This list contains spoilers for multiple FromSoftware bosses!
Summary
- Some FromSoftware bosses are controversial due to recycled content, difficulty spikes, or gimmicky mechanics.
- Double bosses like the Godskin Duo are challenging and divisive among players, testing skills in Elden Ring.
- FromSoftware's Ornstein and Smough duo in Dark Souls set a new standard for insane difficulty in boss fights.
FromSoftware is well known for its fearsome roster of bosses. That means, even for a studio that has created hundreds of brilliant bosses, some are going to be controversial among the fans.
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Whether it's bosses that rely on a cheap mechanical advantage or a strange exploration into a platforming gimmick, there are quite a few FromSoftware games that are polarising. This list ranks the bosses by how divisive each one is.
8 Godskin Duo
Flayer Pals
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
Though FromSoftware is an incredibly creative studio, there have been times where they have recycled pre-existing bosses in new contexts instead of creating something new. While this is usually fine, the worst version of this decision is doubling up bosses and putting them in the same room.
Double bosses are always difficult in FromSoftware games, so having them be two of the same bosses that the player has probably fought before, in the case of the Godskin Duo, is an insult to injury. Most players hate this boss as it's essential for main quest progress, but it's undeniable that they're a major skill check going into the final moments of Elden Ring.
7 Guardian Ape
Two Lives Of Monkey Business
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- Released
- March 22, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice did away with the RPG flexibility that FromSoftware games were known for an instead leaned heavily into the action game format, where players either had to get with the parrying and dodging program or fail catastrophically. That made for some tough bosses, including Guardian Ape.
Not only is Guardian Ape a giant monster enemy that does away with most of the mechanical context players had already learned, but, famously, Guardian Ape has a fake finish halfway through and a whole other health bar awaiting with deadly new tactics. It's funny the first time, but frustrating thereafter, though some are massive defenders of the community's divisive ape.
6 Malenia, Blade of Miquella
Waterfowl Hell
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
Elden Ring is a massive game, and if players really want to, they can get powerful quickly. Through most of the game, FromSoftware pulls off the minor miracle of balance, but in the end-game, there's an infamous difficulty spike where players must have strong builds or perish horribly.
This is seen clearest in Malenia, the enigmatic blade of Miquella, what most consider to be the hardest boss in the game, a swordswoman with fearsome speed that can cut down even the beefiest builds in a couple of hits. She's incredibly tough, taking some players to the brink of sanity, with many saying she's not just difficult, but cheap in her difficulty. Still, she's undoubtedly memorable, making her a divisive boss.
5 Promised Consort Radahn
Round Two
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Released
- June 21, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- FromSoftware
The problems with Elden Ring's late game difficulty spike were only exacerbated in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, the incredibly impressive DLC that added a massive new area and a litany of new bosses, including the final boss Promised Consort Radahn, who may well be the most demanding boss in the game.
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Not only is Radahn fearsome and able to cut down most builds in a couple of hits, but many players were frustrated that the final boss was essentially a different version of a boss they'd already fought in the main game. Paired with the insane difficulty, many have a lot of animosity toward Promised Consort Radahn as being the final insurmountable roadblock.
4 Capra Demon
Close Quarters Combat
Dark Souls
- Released
- September 22, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike, Adventure
Though Dark Souls wasn't the first Souls game (that honor goes to Demon's Souls), it was clear that FromSoftware was still experimenting with the limits of level and boss design to figure out what worked best and what didn't. The most experimental boss of this formula is the infamous Capra Demon.
When players enter the Capra Demon's layer, they're forced into a tiny alley with only a set of steps and a narrow arch to walk on, with three rabid dogs bearing down immediately. It's incredibly close quarters, and some players die instantly before discovering the trick of hiding on the arch to victory. Many players feel like the boss is a cheap trick or gimmick, yet its apparent jankiness and experimental value have made it ironically beloved among many other fans.
3 Demon Of Hatred
Hate Runneth Over
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- Released
- March 22, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a brilliant game. In fact, it quite possibly has the best melee combat system ever made in video games, with some of the duels being the most dramatic in all of gaming. However, things were a little less elegant when those duelling mechanics were brought to the scale of a Dark Souls- style giant monster like the Demon of Hatred.
Not only is the Demon of Hatred incredibly difficult, but he forces players to play Sekiro more like a Souls game than the samurai simulator they'd grown accustomed to. It's a mismatch between mechanics and boss design that, while in-narrative, is emotionally powerful, has led to a lot of frustration, and has become one of the hardest optional bosses in all Souls games.
2 Ornstein and Smough
The Gruesome Twosome
Dark Souls
- Released
- September 22, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike, Adventure
It's hard to know precisely why Dark Souls became the standard-bearer for a whole new fleet of games and a newfound popularity in the global gaming world, but Ornstein and Smough, the gruesome twosome, are certainly responsible for some of it, taking the duo-boss to new levels of insane difficulty.
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These guys are essential to beating the game, and they don't mess around. Players must somehow find gaps between their attacks to counter-attack while avoiding massive damage from either. When one dies, the other absorbs their power and becomes even more difficult. It's the biggest difficulty spike in the game, and remains a point of dread for new and returning players alike in the run through Lordran.
1 Bed of Chaos
Platforming? In My Souls Game?
Dark Souls
- Released
- September 22, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike, Adventure
Dark Souls was still trying to figure out what made it work. There are some all-time bosses in the game, but there are also some undeniable low points. The Bed of Chaos, the final boss of the Izalith section of the game, was infamously a result of FromSoftware running out of development time, and it shows.
Instead of leaning on the strong combat mechanics, the Bed of Chaos is a frustrating platforming gimmick boss fight where victory and defeat feel based on bad luck, with each bad roll of the dice resulting in a lengthy run-back. It's frustrating, janky, and feels like it's from a different game. Yet, despite all that, some players love the change-of-pace jank and undeniably great lore, making it one of the most divisive boss fights in all FromSoftware games.
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