Summary
FromSoftwarehas shot up the ranks to becomeone of the most reputed video game developers of the modern era. Ever since the release ofDark Souls, the developer has wowed players time and time again with its tough combat mechanics, amazing worldbuilding, engrossing lore, anda wealth of challenging boss fightsthat have become a staple of their games.
Elden Ringis the game that has pushed the studio into the mainstream, with more and more fans checking out FromSoftware’s games for themselves and finding out why people love their hard yet fair combat. This is especially true when it comes to boss encounters, and players will love the many FromSoftware games that let players challenge a wealth of bosses who will wallop the players to kingdom come if they aren’t careful.
Many people feel thatDark Souls 2features way too many bosses for its own good, with the vast majority of encounters feeling lazy in comparison to the tightly designed battles of the first game. Too many bosses are supported by hordes of weaker enemies that add an artificial level of difficulty. Still, this is a small price to pay for a game that has an immense variety of areas and new additions to combat that are innovative and have persisted infuture Soulsbornegames.
For every Royal Rat Vanguard, there’s a Sir Alonne who pushes players to their very limits without feeling too unfair. The DLCs also add some interesting encounters of their own, making for the highest boss count in aDark Soulsgame to date. Players who felt that this game cheapened the feeling players enjoyed whenever they encountered a unique boss had no idea what was in store for them whenElden Ringcame out.
Before becoming an internationally recognized developer, FromSoftware was mostly known for theArmored Coreseries. Fans who felt that this series would be on the back burner permanently after the studio shifted to developing more Soulsbornegames were glad to see the announcement ofArmored Core 6, with the game featuringthe best version of mech combatthat players have come to appreciate.
The lack of the debt mechanic means that players don’t have to worry too much about racking up a negative bank balance as they struggle to beat the many challenging bosses in this title.Armored Core 6features the largest collection of bosses in any game in the series, and players will love micromanaging their mech and investing in their mobility and offensive capabilities, allowing them to take out a particularly challenging boss that was obliterating them just a few attempts prior.
The gothic and Lovecraftian influences ofBloodbornemake it one of the most memorable games in FromSoft’s history. The focus on a smaller pool of weapons with unique movesets makes it a treat to acquire any armament in the game, with the boss fights ranging fromemotional encountersto harrowing duels and everything in between. The main game features a total of seventeen bosses, but there are other candidates that deserve a mention too.
The Chalice Dungeons may not be the most beloved addition to this game, but the work put into developing a host of unique bosses in these randomized areas deserves some recognition. Finally,The Old HuntersDLC features five boss encounters, four of which are arguablysome of the best and most memorable boss encountersin any FromSoftware game to date. There’s a reason why fans are pining for aBloodborneremaster — this game deserves to be played at 4K and 60 FPS because of its immense quality.
Sekirowas a shift no one saw coming, with FromSoftware opting to develop a game with a more in-your-face narrative that lacked any of the multiplayer or RPG elements that most players had come to expect from the studio’s games. Instead, the focus was solely on sword fighting and deflecting blows to reduce an enemy’s posture and leave them open for a Deathblow. It’s a gameplay mechanic that players must learn if they don’t want to be completely obliterated by the many tough enemies present in this title.
The fast-paced combat ofSekiromakes for a great time, as players deflect blows and punish enemies for being too aggressive, but the same applies to them. This is especially true in the case of bosses, who are ridiculously aggressive anddemand perfection from the playerif they don’t want to be struck down by a damaging string of combos. Unlike most other Soulsbornegames, the mini-bosses in this game are so stressful and challenging that they deserve a mention in the eyes of many, with some of these enemies rivaling actual bosses in terms of how challenging they can be.
It was only a given thatElden Ring’smassive boss count would make the game a perfect fit for this list. The focus on an open world with the numerous boss encounters that are present in each and every corner makes this title one of the most rewarding sandboxes players can explore. Despite the many unique bosses present in this game, the fact thatElden Ringonly recycles these encounters from time to time is a testament to the sheer scale of this world and whyplayers can sink in more hours in this game alonethan the entireDark Soulstrilogy combined.
To make things even more impressive, theShadow of the Erdtreeexpansion adds even more content for players to mess around with. The fact that this expansion alone has as many bosses asDark Souls 2(including its DLC) makes it clear why so many critics hailed this DLC as one of the very best ever released for a video game.
