The Dark Souls trilogy’s overlooked middle-child, Dark Souls II, has the highest Metascore of the trilogy, but is considered to be the weakest entry in the entire Soulsborne catalog by most fans. At its core, the game is very similar to its predecessors Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls, but there were a few tweaks that irritated fans. From the linear level design, to the underwhelming lore, to the influx of bosses. More bosses may not sound like an issue, though the base game’s 31 boss encounters were a classic case of quantity over quality.
FromSoftware did redeem itself with Dark Souls II, however, by supplementing the game with their best set of DLCs to date. Crown of the Sunken King, Crown of the Old Iron King, and Crown of the Ivory King were all fantastic expansions that offered some of the series’ best level designs and more importantly for this list, a much-needed boost in boss quality.
10 (Worst) Mytha, The Baneful Queen
Although a guide or video walkthrough is just a few clicks away in today’s world, many players understandably avoid using them to challenge themselves and play the game how it was intended. FromSoftware decided to punish these players with the boss Mytha.
When players enter the fight with Mytha, the room will be filled with a poison pool that will drain the player’s health considerably, making the boss extremely difficult. To fix this, the player must set fire to a windmill. The issue with this puzzle is that it’s never hinted to the player setting fire to the windmill will affect the poison and that the part of the windmill that needs to be set alight with a small torch is clearly made of metal. Once solving this, the boss fight is enjoyable, which is why it only just makes it onto this list, but the illogical and infuriating puzzle earns it a place.
9 (Best) The Pursuer
The game’s first great boss, regardless of which route players take, has an environmental twist much Mytha.
Two ballista can be fired at the enemy, causing great deals of damage. This is a far better mechanic than Mytha’s poison as it rewards the player if they’re skilled enough to hit The Pursuer before he destroys the weapons, rather than arbitrarily punishing them with an illogical puzzle.
8 (Worst) Royal Rat Vanguard
Whereas Mytha punishes players for not solving a broken puzzle, the Royal Rat Vanguard punishes the player for a reason that has nothing to do with them; the slow wind-up of attacks.
The slow wind-up that melee and magic weapons have in the Dark Souls trilogy isn’t usually an issue, as the enemies are designed around this mechanic. The Royal Rat Vanguard, however, punishes the player for this, as the army of rats sporadically attacks the player with quick lunges, making the fight more a case of the player vs. FromSoftware’s gameplay than the player vs. the boss.
7 (Best) Elana, Squalid Queen
Elana, Squalid Queen is very similar to the base game’s final boss Nashandra in both appearance and fighting style. The Squalid Queen has one key differential that makes her far more dangerous, intimidating, and memorable than the underwhelming final boss though, she can summon other enemies.
Elena will summon a similar enemy to Velstadt, the Royal Aegis, or an army of skeletons to significantly ramp up the difficulty. Despite the added challenge, the fight doesn’t ever feel unfair from a gameplay perspective, and it’s a rare case in the game of multiple enemies working well as a mechanic.
6 (Worst) Covetous Demon
One of the Sousborne series’ most praised features is its intricate lore. When it comes to bosses with the best lore, the Covetous Demon, a man so in love with Mytha that he excessively ate until he turned into a monstrous demon, isn’t a contender.
It’s not just the odd lore that earns the Covetous Demon a spot on this list though, as the unusually easy boss fight simply requires the player to dodge the demon as it rolls around trying to squish the player or takes lazy swipes at them. The slow, tiresome attacks are presumably representative of the demon’s lore, but it doesn’t equate to interesting gameplay or storytelling.
5 (Best) Darklurker
Similar to Elana, Darklurker is one of the small handful of occasions in Dark Souls II where fighting multiple enemies is well-balanced and enjoyable.
Although it’s undoubtedly a tough boss fight, the real challenge is finding Darklurker, as players must traverse the difficult questline attached to the Pilgrims of Dark covenant.
4 (Worst) Royal Rat Authority
The second rat encounter on this list, the Royal Rat Authority exemplifies three of Dark Souls II’s key issues. Firstly, the boss is a rehash of a previous encounter in the series, namely Sif. Secondly, the boss throws multiple enemies at the player in a way that contradicts the gameplay mechanics. Finally, the boss has minimal lore that is of interest, making the Sif clone feel like a pointless optional fight, thrown into the game just for the sake of it.
3 (Best) Burnt Ivory King
The word epic is often overused in gaming, which is a shame as it should be saved for boss fights like the Burnt Ivory King. The encounter is intense from the word go, as players will take an intimidatingly large drop down onto a platform surrounded by fiery lava.
Players won’t have the satisfaction of battling the Ivory King yet though, as they must first takedown a plethora of tough enemies. Thankfully, the playing field can be leveled as up to four Loyce Knight can be found in the DLC who will aid the player in their fight, rewarding players who fully explore the Crown of the Ivory King expansion.
2 (Worst) Prowling Magus And Congregation
Truth be told, there’s not much between Prowling Magus and the Congregation and the aforementioned Royal Rat Authority. But Magus edges it at the worst boss in the game, purely because the Royal Rat Authority deserves to be classed as a boss fight, unlike Magus.
Magus and friends appear unexpectedly as the player is traversing the Brightstone Cove Tseldora. This element of surprise is the only real challenge in the fight, as the group of enemies doesn’t put up much of a fight, other than using the player’s slow attack animation against them like with the Royal Rat Vanguard.
1 (Best) Sinh, The Slumbering Dragon
The Souslborne series has tried and failed many times to make a boss fight against a dragon work. The many underwhelming attempts like with the Guardian Dragon and the Ancient Wyvern are forgiven though as the series provided an incredible fight against the intimidating Sinh.
Sinh, The Slumbering Dragon does what so many games have tried and failed to do, make a fight against a dragon feel realistic. Granted, making a fight against a fictional creature may sound like an impossible task, but FromSoftware managed it with Sinh and subsequently created one of the best dragon fights in gaming history.
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