Beasts

You start with the Rhino and Ibex. The others unlock as you complete acts or beat difficulties, as the list’s Unlocked by column shows. Unlock them all for Bestiary.

Every beast comes in three levels, I to III, each with its own skill. Level I is yours once you finish the tutorial, and levels II and III unlock as the beast itself levels up. The beast you play earns experience as you finish fights, and each level takes more experience than the one before.

Whichever level you play, a beast keeps the trait all its levels share, like the Bear’s extra health or the Ibex’s speed, and adds that level’s own skill on top. The list above shows each beast’s trait.

A beast’s health starts from 60: its trait changes that, and so does levelling up at the Trainer. Dodging, with the Dodge button, costs stamina, and so do your attacks. Hold Block to block attacks coming at you.

The chain that ties you to your partner is a weapon too. Drag it into an opponent and it trips them. Wrap it all the way round one and pull it tight, and it squeezes them instead.

A tripped opponent falls over. The trip does no damage on its own. It starts to hurt with the Chain Upgrade from the Merchant, and with Binding Ibex for each of you who has it. Each adds 5 damage, adjusted for how far into the run you are. Momentum turns each chain trip into vigor for 4 seconds.

A squeeze holds the opponent for a third of a second and then hurts them once. It does 12 damage, and the Chain Upgrade and each of you with Binding Ibex add 12 more each, all adjusted for how far into the run you are. An opponent who survives it is tripped for 4 seconds.

Squeeze an opponent with your chain for Pop!, and trip 100 of them for Trip Master. In co-op, each trip and each squeeze counts for both of you.