A Japanese-exclusive PlayStation RPG released in 1994, Kings Field was an ambitious, ahead-of-its-time title that set in motion a series of events that would culminate in the legendary Dark Souls series. A collection of hardcore fantasy RPGs so influential that they would inspire an entire subgenre, it's astounding to think that such a high-profile collection of games would spawn from such humble origins.
While most FromSoftware games are known for their difficulty, they're also celebrated for their horror elements; creepy catacombs and harrowing abysses are a staple of the developer's work, and, from powerful necromancers to elder gods, bosses play a major part in that image.
Guardian Ape
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Perhaps the most infamous boss in the already legendarily-difficult Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the Guardian Ape is extremely erratic, incredibly quick, and has both AoE and ranged attacks that can be very tough to dodge.
His most frightening aspect, of course, is the fact that he revives himself after his head is severed for a surprise second round. Now wielding a sword and capable of inflicting the incredibly lethal fear status effect, the second phase of the fight is as tough as it is creepy. Plus, defeating the monstrosity reveals that its immortality was granted by a centipede infestation.
Reinhardt III
King's Field
The first of FromSoftware's pioneering lineage of PlayStation RPGs, the first King's Field never received a proper North American port, and the King's Field Western gamers know was actually a sequel that simply disregarded the original. With that in mind, though fan translations of the title do exist, in-game lore remains pretty sparse and tough to decipher.
Vague and obscure lore wouldn't stop most Souls veterans, of course, and those who venture down into King's Field's abyssal depths will be met with one of the most disturbing bosses in series history. What appears to be a pillar of tentacles adorned with an eerie white mask, Reinhardt III is a fittingly weird conclusion to an oddball RPG.
Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy
Elden Ring
Those who venture to the treacherous peak of Elden Ring's Mt. Gelmir will gain access to Volcano Manor, a legacy dungeon in which resides the God-devouring Serpent. A gimmick boss fight that all but requires the use of the Serpent-hunter Great Spear, the first phase is creepy enough, but things become much stranger when a mid-battle cutscene reveals the snake to harbor the form of Rykard.
Capable of spewing storms and summoning skulls that resemble Lost Souls from the Doom franchise, Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy is easily the eeriest boss encounter in Elden Ring.
The Duke's Dear Freja
Dark Souls II
When it first debuted in 2014, Dark Souls II was initially panned partially because of its many lackluster bosses. While battles against The Last Giant and Lost Sinner may feel fairly formulaic, The Duke's Dear Freja certainly stood out, particularly among the other bosses in the game's first half.
A massive, abhorrent spider with two heads, The Duke's Dear Freja comes across as a twisted version of the Armored Spider from Demon's Souls. Capable of launching lasers from its mouths and summoning a horde of arachnid minions, it's easily among the most grotesque in the Dark Souls series.
Aldrich, Devourer of Gods
Dark Souls III
Aldritch was once a Lord of Cinder who amassed an amazing amount of power by consuming the souls of his followers in Iirythill. When he was revived to once again assume his throne at the outset of Dark Souls 3, he instead chose to invade the remains of Anor Londo and consume the soul of Dark Sun Gwyndolin.
When the player encounters Aldrich, the being engages in battle by manifesting powers it absorbed from Gwyndolin. Now nothing more than an amorphous black mass with an all-consuming hunger for powerful beings, Aldrich definitely stands as one of Dark Souls III's most horrific entities.
Gravelord Nito
Dark Souls
Said to be the first to die at the dawn of the Age of Fire, Gravelord Nito claimed a Lord Soul and became an embodiment of pestilence and death. Encountered beneath the Tomb of the Giants in the first Dark Souls game, Gravelord Nito is an intimidating foe capable of summoning ethereal swords from the ground and commanding a skeleton army.
Though he's nowhere as difficult as Black Dragon Kalameet or Abysswalker Artorias, Gravelord Nito has to be one of the most fearsome bosses in the Dark Souls trilogy based just on appearance.
High Lord Wolnir
Dark Souls III
One of the less remarkable bosses of the third Dark Souls outing, High Lord Wolnir is encountered in the Catacombs of Carthus atop a high precipice. A former Lord of Carthus now claimed by the abyss, Wolnir was as detestable in life as he is in death.
While the actual battle may not be particularly memorable, Wonir is introduced via a very effective jumpscare. His unexpected size and frightening visage are definitely off-putting, and, while he doesn't live up to the likes of Pontiff Sullivan or Aldritch, Devourer of Gods, High Lord Wolnir is undeniably creepy.
The Dark One
King's Field: The Ancient City
The swan song of the King's Field franchise, King's Field IV—known as King's Field: The Ancient City in North America—takes place in Heladin, a kingdom cursed by an artifact known as The Idol of Sorrow. Players embark on a quest to rescue the kingdom by returning the idol to its original resting place, though that's, of course, much easier said than done.
The fourth King's Field installment really leans into the grimdark aesthetics that would come to typify the Souls series. It's ending, which takes place in the deepest, most corrupted pit of the Land of Disaster, is the best example of this. The boss is also a writhing mass of tentacles that only barely resembles a human, something which calls to mind the equally strange One Reborn from Bloodborne.
Moon Presence
Bloodborne
The 2015 PlayStation 4 exclusive title Bloodborne was, at the time, FromSoftware's most imaginative and uncompromising effort, and it marked at least a slight departure from the Dark Souls series. Abandoning the overt fantasy elements of its predecessors, Bloodborne instead takes place in the Victorian-inspired city of Yharnam and draws almost directly from Lovecraftian lore.
While every major boss in Bloodborne is scary on some level, the absolute eeriest is The Moon Presence, the secret final boss which only appears if certain conditions are met. A faceless abomination representative of the hidden horrors lurking in the dark spheres beyond reality, The Moon Presence embodies the madness-inducing terror of many of Lovecraft's most well-known monsters.
Manus, Father of the Abyss
Dark Souls
Hypothesized by some to have once been the Furtive Pygmy, the progenitor of humanity in the Dark Souls universe, Manus' grave was unearthed by the residents of Oolacile, triggering the spread of the Abyss throughout Lordran. While not even Artorias could defeat such a powerful entity, the Chosen Undead eventually shows up to save the day.
Found at the bottom of a foreboding cave, Manus looks like a Bloodborne boss that escaped into the first Dark Souls game. A mass of contorted limbs, horns, and eyes, Manus is as scary as he is powerful, and he far outpaces Gwyn, Lord of Cinder in of difficulty.
