Returnal endings: How many endings are there in Returnal & what is the secret ending?

ASTRA Scout Selena Vassos crashes lands on planet Atropos while following a familiar White Shadow signal in the latest PS5 exclusive Returnal. She soon discovers that every time she dies, she is transported back to her ship in what seems to be an endless loop. If players can find all three Returnal endings, they can gain a new perspective on Selene's journey's plot and characters. So how many endings are there in Returnal? 

Returnal Endings

The game's first two endings are unlocked by simply playing far enough through the game. The hidden ending can only be obtained if the player finds a pair of car keys when Selene is hallucinating or if the player is taken back to her old house. So there are a total of 3 endings in the game. Since Selene keeps teleported back to the base, again and again, each time she dies, how long to beat returnal? A decent player can make it to the end in a matter of 12-15 hours but this can be faster if you choose not to explore much in the game.

First Ending - Selene discovers the source of the White Shadow signal and reports her distress to ASTRA, completing the journey that took her to the planet Atropos in the first place. She collapses in relief after confirming her distress signal was received and waits for the ship. A cutscene plays, depicting Selene's life as it progresses through various stages. After that, she's lowered into her grave before being dragged back to the shipwreck.

Main Ending - When players reach the bottom of an underwater abyss, they come across a vehicle that seems to have been submerged for a long time. Selene will plunge into a deeper pit if she does not retrieve the car keys from the stable, where she will meet a giant tentacle creature she believes brought her to the world. The creature gives her a final flashback of Selene's mother, Theia, swerving to avoid an astronaut but hitting him instead, until the car crashes into a nearby river. Selene is pulled back to the beginning for the start of another loop when they both drown and Theia attempts to escape.

Secret Ending - If players collect the keys inside Selene's home, they can communicate with the old car's driver's side door, which leads to a secret ending. Selene sees an elderly and decrepit version of her mother, who threatens her before being thrown off the cliff. The camera then moves into the back of Selene's helmet, revealing the crash from the astronaut's point of view. This suggests that Selene is either the astronaut on the bridge or that she is remorseful for distracting her mother before the car accident. Before the credits roll, the scene ends with someone swimming towards the surface and then another loop starts.

Image Source: Housemarque