Souslike games come in many shapes and sizes, but most have the same dedication to complex gameplayand dark lorethat makes this genre so rewarding to play for gamers on a variety of platforms. If there’s one thing that can group all soulslike games beyond this - it’s the emphasis on boss battles. Bosses are the culmination of exploration, a check of skill and damage, or else an obstacle between the player and some vital part of their quest.
Every boss needs something unique about them to stand out. TheDark Souls Trilogyhas sometruly huge boss fightsfilled with spectacle and grandeur. The bosses that are often most discussed - for better or worse - are puzzle bosses. These bosses are the best puzzle bosses among soulslike games, ranked for how interesting their gimmick was, alongside how enjoyable the fight was overall.
Technically an optional boss, though essential for anyone looking to get their handson boss weapons, the Curse-Rotted Greatwood has all the makings of a greatDark Soulsboss and then goes the extra mile by sticking the landing.
The boss is invulnerable to damage outside its weak spots, but the denizens of the Undead Settlement attacking the player add another level of dynamism to this fight. The grotesque second phase becomes a more ‘standard’ boss fight with no puzzle to worry about, but it' still a dangerous and exciting battle with some excellent lore behind it.
The unique, mystical and quietly terrifying land of the Painted World of Ariamis in the firstDark Soulsgame is an excellent piece of worldbuilding and game design for those who appreciate these factors. Crossbreed Priscilla is an interesting puzzle boss because she tends to play like a typical boss fight.
She doesn’t outsize the player, or force them to focus on weak spots, and the arena is both static and small-scale, two features puzzle bosses often reject with their settings. Instead, her invisibility challenges the player in a way that a fine tuned build would have no hope against. Players need to use their own perception to spot the subtle hints, like footprints, that give her location away.
6Ancient Wyvern
A Gauntlet Of Terrifying Foes With A Great Finish
Archdragon Peak hassome incredible loreforDark Soulsfans, and beyond this is one of the best areas in the game. An honest-to-god original area! That isn’t a callback to a DS1 area! Finishing up the area is the Ancient Wyvern, who subverts what players have come to understand about bosses in this series.
Instead of a direct fight, players are encouraged to go through a gauntlet of dragon worshipers to reach the peak of Archdragon Peak, and from there time a heroic drop attack to land upon the Wyvern’s weak spot (its head, of course) and deal a single, lethal blow.
Executioner’s Chariot is a great title with an incredible design.Dark Souls 2is often chided for having a boss aesthetic that over-relies on men clad in heavy armor, but this fight takes that aesthetic in a new and exciting direction.
Depending on whether players manage to attack the chariot or use the environment against the horses, this boss fight can end in several ways, making for a great, dynamic battle where players have to worry about a foe’s speed rather than their strength.
4Yhorm The Giant
A Cinematic Boss Fight Of Large Scale
Similar to other entries in this list,the Yhorm the Giant boss fightcan go a variety of ways depending on player actions. In this case, players can have Siegward of Caterina join them if they’ve followed their murky questline to this point.
Rather than be a pure battle of strength, this is a test of players' timing. The sword players have to attack Yhorm with can take out about a sixth of their health each attack, but it has a large charge time that players will need to time between the Giant king’s huge, deadly blows.
A boss fight with a sense of humor but also some fairly high dangers to avoid. This battle is a test of Wolf’s stealth and timing more than any amount of brute force. This is atricky puzzle battlefocused on chasing down some trickier primates.
There are four monkeys in total, and each must have a different approach in order to take them down. They hide around the arena, even using invisibility at some points, and players can only win by defeating all four of them.
2Dark Sun Gwyndolin
A Moody, Grim Boss Battle
One of the most memorable fights in the series, Dark Sun Gwyndolin only appears after players have gotten rid of the illusory sun in Anor Londo, a puzzle in its own right. This is a test of stamina - players can’t just charge Gwyndolin to win the fight.
Though this boss is fragile, his hallway is infinite, and players will need to time when they strike as he continues to move further and further down the hall. If they try to rush him, they’ll have no stamina to dodge his many ranged attacks.
1Deacons Of The Deep
An Utterly Atmospheric And Challenging
Easily one of themost lore richand atmospheric boss fights in the game, the Deacons of the Deep is a puzzle boss fight that doesn’t rob players of the catharsis that comes with mowing down droves of enemies.
Players are required to stay on their feet and constantly be on the move to keep tracking down the malevolent spirit possessing the deacons in the first phase of the fight - this is a battle where crowd control and agility matters more than focused damage.
