In light of how the PC version of Dark Souls is releasing in August accompanied by new content, most notably new bosses, I thought it would be nice to take a look back at the original game that released on consoles. No doubt Dark Souls was a contender for many as their Game of the Year of 2011, a big reason for that being the numerous boss battles that take place in Lordran.
In this list we look at the top 8 bosses of Dark Souls. Why 8? Because 8 will more or less represent the top one third of boss battles in the game, providing a good take on battles whilst not diluting the list. I should also note how I came up with this list, which was by taking into account a variety of factors. This list is based on an overall account of bosses, which means I’m not solely basing it on difficulty, but including other elements like atmosphere, battle progression and pure fun amongst others. I’ll make mention of these aspects as we go along.
Now, let’s start!
8. Stray Demon
The Stray Demon is definitely one of the tougher boss fights in the game. You’ll have actually seen him before early in the game, walking around in his chamber. He comes equipped with a giant axe and can inflict a lot of damage. His attacks can also have an ‘area of effect’ (AoE) range, meaning you really need to study his attack pattern. The battle also takes place in a mid-small area, not allowing much room to maneuver. It doesn’t help that the Stray Demon himself is rather large too.
The Stray Demon has a good variety of attacks, which makes it more important to pay attention to his actions. Even then, some of his attacks are hard to predict given they can have a delay effect on when an AoE actually hits your character.
The best part of this fight however, is the beginning. The Stray Demon battle is one of the few surprise fights in the game, meaning it comes out of no where, with no white fog to indicate a possible battle like other bosses. He’ll suddenly smash the floor you’re walking on as you return to the first area of the game, the Northern Undead Asylum. It’s a surprise attack that drops you into the boss area for the boss fight, with no way out except by defeating the boss. It’s one of the best moments in the game.
This boss doesn’t have much in terms of battle progression, ie. his attack patterns don’t change over time. As such, once you get a feel for the fight, most likely by constantly staying behind him to attack, you’ll eventually beat him without much issue.
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5 Comments
I loved Dark Souls. I thought I’d got pretty far but I think I only got about half way. Other games game along for review and to be honest, I’m scared to go back. I doubt I’d last 10 minutes.
My character was such a tank, I think I’d struggle against the faster bosses. I certainly found Sif hard as hell, I had stone armour and the dark knight sword so I was slow as hell. Oh well, the best thing is how everyone can do it their own way.
It’s definitely hard to get back into it once you stop. Especially since it plays pretty differently than other games really (well I haven’t played Dragon’s Dogma, I should get that…).
Still, I’m kinda excited to see what the Prepare To Die Edition brings. Although it’s a shame its coming out for PC first before the consoles get the DLC.
I had a loved/hate relationship with this game. I managed to finish it but couldnt afford to keep having to buy new control pads to go through it all again in the New Game + mode. The most memorable boss for me, because I died so many times, was Ornstein and Smough. Another part of this great game I found soooo difficult was not even a boss. Your trying to find a way into a castle, after battling some huge golems and winged demons you have to run up a thin walk way while 2 big superhard black knights fire huge arrows at you from a distance. When you reach the top you then have to fight one of them on a very thin ledge to progress. Died more times trying to do that then any boss in the game!
Haha yea those black knights with arrows were annoying. So many people complain about them. Thankfully I had the invisible spell, so that got me through there.
Control pads need to be cheaper!
I died quite a bit the first time on Orstein and Smough but not as nearly as much as I did on four kings. I spent nearly a month on those guys! They were cheap too, I finally caved in and just tanked the fight instead of trying to dodge and be agile (which, in my opinion, is the way Dark souls was meant to be played). Also, i agree O&S is the best boss fight in the game very fun to fight you really have to dodge precisely and keep an eye on each boss. That fight is the best example of what dark souls is all about.