boss

A boss fight from Guacamelee! in which the player characters must keep ahead of the boss, a giant rampaging creature, on the left while dodging obstacles and other enemies

In video games, a boss is a significantly powerful enemy non-player character created as a major opponent to players. A fight with a boss character is referred to as a boss battle, boss fight, boss level, or a boss stage. Bosses are generally far stronger than other opponents the players have faced up to that point in a game. Boss battles are generally seen at climax points of particular sections of games, such as at the end of a level or stage or guarding a specific objective. A miniboss is a boss weaker or less significant than the main boss in the same area or level, though usually more powerful than the standard opponents and often fought alongside them. A superboss is a boss enemy that is optional to fight, sometimes being hidden away and requiring a sequence of tasks to find, and generally much more powerful than the bosses encountered as part of the main game's plot. A final boss is often the main antagonist of a game's story and the defeat of that character usually provides a conclusion to the game. A boss rush is a stage where players face multiple previous bosses again in succession.