Video games are in a bit of a funky spot. For every game that has oodles of difficulty options and ways to play, there is a game that wants you to feel nothing but pain. Such a divide in philosophy naturally leads to clashes in the gaming space, but that’s a tale for another time.
Today we are talking about big bad baddies in gaming doing big bad things – arguably too well. A well-constructed boss ends up being the highlight of an experience, and as a general rule, the difficulty comes with the territory. This list isn’t about how good a boss fight is (although quality does not exclude them), it is about the hardest bosses to grace in 2022. Let’s dive in.
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Odur – Thymesia
Thymesia was quite a surprise when it was released early on in 2022. It mixed the traditional level design of Dark Souls, the visual style of Bloodborne, and the combat of Sekiro to make quite a tantalising experience. It was a fun time for the most part, but one questionable aspect of the game is the difficulty of the first boss, Odur.
Odur is a multi-phase encounter that requires lightning-fast reflexes and a keen understanding of the game’s mechanics to overcome. His inclusion, this early on, has led many people to drop the game. What makes this all the more painful is that Odur is arguably the hardest boss in Thymesia, and the vast majority of bosses after this fight are pushovers.
Spoilers – Immortality
Immortality is quite the experience, and it doesn’t really have a boss. However, we decided to include it anyway because, well, the game is pretty snazzy and the “boss” in this game is unavoidable.
To delve deeper into why that is would be a bit too spoilery, so we will just end it here.
Radahn – Elden Ring
If you were paying attention to the general gaming discourse around Elden Ring’s release, you would have noticed swathes of people raging about Radahn – and rightfully so. Radahn is part gimmick and part unstoppable force of nature who rides a crippled pony.
Master of magic, decked out in the finest of armour, and packing two giant blades, Radahn is no joke. He has multiple ways to instantly kill the unprepared, and even when you are prepared, death is almost assured. Good look out there. You’ll need it.
The Hulk – Midnight Suns
The Hulk is a monstrous ally, let alone a foe. Around the halfway mark players will encounter this juiced-up green killing machine, and you will need to find some way to take him down. Here’s the catch – you can’t.
The Hulk is quite literally unstoppable. Sure, you can damage him, but doing so will only make him angry. This anger makes him more powerful, and if he can get a solid swing at you, well, let’s just say he can wipe out your party. This fight is all about staying alive – not stopping Hulk. You’ll get your time in the sun eventually, Hunter.
The Reaper – Vampire Survivors
Similar to Hulk, the Reaper in Vampire Survivors is almost unstoppable. The key word being, “almost”. Whilst the Reaper can, and will, give you quite the beating if you try to fight it, there are ways of beating it. Heck, it even unlocks a sneaky secret if you manage it.
But how do you kill that which controls death? The very being that ends your life after every successful run in Vampire Survivors? You don’t, not naturally anyway. The Reaper can, as far as we can tell, only be felled by performing a specific series of actions, praying to the gods of RNG, and waiting about 30 minutes. Nightmare fuel in its purest form.
Any Boss – Babylon’s Fall
Babylon’s Fall is a meme. People who know it exists have likely forgotten about it, and everyone else blanked it the moment it was announced because it looked like ‘Live Service’ drivel from the get-go. This wasn’t far from the truth, and after a disastrous launch, the game died in under a week.
Square Enix, in their greed-filled glory, has announced the game will officially be closed down early next year. What does any of this have to do with “Hardest Bosses”? Simple, Babylon’s Fall is a multiplayer game with nobody to play with. It’s also unbearably awful. It’s a challenge suffering through Babylon’s Fall to get to the boss, and for that reason, it gets a place on my list.
King Hrolf – God Of War Ragnarok
God Of War Ragnarok is not the hardest game going. It’s very much beatable thanks to a bevy of accessibility options and difficulties. Not only that, the main story is pretty smooth sailing. The side stuff is a whole other kettle of fish.
There are a bunch of hidden bosses in God Of War Ragnarok, and many of them are a pain to kill. One of the hardest (if not the hardest) bosses is King Hrolf. Hrolf is the leader of the Berserkers, and these chunky lads and lasses are challenges in and of themselves. Hrolf will eat Kratos for breakfast if you don’t go in prepared. Even then, he might still floor you.
Angel & Demon – Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course DLC
Cuphead was always heralded as a difficult game. It required a complete understanding of the foes you were fighting to overcome, and even then, if you didn’t have the mechanical ability to pull it off, you were going to bite the dust.
The Delicious Last Course, an excellent DLC for the veteran game, contains one of the hardest bosses the game has ever seen – Angel & Demon. Not only is their pattern nightmarish to figure out, but their unique mechanics are also mind-bending to the extreme and will make you wish for death long before they put that nail in your coffin.
Malenia Blade Of Miquella – Elden Ring
That’s right, we have two entries from Elden Ring. Where Radhan was a hurdle for many, Malenia was a game-ender. Malenia is arguably the hardest boss in any Soulslike game to date, and this is because she has multiple phases and many ways to instantly kill you if you aren’t prepared.
Is she beatable? Yes. She is incredibly vulnerable to people who are willing to put in countless hours to overcome her nonsense. You can even beat her without taking a single hit. That doesn’t mean she isn’t death incarnate, and that doesn’t mean you won’t cry yourself to sleep after hours of failed attempts.
That’s all we have on bosses this year, but check back next year for more bombastic boomsticks. In the meantime, check out our other end-of-year lists!
