10 Most Intimidating Dark Souls Enemies

10. Sanctuary Guardian

This bad kitty isn't actually part of the Dark Souls base game. It's the first boss you'll run into as part of the Artorias of the Abyss DLC - quite literally. Pass through the grey wall of fog leading into the DLC area, and you're thrust headlong into a battle with this manticore. No time to collect yourself or admire the new environment; nope, in true Dark Souls style, you're dropped right into the deep end.

It's this manticore's sheer aggression that throws the player off. Combine that with its appearance - a white lion, four winged, with a particularly nasty-looking scorpion tail - and it's many air-based attacks become quite the spectacle.

By the way, should you managed to best it, you might want to avoid the entrance to Oolacile Sanctuary from then on. Because, unlike the game's other bosses, the guardian returns once one of the DLC's other bosses has been slayed. Not as a boss version itself - no health bar will appear - but as a regular enemy with a sibling in tow.

Bad kitties!