Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course — Final boss tips guide

Well folks, this is it. You’ve made it to the final boss fight of Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course. Naturally, this battle will not be an easy one. And you may find victory feeling a little bittersweet. Or, would it be salty? Anyway, I feel it’s necessary to drop a spoiler warning, just in case, as you do fight someone you met in the DLC. The final boss fight in The Delicious Last Course takes some practice, but this guide has a few helpful tips on how to win.

Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course — Final boss tips guide

The final fight of the Cuphead DLC is none other than the first friendly face you meet on the island. Chef Saltbaker has gone rogue, and intends to use Cuphead’s soul in a vile recipe. That’s a bit messed up. You need to knock him back to his senses. But be warned: Saltbaker is a tough cookie to crack.

Phase 1

In the first phase of the fight, you stand on a large and wooden table with Chef Saltbaker in the background. You can tell which move he’s going to pull by watching what he does. All the while, flying fireballs move around, keeping you on your toes.

• Limes: Chef Saltbaker creates some lime slices, that fly into the screen based on what side he’s standing on. If he’s on the left, the slices come in from the left, etc. The limes will fly horizontally and go across the whole screen before ascending or descending, based on their height, and then return and leave on the side they appeared. You can jump over or duck these, and Ms. Chalice is able to double jump even the highest-flying limes.
• Dough: Chef Saltbaker creates some animal crackers that enter from the screen based on where he’s standing — much like with the limes. They jump in tall arcs, and are destroyed when shot.
• Sugar: Chef Saltbaker pulls out a massive block of sugar that he busts down into cubes. They come in on (you guessed it) the side he’s standing. The cubes ascend and descend in slow arcs as they move across the screen. One cube may be pink, so parry it if you’re able for that sweet super charge.
• Strawberries: The chef squeezes a box of strawberries, which slowly fly across the screen from the top-right angle.

There’s really no easy way to put it: this first phase is tough, especially if you’re not great at dodging projectiles. Outside of Esther Winchester and the secret boss fight, Chef Saltbaker will push your maneuvering skills to the limit. Don’t feel bad if you die a lot in the first phase. I did, too. Just watch what Chef Saltbaker is doing in the background, and move to the opposite side of him while avoiding getting hit by the strawberries and fire. His weak point in this phase is his face.

Phase 2

It doesn’t get much easier. Placing you on his hand (did he get bigger?), you now must dodge pepper, herbs, and fire. All at once. Two more phases to go, people. Four pepper shakers appear on each corner of the screen, and they take turns attacking.

• Concentrate your attack on one shaker at a time. Once enough damage is done, the shaker flies into Chef Saltbaker’s face to deal damage. I counted around 10 hits on standard difficulty to finish the phase.
• The pepper shakers will start to sneeze before sending a projectile aimed directly at you. Every so often, a projectile will be pink, allowing you to parry.
• Watch Chef Saltbaker’s right hand when it comes up and flings herbs. Afterward, three or four leaves will float down from the top of the screen. Try and get between them.

Phase 3

The third phase is thankfully a breather compared to the first two. Now, in a field of salt, two dancers made of salt twirl and bounce around the arena. There’s also some kind of blade that slowly moves from left to right and back again. Hop over the blade and fire at the dancers.

Phase 4

The final phase of the fight has begun. Two twirling pillars of salt stand on either side, and in between are falling chunks of glass that you have to climb. A pink heart bounces around between the pillars To survive the fight, use Ms. Chalice’s ability to double jump up to ascend the falling glass. Avoid the heart as best you can. The heart is pink, which means you can parry it. However, it’ll turn gray and can still cause damage if you’re too close. Keep climbing and firing, and you’ll make it.

Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course is available on PC.