Dark Souls
The Souls games are special, in that they first break the players. And then build them up again to some major badassdom. Defeating even the first few bosses is no mean feat, since not only are those beasts towering, but also very, very lethal. As in killing an unattentive player with a single strike lethal. So defeating even the very first boss, the Prison Demon, makes the player feel like a badass, once that thing is cut down.
