Bosses are one of video games’ most standout elements, as they often encapsulate a lot of the game’s best features.
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Sometimes, gimmicks and spectacles are just as memorable.
Whether for gameplay, plot, or even audiovisual reasons, these figures represent their campaigns’ highest points, which is why they are usually the most memorable parts.
However, there’s one trope in particular where certain bosses pursue you throughout the entire adventure, allowing you to create a connection and a sense of progress that sits quite well with multiple titles.
Between becoming our arch-rivals and testing our growth as players, these ten video game bosses you fight multiple times are the most iconic of the medium.
10 Nelo Angelo
Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry is no stranger to the concept of repeating bosses, as most of them appear before Dante frequently.
However, the most enjoyable is Nelo Angelo. Given the sheer challenge and spectacle he offers (and for lore reasons), the only humanoid boss in the game presents a swordfight full of elegance and intensity.
After each confrontation, the feeling that there’s more than meets the eye is predominant, adding a layer of tension that suits our journey through Mallet Island exceedingly well.
While the game hasn’t aged well and suffers from an orthopedic design, Nelo Angelo is one of the main reasons it’s still worth playing even so many years later.
9 Baldur
God of War
- Released
- April 20, 2018
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- How Long To Beat
- 20 Hours
- Metascore
- 94
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Another title widely familiar with reusing bosses is God of War, although the only one that is enjoyable to see repeatedly is the great Baldur.
His presence and relationship with Kratos are the biggest elements moving the plot, making you feel the tension and worry of being hunted again by an entire mythology.
All his fights offer something to remember and manifest a great variety of gameplay and scenarios between them, leaving a trail of destruction in every encounter to truly represent a fight between gods.
Even though I’m not a fan of the reboot, Baldur is a terrific character, and meeting him multiple times was the best way to develop his mysterious background.
8 The Pursuer
Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin
Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin
- Released
- April 2, 2015
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood and Gore, Game Experience May Change During Online Play, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 36 Hours
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Dark Souls 2 integrates countless new ideas and concepts into the series’ formula, but one of my favorites is The Pursuer.
While you’re usually relentlessly chasing bosses, this warrior turns the tables and appears in front of you at the most unexpected times.
Gameplay-wise, he stops presenting a noticeable challenge as the game goes on, but it’s also the ultimate demonstration of your journey’s progress.
By the end, you end up loving The Pursuer in a way few Dark Souls 2 bosses achieve, which is a feat considering their improbable quality.
7 V2
Ultrakill
Ultrakill is a gem packed with secrets and incredible bosses, but the one that has stuck in my memory the most is the tremendous V2.
Both encounters with this supreme machine are an absolute delight in every sense, and the ease with which it creates the feeling of rivalry is mind-blowing.
Each fight in Ultrakill is a visual and gameplay spectacle, but V2 belongs to the same species as our protagonist, thus feeling like a dispute to see which is the superior being and adding a new layer to the duels.
While all the game’s encounters are memorable, this one is so full of expectation and showiness that it’s impossible not to develop a stronger esteem for it.
6 Sniper Wolf
Metal Gear Solid
- Released
- October 20, 1998
- Developer(s)
- Konami Computer Entertainment Japan
- Engine
- Fox Engine
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 12 Hours
Metal Gear Solid‘s bosses are wonderful for their variety and narrative depth, with Sniper Wolf being one of the most notable in the first installment.
Unlike many other main enemies, she best symbolizes the grayish tones the title seeks to manifest around war, with an extremely emotional background.
The two encounters with Sniper Wolf are unforgettable for different reasons—the first for the sniper’s introduction as a weapon, and the second for the revelation of her history and relationship with Otacon.
Knowing her true identity in duels through crosshairs is one of Metal Gear Solid‘s most distinctive experiences, and another way to explain its greatness.
5 Hornet
Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight‘s Hornet has become one of the game’s most easily recognizable faces, both because of the hype surrounding Silksong and her involvement in the original experience.
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The best metroidvania in gaming history has some pretty formidable foes.
Starting as a mysterious and adversarial figure, she ends up becoming one of our most faithful companions, even impacting the title’s ending in multiple ways.
The bond that the player develops with Hornet is genuine, as we find her both as a boss and as an NPC, something completely unusual within this trope.
In addition, her two fights are among the best in Hollow Knight, especially when analyzed in context, so Hornet stands out for both her gameplay and background.
4 Margit/Morgott
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
- Engine
- Proprietary
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 58 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- yes
- Metascore
- 96
- Platforms That Support Crossplay
- PS4 & PS5 and Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- Cross Save
- no
- Cross-Platform Play
- PS4 & PS5 and Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
It may be the most accessible Soulsborne game, but if there’s one boss that perfectly fulfills the cruel intent of its tutorial, it’s Elden Ring‘s Morgott.
In the role of Margit, The Fell Omen, he’s the first obstacle to overcome in The Lands Between, teaching you to explore and strengthen yourself before continuing through the main areas.
If you heed his warning, you’ll learn how Elden Ring works from first contact, fulfilling its purpose of testing you both on a story and gameplay level.
If you don’t heed him, you’ll see why you should, especially when you encounter him a second time as Morgott, The Omen King and unleashes upon you one of the best choreographies ever seen in a FromSoftware game.
After you discover his true identity and suffer all his power, it’s easy to understand why he’s one of the best bosses in the entire franchise.
3 Erlang
Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong
- Released
- August 20, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Game Science
- Publisher(s)
- Game Science
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 39 hours
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Black Myth: Wukong is among the best video games of 2024, mainly because of its spectacular bosses and its magnificent interpretation of Chinese mythology.
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Be careful of these bosses, Destined One.
The title presents many fascinating figures, but none of them are at the level of Erlang, one of the most demanding challenges the gaming industry has ever witnessed.
While the first encounter with him is an accessible tutorial, the second fight is a colossal hell from which you will hardly get out.
Following the confusing questline that allows you to see him again is a problem in itself, but beating Erlang is a feat very few players can brag about.
However, being one of the most powerful beings in Chinese mythology and an optional boss, its difficulty is understandable and worthy of the most memorable fight in the entire game.
2 Vergil
Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening
As one of the most iconic action characters of all time, Vergil is a wonderful figure that you develop an indescribable relationship with.
With his enviable style and majestic set pieces, facing off against Dante’s brother is an unmatched delight in and outside hack-and-slash games.
Seeing how both become more powerful in Devil May Cry 3 and how it translates to each encounter’s complexity is among the reasons why it’s one of its genre’s best titles.
The first fight with Vergil alone is better than many entire experiences, and considering you fight him three times throughout the game, it’s obvious why everyone considers this sequel a cult classic.
1 Genichiro
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- Released
- March 22, 2019
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Violence
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
If you think about all the aspects that characterize bosses you fight multiple times, you’ll find them all in Genichiro Ashina from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
From demonstrating our lack of skills at the game’s beginning to testing our mastery of the flow state, Genichiro is the personification of perfection as a boss.
His difficulty, phase changes, attack pattern, and story set him up flawlessly to be a desirable encounter at every point in the adventure.
You face him at the campaign’s beginning, midpoint, and end, always accompanying you and reminding you of your achievements and failures. Without a doubt, one of the best-designed confrontations in video game history.
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