10 Recent Video Game First Boss Battles That Totally Broke You
8. Howl - Ori & The Will Of The Wisps
The boss fights in the Ori games are relatively divisive among players, some feeling that they unnecessarily interrupt the ultra-refined platforming gameplay and often hinge too much on both difficulty spiking and trial-and-error.
To that end, the Ori sequel opens with a boss encounter that, while brief and not nearly as substantial as most of the others, can cause considerable frustration for unsuspecting players.
Howl is a gigantic wolf that wants to turn Ori into lunch and will begin aggressively chasing the player, who if not quick off the mark will quickly get felled by the creature.
The key to victory is speeding to the right until you reach a torch which can be used to fight back.
The problem is that it's not always easy to spot Howl's "tell" for attacking, and again at this point in the game you're unlikely to have much in the way of health, whereby a few hits can result in death (and even less on higher difficulties).
If you're not fully focused, it's easy to get cornered and fall prey to Howl's vicious attacks, which for a glorified tutorial boss surely caught many players - especially those new to the series - by surprise.