Boss fights are usually the most intense moments in games, cranking up the excitement and keeping players on edge. But if the fight is poorly designed or doesn’t meet expectations, it can totally kill the mood. On the flip side, some boss battles are not only fun and creative but also leave players scratching their heads, unsure how to handle the challenge. Here’s a list of 10 bosses that confuse players so much you need pure brainpower to take them down.
The Phantom (Kingdom Hearts), Using magic to stop Big Ben’s clock
Kingdom Hearts has its fair share of weird bosses, and The Phantom from the first game is probably the strangest. It uses a nasty attack called Death Sentence. When it hits your party with this, a doom timer appears above the affected member’s head. When the timer hits zero, that character is out for the rest of the fight with no chance to revive.
To counter this, you have to cast Stopra on Big Ben’s clock. This freezes the timer temporarily, giving you a window to focus on beating the boss. Luckily, fighting The Phantom isn’t mandatory. But if you want to take it on, be sure to gear up fully because this fight will be brutal. A cool bonus: after defeating The Phantom, you unlock Stopga, a stronger version of Stopra.
Two Pyramid Heads (Silent Hill 2), Survive until time runs out
Silent Hill 2 is famous for the terrifying Pyramid Head, who haunts protagonist James Sunderland throughout the game. Just before the final boss, you face not one but two Pyramid Heads. Since you’ve already fought one before, you know how tough they are. Facing two at once feels nearly impossible.
They move fast and hit hard, so one mistake means Game Over. But the key isn’t to kill both, it’s to survive for a set amount of time. The tricky part is there’s no visible countdown. If you run out of ammo, you have to keep running until the two Pyramid Heads end up fighting each other. If you have plenty of bullets, every shot you land reduces the hidden timer.
Psycho Mantis (Metal Gear Solid), Switch controller ports
Another classic from Hideo Kojima, Psycho Mantis in the original Metal Gear Solid is a powerful psychic boss. He can read your controller inputs and predict your moves, making him a nightmare to fight. So how do you beat someone who knows your every move?
The trick is simple: unplug your controller and plug it into the second port. This blocks Mantis from reading your inputs, so he can’t predict your moves anymore. After that, the fight becomes much more manageable as long as you don’t get careless. If you pay attention to the in-game codec conversations, Colonel Campbell hints at this strategy. Otherwise, good luck figuring it out on your own.
Mr. Freeze (Batman: Arkham City), Master Batman’s moves
Mr. Freeze is arguably the toughest boss in the Arkham City series. What makes him unique is that he counters all of Batman’s attacks, so you can only use each move once before he adapts. There are 12 ways to attack him, and you need to land 5 hits on Normal, 8 on Hard, and 9 on New Game+ to win.
To beat him, you have to be really skilled with Batman’s moves and know exactly when to use each one. Many players get stuck here because they don’t know what to do next. It’s a frustrating fight, but also one of the most creative and well-designed bosses, requiring a deep understanding of Batman’s abilities.
Anubis (Zone Of The Enders), Wait for backup
Zone of the Enders is a short linear game, but the final boss Anubis is tricky. The cutscene warns you about his overwhelming power, and you’re clearly outmatched. Still, you might want to try fighting him solo just to see what happens.
But you’re not ready. At the start of the fight, Anubis teleports around, dodging every attack you throw. One hit from him and you’re done for.
On higher difficulties, Anubis relentlessly punishes you. The solution is to stall just long enough for Elena to show up and save you. Of course, this surprise rescue can feel anticlimactic. So in the sequel, the developers let players fight Anubis solo without any gimmicks.
Source: What Culture, translated by GVN360
