The player controls Lightning through a third-person perspective to interact with people, objects, and enemies throughout the game. The player can also turn the camera around the character, allowing a 360° view of the surroundings. The world of Lightning Returns, as with Final Fantasy XIII and its sequel XIII-2, is rendered to scale with the character who navigates the world on foot. In one area, the player can use chocobos, a recurring animal in the Final Fantasy series. The player can freely navigate the game's open-world layout, explore towns and country areas, and accept quests from various non-playable characters (NPCs).[7] Lightning can also sprint for limited periods, climb up ladders, and jump freely.[8] The game features three difficulty levels: Easy,[9] Normal, and Hard, the latter of which is unlocked after completing the game. There is also a New Game+ option, which allows players to begin a new game while carrying over their equipment and stats from a previous playthrough.[10] The in-game clock runs continuously during normal navigation, with one in-game day equating to two to three hours in real time on Easy mode and one hour on Normal and Hard modes.[10][11] The timer starts at seven in-game days but can be extended to thirteen days.[10] The timer stops during cutscenes, conversations, and battles. Lightning can also pause time using an ability called Chronostasis.[12]
Lightning's growth correlates with her quests; her stats are boosted, with the main story quests yielding the biggest boosts.[10] Many side quests are only available at specific times because of the world's real-time structure, which means NPCs are constantly moving and only appear in certain places at a given time.[7] Lightning can also accept quests from the Canvas of Prayers, a post board found in all the main locations.[13] Completing NPC quests rewards Lightning with a portion of Eradia, spiritual energy retrieved when a person's burden is lifted.[14] Every day at 6 A.M. game-time, Lightning is drawn back into the Ark, a location where the in-game clock does not progress. There, Lightning gives her gathered Eradia to a tree called Yggdrasil; if she has enough, the in-game clock is extended by one day. She can also restock on supplies and collect new equipment.[15][16] Another feature in the game was Outerworld Services, where the players could take photos and share them, along with their personal stats and battle scores, on Facebook and Twitter.[17] The Facebook features were disabled in April 2015.[18] All Outerworld services were terminated in April the following year.[19]