This Returnal guide will show you where to find the Crimson Key which is required to unlock the Crimson Gate. This is the gateway that takes you to the second biome of the game called the Crimson Waste, after you defeat the first boss in the Overgrown Ruins.
Returnal Guide – Crimson Key
The Crimson Key can be obtained after you defeat the first boss in the game, Phrike. This boss is located right at the end of the first biome in Overgrown Ruins, where defeating it will give you the key to unlock the Crimson Gateway.
Phrike is the first boss you face in Returnal, who introduces the main combat mechanic that each of the subsequent bosses will use in various techniques. These combat mechanics involve the use of colorful projectile orbs that are sent forth at the player’s location in different patterns and speeds.
To be effective in the boss fight and dominate the whole fight, make sure you are on the move at all times while continuing your own spray of bullets at the boss. Running from one corner of the battle area to the other allows you to dodge most of the orbs coming at you, without having you stuck nor forcing you to desperately dive to avoid being struck.
Phrike fights in three phases, where each phase resets the health bar to full, while the next phase brings in a few new attacks to mix up the fight against you. Unsurprisingly, the last phase is the most difficult out of the first two, where Phrike uses all of its attacks while picking up the pace in between his mix of attacks.
As you might already know, dodging makes you invulnerable to most attacks. Phrike’s attack can be dodged through if you think they are certain to hit you. Use this feature to get out of a sticky situation, or if you get caught in a corner with no other way out. Bear in mind, Phrike is no easy boss to defeat even though it is the first boss in Returnal. He packs a punch in his attacks and will do everything to show you his might.
Once you have defeated Phrike, the boss will drop the Crimson Key which you can now use on the Crimson Gate, and access the second biome of the game, Crimson Waste.
For more help with Returnal, check out our Returnal Wiki.
This concludes our Returnal guide which showed you where to find the Crimson Key in the game. Post your comments below.
