What’s the Best FromSoftware Boss?

With the release of Elden Ring, our minds are on our experiences with the fearsome, memorable foes of the developers’ releases. Dark Souls! Demon’s Souls! Sekiro! So many games, so many bosses. What do you think is the best FromSoftware boss? Here are some of our picks.

While this pick might be somewhat predictable, I absolutely adore the Cleric Beast fight in Bloodborne. Sure, Dark Souls has a plethora of memorable bosses! The Princes Lothric and Lorian fight were absolutely incredible. Gwyn, Lord of Cinder is iconic. But there is something about how the Cleric Beast fight comes together to set the tone of Bloodborne. This includes how the fight starts with a bloodcurdling scream while you explore Yharnam proper. The Cleric Beast fight just has just about everything you’d want, at least tonally, from a FromSoftware boss. Incredible design, a tight arena, and an incredible score. — Kazuma

I have a special affection for Demon’s Souls‘ Tower Knight, boss of the Boletarian Palace (Area 1-2). Seeing the knight for the first time really drove home the scale of the encounters in a way that not even huge games like the God of War series hadn’t managed to that point. It really felt like you were just a little guy, and this huge fellow was here to mess your stuff up. That’s frankly an unforgettable first impression.

Obviously, more creative and interesting bosses have been added since then! But the Tower Knight continues to feel like the poster boss for the Soulsborne experience in my mind. It’s as inextricable from that mystique as poison swamps. — Josh

I think there’s a good reason why the Ornstein and Smough boss fight from Dark Souls is so iconic. It’s the first fight in the series with two unique boss enemies. It’s a profoundly different match-up that requires players to choose their moves carefully. Unlike past multi-boss fights like the Maneaters in Demon’s Souls or Bell Gargoyles in Dark Souls, there’s a sense of choice in which boss to take down first.

I think it’s also one of the main reasons why a lot of people struggled to get out of Anor Londo, myself included. But that struggle, death after death of spawning at that bonfire in that tiny room, rushing to the main hall while avoiding the giant knights, summoning Solaire and praying that he didn’t get absolutely trashed? It was my first true Soulsborne experience. And beating the duo is made even sweeter when you finally leave Anor Londo after the fight. — Andrew

When I see FromSoftware, I’ll always think about Armored Core first. And the most memorable bosses from the series are Nine-Ball and its derivatives, which appeared in most of the series’ titles. Another version of Nine-Ball Seraph also appeared in the From-developed crossover title, Another Century’s Episode: R. It was always a great challenge to fight the red agile mech, even with units from other franchises in the crossover game. And I’ll also always remember the iconic theme song. “D-D-Destroy Nine-Ball.” — Kite

What do you think is the best FromSoftware boss? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter! And read our other handy roundtables for more thoughts from the Siliconera team.