10 Most MADDENING Bosses In SoulsBorne Games

10. Blackgaol Knight (Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree)

Picture the scene:

You've just paid £35/$40 for Shadow of the Erdtree. You've gone through dozens of hours of high-stress combat in the base game just to reach the area where the DLC begins. You've jumped through every hoop and are ready to explore the Lands of Shadow. You take your first tentative, trembling steps into a whole new world...

And then a homocidal knight charges in and one-shots you into oblivion.

"You buffoon. You dolt. You blundering, oafish poltroon of a human. You dare - you dare - think that just because you paid money, just because you passed every test we set you, you can simply wander in to the Lands of Shadow and enjoy yourself? You scum. You worm. You snivelling little excrement. Get down on your knees, lick our armored boots, and PRAY FOR MERCY THAT SHALL NEVER BE GRANTED!"

Now, obviously there's no way of knowing if this meme-inspired rant was actually going through the mind of whoever designed the Blackgaol Knight. But that's the impression given by Shadow of the Erdtree's brutal introduction into its world. Simply even reaching the DLC's start point is a feat in itself, yet having done so your first experience in the Lands of Shadow will likely be a chastening, knight-assisted annihilation.

It's enough to make you feel like developers FromSoftware made a concerted attempt to break their fanbase as quickly as possible. And given how many negative Steam reviews mention the Blackgaol Knight by name, it's safe to say they succeeded.