Even though I was afraid to venture into the world of Soulsborne games because I rarely play video games on high difficulties, I’ve since become addicted to their challenges.
I still don’t enjoy titles on difficulties above average, but every experience with FromSoftware’s insignia fills me with incomparable adrenaline and satisfaction, mostly due to their incredible boss fights that push me to the limit to defeat them.
However, with hundreds of bosses designed over the years, inevitably, they would occasionally go too far, so we’ve had to suffer the excesses of enemies whose power has led to many broken controls and shattered wills.
Fortunately, I can say I’ve overcome every single challenge posed by the studio (more out of patience than skill, though), so I can also properly organize a list of every Soulsborne boss, ranked.
7
Old King Allant
Demon’s Souls
It’s strange to describe an overpowered enemy coming from Demon’s Souls, as it’s a title that, compared to others, I find quite accessible, but it also has its frustrating moments.
Therefore, my first candidates were the Flamelurker and the Maneaters, because they were by far the ones I felt the most overwhelmed by. Yet, when it comes to a true display of power and not an annoyingly buggy design, the real winner is Old King Allant.
The change in speed, pattern complexity, and movement takes an absurdly large leap when we reach the end of the game and face this force of nature, even though its AI does it a disservice and can’t keep up.
Calling it OP may be a bit of a stretch, but considering the rest of the bosses, Old King Allant truly stands out as the undisputed ultimate threat in all of Demon’s Souls.
6
Fume Knight
Dark Souls 2
I’m willing to say I didn’t experience half the issues most people faced when encountering the Fume Knight in Dark Souls 2, but in terms of going beyond what seems like you should be able to go, Raime takes the cake.
While bosses like Sir Alonne and the Ivory King took me longer to defeat, it’s the final boss of the Crown of the Old Iron King DLC that feels the most overpowered, particularly since it seems to have the highest damage output in the entire game.
Its movement pattern isn’t as complex as its peers, but it makes up for it by hitting like a truck and having rather erratic hitboxes, so you not only have to prevent its attacks but also its technical deficiencies.
If you don’t fulfill both responsibilities perfectly, the Fume Knight will most likely destroy you for hours, especially when it decides to be relentless and chains together all kinds of combos that seem to have no end.
5
Artorias the Abysswalker
Dark Souls
Imagine playing through the entire base Dark Souls campaign, reaching the DLC, barely defeating the Sanctuary Guardian, and just when you think you’ve got the hang of the expansion, you come across this colossal anomaly called Artorias the Abysswalker.
Regarding the trilogy’s first installment, I’d say no boss is as surprising as this wonderful individual consumed by darkness, especially considering the roster of adversaries he belongs to.
In all of Lordran, no boss is as fast, none hits as hard, and none can withstand as many hits at once, because they usually have one or two of these characteristics. Artorias, on the other hand, is a bastion from all sides, practically impenetrable and extremely powerful.
He’s a tremendous foe, by far the best in Dark Souls, so the fact that he’s overpowered doesn’t bother me at all. No matter how much time passes, fighting him and his erratic and abrupt behavior is always demanding, which keeps things exciting.
4
Isshin, the Sword Saint
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
In a conversation about difficulty, it’s awfully complicated to match Isshin, the Sword Saint from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, if not practically impossible.
He’s not higher on the list because, like everything in the game, it’s immaculately designed, and the mechanics are at the player’s command, so that even no-hitting him is feasible for those who aren’t as adept at the controller.
Yet, reaching said point requires an abominable number of attempts, because when I say it’s flawlessly created, I mean it completely. There’s no tactic, consumable, or prosthetic tool that will prevent you from having a hell of a time beating him, just the flow state.
When you finally master Genichiro, he appears. When you master his first phase, he pulls out a spear. When you master the spear, he summons lightning… Isshin is always forcing you to adapt, and if it weren’t for the mechanics being as perfect as the boss himself, this fight would be an affront to humanity.
And yes, you could claim the Demon of Hatred is more overpowered, which I think is a valid statement, but the Malcontent Finger Whistle that stuns him and the ability to make him fall off a cliff argue against that.
3
Slave Knight Gael
Dark Souls 3
While Sister Friede was three times harder than Slave Knight Gael for me, no other boss in Dark Souls 3 has fewer weaknesses than the one that closes the entire series.
He’s fast, has numerous combos (each with multiple attacks), an astronomical health bar, three phases that include projectiles and environmental threats, his posture is practically impossible to break, and finding the right healing window is an odyssey.
Overall, when you look at the aspects that make up a boss fight, Slave Knight Gael stands out with an S in all of them, presenting extremely limited openings to take advantage of to defeat him beyond mastering his combat to the fullest.
It’s not the most over-the-top duel FromSoftware has done, but it does border on unfair very, very closely. Since it doesn’t, it’s a perfect boss, just inches away from making Dark Souls 3 beatable only for the most advanced players.
2
Orphan of Kos
Bloodborne
Bloodborne‘s The Old Hunters is almost certainly the hardest DLC FromSoftware has ever created, and that’s largely due to the Orphan of Kos.
This newborn deity is on the same level of difficulty as Isshin, but Bloodborne doesn’t feature such a precise combat system or such a high skill ceiling, making the difference between player and boss even more vividly felt.
His ability to drain your health in a single hit and the speed with which he leaps wildly around the arena make him excessively unpredictable, and don’t even get me started on the second phase, which is what truly turns this fight into a descent into madness.
With the lightning bolts he summons, the projectiles he throws, the attacks that take him off camera, and his lightning-fast dashes, the Orphan of Kos was created with the player’s suffering in mind, as even parrying isn’t enough to lower the fight from the extreme category.
If he did less damage, had less range, took fewer hits, and was less elusive, he’d be third on this list. That’s how gloriously insufferable this cosmic abomination is.
1
Promised Consort Radahn
Elden Ring
In over ten years, the only time I’ve felt tremendous desolation from endlessly fighting a boss in a Soulsborne game was when facing Promised Consort Radahn, who belongs to a completely different tier of the records.
Elden Ring‘s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is an absolute must-have, but FromSoftware completely lost its mind with its final boss’ original version, which was nearly triple the difficulty of Isshin and the Orphan of Kos.
AoE attacks that covered almost the entire arena, extended combos that couldn’t be fully dodged unless you were out of range, beams of light that blinded you and dropped frame rates to a trickle, resistance to all types of damage, an industrial amount of health… It was just too much.
Despite all the nerfs, Promised Consort Radahn is still the most broken a boss has ever been. It’s now closer to earthly difficulty, though it still belongs to a select group of bosses you have to face while knowing you may never be able to defeat them.
Being the most overpowered doesn’t necessarily mean being the hardest (Malenia holds the title), but this boss proves the developer also goes crazy from time to time.
