Shadow of the Colossus is one of the all-time greats. It launched in 2005 for the PS2 and still looks amazing natively on that hardware. It was then remastered along with Ico on the PS3, which was followed up by a full-on remake on the PS4. Getting to relive this legend over three consoles has been great but it begs many questions.
Why did it take almost two decades for a company like No Matter Studios to make a game like Shadow of the Colossus? Praey for the Gods is an almost replica with a few new features added in. Despite the lack of other homages, there have been plenty of boss-focused games that fans of both Shadow of the Colossus and Praey for the Gods should enjoy. They’re just a bit different in design but that's a good thing.
7 Shadow Of The Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus has no enemies to fight in-between these titanic encounters. The original is still remarkable decades later because it makes players feel uneasy. The world is beautiful and yet desolate of life save for the main character, his sleeping friend, and the titans that roam the earth.
Where did everyone else go? It may be a bit of a spoiler to say there are others in the game, but that’s more of an ending bit. There is a reason why this game was remastered and then remade after that. It’s just a classic. The music. The art. The giant bosses. Everything comes together. The only downfall at the time was its controls.
6 Cuphead
Cuphead started as a pure boss-rush type of experience. Based on feedback, the developers decided to add in a few side-scrolling levels as well. Those missions still aren’t a big part of the game though. The stars of this game then are still the bosses and the accompanying animations that go with them.
It’s still hard to believe that a game like this could exist. It’s been said many times before but playing Cuphead truly feels like watching a cartoon. It is a miraculous feat of accomplishment. Co-op makes the game even better.
5 Monster Hunter Rise
Monster Hunter Rise is the latest in the series although most entries could work as an example. There are more traditional gameplay elements to these games such as gathering materials and fighting smaller opponents.
All of these small quests are done to build up characters so that they can then challenge an ever-growing cast of fearsome boss-like monsters. These encounters can be long and terrifying alone. Thankfully there is a co-op mode. It’s a different spin on the boss-rush game but Monster Hunter Rise still counts.
4 Titan Souls
Titan Souls might be the hardest boss game ever made. Players are only armed with a single arrow. HP is always reduced to one meaning fights will end after only one hit. This low health on top of forcing players to retrieve their arrow every time they fire can make for one frustrating experience.
With practice, it can also feel very rewarding. It was Acid Nerve’s first game. Their second game, Death’s Door, gained a lot of attention in 2021 when it launched. It’s a much more balanced game so it seems like the developers listened to feedback.
3 Jotun
Jotun is another boss-focused game with a dazzling aesthetic. It too looks like a cartoon but from a top-down perspective. It is based on Viking mythology which gives it a different flavor from other games on this list and the medium as a whole. It’s also a bit haunting like Shadow of the Colossus.
The journey to these god-like bosses is often met with little resistance and yet it can seemingly feel like ages between bouts. Sometimes there will be enemies or puzzles to solve, but the real predicament comes into play once Thora, the heroine, reaches her goal.
2 Punch-Out
All fighting games could technically be considered boss games. However, the addition of multiplayer makes them not feel the same as these others. Playing against friends or random opponents is what makes fighting games usually so special.
The only fighting game-like title that fits perfectly is the original Punch-Out on NES. Every opponent in the ring is a puzzle. There is no way to brute force through a battle except for maybe the first, Glass Joe. He’s more like a tutorial fight than anything else. It’s still one of the trickiest games on the system for as short as it is. It's still hard to get that music out of the head.
1 Evolve
Evolve is another example of a multiplayer experience like Monster Hunter that skirts the line. Players must join together to take down an ever-evolving monster. There is one monster per mission and that’s it. Every character is equipped with a certain class from an all-range attacker to a defense specialist.
The coolest part of this experience is that another player can control this monster. It may not exactly capture the magic of other boss games, but fans of this niche genre should still check it out. This is especially true if they have a good group of multiplayer friends. It's too bad Evolve never took off the way the developers probably hoped it would.