Returnal Guide | How to Open Stone Doors

Here's a guide to opening stone doors in Returnal.

Game Guide by Ragib Rawnak on Nov 29, 2025

As you move through the biomes in Returnal, you encounter many doors, paths, and optional rooms. While searching for containers shown on your minimap, you may reach a stone door that looks like a solid gate built from Overgrown Ruins material.

These doors appear during exploration when you follow a chest icon, yet find a blocked entrance instead in Returnal.

Returnal, Guide, How to Open Stone Doors

Understanding Stone Doors

Some areas in the game require specific tools you obtain later, but stone doors do not fall into that category. These doors open with one action. To unlock them, you must shoot a hidden switch located near the doorway.

Locating the Switch

When you stand before a stone door, examine the area above and around it. You are looking for a triangular or pyramid-like structure attached to a wall. At the tip of this shape, you will see an orange light. This is the switch. Fire at the triangle to activate it in Returnal.

Returnal, Guide, How to Open Stone Doors

Opening the Door

Once you shoot the switch, the orange light becomes red, and the stone door opens. You can then access the container or item inside. In most cases, the chest behind these doors is a standard container that does not use an Atropian Key and usually holds a weapon, though other items can appear.

After you open a stone door, it remains open. You can return later to pick up the weapon or item inside whenever needed in Returnal.

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