In Returnal, collecting as many items as the player can is a great way to ensure survival for just a bit longer. Unfortunately, these items aren't always accessible, with red vines blocking the way sometimes. While it wouldn't be a big deal, these red vines often block players off from getting valuable healing items that can increase their maximum health or restore lost health. They can be encountered as early as the second run, and players will probably start getting annoyed with them pretty soon. Thankfully, with the right tool, the red vines can be destroyed.
Every time the player dies in Returnal, they reset back at the start and lose most of their items and upgrades. There are actually some things that persist in between each cycle, however, and this is one of them. Players will need to find the Atropian Blade if they want to have any hope of continuing the story and getting past those red vines.
By the time players find the first of many red vines blocking their path, they've already been using their weapon's alternate fire to break down barriers. Since that doesn't work here, players are going to need something else. Continue through the story until the objective tasks Selene with finding a way to destroy xeno-type barriers, and eventually players will find a room with a giant teleporter in it. Selene comments that this teleporter must be used for something different, but it's inaccessible right now. What players should be interested in is the automaton corpse on the ground clutching a hilt.
Examine this to gain access to the Atropian Blade. Players can now press square in order to perform a horizontal slice with the blade, something they'll be doing quite a bit of. This weapon is capable of cutting through those red vines, but that's not all it can do. It can also be used to break open Obolite Chunks to get more currency and even destroy the red barrier blocking the player from progressing through the story. Since the Atropian Blade is required for continuing on in the game, it is impossible to miss. What's more, players get to keep it even after they die.
The Atropian Blade is needed to find the Anathema Key and continue on in the story, so it will definitely come in handy. In the meantime, use it to slice open those blasted red vines and get all of the healing items, Obolites, and other goodies that have been blocked off up until now. They'll come in handy for the upcoming boss fight.
Returnal is available now on PS5.