The Junkyard

The Junkyard is Act 1's alternate Chapter 2, accessed through The Alley's hard path (which only unlocks after completing The Caves). This massive urban wasteland is filled with car wrecks, trash heaps, and barbed wire, accompanied by its theme song "Chumbucket Kitty." The Junkyard introduces significantly more hazardous terrain than anything earlier in the game, making it a noticeable step up in difficulty.

Two new tile types define The Junkyard's combat. Creep tiles function like dangerous water: units take 1 damage whenever they enter one. Glass Shard tiles are even nastier, dealing 1 damage on entry and inflicting 1 Bleed stack if the unit takes physical damage while standing on them. Tires block movement as environmental obstacles. These hazards force careful positioning and punish reckless advances.

The enemy roster matches the hostile environment: Glass Spitters create more glass shard tiles, Spiked Cats and Popeye Cats hit hard in melee, Sirens lure your cats out of position, Jekyll transforms into the more dangerous Hyde, and Chum Bags spawn Chummy allies. Hosts and Lumpy round out the lineup. Mini-bosses include Can Creeper and Trampy.

The chapter boss is Chubs 'n' Nubs (Chubs: 140 HP, Nubs: 100 HP), a dual-boss encounter featuring two blind, headless dogs fighting together. When one dies, the survivor becomes enraged with altered attacks. Chubs spits Neck Juice in a 3-tile poison projectile (which extends to infinite range if Nubs dies first) and uses Chub Spin for melee AoE. Nubs lobs Creep puddles, uses Nub Flub for jump-knockback AoE, and gains a devastating Nuke attack if Chubs dies first: 50 damage across the entire line of sight, though it kills Nubs in the process. Their blindness can be exploited with knockback to make them attack each other, and the Tank class excels at this. Kill order matters immensely: taking out Nubs first avoids the Nuke but gives Chubs infinite-range poison, while killing Chubs first triggers the suicidal Nuke that requires indestructible cover to survive.

Exclusive loot from The Junkyard includes Barbed gear (+1 Damage and Thorns but reduces max HP), Recycled and Rubber armor (Shield plus defensive bonuses), Scrap Metal equipment, the Bag of Chum weapon, and the Human Head trinket (all-stat bonuses). The hard path rewards a Furniture Box and a Rare Treasure.