10 Most MADDENING Bosses In SoulsBorne Games

Amazing as it seems to recall now, when Radahn makes his triumphant return as Erdtree's final boss it's initially a feel-good moment. Radahn became one of Elder Ring's breakout characters due to his comical appearance - a very large man on a very small horse - and the epic nature of his boss battle. As such, seeing him look better than ever in Shadow of the Erdtree feels like seeing an old friend who's taken excellent care of himself in the years you've spent apart.

Then the fight begins, and your old friend proceeds to annihilate you like the last time he saw you was in his wife's bed.

Erdtree's Radahn is an absolute nightmare to fight - a colossal, duel-sword wielding god of the battlefield who, in the fight's second phase, is joined by Erdtree's central figure Miquella. This means you now have to contend with magic attacks that can kill you in a single hit, whilst simultaneously dealing with Radahn trying to turn you into a Tarnished shish kebab.

It's a duel-pronged assault on the senses, and one that's taken a legitimate toll on Elden Ring's playerbase - Eurogamer reviewer Alexis Ong said the fight is "...coded to make you start drinking in real life", and streamer KaiCenat literally had a therapist join him mid-stream to give his mental health a much-needed boost after hundreds (yes, hundreds) of failed attempts at felling Radahn.

Frankly, you can hardly blame most players for giving up at this point. Unless Shadow of the Erdtree's ending involves SoulsBorne creator Hidetaka Miyazaki himself coming round to your house, shaking your hand, and filling in your income tax return so you get a disproportionately large refund, it's just not worth the aggravation.