Summary

  • Dark Souls bosses evoke emotions with tragic stories, compelling players to explore lore.
  • Boss battles manipulate player emotions and force reflection on actions.
  • Fights like Abyss Watchers, Soul of Cinder, and Artorias are emotionally engaging and tragic.

For a game that doesn't spoon-feed its story to players, it's amazing to see how emotional some of the bosses in the Dark Souls trilogy are. The music and visuals hammer in just how tragic these battles are as the player does everything in their power to survive against these immense threats.

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The best fights in the Dark Souls trilogy know how to manipulate a player's emotions and make them question their actions while they're in the middle of a grueling battle. They'll feel compelled to check out the lore and uncover the events that caused these foes to walk down a dark path.

8 Abyss Watchers

In Their Bid To Try And Rid The World Of The Abyss, The Watchers Succumbed To Madness

Abyss Watchers, a boss in Dark Souls 3
  • Appears In: Dark Souls 3

The Abyss Watches followed in Knight Artorias' glorious footsteps and sought to fight against the Abyss by any means necessary. However, the overbearing malice of this force was clearly too much for them to bear, driving them mad.

Seeing the Abyss Watchers fight against each other is a sobering sight that shows how far the kingdom of Lothric has fallen. In the second phase, a solitary Abyss Watcher powers up to take on the player in a thrilling one-on-one duel as the Ashen One puts an end to their torment once and for all.

7 Soul Of Cinder

The Personification Of The Lords Of Cinder Who Caps Off An Emotional Final Battle In The Trilogy

Soul of Cinder Dark Souls 3
Soul of Cinder Dark Souls 3
  • Appears In: Dark Souls 3

The ending of Dark Souls 3 is already emotional enough as is, with fans bidding a tearful goodbye to their amazing adventures in this series. To make this moment more emotional, players face off against a final boss who embodies the spirits of all the players who took part in this grand adventure.

It's almost like a PvP affair, with the Soul of Cinder embodying the techniques that players can use in the first phase. However, nothing prepares players for an incredible second phase where the Soul of Cinder turns into a trickier version of Gwyn, with the boss' legendary theme playing in the background as players fight against the final boss of Dark Souls 3.

6 Artorias The Abysswalker

It's Sad To Witness Artorias' Decrepit State After He Failed In Achieving His Noble Goal

dark souls knight artorias
  • Appears In: Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss

Given the name of this celebrated Dark Souls DLC, players expected to fight against the legendary Knight Artorias. However, unlike the noble foe that they picture, Artorias is far more animalistic and has succumbed to the madness of the Abyss long before the Chosen Undead encountered this foe.

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This tough boss fight becomes more emotional when players connect the dots and figure out what happened to this legendary figure. He swore to stop the Abyss from threatening the world, but was unable to fend off this evil presence for too long and lost his mind as the conflict dragged on.

5 Slave Knight Gael

A Tragic Figure Who Fulfills His Final Duty In Death

DS3 Slave Knight Gael
  • Appears In: Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City

The backstory of Slave Knight Gael is tragic and shows just how much he has endured before his eventual battle against the Ashen One. His obligation to his duty was what eventually marked his downfall when he tried to take the Dark Soul and bring it back to the Painter.

The power of the Dark Soul was too much for him to bear, rendering him insane long before he crossed paths with the Ashen One in the Ringed City. Ironically enough, his goal is finally fulfilled after his demise, with the Ashen One acquiring some of his blood mixed with the Dark Soul that the Painter used to finally complete her creation, hoping to show her magnum opus to Uncle Gael without realizing the sacrifice of this Slave Knight.

4 Great Grey Wolf Sif

If Players Save The Wolf In The DLC, Then The Introductory Cutscene Is Far More Emotional

sif boss fight in dark souls
  • Appears In: Dark Souls

Even without the events of the DLC, the fight against Sif in Dark Souls is a tragic affair that shows just how loyal he is. He guards Artorias' grave and refuses to let anyone defile it, Chosen Undead or otherwise.

However, what makes this battle even harder to go through is the altered introductory cutscene if players saved a young Sif after travelling back in time in the Artorias of the Abyss DLC. The wolf recognizes his savior and shares a tender moment before reluctantly picking up his master's greatsword to fight the Chosen Undead. The fight itself has a particularly heartbreaking moment when Sif is at low health, causing him to start limping as he struggles to defend his master's honor at all costs.

3 Vendrick

The Once-Great King Is A Shell Of His Former Self Who Looks Downright Tragic

DS2 Vendrick 1
  • Appears In: Dark Souls 2

Throughout the game, players are told about King Vendrick and his immense royal presence. Players assume that this character has retained his majestic allure to the very end, but the reality is something completely different.

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Right after defeating Velstadt, the Royal Aegis, players descend to the Undead Crypt only to see a pathetic old man walk aimlessly with a sword who has lost all reason. It's hard to see Vendrick in such a pathetic state, to the point where most players won't have the heart to initiate the boss encounter by attacking this pathetic king.

2 Lothric, Younger Prince & Lorian, Elder Prince

The Twin Princes Find Solace In Each Other's Presence As The World Is Consumed

dark souls 3
  • Appears In: Dark Souls 3

The Twin Princes players fight in Lothric Castle make for one of the most cinematic encounters in the entire game. Both princes were born bearing a ton of responsibility, and it didn't help that Lothric was born with a curse that rendered him feeble.

In a bid to help the elder prince regain some of his strength, the royal family linked their curse that caused both princes to be weakened. It's clear that the siblings love each other, and this can be seen in the boss fight as players try to stifle their emotions as they take down the brothers in a cinematic and engaging boss fight for the ages.

1 Gwyn, Lord Of Cinder

An Emotional Score Accompanies The Final Boss Of Dark Souls

Gwyn, Lord of Cinder holding a flaming sword in Dark Souls.
  • Appears In: Dark Souls

Usually, video games end on a triumphant note as players accomplish their goal and beat the final boss. So, if players didn't pay any attention to the lore, they can't help but feel puzzled as they initiate the final fight against Gwyn, only for one of the most tragic and beautiful pieces of video game music to start playing.

Ultimately, Gwyn is not entirely to blame for the fate of the world. Like everyone else, he lost his mind and was nothing more than a shadow of his former self as players kill this scary foe and decide how the game ends.

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    Dark Souls
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    Adventure
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    9 /10
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    Released
    September 22, 2011
    ESRB
    M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Violence
    Developer(s)
    From Software
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    Dark Souls Player faces off against the Demon Firesage in Demon Ruins
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    Dark Souls Player faces off against the Demon Firesage in Demon Ruins
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    Publisher(s)
    Namco Bandai
    Genre(s)
    Action RPG, Soulslike, Adventure
    OpenCritic Rating
    Mighty
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    9 /10

    Dark Souls 2
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    Action RPG
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    Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
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    Released
    March 11, 2014
    ESRB
    T for Teen: Blood and Gore, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Violence
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    From Software
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    Platform(s)
    PS4, PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Xbox One
    Genre(s)
    Action RPG
    OpenCritic Rating
    Mighty
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    Dark Souls 3 Tag Page Cover Art
    8 /10

    Dark Souls 3
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    Action RPG
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    Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 94%
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    Released
    March 24, 2016
    ESRB
    M for Mature: Blood Violence
    Developer(s)
    From Software
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    WHERE TO PLAY

    DIGITAL
    PHYSICAL
    Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

    Platform(s)
    PS4, Xbox One, PC
    Genre(s)
    Action RPG
    OpenCritic Rating
    Mighty