The Dark Souls Off Bloodbornes

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I can't even count how many times i have been killed while playing Dark Souls or Bloodborne while angrily yelling myself blue as i gaze upon the beast that just destroyed me. With 139 bosses in total there certainly is a fair amount to love and to hate. The discussions have been going hot about which bosses who really are the most beefy and here i give my top 6 compilation of some of the bosses that hold a special place in my heart. I have not listed them in order, they are just simply the my favorite six. Of course a grotesque amount of spoilers will be shown in this article so if you have not yet played Dark Souls or Bloodborne, it would be advised to not read this.

Spoiler Warning!!!

Gehrman, the First Hunter - Bloodborne

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"Tonight... Gehrman joins the hunt...."

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This is where our inexhaustible fighting spirit has taken us. The old man in a wheel-chair named Gehrman, he who we have seen and searched guidance by in Hunter's Dream on multiple occasions, now sits by the root of the giant tree gazing over our dreamy sanctuary. He knows our journey has come to an end, he's been waiting for us. When we get the choice to give him our life or not, we of course refuse. We have not fought this many beasts and demons while laughing death straight in the face just to give our life away with open arms when on the finish line. The old man stands from his wheelchair. Gehrman has joined the hunt.

The speed and savage lust the old hunter possesses as he attacks us sets me back for a moment, just giving the old coot enough time to land a few blows with his long and mighty scythe. The following battle has everything that i love with the series boss-battles. It's fast, violent and dynamic but it's not just the challenge and the enjoyable gameplay that makes this battle enchanting. It's the beauty of the situation, with everything from the bittersweet music to the game map being covered completely in white flowers. Once Gehrman, after much blood-shed and sweat, finally get's defeated the victory is as satisfactory as it is sad of an awesome gaming experience coming to an end.

Pontiff Sulyvahn - Dark Souls

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"Here for my pyromancies, are you?" - Pontiff Sulyvahn

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Irithyll of the Boreal Valleys gorgeous horizon will make you take a short breather and just enjoy the atmosphere, giving a serenity and calmness in an otherwise brutal and intensely gory world. Of course we knew that the city in front of our feet didn't just hold a nice view, but something evil and dark would most likely wait inside. We were right. Anyone who has ever played a From Software-title knows that a "big giant church often hold an equally large boss" and in this case Pontiff is waiting for us.

As we walk between the church benches we get to face the colorful demon straight ahead. After being trained hard by previous bosses, this time we'll act quick and dance our way to victory. With some quick reflexes we dodge away from the first swoop of his lance and prepare to jabb him in his defenseless back as he, quicker than a junkie to drugs, swoops us away with 5 strong hits. Pontiff requires a lot of stamina to be defeated, and also discipline with a sprinkle of cat reflexes, but once we get him to his other phase after doing some damage a violent follow-john game begins. All of a sudden we have two wizards that looks like evil twins as they copy each others movements. The church armada is not only testing our finesse, but also our ability to use our combat-effective accessories. In this case we need to use some stamina enhances to keep Pontiff from making us his bride.

Vicar Amelia - Bloodborne

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"Let us partake in communion... and feast upon the old blood." -Vicar Amelia

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The meeting with Vicar Amelia is one that keeps very true to what the Bloodborne-experience is meant to be. You find yourself on your way up some steep stairs leading to a grandiose and Gothic cathedral. The atmosphere is so thick you could cut it with a knife, and far away by the altar you see a woman. The woman is desperately holding a amulet as she says her prayers. We don't now it at that moment, but here name is Amelia and soon she will, most likely, against her own will, transform into a giant beast wanting to kill us.

The Vicar Amelia confrontation is one of the most memorable in Bloodborne because of many reasons. Just the design of this freak is more than eye-catching. Some sort of diabolical mix of a wolf, a reindeer and... something random, it's a kind of twisted beauty found in the design of Amelia (while still being terrifying). Amelias frightening and numbing scream also helps to set the mood, as we really didn't know how much of Amelia was still conscious in the beast we are fighting. Maybe she was just locked into that horrible body while being scared to death? The boss-battle also, of course, offers one challenging and exciting fight with lot's of blood and gore.

Abyss Watchers - Dark Souls III

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"The Abyss Watchers are the heads of the Undead Legion. They are enemies of the Abyss, and will destroy kingdoms if they even show the slightest sign of exposure."

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Many hours went by until we got to meet our first real Lord of Cinder in Dark Souls 3, and once we did it was not just one reprobate lord we got to fight, but a whole gang of them. The Abyss Watchers belongs to The Undead Legion, a special force dedicated to fighting The Abyss. When we meet them in the damp Farron Keep, they are completely busy with killing each other, as a effect of being corrupted by The Abyss. But no matter how many times they kill each other they always resurrect, time and time again in an infinite loop. Until we get in the picture that is, with the task of banishing them to the death kingdom once and for all.

The corruption that makes them fight each other is something to make use of in this fight. As fast as a third Abyss Watcher resurrects, with read eyes to show that he is corrupted, the other two would focus on slaying him, giving me good openings for some well placed backstabbs.

After draining their life bars the screen went black and a movie sequence starts. Barely did i get the chance to catch my breath before realizing that the real boss-fight was just about to begin, this time against the one and only Abyss watcher - sporting a flaming sword and bad Monday-morning mood.

What followed was a brutal death dance and a constant, nervous balance between dishing out damage and evading the incoming damage. Once the fight was over we could finally return our first Lord of Cinder to his rightful place; feeling relieved and happy after surviving him but still aware that this was just one of the five lords to conquer (yikes).

Artorias of the Abyss - Dark Souls

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"If you stare long into the Abyss, the Abyss stares back into you."

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Constantly during the hell-marsh trough Lordran we get reminded of the great warrior Artorias, the knight who went to the depths of the Abyss to defeat the darkness once and for all. After getting trough Ornstein and Smough it's easy to assume that you will in typical Japanese style meet the rest of the three knights serving in Lord Gwyns service to reach the end boss - but this assumption turned out the be completely wrong. After slaying the former God Gwyn and made your choice whether to extinguish the fires or not the game was over. The game and experience wasn't any worse because of it, but it's hard to not wonder who this Artorias was. Who can be so important that Sif, the majestic wolf, guarded his grave? Multiple items was also named after the warrior and his presence was constantly palpable in Lordran.

After looking frantically for the forgotten knight, the DLC "Artorias of the Abyss" was released and finally we got the chance to fight the legendary warrior. The fallen knight was now corrupted by the darkness he once swore to destroy and it's with some sadness we prepare to face him in a duel.

Artorias is armed with his delicious-looking two-hand sword and dressed in a uncluttered silver-colored armor with blue fabric. It was hard to not be taken a step back as he made his entrance in the movie sequence that introduced him. Right from start you'll notice that Artorias is not like the other bosses in the game. He moves quicker, hits harder and has an unpredictable pattern in his attacks. A few years later this was common in titles like Bloodborne, but during that time Artorias was unique for Dark souls.

After the fight and freeing Artorias from the shackles of darkness it's hard to not sympathize some with him as he really was a hero, a hero who saved Sif as a pup and did many other great things before the corruption got the best of him. A great boss not only for the fight, but also for the story.

Lady Maria - Bloodborne

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"A corpse, should be left well alone. Oh, I know very well how the secrets beckon so sweetly. Only an honest death will cure you now. Liberate you from your wild curiosity."- Lady Maria

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Lady Maria is located in what is called the Astral Clocktower and we know that she studied under Gehrman himself and she was also one of the first hunters to join the nightly hunt. She's from Cainhurst and even has some ties to queen Annalise (that you can find in Cainhurst Castle during the campaign). Rumors are even being spoken about Gehrman creating the doll we see in the hunters dream after lady Maria as they are very similar (they also have the same voice actor). When you enter the sad looking building, Maria is sitting on a chair, at first glance she seems to be dead and lifeless but if you walk up to her you'll soon realize that maybe you should just have turned away.

After that the usual dance of death breaks out. Armed with Rakuyo and a gun she fights just as many other hunters do in the game, at least in the beginning. What makes the fight with Maria so interesting is that the different phases she goes trough are not that different from each other, but rather just empowers her abilities. She gets more and more deadly the longer you fight and it's almost as if she learns from you as you play. Maria has chosen the powers of blood-magic which has made her attacks incredibly lethal. Once Maria is defeated you can go back to the hunters dream and speak to the doll to hear a completely new dialogue, which further enhances the bond between Lady Maria, the doll and Gehrman.

Sources

1. http://darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/Dark+Souls+3+Wiki
2. http://bloodborne.wiki.fextralife.com/Bloodborne+Wiki