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.