RETURNAL | R_A.0798 Hostiles Counter on Hit, Abyssal Scar [100% Complete // Full Level] (HDR) NO HIT

To celebrate RETURNAL's third birthday, the Archivist returned to Atropos to record 33 new videos. Today's footage, a complete, fully indexed playthrough of Abyssal Scar, is the thirty-third (and final) clip in the    • R_A.3irthday   celebration—and it is distinct for two reasons.

First, I plunge into Abyssal Scar afflicted with the "Hostiles Counter on Hit" Malfunction. While commonplace in the Tower of Sisyphus, this Malfunction is surprisingly scarce in the main game. What's more, its impact is arguably greater here; unlike the vast, open areas of the "Ascension" expansion, the tiles of RETURNAL's base game are comparably cramped and constricted, offering players a far smaller window to avoid the almost-endless stream of retaliatory projectiles this Malfunction generates.

Second, I am playing a homemade variant of RETURNAL I call Archivist Mode. Archivist Mode differs from RETURNAL significantly. For instance, the player is limited to the artifacts and items found in the Tower of Sisyphus loot pool. However, this loot pool has been expanded to include the Adrenaline Fury, Adrenaline Stimulants, Dash Blast, and Spaceship Model artifacts, as well as items Anti-energy Pulse, Sub-zero Pulse, and Reflex Stimulants. Furthermore, the player must achieve the following conditions: the entire biome, including all cutscenes, must be completed in under thirty minutes; the entire biome must be completed without Selene being struck more than once; and the entire act must be concluded with (i) Proficiency Level 15 (biomes 1-3) or 30 (biomes 4-6), (ii) Maximum (300) Suit Integrity, and (iii) 3000 Obolites. Additionally, RETURNAL must be played offline and the player may not expend Ether. Finally, the player may equip a maximum of five artifacts, and the weapon wielded cannot exceed Level 20.

Combined, "Hostiles Counter on Hit" and the victory conditions of Archivist Mode present quite a challenge. Completing Abyssal Scar without being hit is possible, but the swarms of Anomos lurking there shall prove problematic. Because I am using a Dreadbound, I must attack with certainty and surgical precision: any and all missed attacks expose me to danger. (To somewhat offset this disadvantage, my weapon has alt-fire Blast Shell, which can break enemy Shields, and I carry three Sub-zero Pulses, which will halt any Anomos I encounter when I interact with the Xenophagi I find.) The greatest difficulty ahead is this: with what tile shall RETURNAL challenge me at 19:27? There are three possibilities, of which one is simplicity itself, one relatively straightforward, and one an absolute nightmare.

Barring Housemarque's release of new RETURNAL material, this clip will be my last until April 2025, when RETURNAL celebrates its fourth birthday. Thank you for your interest!

Chapters
0:00 The Great Below
0:15 Proficiency Level 30
0:25 Encounter I (Blast Shell)
0:36 Encounter I (Cleanup)
0:56 Encounter II (Prelude)
1:06 Encounter II (Abyssal Trichozoid)
1:23 Encounter II (Kiting)
1:36 Encounter II (Abyssal Machina)
1:53 Encounter II (Cleanup)
3:02 Encounter III (Abyssal Machina)
3:21 Encounter III (Abyssal Archonact)
3:31 Encounter III (Cleanup)
3:49 Treading Lightly
4:05 Moving On
4:18 Containment Room I (Anomos)
4:33 Containment Room I (Abyssal Archonact)
4:44 Containment Room I (Anomos Reprise)
4:57 Containment Room II (Abyssal Trichozoid)
5:11 Containment Room II (Abyssal Archonact)
5:25 Containment Room III (Typhonops)
5:38 Containment Room III (Typhonops Reprise)
5:48 Containment Room Cleanup (Maximum Suit Integrity)
6:07 Containment Room Cleanup
6:17 Moving On (Again)
6:27 Encounter IV (Abyssal Trichozoid)
6:40 Encounter IV (Abyssal Archonact)
6:57 Encounter IV (Cleanup)
7:49 Resuming Course
8:09 Encounter V (Anomos + Archonact)
8:22 Encounter V (Cleanup)
8:54 Encounter VI (Abyssal Archonact)
9:13 Encounter VI (Cleanup)
11:31 Think Fast!
11:47 Container + Container + Container
12:05 The Lair of the (Malformed) Typhonops
12:21 Encounter VII (Malformed Typhonops)
12:33 Encounter VII (Cleanup)
13:22 One Way to Get There
13:55 Into the Void
14:07 Encounter VIII (Anomos)
14:36 Encounter VIII (Abyssal Archonact)
14:46 Encounter VIII (Typhonops)
15:01 Encounter VIII (Cleanup)
16:50 Encounter IX
17:15 Encounter IX (Cleanup)
17:54 Encounter X (Anticlimax)
18:26 Xeno-archive
18:59 Resuming Course (Again)
19:27 Treading Lightly (Anxiety)
19:38 Encounter XI (Abyssal Archonact)
20:21 The Lair of the Typhonops (Reprise)
20:40 Encounter XII (Typhonops)
21:04 I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally
21:51 The Way Out Is Through
22:07 Complication (Parasite)
22:38 Status + Equipment
22:54 Even Deeper
23:05 Ophion (Introduction)
23:35 Ophion (Phase I)
23:46 Ophion (Phase II)
24:00 Ophion (Phase III)
24:16 Ophion (Phase III—Extended)
24:38 Hurt
25:00 Underneath It All
25:26 At the Heart of It All
25:54 Not What It Seems Like
26:50 White Mask
27:38 White Shadow
28:02 Was It Worth It?