10 Video Game Bosses That Are Almost IMPOSSIBLE To Beat

4. Malenia - Elden Ring 

Dark Souls 2
From Software

The hardest boss in Elden Ring is not up for debate. When ResetEra made a poll based on the game's toughest enemies, Malenia, Blade of Miquella received 80% of the votes. (Radagon the Elden Beast, who ranked second, only received 11% of the votes.)

After facing this one-armed Valkyrie for a couple of seconds, it's easy to see why she's FromSoftware's most infamous foe. Malenia has a versatile range of attacks, which are swift, merciless, and un-telagraphed. Her most devastating attacks can take off 1,500 damage, while her healing magic recovers the same amount. No matter what guards you have, it won't matter since your rival can shatter them with ease.

After she falls to the ground, you can pat yourself on the back, knowing you vanquished one of the harde-...oh, wait... she's not done. When she's seemingly defeated, Malenia transform into the Goddess of Rot, initiating the second (and much, much harder) phase of battle.

In her new form, Malenia blankets the battlefield with petals, exposing you to the Scarlet Rot. Not only does she perform that annoying jump-kick attack more often, she executes new combo extensions and cancels your moves. Worst of all, your opponent spends a lot of time in the air, making it much harder to hit her.

It didn't seem possible but Malenia might be the first boss created by FromSoftware that's more unfair than Dark Souls' Ornstein and Smough.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows