One would be hard-pressed to name some of the greatest games of all time without mentioning the masterpiece that is Dark Souls. This landmark title by FromSoftware served as a huge wake-up call to the entire gaming industry, which was getting more and more complacent and shying away from adding any real challenge to their video games. Dark Souls served as a breath of fresh air in this regard, adding a level of difficulty that was certainly challenging but never got in the way of a player who was careful and paid attention to whatever was happening in the game.
Of course, it would be impossible to talk about Dark Souls without mentioning the absolute cream of the crop when it comes to this title — the boss fights. Each encounter with a boss in Dark Souls is easily one of the most memorable moments in the game, simply due to how awe-inspiring and epic these fights feel. The challenge in these fights reaches an all-time high, and only the best strategies can help overcome these adversities. That being said, there are some boss fights that are ridiculously hard, annoying, or just plain boring to fight. Dark Souls might nail five bosses in particular when it comes to how satisfying these encounters are, but there are five bosses in the game that are equally as frustrating, if not more.
10 SATISFYING: Ornstein And Smough
What better way to start off a list mentioning all of Dark Souls' entertaining bosses that with the legendary duo that has gone down in history as one of the best boss fights in Soulsborne history? By the time the player reaches Anor Londo, they might be of the opinion that they've finally mastered the combat system and can take care of any threats that might come their way.
So, when the player encounters Ornstein and Smough for the first time, they're definitely in for a rude awakening indeed. The fast style of Ornstein pairs perfectly with the slow yet powerful moveset of Smough, making for an entertaining boss fight indeed.
9 FRUSTRATING: Moonlight Butterfly
The Moonlight Butterfly is easily one of the worst and most boring bosses in the entire game, which is especially jarring since it's named off of one of the most iconic facets in FromSoftware games.
The fact that the gamer needs to rely on RNG so that the boss can finally land and come in melee range is simply a horrible mechanic. This, coupled with the fact that most people don't really have any solid ranged attacks, makes for a rather boring boss.
8 SATISFYING: Chaos Witch Quelaag
Blighttown is easily one of the most annoying areas in Dark Souls, and trekking through this poison-infested area to reach the area boss can prove to be quite a pain.
So, it helps that Quelaag can prove to be quite a challenge, but not overbearingly so. Fighting her is a ton of fun, and the sword that one can forge from her Soul is easily one of the most fun weapons to use in the game.
7 FRUSTRATING: Demon Firesage
It hurts to see that a boss has been reskinned three times in the game, but at least the Asylum Demon and Stray Demon looking similar makes a bit of sense since they're in the same area.
There's no reason for the Demon Firesage to even exist, aside from padding out an area that is already an absolute bore to explore.
6 SATISFYING:Â Black Dragon Kalameet
The Artorias of the Abyss DLC is easily one of the best video game expansion packs of all time, and one need only look at the amazing quality of its boss fights to understand why this is the case.
From Software had been struggling with integrating a dragon boss fight in its game for the longest, and Kalameet finally checks this box in a resounding manner. Even after injuring him, Kalameet is incredibly fast and will make short work of the player if they don't bring their A game.
5 FRUSTRATING: Manus, Father Of The Abyss
While most people might not appreciate Manus being put on the frustrating side of this list — given the fact that he's actually a very well-designed boss fight — there's no denying just how unfairly hard this battle can be at times.
Manus is extremely fast (given his size) and can hit for massive damage, sometimes even one-shotting the player. Gamers need to be well-equipped and stay wary at all times to ensure that this boss doesn't wipe the floor with them.
4 SATISFYING:Â Artorias The Abysswalker
Time to talk about a boss that is considered by many to be the best boss in all of Soulsborne. Artorias is one of the most tragic figures in all of Dark Souls, being a knight who wished to save Oolacile but ended up succumbing to the horrors of the Abyss.
By the time the Chosen Undead encounters Artorias, he's already gone mad and fights him in what is easily one of the toughest and most entertaining boss fights FromSoftware has ever engineered.
3 FRUSTRATING: Four Kings
The difficulty of the Four Kings depends on whether the player has high DPS or not. If yes, then this fight might just prove to be a cakewalk.
However, if the player doesn't have great DPS, then they should be prepared to be bombarded with the attacks of the Kings, with each new figure appearing regardless of how much health the other Kings might have. Getting ganked by the Four Kings is very much a possibility if the player can't dish out damage quick enough.
2 SATISFYING: Gwyn, Lord Of Cinder
Going through the entirety of Dark Souls, before finally traversing the Kiln of the Lost Flame and fighting Gwyn is easily one of the best moments in video game history.
The fight with Gwyn himself isn't really all that hard, but it's the music and the sheer weight of this moment that makes this boss fight all the more memorable and satisfying to complete.
1 FRUSTRATING: The Bed Of Chaos
Its too bad that, in order to finish Dark Souls, the player needs to deal with the absolute monstrosity that is The Bed Of Chaos boss fight.
Of course, calling it a boss "fight" might be a tad too much, since The Bed Of Chaos turns a tight action game with acceptable movement controls into a horrible platformer, coupled with an annoying final jump and one of the most disappointing boss reveals of all time. It certainly doesn't help that the area preceding this boss fight is also an absolute travesty.