Not allrecurring video game bossesare a symptom of rushed development. Some of them are necessary for the narrative and give a bit of dramatic weight. Others are simply too interesting or are oozing with so much personality that introducing them only once is a disservice to their character. With recurring bosses being quite a rampant trope, it’s good to have outliers that raise the bar.
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These bosses range from obsessed monsters who relentlessly chase the players to powerful beings who view players as nothing more than cockroaches. All of them hammer in some kind of bitter and compelling rivalry into the players' minds and also provide a nice surprise for when they appear once more. Surely, players won’t mind fighting these bosses again.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
8The Pursuer – Dark Souls 2
Speaking of rivalry, the Pursuer isone mean bossinDark Souls 2who just can’t quit. He’s as persistent as the players and only exists for one thing: to hunt down some zombie who think they can climb their way up the social ladder. As such, the Pursuer is one of the toughest early game bosses inDark Souls 2— a troublesome brick wall.
Just when the players thought they were safe from his red eyes and thick armor, he comes back via eagle for a rematch. And after that, he starts getting desperate and joins in a boss fight in hopes of foiling the players. In a last-ditch effort to win, he even brings a friend to tag team the players.
7Margit/Morgott – Elden Ring
Like the Pursuer, Margit fromElden Ringis an early game brick wall that filters out the player base. Turns out Margit was merely a weaker projection of a stronger boss, Morgott. He’s the real deal and a king who’s too busy with other tasks to even deal with another zombie with big dreams (and foolish ambitions).
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The fun part about meeting him again or fighting him in both forms is that he goes all out on the eloquent insults. His colorful and arrogant prose can be summed up as: “give up and die, noob.” It’s hard to be angry against such a principled and venerable enemy; he even allowed the players to become strong first for a fairer fight.
The reason whySilent Hill 2is generally regarded as better than the first game is partly due to this walking horror. Pyramid Head is a freaky sleep paralysis demon straight out of a fever dream and the worst part is that theboss fightsagainst him usually just involves the players running like a scared toddler.
Even with all the means of fighting or hurting him later on in the game, Pyramid Head is still one of the creepiest video game monsters the imagination allows. This unholy union between a polyhedron and serial killers is the stuff of nightmares for any person regardless of age.
5Jack Baker – Resident Evil 7
While on the topic ofimmortal horror monstersthat persistently chase around the protagonists,Resident Evilhas likely mastered that mechanic. Both Nemesis and Mister X are strong contenders here but their cultural impact is dampened by either their generic looks or dry personalities. Thus, Jack Baker ofResident Evil 7takes the cake here.
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He’s like Jack Nicholson inThe Shiningexcept he likely underwent 66 satanic rituals to be reborn and is now a decaying zombie on steroids. And what makes him less boring than the two tall men in a trenchcoat of previous games is that he can actually be decimated early. So he comes back in any way he can until he’s just a giant blob of rotting flesh for one more round.
4Baldur – God Of War (2018)
SinceGod of War(2018) isn’t a revenge story, it made more sense to introduce thebig bad bossright away. That would be Baldur, Odin and Freyja’s problematic son. In-game, he has a fixation on the bald Greek god and his son. Somehow it was a match made in heaven.
Kratos was an unstoppable force and Baldur was an immovable object since he literally cannot die (for most of the game). That’s why Baldur’s constant appearance and interruptions have always been puzzles as players try to subconsciously anticipate ways of permanently defeating him as they progress through the game.
3Dahaka – Prince Of Persia: Warrior Within
Similar to Baldur, the Dahaka is a mostly unkillable beast inPrince of Persia: Warrior Within.But its appearance in this game is more poetic as the Dahaka is more or less a consequence of the Prince toying with the Sands of Time. The Prince escaped certain death and the Dahaka made sure to correct this tampering with the universe’s constant rule.
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Hence, the Dahaka typically appears whenever the Prince messes with time. They’re mostly chasing sequences that put horror games to shame since even the Prince is powerless against such an omnipotent being. Adding to the fear factor is the fact that the Dahaka speaks and shouts threats in reverse.
2Liquid Snake – Metal Gear Solid
Liquid Snake is the evil mirror image of Solid Snake (who’d have guessed?) and appeared not only multiple times inMetal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakesbut also throughout the franchise. He mostly acts as an ominous shadow to Solid Snake, waiting for a chance to strike and when he does find it, players can bet that there’s a dramatic cutscene preceding it.
Because Liquid Snake has always held bitter resentment towards Solid Snake since the latter obtained their “father’s” dominant genes. Liquid framed himself as a villain in his mindset as early as childhood. That means his rivalry with Solid Snake can also count as a continuation of his hatred toward Big Boss.
1Genichiro Ashina – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Some bosses are just there to show the players how much theyhave to train and get strongerbefore they can achieve the same level. Genichiro Ashina ofSekiro: Shadows Die Twiceexists to impose that on the players. He’s the very first boss of the game and the fight was meant to be unwinnable (save for the most skilled); players were meant to lose.
Even if they won, Genichiro does Sekiro dirty and cuts off his hand then leaves him for dead. From that point on, players were already given a motivation for revenge apart from having to rescue a kid. Eventually, they would get another shot at fighting Genichiro and finally serve him some cold steel.
