Special Game Modes Guide (Turbo, Rainbow, Blessed & More)

Beyond the main run, Enter the Gungeon offers several optional special modes, all managed by NPCs in The Breach. Each section below covers how a mode plays, how to unlock it, and how to turn it on. For more detail on the NPCs themselves, see the All NPCs & Merchants Guide.

Turbo Mode

How It Works

The whole game speeds up: player movement and dodge roll around ×1.4, enemy movement ×1.5, enemy bullets ×1.3. Reload times and fire rate stay the same, so the pace gets much more intense — great for thrill-seekers or shortening run length.

Unlock & Access

• NPC: Tonic the Sledge-Dog
• Unlock: his cell appears after the Dragun has been defeated; once rescued he settles in The Breach
• Access: talk to him to toggle the mode on and off for free

Notes

• Defeating the Dragun in Turbo Mode unlocks the Crisis Stone
• Turbo Mode does not speed up the pasts
• In co-op, Turbo Mode only affects Player 1 — Player 2 gets the effect only if Player 1 is dead
• Your movement and roll speed up more than enemy bullets but less than enemy movement, so outrunning projectiles gets easier while outrunning chasing enemies gets harder

Rainbow Mode

How It Works

Each floor starts with a Rainbow Chest from which you may take exactly one item. Almost every other chest and item drop is confiscated by Bowler, and shops stop selling items — your entire run rides on one lucky pull per floor, which makes high-quality pulls feel fantastic.

Unlock & Access

• NPC: Bowler
• Unlock: rescue him from a cell after the Dragun has been defeated
• Access: talk to him to toggle the mode on and off for free

Notes

• Master Rounds and quest-related items still appear normally; the Bullet That Can Kill The Past and Gnawed Key cannot be taken either
• Junk is never confiscated (including Gold Junk, Lies, and Ser Junkan), so the Robot, who grows stronger from Junk, is especially suited to this mode
• The most useful tell: Bowler sits on every non-rainbow chest. A Brown Chest he is not sitting on is a naturally spawned Rainbow Chest and is safe to open — and a natural one lets you take all eight items
• Do not spend a Key on a locked chest he is sitting on: the key is consumed and the chest is empty. Save keys for the Oubliette hatch and locked doors
• The Rainbow Chest at the start of each floor is guaranteed at least one S quality and one A quality, and is unaffected by Magnificence (What Is Magnificence?)
• Most shrines stop working, but the Glass Shrine still hands out Glass Guon Stones and the Y.V. shrine still grants its buff; mirror rooms are worthless
• Opening a Glitch Chest is a bad deal here: you still get sent to the glitch floor, but Bowler takes all eight rewards from the fight

Challenge Mode

How It Works

Every combat room gains 1–3 random challenge modifiers (more on later floors) — enemies exploding on death, darkened rooms, restricted firing zones, and so on. Bosses in the Hollow and Forge get unique extra modifiers.

Unlock & Access

• NPC: Daisuke
• Unlock: use the Shrines - Dice 3 times, or rescue him from a cell after defeating the Dragun
• Access: talk to him and pay 6 Hegemony Credits for the next run; after 30 attempts the cost drops to 1

Notes

• Reaching the Mines unlocks Chance Bullets
• Defeating the Dragun unlocks Chaos Bullets and Double Challenge Mode (more modifiers per room; enabled by talking to Daisuke again)
• After 30 attempts, Chaos Bullets unlock automatically if not already unlocked

Blessed Mode

How It Works

During a blessed run you carry a single ever-changing weapon — it transforms into another random gun after dealing 200 damage, killing 5 enemies, running out of ammo, or 20 seconds in combat — and no other guns can be added to your inventory. Active and passive items are unaffected.

Unlock & Access

• NPC: Sorceress
• Unlock: rescue her from a cell after the Dragun has been defeated
• Access: pay 6 Hegemony Credits to bless your next run

Notes

• During a blessed run, bosses drop no Hegemony Credits, shops sell no guns, and the shortcut elevators are blocked off; Munchers and Evil Munchers cannot be fed guns either (Muncher)
• Picking up a new gun does not give you a second gun — it just triggers another reroll. Achievements and unlocks can still be earned during a blessed run
• Gunslinger cannot be unlocked on a blessed run — as Paradox you will not be pulled down to Bullet Hell by the Lich
• Completing a blessed run unlocks Gunther and the "Gun Game" achievement

Boss Rush

How It Works

Each floor contains only an entrance, boss rooms, and an exit — you fight the bosses back to back up to the Dragun. Bosses have no DPS cap here, so strong combos can melt them.

Unlock & Access

• Entrance: the elevator room in The Breach (Tinker)
• Unlock: complete the Forge shortcut elevator
• Access: costs 3 Hegemony Credits; the first time is free

Notes

• Damageless boss kills still award a Master Round (at most one per floor), but bosses drop no Hegemony Credits
• Completing Boss Rush unlocks the Bracket Key

Cursed Mode

Cursed Mode is not a built-in toggle but a high-risk playstyle: deliberately stack Curse, and Jammed enemies appear more and more often — difficulty and rewards rise together. See What Is Curse? Effects and How to Lower It for where Curse comes from, what it does, and how to reduce it.