Enemies

Enemies are various creatures and mechanical obstacles that make the world of The End is Nigh as dangerous as it is. Enemies appear both in real-world areas and in cartridges. This page lists all enemies in the game, grouping them into multiple categories.

Touching any enemy is deadly to Ash, but some enemies have parts that are safe to jump on.

Contents:[ | ]

Neutral enemies[ | ]

Neutral enemies are creatures that, while being deadly, don't react to Ash's presence in any particular way. These enemies can be stationary or move in a predefined path around the level.

Kuko (or Floater)[ | ]

main page: Kukos

Kukos are spiky balls with one eye, floating in the wind. They come in two sizes. Small ones are roughly the size of Ash, while fully grown ones are considerably larger. Both variations of kuko kill Ash on contact. Harmless baby kukos can also be seen around some areas. They look like partially transparent one-eyed blobs, which inflate and float away when approached by Ash. Kukos appear in Arid Flats, SS Exodus, Retrograde, and Gloom. In addition to that, baby kukos can be found in Wall of Sorrow. In cartridges kukos show up in Blaster Massacre, Tombs & Torture, Scab or Die!.

Slag[ | ]

main page: Slags

Slags are spiky slug-like creatures slowly crawling from side to side, unbothered by Ash's presence. Slags appear in Arid Flats, Retrograde and in the secret under The End 14.

Fissure[ | ]

Fissures are fish-like creatures who use human skulls as a protective shell. They continuously jump out of the water in various places across the area, following a consistent arc, and usually disappearing into spiky pits at the end of the jump. They are the second "bouncy" enemy type encountered by Ash. Jumping on the skull of the fissure lets Ash bounce off of it and pushes the fissure itself down, changing its trajectory. Touching the side or the bottom of the fissure will kill Ash. Fissures exclusively appear in Overflow.

Gasper[ | ]

Half-dead round blobs bloated with toxic gas. They passively float in the air and are always surrounded by a cloud of gas, which makes standing close to them dangerous for Ash. When moving, gasper leaves a trail of toxic gas behind him, which quickly disappears. Jumping on top of a gasper lets Ash bounce off of it, despite gaspers not having a skull shell, unlike every other "bouncy" enemy. Touching its sides, bottom, or staying in its toxic cloud for too long kills Ash. Gaspers' gas uses the area's toxic timer, which in all areas they appear in is set to 2 seconds. Gaspers show up in Overflow, The Machine, and off-screen in the secret above Wall of Sorrow 9.

Anima Sola[ | ]

Small ghosts floating in the wind, passing through levels. They are functionally identical to kukos. Ghosts will follow Ash with their eyes as they move past him, mildly curious to see what Ash is up to. They appear in Wall of Sorrow and are present in The End 1 and 0 as a decorative element. In cartridges they show up in Acceptance.

Hoast[ | ]

Crawling slug-like creatures, which use human skulls as a protective shell. They move from side to side, often along floors covered with spikes, and are indifferent to Ash. Jumping on top of a hoast allows Ash to bounce off of its skull shell and holding the jump button when doing so will make him bounce higher. Touching the sides of a hoast will kill Ash. Hoasts appear in The Hollows, the secret under Gloom 5, and the Catastrovania cartridge.

Floast/X-Floast[ | ]

Floating creatures, similar to hoasts. Their head is also covered by a human skull and a small fleshy tail can be seen sticking out at the bottom. Jumping on top of a floast allows Ash to bounce off of its skull shell. Touching the sides or the bottom of a floast will kill Ash. They appear in The Hollows, Gloom, Blight, and the Catastrovania cartridge.

X-Floast is a withered variation of a floast, nearing the end of its life. Their skulls are cracked and jumping on one breaks the skull, killing the x-floast. This variation of the enemy only appears in Gloom.

Edema[ | ]

Lumpy blobs roughly the size of Ash, which fly around in straight lines and bounce off solid surfaces at a 90° angle. Upon reaching a surface, edema will pause briefly. They appear in The Hollows and Gloom. In cartridges edemas show up in Catastrovania and Anger.

Anchorfish[ | ]

Fish-like creature chained to a solid block. Anchorfish move in a circle in a set direction around the block they're chained to. There are three chain length variations - short, medium, and long. Anchorfish seemingly have no trouble being outside of water. They appear in The Hollows, Anguish, and Gloom. In cartridges they show up in the final world of the Super Mega Cart.

Drooper[ | ]

Passive version of gorgers, visually differentiated from their more aggressive counterpart by having only one good eye, with the other being a cross. Droopers move slowly from side to side and do not react to Ash in any way. They only appear in Gloom.

Agon/Agonyia[ | ]

Spiky balloons that come in two sizes (big agons and small agonyias). They are dead or mostly dead creatures inflated with gases from decomposition. Agons float in the air, connected to the ground with a chain, and act as passive obstacles, similar to spikes. They appear in Anguish, Gloom, and Ruin.

Glub[ | ]

Fleshy, lumpy blobs that can be seen stuck to walls and floating in water all over Blight. They are functionally identical to agonyias from other Future areas, acting as passive obstacles.

Ogle/Oogle[ | ]

Round, fleshy blobs that come in two sizes (big ogles and smaller oogles). They can be seen all over The Future and Nevermore and act as passive obstacles, similar to spikes. Ogles will follow Ash with their eyes, watching his every move.

Wailer[ | ]

Large ghosts that inflate and deflate at regular time intervals. When the wailer is deflated, it becomes less opaque and Ash can pass through it safely. When the wailer is inflated, touching it kills Ash. They only appear in Ruin.

Kuko
Slag
Fissure
Gasper
Anima Sola
Hoast
Floast
X-Floast
Edema
Anchorfish
Drooper
Agon
Glub
Ogle
Wailer

Chasing enemies[ | ]

Chasing enemies are creatures that react to Ash's presence, actively trying to hunt him down. The ways in which they move and their freedom of movement varies. Some of these enemies can switch between a passive and an active state, but touching them is deadly regardless of whether they are actively chasing Ash at that moment or not.

Toast[ | ]

Frog-like creatures with human skulls on their heads, which they use as a protective shell. They hop around and try to chase after Ash if they spot him. Toasts are the first "bouncy" enemy type encountered by Ash. Jumping on their skull shell lets Ash bounce off of them and holding the jump button when doing so will make him bounce higher. Touching a toast from the side of getting stomped on by one will kill Ash.

Paraslag[ | ]

Spiky slug-like creatures which stick to floors and ceilings of the area and remain stationary until Ash approaches them and either walks underneath them or jumps over them. When that happens, paraslag will dash up or down in a straight line, attempting to catch Ash, and will stick to the next surface in its way. Paraslags appear in Overflow and Blight. In cartridges they show up in Bargaining and Scab or Die!

Croast[ | ]

Bird-like creatures that use human skulls as a protective shell. They will fly slowly in one direction until they notice Ash. After that croasts will attempt to catch Ash by repeatedly dashing towards him in a sweeping motion. Much like with other enemies wearing skulls, Ash can jump on top of a croast to bounce off of its head. Holding the jump button when doing so will make the jump higher. Touching the sides or the bottom of the croast will kill Ash. Croasts exclusively appear in Wall of Sorrow.

Mother[ | ]

A mass of flesh covering floors and walls of some areas. When Ash gets close enough, Mother begins to expand in his direction, following Ash indefinitely as long as he is in range. If Ash gets far enough away, Mother will start retracting to its original position. Mother appears in Retrograde, The Machine, Blight, and makes its way to Ruin during the escape sequence.

Crunch[ | ]

Round and hostile creatures chained to solid blocks. They will remain near their chain hitch when undisturbed, breathing loudly. When Ash is in range, the crunch will charge towards him, as far as the chain's length allows. After an unsuccessful charge the crunch will stay in place for a bit, recovering, and either charge again if Ash is still around or slowly retreat back to the original position. Crunches appear in Golgotha, The Machine, secret above Ruin 12, and Nevermore. In cartridges they show up in Dig Dead, Scab or Die!, Pus-Man, and Ghosts N Grieving.

Musk[ | ]

Relatively large flying blobs, marked with a cross on their head. They behave similarly to crunches, but are not restricted by chains. After noticing Ash for the first time, the musk will start following him. When close enough to Ash, the musk will charge towards him with a loud growl. Musks fly over solid blocks, but can't see Ash through a solid wall initially. Musks appear in Golgotha, Blight, and The Future. In cartridges they show up in Dead Racer.

Feral[ | ]

More active, aggressive versions of agonyias. Unlike agonyias, both of whose eyes are crosses, ferals have one eye open. They will slowly follow Ash as long as he is in range, and retreat to their original position if Ash gets too far away. Ferals' movement is restricted by the length of their chains. Ferals appear in Anguish, Gloom, and Ruin.

Charger[ | ]

Nimble slug-like creatures, slowly crawling from side to side when undisturbed. They will charge madly towards Ash if he steps on the platform the charger is on. The charge lasts for a set amount of time, during which the charger will move much quicker than normal, still turning around when it reaches the edge of the platform. Chargers appear in Gloom and in the Anger cartridge.

Gorger[ | ]

Much larger slugs, who behave exactly like chargers. Due to their size gorgers can be harder to dodge. They appear exclusively in Gloom.

Thistlefish[ | ]

Hostile fish which will chase Ash in the water. Thistlefish will approach Ash slowly if he is far away and quickly dash towards him within certain range. If the fish manages to jump out of water and onto a solid platform, it will flop around unpredictably, attempting to get back into water. Staying out of water for too long does not kill them. Thistlefish appear in Blight, Ruin, and The Future. In cartridges they show up in Bargaining. One thistlefish also appears in an inaccessible part of the secret below Overflow 6.

Watcher[ | ]

Flying blobs similar to oogles, visually differentiated from their passive counterpart by their sharp teeth. Watchers will slowly approach Ash at a constant speed. They exclusively appear in Nevermore.

Toast
Paraslag
Croast
Mother
Crunch
Musk
Feral
Charger
Gorger
Thistlefish
Watcher

Turrets[ | ]

Turret (static, single-shot)[ | ]

Static single-shot turrets are stationary objects that fire relatively slow-moving bullets in one direction at even intervals. Touching a bullet or the turret itself kills Ash. This turret type appears in SS Exodus, The Machine, Blight, Nevermore, and The Future. In cartridges they show up in Fallen Fantasy, Morbid Gear, Scab or Die!, Pus-Man, and The End is Nigh.

Turret (static, burst-fire)[ | ]

Stationary turret which fires bursts of faster-moving bullets in one direction at even intervals. Across the whole game, this turret type only appears in one level, in The Machine 14.

Turret (tracking, single-shot)[ | ]

Rotating turret which tracks Ash's movement with a slight delay and fires relatively slow-moving bullets at even intervals, as long as it can see Ash. This turret type appears in SS Exodus, The Machine, Blight, Ruin, and Nevermore. It also makes an appearance in Retrograde as iris - a functionally identical enemy. In cartridges they show up in The End is Nigh.

Turret (tracking, rapid-fire)[ | ]

Rotating turret which tracks Ash's movement with a slight delay and fires a continuous stream of fast-moving bullets, as long as it can see Ash. This turret type appears in The Machine, Blight, Ruin, and Nevermore.

Retinara[ | ]

Retinaras are round one-eyed creatures, exclusive to Ruin, which will track Ash for as long as he is in their field of view, charging up a laser attack. If Ash does not break the line of sight for slightly over a second, retinara will fire its laser, killing Ash. Their tracking is perfect, so the retinara can't miss its shot. Breaking the line of sight resets the laser charge timer.

Iris
Static turrets
Tracking rapid-fire turret
Turrets in Nevermore
Retinara

Other hazards[ | ]

Crusher (one-directional)[ | ]

One-directional crushers are solid blocks marked with a decorative rotating gear, which attempt to crush Ash when he crosses their line of sight. After charging towards Ash and hitting a solid surface, the crusher will slowly return to its original position and prepare for another charge. This crusher type can only charge in one predefined direction. One-directional crushers appear in SS Exodus and The Machine. In cartridges they show up in Fallen Fantasy.

Crusher (multi-directional)[ | ]

Multi-directional crushers are solid blocks marked with decorative eyes, which attempt to crush Ash when he crosses their line of sight. After charging towards Ash and hitting a solid surface, the crusher will stop and prepare for another charge. This crusher type can charge in any of the four cardinal directions. Multi-directional crushers appear only in Golgotha. In cartridges they show up in Dig Dead.

Cannon[ | ]

Cannons are a hazard exclusive to SS Exodus They fire cannonballs at even intervals. Cannonballs follow a set trajectory and bounce off of solid surfaces. Cannonballs also act like "bouncy" enemies, meaning Ash can safely jump on top of one and bounce off of it, changing the cannonball's trajectory in the process. Touching the sides or the bottom of a cannonball kills Ash. Touching the cannon itself is completely safe and they have no collision, but standing inside of one means the next cannonball may spawn right on top of Ash and kill him.

Fireball[ | ]

Fireballs are deadly objects exclusive to Golgotha that get launched out of lava pools at even intervals, following a set trajectory. Fireballs will bounce off of solid surfaces and will leave a trail of embers behind when moving. Touching a fireball will kill Ash.

One-directional crushers in SS Exodus
Multi-directional crushers in Golgotha
Cannons in SS Exodus
Fireballs in Golgotha

Trivia[ | ]

Mother plays a big role in the game's story, representing Mother Nature reclaiming the last remaining bits of life in the world. Various NPCs across different areas mention her as a god-like figure.
Kukos' name and appearance are a reference to the enemy named kracko from the Kirby series.
The appearance of crunches is a reference to the enemy chain chomp from Super Mario.
Musks resemble enemies from Super Meat Boy named oob.
Chargers also appear in The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, having very similar behavior and appearance between the two games.
Fissures and Floasts were added to The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth in the Repentance DLC.
Along with that, the famous mod Fiend Folio: Reheated added a seperate variant of Floasts in crawlspaces for The Binding Of Isaac: Repentance.