10 Video Game Fights Developers Didn’t Want You To Win

You can't win 'em all - no, seriously.

Yiazmat Final Fantasy
Square Enix

Everyone likes a bit of a challenge when it comes to a boss fight. After all, you want to feel like you overcame your enemy with the skills you learnt, so a cheap win is pretty much the square worst.

And while the popularity of franchises like Dark Souls make it clear that a lot of gamers live to suffer, some go a step further than you'd ever expect - or really want them to.

Be it that the fight takes a ridiculous amount of time, is impossible without knowing some obscure fact, or just that the fight is broken, plenty of boss battles are infamous for feeling like the odds are stacked way too high against you.

Admittedly, when you do beat these baddies you feel like the kind of grizzled veteran that Solid Snake would be intimidated by. But it's usually at the cost of feeling like the dime a dozen henchmen he guns down for hours beforehand, which perhaps isn't the most fair exchange.

In some cases, this has even prompted players to build conspiracy theories that some fights were made purposefully unbeatable, as appears to be surprisingly common in MMORPGs. Even when they're not, it's easy to feel as though they are, because there's no way you're coming out of the fight unscathed - both literally, and mentally.

10. Gabriel - Shin Megami Tensei I

Yiazmat Final Fantasy
Atlus

Do you like super annoying boss fights? Want a boss battle that can be an hour long? Have you ever wanted to fight someone who is almost totally impervious to all your attacks?

If you're masochistic enough to somehow say yes to all of these, then congrats! The final fight of the chaos route in Shin Megami Tensei is literally made for you.

If you said no, then that's simply unfortunate, because Gabriel is the last boss in the game - and if there's one thing more painful than the boss fight, it's knowing that you left a game unfinished with one fight remaining.

Although you'd be forgiven for doing so, because Gabriel is purposefully frustrating to try and beat. He's immune to physical attacks, including your sword attacks - so the majority of your ability to do damage is nixed right there. Crucially, it also means your main character can't do anything, and will have to sit around being hit in the face while everyone else tries to whittle his health down.

Contributor
Contributor

I like my comics like I like my coffee - in huge, unquestionably unhealthy doses.