Where would video games be without crazy epic boss fights? They are the meat to the potatoes of all games. The player has been questing, adventuring, leveling up, and dying (a lot) to get to the point where they can step up to complete their mission.
While some boss fights fall flat as too easy, too boring, or just downright bad. Five boss battles stand above the rest for a straight level of epicness and challenge. From claustrophobic magic fights to massive castles full of Nazis, these bosses will go down in gaming history as some of the best created.
Eliminate Delilah (Dishonored 2)
Dishonored 2 is known for its very creative and open way to approach missions. Act with high chaos and kill everyone in the room or go ghost and never be seen or even kill a single person. The choice is up to players. However, the final boss fight to get rid of Delilah is truly insane. As a high wizard of dark magic, she has dozens of clones, arcane magic attacks, and endless levels of health to kill Corvo or Emily time and time again. Players need to get their thinking caps on to take her out the easy sneaky way or forget all of that for a brutal slaying of this evil wizard.
Gehrman (Bloodborne)
Gehrman the Hunter is the first boss fight in Bloodborne and is just as epic as any FromSoftware boss battles ever made. If at the end of the hunt, the player refuses to come back to life and forget the dream, Gehrman will arise from his wheelchair and with a comically large scythe will attack the hunter. Get ready for a serious boss battle that will take all of the hunter’s skill, timing, and resources. Gehrman the first hunter has a ridiculously large health bar and his attacks are brutal. His reach is massive, and all of it takes place inside the hunter’s dream, a supposed a safe place from the demons of the hunt.
Zeus (God of War 3)
God of War 3 takes the new god of war Kratos and shows him what it means to kill a god. Kratos is no stranger to ending gods and their reigns. Zeus is no different in the world of Greek mythology. As the king of the gods, Zeus controls lightning and the skies. In true poetic justice, Kratos being the son of Zeus must battle his father to the death. This rage-filled battle will take the pair to the depths of the underworld, across the river Styx, and right on to this list as one of the best boss battles ever put to pixels. Just try to avoid the thunderbolts.
Deathshead (Wolfenstein: The New Order)
Who doesn’t love taking down a Nazi mad scientist? Expect this nazi sets up one of the hardest and most epic boss battles in the FPS genre. Deathshead takes B.J.’s squadmate and turns them into this horrific mesh of metal and man. An Übermensch to kill off all the non-fascist world starting with Wolfenstein’s main hero B.J.
Players myst use every weapon possible to stay alive, mercy kill their squadmate, take down zeppelins, and ultimately beat Deathshead to death. After all, a Nazi doesn’t have any humanity and must be put down.
Psycho Mantis (Metal Gear Solid)
In all the years of gaming, there hasn’t quite been a boss fight like Psycho Mantis from Metal Gear Solid. This game didn’t just break player’s souls but instead broke the fourth wall. Psycho Mantis grew up in a sad situation. His mother died giving birth to him and his father blamed him for it. While that is very sad, his abilities with mess with any player’s mind.
Mantis watches how you play and comments on it. Kill a ton of enemies, he applauds you for it. Get spotted and he finds you sloppy. Go deep into exploration and he calls you obsessive. The list goes on. However, the real ‘fun’ starts when Mantis goes deep into the PS memory card. If the player has any Konami games saved, Mantis will sniff them out and comment on them. It doesn’t necessarily affect the battle but will affect the player’s nerve.
So players have to go into the battle on uneasy footing. To add to the challenge, Mantis will ‘turn off’ your screen and it will flash black, go upside down, and even restart the console several times. Any attack thrown at him will be easily blocked and thrown back. In fact, the only way to beat Psycho Mantis is to unplug the controller from the Player 1 slot and plug it into the Player 2 port. This way Mantis can’t read the player’s mind and then he can be killed. That doesn’t make it an easy battle. Just possible to finish.