This is a complete playthrough of RETURNAL's second biome, Crimson Wastes. A few items of note:
Two bugs are shown in this clip. The first, which prevents Bobby Krlic's music from loading, is overcome by my having used "Suspend Cycle," closing RETURNAL, and restarting it. The "Cycle Continued" and soundtrack playing, I press into the biome and find the second bug. It occurs at 3:54 and concerns a Parasite. A Malicious Wireseeker, the Parasite will resolve a Malfunction and, its function fulfilled, detach. However, the Malfunction I suffer will be resolved when I "Collect [one] Parasite." Here, because it is a Parasite, equipping the Wireseeker should remove my Malfunction before occupying a Parasite slot. Instead, both Malfunction and Parasite are removed. Why? One possibility is an order-of-operations error. For example, Constricting Parasites makes players "[s]uffer damage when picking up items." Equipping one can cause Selene harm, suggesting RETURNAL sometimes (but not always) resolves item interactions unpredictably. (I'll let you puzzle out how Selene can suffer damage from picking up an item whose penalty is Selene hereafter suffers damage from picking up items.) Here, then, RETURNAL may be applying the Malicious Wireseeker's positive attribute and detaching before registering it as a Parasite. A second possibility exists, too: RETURNAL recognizes the Wireseeker as a Parasite and, because a Malfunction is fixed as a consequence of its presence, it is simply-and inadvertently-"detach[ing] afterwards."
One must be mindful of the weapon one wields, ensuring it suits the environment and its enemies. With this in mind, entering the Crimson Wastes with a Thermogenic Launcher was a risk. Its rockets are slow and the first third of the biome consists of open arenas with z-axis hostiles aplenty. Thankfully, I adapt my approach and overcome this issue. To see this shift in my playstyle, compare my first encounter with a swarm of Aetheract at 0:40 to the encounters of 2:10 and 4:22 before watching the events of 7:45.
The Thermogenic Launcher is discarded in favour of a Dreadbound at 10:52. Its discovery is when the feasibility of a no-hit run cemented itself in my mind. The only obstacle to such a thing in the Crimson Wastes is Ixion's final Phase, the threat of which I had been diligently collecting items to minimize. This starts with an Energy Barricade at 3:00, continues with the Sub-zero Pulses of 8:41 and 11:41, and concludes with the Adrenaline Fury purchased at 18:37. I feel ready for all that remains of the Crimson Wastes and believe I can comfortably overcome the Derelict Citadel, too.
To see for yourself if I escort my Sparking Leadskin through RETURNAL's third biome without injury, click • RETURNAL | R_A.0786 De...
Chapters
0:00 Initializing…
0:15 Crimson Wastes (Chrysoid Rush)
0:40 Encounter I
1:27 Encounter I (Cleanup)
1:50 Encounter II (Chrysoid Rush)
2:10 Encounter II
2:47 Encounter II (Cleanup)
3:04 Hidden Room I (Inert Reclaimer) (Violent)
3:38 Encounter II (Cleanup Concluded)
4:03 Encounter III (Part 1)
4:20 Encounter III (Part 2)
4:52 Encounter III (Cleanup)
5:51 Footwork I
6:14 From Here to There
6:24 Footwork II
6:34 Encounter IV
6:45 Encounter IV (Cleanup)
7:19 Pressing Ahead
7:31 Encounter V
8:08 Encounter V (Cleanup)
8:38 Hidden Room II (Fabricators)
9:16 Encounter V (Cleanup Concluded)
9:35 Footwork III
10:00 Encounter VI
10:38 Encounter VI (Cleanup + Weapon Swap)
11:13 Hidden Room III (Key Footwork)
11:43 Trident I (Resin + Repairs Remix)
12:10 Moving On
12:20 Xeno-archive
12:39 From Here to There (Again)
13:02 Encounter VII
13:37 Encounter VII (Cleanup)
14:25 The Shaft (Ascent + Augmentation)
15:09 Xenophagus (Violent)
15:25 Containment Room (Round 1)
15:45 Containment Room (Round 2)
16:05 Containment Room (Round 3)
16:42 Containment Room (Cleanup)
17:19 The Shaft (Descent)
17:29 Backtracking
17:49 The Trident II (Malignant Key + Protection Remix)
18:19 Moving On (Again)
18:29 Lobby (Adrenaline Fury)
18:50 Encounter VIII
19:00 Encounter VIII (Cleanup)
19:15 Into the Blue
19:26 Encounter IX (Part 1)
19:37 Encounter IX (Interlude)
19:47 Encounter IX (Part 2)
20:08 Encounter IX (Cleanup)
20:19 Reclaimer
20:49 Encounter X
21:03 Encounter X (Cleanup)
21:29 Footwork + Gambling
22:03 Pressing Ahead (Again)
22:17 Encounter XI
22:33 Encounter XI (Cleanup)
22:42 Hidden Room IV (Malformed Hostile)
23:00 Hidden Room IV (Cleanup)
23:14 Encounter XI (Cleanup Concluded) (Violent)
23:37 Encounter XI (Cleanup Concluded)
24:17 Inert Reclaimer (Violent)
24:49 Encounter XII (Massacre)
25:08 Encounter XII (Cleanup)
25:25 Into the Blue (Reprise)
25:37 The Winding, Windy Way to Ixion
26:17 Ixion (Introduction)
26:32 Ixion (Phase 1)
26:48 Up + Down
26:58 Ixion (Phase 2) (Grounded)
27:08 Ixion (Phase 2) (Strafing)
27:28 Ixion (Phase 2)
27:58 Up + Down (Reprise)
28:08 Ixion (Phase 3) (Grounded)
28:20 Ixion (Phase 3) (Frozen Fury)
28:47 Status + Equipment
29:06 Destination: Derelict Citadel
29:27 Fade Out