Wuppo – Boss Run: Impossible

Wuppo

Wuppo is a unique and wondrous game. A fluffy Wum is thrown out of his home for spilling ice-cream on the floor, setting off on a journey to find a new place to live. It’s a journey full of adventures and surprises, featuring quirky characters, deep conversations and, surprisingly unique and creative boss battles.

It’s quite difficult to describe explain how Wuppo plays. It starts as a twin-stick shooter platformer, but gradually evolves into a much slower-paced exploration game with side quests. The challenge I want to discuss here is centered around the boss battles and can be attempted after completing the game for the first time.

Boss Run: Impossible

The main campaign focuses on dialogue and exploration, with the occasional boss encounter sprinkled in to keep things exciting. After finishing the main campaign, Boss Run unlocks. In this mode, you face 18 bosses back-to-back, on one life. Bosses are grouped, and after clearing each group, you’ll be taken to a rest area where you can catch your breath and purchase various items and upgrades from the available stores.

The ultimate challenge in Wuppo is clearing a low% boss run, which means completing the boss run without purchasing any upgrades at all – a challenge known as Boss Run: Impossible. The only available item is a single Ice Cream, a consumable that restores the Wum’s health to full.

Before attempting this challenge, I played through the regular game on Insane difficulty, which was excellent practice for taking on the bosses on Hard difficulty with minimal damage. I also did a regular Boss Run mode without restrictions to get used to the new difficulty and get a feel for the run.

Next, I practiced fighting each boss individually in the convenient practice mode to identify which ones would require a different approach when fought without upgrades. And there definitely are a few of those! Some bosses are drastically tougher without extra firepower. For instance, Bram, a fellow Wum, can usually be defeated quickly with a sufficiently upgraded weapon. But without upgrades, his firepower matches yours, and without a more defensive strategy, he’ll take you out in no time.

I spent some time trying to find somewhat safe strategies for these fights, especially the ones in the later half of the run. However, given Wuppo’s design, “safety” is never a guarantee. Bram’s fight can end your prematurely, and the chaotic battle against the Fnakker Friends can easily spiral out of control.

Another factor that adds to the challenge is luck. Most bosses within a group are fought in a random order. Why would that matter though? Well, because certain boss encounters do offer healing opportunities. For example, the final fight in the Bram’s and the Fnakker Friends’ boss group is always against Chef Fnaquere, a boss where it is easy to heal back to full health. If you face Bram just before this encounter, you can afford to save your healing item even if your health gets dangerously low, knowing that you’ll soon recover. But if Bram shows up early in the group and you take significant damage, you are almost forced to consume the Ice Cream and face the remaining bosses without it. Reaching the final fight of the run with the Ice Cream dramatically significantly improves your chances at a successful clear.

Now, it’s hard not to compare this run to similar ones I’ve done. Let’s take Hollow Knight’s P5, for example. I’m not comparing the difficulty directly (Hollow Knight’s Pantheon is more challenging by multiple orders of magnitude), but I want to highlight the design differences.

In both games, the boss runs get progressively harder, as can be expected. However, in Hollow Knight, every single single fight can be practiced, mastered, and eventually consistently completed without taking damage – even the more complex ones toward the end of the run. It’s not easy, but the fights are designed to be consistent and fair. (Well, except for Markoth. Screw Markoth.)

With Wuppo, the deliberate “sloppy” design may be charming in a regular playthrough, but in a boss run, it becomes chaotic. Fights don’t necessarily become more complex; they become more unpredictable. Taking damage in some encounters feels unavoidable, which is likely why there are regular healing opportunities. But unavoidable damage is always a source for frustration when attempting a challenge. Losing 30 minutes of progress due to bad luck or uncontrollable damage is never fun.

The key to beating Wuppo’s Bos Run: Impossible is mastering the fights that allow for consistency, and then simply keep trying. Eventually, with the right fight order and little luck, you’ll get a successful clear.