Dark Souls Remastered: 10 Hardest Bosses - Ranked

Since its initial release back in 2011, Dark Souls has gone on to become one of the most popular and innovative video games of recent times. The ‘Souls’ formula had already been introduced with Demon’s Souls, but it was Dark Souls that really thrust From Software’s new style of gameplay into the spotlight.

With a big focus on difficulty, trial and error, and learning from your mistakes, Dark Souls was one of the first games in a long time in which dying actually mattered and players were encouraged to proceed with caution, valuing their lives and approaching each enemy with care and diligence.

The game quickly became famous for its tricky boss battles, with players often requiring multiple tries to defeat even the early game bosses. Many of the boss fights in the original Dark Souls are incredibly tough, requiring patience, fast reflexes, smart strategies, and a bit of luck.

Dark Souls Remastered will release for current-generation consoles and PC on 25 May, with the Nintendo Switch version being pushed back to the summer. To celebrate this release and let new players know what they’re getting into, let’s take a look at ten of the toughest bosses in the game.

The Sanctuary Guardian was actually the first enemy players encountered in Dark Souls' Artorias of the Abyss DLC, and he set the tone for the rest of the package, providing a major challenge that was much tougher than many of the bosses in the base game. Fortunately, there was a bonfire just before his arena, so even if you died, you didn't have to go too far to try again.

He's big, strong, and very fast, with lots of large, sweeping attacks like tail swipes and lightning shockwaves. He can poison you too and is highly resistant to both lightning and magic attacks. Beating this boss on the first try is almost impossible for most players.

The Sanctuary Guardian's one weakness is bleeding and he moves so fast that it's best to attack him with quick jabs and stabs whenever you get a chance and then roll away at your earliest opportunity. Like many bosses in the game, the Guardian's tail can be chopped off, which will limit his offensive capabilities and give you a cool new weapon.