp_Malfunctions_3.m4v
Game_Help_malfunctions_pc.mp4
Game_Help_malfunctions_xbox.mp4
GameHelp_MeleeBarrier_1.m4v
Shared
Shared
GameHelp_Parasites_1-1.m4v
Game_Help_parasites_pc.mp4
Game_Help_parasites_xbox.mp4
GameHelp_Proficiency_4.m4v
Game_Help_proficiency_pc.mp4
Game_Help_proficiency_xbox.mp4
GameHelp_Translocator.m4v
Game_Help_translocator_pc.mp4
Game_Help_translocator_xbox.mp4
GameHelp_WeaponSystems_1.m4v
Game_Help_weapon_systems_pc.mp4
Game_Help_weapon_systems_xbox.mp4

The PlayStation videos take up 191MB, the keyboard videos take up 260MB, and the Xbox videos take up 266MB; not counting the videos shared across inputs, or the unused videos listed below.

There are also a number of (often duplicate) videos which do not play in-game. These can be safely deleted, regardless of which input you’re using.

  • GameHelp_Consumables_2.m4v
  • GameHelp_WeaponSystems.m4v
  • GameHelp_Malfunctions_2.m4v
  • Game_Help_Consumables_pc.mp4

These only take up about 47MB, but that will not stop me from being grumpy about wasted space. My crusade is eternal. >:(

You can also get these files transcoded into lower resolutions, if you want to shave off even more space, from NexusMods.[www.nexusmods.com]

Epic Online Services Software

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2937442954An installer for Epic’s Overlay software is included with Returnal, and installation is attempted every time you launch the game. Bypassing the installation, and removing the installer, is covered in this guide.

Taking out this trash saves you 109MB.

Thanks to The Sad Man for his excellent guide, all credits belong to his effort. if this guide helps you, please support and rate it via Steam Community. enjoy the game.

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