10 Video Game Fights You Didn't Know How To End

Great boss fights can elevate a game into the echelons of excellence, but terrible boss fights can violently derail their significant momentum.

Then there are those boss fights which take a little from column A and a little from column B, melding sure artistry with deviously frustrating encounter design in a way that leaves players with no idea of how to proceed.

These 10 video game boss fights all had players totally stumped, whether a result of a gimmicky trick the player needed to figure out - looking at you, Hideo Kojima - or perhaps the fact that winning isn't always the route to survival.

These boss fights are all laudably creative and impressively challenging in their own ways, yet many players were undeniably irritated at their own inability to figure out the solution - one which may well have been staring them in the face the entire time.

In retrospect it's much easier to appreciate these encounters, because at the time they left us totally stressed out and swearing enough to make a sailor blush...

The Metal Gear Solid franchise is full of impressively and infuriatingly creative boss fights which require players to discover a unique trick in order to progress.

And one of Hideo Kojima's most ingenious trolls to date occurred during Metal Gear Solid 3's boss battle against The Sorrow.

We say "boss battle," but it's really more of an interactive cinematic encounter, as the player wades through a seemingly endless, ethereal river while being confronted by visions of all the people they've killed throughout the game so far.

Once you reach the end of the sequence, The Sorrow will tell you, "It's time to wake up!" and consequently attack Snake, causing him to drop dead on the spot before the "Snake is Dead" Game Over screen appears.

Many players spent hours trying to figure out how to avoid the Game Over, but the knack for beating The Sorrow is simple enough that you'll kick yourself for wasting so much time on it.

Ultimately, you're actually supposed to let The Sorrow "kill" you, but once the Game Over screen appears, you'll still be able to access your inventory, allowing you to select the Revival Pill and effectively undo Snake's death status.

The End may have been a longer and "tougher" boss fight, but the easily missed secret behind The Sorrow's defeat arguably made it all the more infuriating.