Boss Rush

“	A second free update in April will add a Boss Rush mode, in which you'll battle bosses continuously, one at a time.	„
—Direct narrator

A stylized image of Corpius shown before the battle with it.

Boss Rush is a game mode in Metroid Dread. Announced during the February 9, 2022 Nintendo Direct, it was released as part of a free update on April 7, 2022. It is the first ever boss rush mode in a Metroid game, and pits Samus Aran against bosses in Dread, one at a time. It is accessible from the Samus Data Screen by pressing R.

Boss Rush

“	Battle 12 bosses without stopping. Energy is not restored between battles, but weapon ammo is fully restored.	„
—In-game description

This standard boss rush mode, unlocked after completing the game once on any difficulty, consists of Samus defeating 12 bosses in the order of: Corpius, Kraid, Artaria Central Unit, Drogyga, Robot Chozo Soldier (Golden in Ghavoran), Escue, Experiment No. Z-57, Twin Robot Chozo Soldier (Golden in Burenia), Golzuna, Elite Chozo Soldier, Ferenia Central Unit, and Raven Beak. This rush is set on Normal Mode.

Samus is only in possession of the upgrades that are on the normal, non-sequence break path to its boss. For example, versus Kraid, Samus will have Charge Beam, Spider Magnet, Wide Beam, Morph Ball, and Varia Suit in her arsenal, and does not have access to Bombs that are obtainable via sequence breaking. The boss order differs from that in the game itself; for example, Samus battles the Elite Chozo Soldier with the Wave Beam and Power Bomb and then faces the Ferenia Central Unit with neither of those upgrades, which is impossible on a regular playthrough.

The amount of time spent on each boss and in total are recorded. While retries are possible, losing to a boss will add a time penalty equal to the amount of time spent on that boss plus an additional 15 seconds.

Before each fight is a screen where a stylized, monochrome image of the upcoming boss is shown along with Samus' current energy and ammunition. On this screen, Samus can choose to either continue or quit the boss rush. Missiles and Power Bomb ammo are restored between fights, however energy is not. If Samus is defeated by a boss on the other hand, she will have all her energy restored.

Bosses can be practiced individually, but only if Samus has already reached them on a run in the sub-mode she wishes to practice in; thus, only Corpius is available for practice from the start in either Boss or Dread Rush. Practice runs use their own recorded time.

Survival Rush

Not to be confused with Survival in Metroid Prime Hunters or Survivor in its First Hunt demo.

“	Defeat as many bosses as you can before the time runs out. Each victory adds time. You gain additional time by taking no hits and winning each stage of the Raven Beak battle. These time bonuses decrease each cycle.	„
—In-game description

Survival Rush, unlocked after completing Boss Rush or Dread Rush once, consists of Samus facing off as many bosses as possible within a 5 minute timer or until she is defeated. Defeating a boss or finishing one of the three phases of Raven Beak's battle will add 30 seconds to the countdown, with clears without any damage taken adding another 30 seconds. These time bonuses decrease at the start of each cycle, so that, for instance, defeating a boss on the second cycle will only give Samus 20 more seconds. Samus has eight Energy Tanks and 120 maximum missiles in each battle to compensate for the time limit, but unlike Boss and Dread Rush, ammo is not restored between fights.

Dread Rush

Dread Rush, unlocked after completing Dread Mode, features the same rules as standard Boss Rush, but with the added Dread Mode modifier: any damage Samus takes will kill her in a single hit. The menus and results screen are changed from grayscale to red in Dread Rush, to emphasize the higher difficulty.

Official data

Metroid.nintendo.com

April Update to Add Boss Rush Mode

"Look forward to taking on Boss Rush as part of the next update planned for April! In this mode, face a relentless gauntlet of deadly bosses from the Metroid Dread game. How quickly can you defeat them all?"

Nintendo tweets

Nintendo of America

"Time to put your skills to the test again, bounty hunters. The new Boss Rush mode is available now in #MetroidDread!

Fight Samus’ most formidable foes one-after-another & go for the best time possible! The mode is available once you’ve completed the game. http://ninten.do/6014waZzE"

Nintendo UK

"Get ready to face planet ZDR's biggest foes one after another – Boss Rush has come to Metroid Dread in a new update!

Find out more: http://spkl.io/60194RrMb"

Metroid.nintendo.com news post

Metroid Dread Adds Multiple Boss Rush Modes in a Free Update (April 8, 2022)

Download the second update now to add Boss Rush, Survival Rush, and more

"Attention, hunters! A series of new challenges await in the second free software update to the Metroid™ Dread game, available now. Read on for more intel."

Boss Rush

[Video of Samus fighting Corpius in this mode]

"Complete the game to unlock Boss Rush and fight Samus’ most formidable foes one-after-another to try to get the best time possible! At the end of each battle, your missiles will be restored, but any damage you’ve taken will be carried over to the next boss fight. Each battle can add to the players max missiles, Energy Tank, and Power Bombs, depending on where the boss is in the main game."

Survival Rush

[Video of Samus fighting Corpius in this mode]

"Complete Boss Rush mode to unlock Survival Rush mode. In this mode, defeat as many bosses as possible before a timer runs out. Each boss you defeat will add a bit more time to your clock. And if you’re able to defeat a boss without taking damage, you’ll get even more time added to your clock. In this mode, missiles and health do not recover between bosses."

Dread Rush

"Complete Dread Mode to unlock Dread Rush mode. Challenge a gauntlet of 12 bosses without stopping—one right after the other. Just like in Dread Mode, taking a single hit means instant defeat. Missiles are fully recovered after each boss battle."

Practice Mode

"If you’re looking to get a little training in, you can practice boss battles in this mode. Try to defeat each boss as fast as you can. Then, you can go back and check your previous times to see how you’ve improved."

About the game

"After a mysterious transmission draws bounty hunter Samus Aran to planet ZDR, she learns the remote planet has been overrun by vicious alien lifeforms and chilling mechanical menaces. Now, Samus must hunt or be hunted as she makes her way through a labyrinth of enemies and an inhuman threat stalking the depths of ZDR."

Trivia

• Endscreen plays after each successful Boss Rush or practice battle, on the screen that displays statistics related to the finished battle or rush.
• The quiet Boss Defeated theme never plays in a Boss Rush, even when the Core-X of Escue and Golzuna have lost their shells and are ready to be absorbed, a situation where it does play in the main game. This is presumably because the timer never stops while gameplay is still ongoing, which makes it inappropriate to relax outside the specific screens between bosses.
• The Nintendo Direct announcement showed Samus battling the Twin Robot Chozo Soldiers in Ferenia and the silver Chozo Soldier in Elun, although these are not among the bosses in the released Boss Rush mode. Instead, she fights the slightly more powerful Robot Chozo Soldier duo in Burenia and the Elite Chozo Soldier in Hanubia.

Gallery

The announcement in the February Nintendo Direct.

Samus fighting Corpius.

Samus fighting Kraid.

Samus fighting Drogyga.

Header image on the official website.