Ranking Bloodborne Bosses from Worst to Best.

The game that first introduced me to FromSoftware was Elden Ring.
Being extremely challenging, yet also extremely rewarding, it quickly became one of my favorite video games of all time.
So, when I finally got my hands on a PlayStation 5, one of the first games I tried was the Demon’s Souls remake.
Unfortunately, despite multiple attempts, I never connected with the game enough to get very far in it, and this put me off the rest of the FromSoftware lineup.
As the years passed, though, I kept hearing about the game many considered to be the best in the Soulsborne catalogue: Bloodborne.
It got to the point that one day, when I found a copy in a retro-gaming store, I decided to bite the bullet and try it.
And I am so glad I did.
For me, Bloodborne lived up to all of the hype, especially in regards to its incredible boss roster.
After I finished the game for the first time, I immediately decided to replay it and then rank the bosses from worst to best, excluding those from the Chalice Dungeons.
This ranking is based off those two playthroughs and takes gameplay, lore, challenge and fun all into account.
Despite the mostly high quality of the bosses overall, one of them had to end up at the bottom of the list, and that boss is…

22. Micolash, Host of the Nightmare.

I will give Micolash some credit, his voice acting and personality are entertaining.
There, credit given.
Now, for the bad.
Found in the Nightmare of Mensis, Micolash’s “fight” can hardly be called that, at first.
The moment the boss begins, Micolash runs away from the player, starting a chase which can either end quickly or drag on for minutes.
Once finally cornered, you have the choice of first taking out his two puppets or fighting all three at once.
I would suggest taking out the puppets before Micolash because that makes his Augur of Ebrietas attack much easier to dodge.
This single attack takes off a great deal of health, but it is the only attack Micolash has in this first phase.
Around half health, he vanishes and you have to chase him down again, although this time the chase if far more scripted.
Upon cornering him for a second time, he gains two more moves.
The first is a measly punch that does barely any damage.
The second attack, named A Call Beyond, does way too much damage.
If you die in this fight, it will most likely be because Micolash one-shot you with the attack.
Oh, and he can spam it multiple times, so dodging it the first time does not mean you will the second, third, or even fourth.
And, once you die, you have to go through the long process of chasing him just to get to this point all over again, so have fun with that.
I certainly did not.
Going through that arduous process just to get one-shot by A Call Beyond (or more embarrassingly, falling to my death at one point) over and over again was endlessly frustrating and boring.
The chase can go on for too long, Micolash’s move-set is way too limited, and his second phase is accompanied by an annoying one-shot attack that he can spam endlessly.
The only thing Micolash has going for is, again, his voice-acting and personality, which did admittedly get a few chuckles out of me.
Otherwise, there is absolutely nothing that works about this boss, making him easily Bloodborne’s worst, in my opinion.

21. Rom, the Vacuous Spider.

The runner-up for worst boss in Bloodborne goes to Rom, the Vacuous Spider.
Located at the end of the surprisingly short Byrgenwerth area, Rom is unfortunately nowhere near as short.
Like Micolash, you will probably die a few times fighting her, and these fights are quite frustrating.
On a positive note, I will say that Rom’s arena is excellent, and defeating her is significant because it unveils the cosmic horror at Bloodborne’s center.
Sadly, this is the only praise I can give Rom,
Again, like Micolash, her moveset is extremely limited.
She does not even attack in phase one, and her attacks are pretty basic in phases two and three.
That is not why she is ranked down at twenty-one, though.
No, it is her many, many, many spider children that bring her down this low.
The moment Rom is attacked, these spiders will fall from the sky and swarm the player.
This leads to endless frustration because these spiders hit way harder than they should, leading to many deaths when they strike you from behind while you’re trying to fight Rom.
Even taking the spiders out before dealing with Rom is a nuisance because of their armoured heads, which makes trying to kill them all extend the fight even longer.
Oh, and if you do decide to take the risk of leaving the spiders alive while fighting Rom, the arena will soon become so full of spiders that it tanks the frame rate a bit, making the boss more difficult.
Whenever I died to Rom, it never felt fair due to the other spiders’ involvement.
The story impact and beauty of the arena is the only thing saving Rom from the bottom of the list.

20. Witch of Hemwick.

Found at the end of Hemwick Charnel Lane, the Witch of Hemwick is one of Bloodborne’s blandest bosses.
Upon entering the arena, the witch will summon a Mad One, probably tricking the player into thinking that is the boss.
The real boss is invisible, so you need to track her down to attack, with the Witch teleporting around the arena after a few hits.
So begins a boring game of hide and seek, where you find and attack the Witch while avoiding the Mad Ones it spawns.
This would have been bad enough but then it turns out the name of the boss is inaccurate.
It is actually the Witches of Hemwick because another one spawns after you kill the first, which can also annoyingly be revived by the second.
The freezing spells they unleash can also extend the length of the fight if you get hit, so that is frustrating.
Luckily, the Witch of Hemwick is actually one of the easiest fights in the game, being one of only three bosses I have never died against in my two playthroughs.
Had she actually offered difficulty like Micolash and Rom then you can bet the Witch of Hemwick would have been in last place for my ranking.

19. Celestial Emissary.

As you progress through Bloodborne, you will encounter various enemies that suggest there is something more otherworldly going on than just the Beast plague.
The Celestial Minions are one such enemy and you can encounter them a few times before their boss at the orphanage.
This fight offers very little of interest, but it is the second Bloodborne boss I never died to, so it is at least not frustrating.
At first, the boss seems to be just a horde of standard minions, until you notice one standing back.
Unlike the others, this one does not attack you but hit him enough and he will transform into a larger version of himself, which unfortunately does not help his case.
The only reason there would be any challenge to the Celestial Emissary is if the player found some difficulty in navigating the spawning minions, much like Rom’s spiders.
Although, it is relieving to say that the minions are nowhere near as annoying as those spiders, considering that, again, this boss did not kill me in either of my playthroughs.
So, much like the Witch of Hemwick, it is a boring boss, but one that is saved from being lower by not being too much of an annoyance.
There is also the horrifying implication of finding this boss at the orphanage, suggesting than the Choir transformed children into the Celestial Minions, which is just another level of evil.

18. Living Failures.

Barely edging out their more successful counterparts, the Living Failures are the lowest ranked DLC boss on this list.
You will not see another boss from the Old Hunters until much further down, showing how high quality the rest of them are.
As for the Living Failures, not everything about them fails.
Their arena is well designed, and the attack where they call down meteors is fun to avoid.
Not to mention their soundtrack is excellent, arguably too great for such an average boss.
The Living Falures share a health bar, and their attacks range from launching magic at the player, to swinging their surprisingly hard-hitting fists.
You basically just have to target one away from the others, deal enough blows to kill it, move onto the next one, rinse and repeat.
I would like to say they were one of the bosses I never died to but, unfortunately, the strength of their blows caught me off guard on my first attempt and I died once.
It is a bit of a humbling experience to be killed by something known as a failure, especially with how basic their moveset is.
Still, their epic soundtrack and arena is enough to place them above the Celestial Emissary.

17. Amygdala.

r/bloodborne - does anyone know how tall the amygdala is?

Seen in Cathedral War and throughout Yahar’gul after killing Rom, the Amydala are a constant and threatening presence.
These eldritch abominations constantly watching your progress and occasionally attacking you does a good job of building up to the eventual boss fight.
Unfortunately, said fight arrives at the end of the Nightmare Frontier, my least favorite area in all of Bloodborne.
Thank the Great Ones there was a shortcut to the boss because if I had to avoid the poison swamp every attempt, Amygdala would have been a lot lower on this list.
As for the actual fight itself, it is sadly something of a disappointment.
The boss has its moments, like when the Great One fires lasers at you or when it rips off its own arms to attack you with.
Otherwise, the fight is a bit of a letdown for a boss hyped up since the defeat of Rom.
The Amygdala’s head takes the most damage but, much like the Ancient Dragons in Elden Ring, this weak point is constantly out of range, meaning the player has to target other parts like the arms and legs.
However, the arms are risky because they are being continuously swung at you, and it takes forever to kill the boss if you target the legs and tail.
So, you either risk getting killed a bunch by standard hand swings, or have a slow and drawn out fight that takes way too long.
Like I said, Amydala has its moments, but not enough to put it any higher on the list.

16. The One Reborn.

I was surprised to see a lot of people rank The One Reborn at the bottom of their lists.
This is not to say I think the fight is incredible; it comes in at number sixteen, after all.
But I still found enough value of here to call The One Reborn a solid boss.
For staters, the Great One is bar none the most disgusting enemy in the game, and that is saying something.
Formed from the rotting corpses of countless people sacrificed in the Mensis Ritual, the One Reborn is aided by six chime maidens who shoot fireballs and can heal the boss.
So, if you want an easier time, kill the maidens first.
That being said, on my first playthrough, I killed the boss without realizing I could take the maidens out, so your experience may vary.
The One Reborn’s moves consist of standard body slams and leg kicks.
It can also drop bodies from the freaking sky but if you have a high enough vitality level you can pretty easily tank these hits if they connect.
I only died once each playthrough to the One Reborn, but both these times I was killed by the boss’ most annoying move, which is covering the ground in a toxic sludge.
This is quite hard to notice if you are focused on hitting the boss, so the first time I died to the move I had no idea what had happened.
Other than this cheap move, which forces you to keep distance, I found The One Reborn to be a solid fight.
Not Bloodborne’s best but certainly not its worst which some players ranked it as.

15. Moon Presence.

Potentially the final boss of Bloodborne, in order to fight the Moon Prescence you have to consume three one thirds of an umbilical cord (yes, I said what I said).
Following a cinematic and threatening cutscene, the fight begins… and it is unfortunately a letdown.
Don’t get me wrong, the Moon Prescence is fine enough as a boss, but as the secret final fight of the game it left much to be desired.
Like Amygdala, it mostly uses physical attacks, which seems basic for an otherworldly being beyond our understanding.
The Moon Prescence’s most unique attack is when it brings your health down to one, but the boss’ recovery period following this move is so long you can completely regain your health by either downing blood vials, or by using the rally mechanic.
The boss arena is also excellent, but this is more Gehrman’s arena, since you fight him here beforehand.
Overall, the Moon Prescence is a fine enough boss.
If it had been a fight earlier in the game, it would have been higher.
As the final fight, it left me wanting more from it.

14. Cleric Beast.

We go from potentially the final boss of the game to potentially the first.
The Cleric Beast is located on a bridge in Old Yharnam and is well built up to, since the beast is heard screeching when you climb up the first ladder.
Get used to this screeching because the boss will make this noise constantly when it jumps down at you, taking wild swings.
Much like the Moon Presence, the Cleric’s Beasts attacks are physically orientated and basic, but this works for a first boss as opposed to a final one.
It also serves as a lesson for new players about what works best against Beast enemies.
Chucking the molotovs collected on the journey to reach the boss ends the fight much quicker.
The only issue I can think of is the boss’ constant screaming but a lot of bosses in Bloodborne do that so you will get used to it pretty quick.
The Cleric Beast is a solid tutorial boss for the game that teaches the player how to deal with Beasts.

13. Dark Beast Paarl

Located in Yahar’gul, Dark Beast Paarl is unique in that he is a late game boss who can be fought earlier in the playthrough.
All you need to do is be killed and captured by a Snatcher and you will be taken to be presumably used in the Mensis Ritual.
If you choose to progress through the area, you can find the Dark Beast guarding the back entrance to Old Yharnam.
The boss ambushes you, seemingly rising from the dead and imbuing itself with bolt damage, which you must stun it out of if you are to have a chance of winning.
The Dark Beast is a struggle this early in the game, but you can always leave and return after Rom’s defeat, when the fight will be easier.
This was what I did on my first playthrough, but on my second I attempted and succeeded in killing him in the early game.
The added factor of having the chance to fight Dark Beast Paarl in the early game makes him standout, especially from the bosses which are much lower on the list.

12. Shadows of Yharnam.

FromSoftware’s gank fights are very hit or miss.
I have not played Dark Souls yet, but I have heard endless praise for its Ornstein and Smough fight.
That being said, gank fights like the Godskin Duo and Valiant Gargoyles from Elden Ring are among the worst in the game.
Upon completing Bloodborne twice, I can safely say I feel much more positively about the Shadows of Yharnam.
Acting as the guards for Byrgenwerth, the three Shadows have a great mix of combat styles.
One uses aggressive sword swipes, one stays back launching fire projectiles, and the final Shadow uses a mix of both.
This allows the player to mostly focus on the three one at a time, but the Shadows have a final trick up their sleeve.
Do enough damage and they will reveal the serpents inside them and launch snake attacks at you, which felt like an early stage of the Messmer fight from the Shadows of the Erdtree DLC.
If you read my Elden Ring boss ranking, you would know that Messmer is my favorite fight in the game, so being reminded of him when fighting the Shadows of Yharnam was a big point in their favor.
Sure, their impact is slightly lessened when they appear as standard enemies in the Nightmare of Mensis, but these enemies do not have the snake attacks, so they feel separate from the boss.
The Shadows of Yharnam is a gank fight done right.

11. Blood-starved Beast

Found at the end of Old Yharnam (a fantastic area in its own right) the Blood-starved Beast is something of a controversial boss.
Some enjoy it while others really don’t.
Personally, I had a lot of fun fighting it.
Its first phase is pretty easy, considering you just have to dodge left into the attack to avoid most of his strikes.
It can be made even easier by throwing pungent blood cocktails to lure the Beast away, giving you the chance to get a few strikes in.
The second phase gets a bit harder by making the attacks poison, so be sure to bring some antidote to the boss.
For the third phase, however, do not even bother with the antidote unless you are near death.
You will be poisoned simply by being around the Blood-starved Beast, meaning every antidote usage will just give the Beast more chances to hit you.
Focus on getting damage and avoiding his attacks and you will come through victorious.
The Blood-starved Beast starts off easy but gets progressively harder due to the poison, but in a way that feels fair, which puts it higher up on the list, just outside the top ten.

10. Laurence, the First Vicar.

After eight placements, we finally get another DLC boss.
Laurence, the First Vicar takes tenth place and that may be a bit of a surprise, considering how controversial he is.
I have seen a lot of people hate on Laurence and I get why.
He is the most out of way boss to find in the DLC, he does extreme damage, and his first phase is just a Cleric Beast only with fire effects added.
Personally, though, I actually like that Laurence is a Cleric Beast because it works for the lore.
It makes sense that the person arguably most responsible for the horrifying events of the game is twisted into a stronger version of the first boss you fight.
Even then, there is more to the fight than that because, once he reaches half health, Laurence’s legs disintergrate and he somehow becomes more difficult.
His swipes seem to hit harder, he shoots lava from his mouth and even emits it from his body, and his ground slams seem to go on endlessly.
For this phase, I would suggest getting in close to Laurence’s sides.
Attempting to maintain distance only ends badly.
On my first playthrough, I found Laurence to be the second hardest boss of the game but, funnily enough, on my second playthrough it only took me two attempts to beat him.
Maybe I just got lucky on that second playthrough, but going from endlessly losing against him to beating him pretty easily was a worthwhile experience that just pushed Laurence into the top ten.

9. Mergo’s Wet Nurse.

In ninth place, we have the final boss I never died to in either of my playthroughs.
I was surprised by this, given how late her fight is in the game.
Despite its ease, I still had a lot of fun fighting Mergo’s Wet Nurse.
For starters, her design is excellent, and the cutscene introducing her does an excellent job of making her appear as the threatening defender of a baby Great One.
Then there is her soundtrack, which is the most unique in Bloodborne, being a lullaby first heard in Central Yharnam.
Most of her attacks are sword slices that are shockingly easy to avoid.
Just stick to her backside and you will be out of range for most of her slashes.
The difficulty only arrives when the Wet Nurse clones herself.
It can be hard to stay focused on attacking her, when you have to worry about her twin striking you from off-screen.
While this did come close to killing me once, I was still able to pull through and get the win.
Lore-wise the fight is also memorable for the second encounter it provides with Queen Yharnam.
Upon defeating the Wet Nurse and putting Mergo to rest, the Queen fades away, seemingly at peace.
For the lore and fun nature of the fight, Mergo’s Wet Nurse takes ninth place, but it could have gone further if the boss had been a little more challenging.

8. Vicar Amelia.

Vicar Amelia served as my first roadblock in Bloodborne.
Yes, I had died fighting the Cleric Beast and Father Gascoigne, but that was only a few times.
In comparison, it took me close to ten attempts to beat Vicar Amelia on my first playthrough.
The cutscene introducing her is one of the most brutal in the game, with her transforming into a giant Wendigo-like Beast, despite her prayers.
From the beginning of the fight, Amelia hits hard for the early game, striking at the player while constantly shrieking.
Aiming for her legs is your best bet but, should you get her to phase two, be sure to keep close because, otherwise, Amelia may heal herself, making the fight last longer.
Once beaten, the player can then access a Cleric Beast skull to witness Laurence and Willem’s falling out, learning the iconic adage, “Fear the Old Blood.”
If only Laurence and Amelia had taken this quote to heart, then they may not have become so beastly by the end.
A challenging fight, which serves as the key to an important piece of Bloodborne lore, Vicar Amelia is certainly a memorable fight.
My only issue is that her boss theme is just a repeat of the Cleric Beast.

7. Gehrman, the First Hunter.

I have seen Gehrman ranked pretty highly among Bloodborne’s bosses, so it may be a surprise that he is only number seven on this list.
The guardian of the Hunter’s Dream, Gehrman has pretty tragic lore.
Forced to guide Hunters like yourself, the First Hunter attempts to free you from the dream at the end of the game.
Accept, and you will be free while Gehrman remains trapped.
Refuse, and Gehrman will fight you, with both Hunters aiming to free the other from this nightmare.
The tragedy of the fight is sold by the stunning arena of white flowers, and emotional score, which is one of the best in the game.
As for Gehrman’s moveset, he switches weapons across the fight, occasionally being powered up by the Moon Presence.
His sythe is the most difficult of his attacks to dodge but, even then, I did not find him to be that much of a challenge, only dying a few times.
This was most likely due to me beating the DLC before his fight both times, but that was pretty much a requirement, considering beating the final boss automatically sends you to a new game.
As a result, I found that I did not have his moveset down 100%, despite defeating him in only a couple attempts.
Also, even though the lore of Gehrman is tragic, I found the reveal of him being one of the final bosses a little bit lacking.
Outside of the opening, you rarely interact with Gehrman in the Hunter’s Dream, since the Doll is the main NPC there.
Still, Gehrman’s fight is fun from what I saw of it, and the soundtrack, arena and lore are all great, which is why he finds himself in seventh place.

6. Father Gascoigne.

While the Cleric Beast serves as a great tutorial for Beast bosses, preparing players for fights like the Blood-starved Beast and Vicar Amelia, Fahter Gascoigne acts as a tutorial for Hunter bosses such as Gehrman and Lady Maria.
Gascoigne is also the center of one of the first quests you can find in the game.
Encountering his daughter at a window, she will ask you to find her parents.
This is a FromSoft game, however, so of course it has to end with everybody dying.
By the time you find Gascoigne, he has become so blood crazed that he has killed his wife.
Declaring that we will also be a Beast soon, Gascoigne attacks us with his axe trick weapon.
The graves surrounding the arena make for great barriers to create distance with Gascoigne, before closing in to attack.
He is also the first boss that allows you to parry, which can often be key to help defeating Hunter bosses.
Gascoigne does not stay a Hunter forever, though, because in his final phase he transforms into a Beast, increasing his aggression and damage output.
It is quite easy to die to this final phase, and on my second playthrough I did die when I was one hit away from defeating him, which was frustrating, but the fun kind.
To make the fight easier, you can also use the music box given to you by the little girl to make her father remember, temporarily stunning him.
Speaking of the little girl, her story also sends in tragedy, being killed by a massive pig in the sewers.
There are no happy endings in Bloodborne, and the best we can do for Gascoigne is to send him to be with the rest of his family.

5. Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos.

Ebrietas | Neutral Characters Wiki | Fandom

Ebrietas is perhaps one of the most important bosses to Bloodborne’s lore.
It is her blood which may ultimately have been used to create the Healing Church, thus leading to the eventual Beast plague.
For such an important boss, you sure have to go out of your way to find her.
Seriously, I am not sure how anyone could realise you needed to break through a window in the Celestial Emissary’s arena without reading some kind of guide.
Once you reach the Alter of Despair where Ebrietas resides, the sight is a sad one.
Resting in front of a fallen Great One (which looks a lot like Rom) Ebrietas will not attack the Hunter until you strike first.
From here, the fight begins like many Great One battles, since most of Ebrietas’ attacks are physical.
That being said, they feel a lot fairer than say Amygdala’s since it is relatively easy to bait Ebrietas into attempting to strike you with her massive head, which you can then attack to get the most damage.
Ebrietas’ attacks do not stay physical forever, though.
She will eventually begin spitting frenzy inducing blood at you, so it is best to keep sedatives on hand.
In her second phase, Ebrietas summons otherworldly powers, like a life drain which gradually takes away your health when you get close to her.
The boss’ most dangerous attack, however, is A Call Beyond.
Unlike with Micolash, this attack feels fair, giving the Hunter plenty of time to dodge it, and Ebrietas does not spam it.
The only attack that does not feel fair is her charge attack, which has only a brief signal and an annoying hitbox.
Aside from this, Ebrieras is a challenging, yet fun fight, and the best Great One boss in the base game.
And, after you beat her, you can use the Alter of Despair to revive Queen Annalise, if you have reached that point in the Vileblood questline.
Speaking of…

4. Martyr Logarius.

In my opinion, the title of best boss in the base game goes to Martyr Logarius.
Found at Castle Cainhurst, Logarius has one of my favorite boss cutscenes in the entire game.
Watching his skeletal form unfreeze itself and rise from his makeshift throne felt intimidating, and the way the sound design plays, with the music cutting out right before Logarius rises, plays into that excellently.
His fight is also unique compared to Bloodborne’s human bosses because he is a spellcaster.
He will spend the majority of his first phase casting magical skulls at the player, while occasionally taking a few swipes with his sword.
I suggest getting in close for this phase because standing back while Logarius flings spells at you is a surefire way to get a YOU DIED screen.
His physical attacks can be paried, though, so that makes the fight a little easier.
What will make it harder is backing him into a corner or fighting him near the edge of the building, where you can easily get knocked off, which happened to me a couple times.
The power-up for his second phase does give you enough time to get a visceral attack in.
Once he recovers, or fully powers up to his second phase, Logarius becomes much more aggressive, now relying mostly on sword strikes, and often charging the player from the sky.
His most important spell in this phase is his sword strike, which generates multiple blades to fly at the player.
Dealing both with this and Logarius’ attacks makes the fight more difficult, but you can thankfully destroy the sword with a gunshot to stop the spell from continuing.
Once defeated, Logarius will also drop the Clown of Illusions, allowing you to meet the Vileblood Queen and finish Alfred’s questline.
Do you allow the fanatical order Logarius led to win by causing the Queen’s death, or do you foil them by reviving her using the Alter of Despair?
The choice is yours.
Martyr Logarius is a great fight, with an intimidating cutscene, and fun spells to avoid.
The only reason he is not in the top three is because his runback is the worst in the game, even with the shortcut.

3. Orphan of Kos.

FromSoftware usually saves their best bosses for the DLC.
They did this for Shadow of the Erdtree, with bosses like Messmer, Midra and Bayle and they did this years earlier with Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters DLC.
The fact that the top three bosses on this list are from the DLC should confirm to you how much I loved playing this expansion.
Of the three, I would say Orphan of Kos is the weakest but still an incredible fight.
Before Malenia and Radahn, the Orphan stood at the pinnacle of gaming difficulty.
Some say Laurence is harder but, after playing through the DLC twice, I definitely disagree.
The buildup to the boss is excellent, as you struggle through the scourged remains of the Fishing Hamlet, until you reach Kos’ corpse.
The cutscene that follows is quite disgusting, as the Orphan crawls from its mother’s body, before weeping.
This inspires sympathy that quickly turns to terror upon the Orphan attacking you with its own placenta, dealing heavy damage.
You can stun the Orphan and even visceral it, but this is little comfort when the boss enters its second phase, spawning a pair of wings and somehow becoming even more aggressive.
I found that dodging to the right of the Orphan’s attacks was the best strategy during this phase, but I still died plenty of times to his ground strikes and AOE attacks.
His most iconic attack arrives when he gives a signature cry and lightning strikes his mother’s corpse, spreading out to do shocking damage to the player if it connects.
Whether this is the Orphan using its mother’s body, or Kos responding to her son from beyond the grave no one knows.
What is known by almost every Bloodborne player is that finally beating the Orphan of Kos is an immensely euphoric experience.
My first time defeating him, I collapsed backwards onto my bed in utter exhaustion.
Despite the trial that was his fight, I still found it worth my time.
Even victorious, I felt like I had only won by the skin of my teeth on both playthroughs.
If I had to name a criticism, it would be that the Orphan has the weakest soundtrack of the DLC’s five bosses (I cannot believe I am saying Living Failures have a better OST but there it is).
Even then, the score is still great.
Orphan of Kos is without a doubt Bloodborne’s hardest boss, but it is also one of its best.

2. Ludwig the Accursed/Holy Blade.

Going into Ludwig’s fight, I knew he was a boss many considered to be the best of Bloodborne.
While there is one boss who I would rank higher, Ludwig certainly lives up to expectations.
Located in a literal corpse pit, the once proud Hunter is now a hideous monstrousity.
As opposed to other Beasts, Ludwig takes the form of a horse rather than a wolf.
Some even theorize that he merged with his horse upon transformation.
Radahn would approve.
The first phase of his fight is extremely chaotic, in the best of ways.
Ludwig will strike at you, spew at you, jump down from the cieling, and unleash one of the hardest hitting charge attacks in the game.
Do not get behind Ludwig to strike him, though, because he will just horse kick you.
It is best to strike him from the sides but you always have to be on alert for his next attack.
Get him to half health and he will transition to phase two with a cutscene.
Nowadays, a mid-fight cutscene is nothing new in a FromSoftware game but, back when Bloodborne released, this was truly unique.
The incredible quality of the cutscene only adds to the historical value.
Ludwig sees the Moonlight Greatsword, one of FromSoft’s most iconic weapons, and this is enough to temporarily restore his humanity.
Ludwig the Accursed then becomes Ludwig the Holy Blade, fighting the Hunter upright with the legendary sword to the best soundtrack of the game.
Hell, I would argue this is not only Bloodborne’s best OST, but the best one in FromSoft history.
The way it blends from the cutscene to the second phase is excellent and, if I were not fighting for my life, I would be content just sitting back and listening to the operatic chants.
After finally defeating Ludwig, you can even talk with him, answering a question if you are wearing the correct clothing.
Ludwig dies either believing he was honourable, or realizing the horrifying truth of his fall from grace.
He is a fantastic boss that tells the story of a man who lost his humanity regaining it for one last battle.
But there is one boss in Bloodborne that I consider to be even better.

1. Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower.

Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower : r/bloodborne

If I had to name who the most tragic character in Bloodborne is, I would say Lady Maria.
Her lore is not the only reason she is my favorite boss in the game, but it is important to understanding how great I find her fight to be.
Being born from, yet hating the Vileblood family, Maria was one of the first Hunters, becoming Gehrman’s disciple.
Everything changed for her when she was sent to the Fishing Hamlet and took part in the massacre, which included desecrating the corpse of Kos, cursing Maria and all those involved.
Traumatised by what she had done, Maria perhaps tried to find some redemption by helping the ailing patients of the Research Hall.
When this did not sooth her conscience, Maria took her own life, but was doomed to the Hunter’s Nightmare.
Just as Gehrman is forced to guide Hunters, Maria is forced to protect the sight of the massacre she helped unleash.
The buildup to her fight is excellent, as we wander the Research Hall, hearing its suffering patients call out to Lady Maria for help.
Upon reaching her body at the top of the Astral Clocktower, Maria awakens and tells us, “a corpse should be left well alone.”
There can be multiple interpretations to what she means by this.
Is she referring to her own dead body, the body of Kos who she helped desecrate, or perhaps the Orphan that was ripped from Kos’ womb?
To hide the secret of the Fishing Hamlet, Maria then fights us to the death, and it is a glorious battle.
Her first phase acts as a tutorial, familiarising the player with her moveset before she upgrades it in phases two and three.
Upon entering Phase Two, Maria stabs herself, unleashing her Vileblood abilities.
It is stated in Maria’s lore that she hated her heritage, and yet she is so desperate to stop us from uncovering her shame that she resorts to using the powers of the lineage she hates.
It is a tragic decision, which adds blood to her attacks, the hardest of which to deal with is the one where she delays her strike before shooting blood at the Hunter.
It took me a while to get the hang of dodging that attack.
Eventually, Maria will enter he third phase, adding flame damage to her skillset.
I got her all the way to this phase on my first attempt, only to die a few hits before I would have killed her.
Predictably, it took me many, many more attempts to even get close to that point again, let alone kill her.
Sure, I could have parried her to death, but I wanted an honourable duel, for all the suffering it brought me.
Upon defeating Maria, however, I felt sad to move on from such a fantastic boss.
Not only is her moveset and lore amazing, but her soundtrack is as well, being my second favorite in Bloodborne.
Her impact on the story does not fade with her death either because we can later find her Rakuyo, which she tossed in a well after the Fishing Hamlet.
That being said, I have never retrieved it because of the two goddamn shark men guarding it.
I did not have the patience to deal with that.
On a greater story level, Maria is actually the inspiration for the Doll.
Gehrman was so obsessed with his former pupil that he designed the Doll to look like Maria after her death (pretty creepy Gehrman, not gonna lie).
This creates a connection between the two, so the Doll feels Maria’s passing from the Hunter’s Nightmare.
The Doll describes Maria passing on as “a liberation from heavy shackles.”
So, hopefully defeating Maria brought the Old Hunter some peace in the end.
All of this is why Lady Maria is my favorite boss in Bloodborne.
Her lore is the most tragic in the game and it ties into her already fantastic boss fight, as a woman trying to hide her crime, either out of shame or obligation, resorting to the technique she so hates to achieve her goal.
In my opinion, of all twenty-two bosses in Bloodborne, Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower stands tall as the best of them.

Phew, this was a lot to sit down and write.
Pretty sure this is my longest post since I started my blog almost a decade ago.
If you read through the whole ranking to get to this point, thank you.
You just made the many deaths I suffered in Bloodborne worth it.
Hopefully someday Sony will remaster the game, or FromSoft will make a sequel.
Until then, at least we have the animated adaptation by Jacksepticeye to look forward to.
Before ending this post, however, I want to leave you with one, last important adage… Fear the Old Blood…

Directive 8020 Review: Interesting Story, Boring Stealth.

Back in 2014, I was a day one Until Dawn player.
The idea of my decisions shaping which characters lived and died in a horror setting was quite appealing to me, and the game more than lived up to expectations.
Since then, Supermassive has released many games in the same vein, from The Dark Pictures Anthology, to The Quarry.
Despite this, none of these games have quite lived up to the game that started it all.
There was even a remake of Until Dawn by a different studio a few years back, but that also paled in comparison.
Nevertheless, I was quite excited to play the latest installment Directive 8020, because it seemed like it would be Supermassive’s version of John Carpenter’s The Thing, one of my favorite horror movies.

*Directive 8020* certainly gives the same vibes as that masterpiece of a film.

After finishing it, I would say that Directive 8020 presents interesting choices to go along with that vibe, but also some rather tiresome gameplay.
Set in the far future, where Earth is dying, the story follows the crew of the Cassiopea, who have been sent to survey a distant planet which is humanity’s last hope for survival.
However, along the way, the ship is struck by an asteroid carrying an unwanted visitor.
From there, your choices shape the narrative across eight chapters, determining who among the crew lives and dies.
This crew consists of the five playable characters Young (Lashana Lynch), Stafford (Danny Sapani), Eisle (Lotte Verbeek), Cooper (Anna Leong Brophy), and Cernan (Philip Arditti), along with a few other characters, who are all standard enough as the cast.
I liked and wanted to save them, although there was nobody I was overly attached to.

The story is a bit of a slow burn, with the intensity only really kicking off in the last three chapters.
As for certain twist and turns the story takes, I found them riveting, both narratively and thematically.
I actually started a second playthrough immediately after my first so I could see the foreshadowing for these twists.
I also did it so I could try to save everyone, as I got two of the five playable characters killed on my first playthrough due to my choices.
The choices are not the only thing that can lead to character deaths because there are also the quick time events, which are incredibly easy to mess up on the hardest difficulty.

You have to be incredibly lucky or quick to not get at least one character killed by missing a quick time event in the final chapter on hard mode.

Directive 8020’s gameplay is not just limited to quick time events for there are also stealth sections in the game, although, by the final mission, I really wished there were not.
These segments are extremely simplistic, with the enemies following scripted pathways and being incredibly easy to avoid.
The stealth mechanics are also practically identical from Episode One all the way to Episode Eight.
This would not be too much of an issue if they did not repeat ad nauseam.
I quickly grew tired of them and it makes the final few episodes quite the slog to get through when it is stealth section after stealth section.

Avoiding the game’s extraterrestrials gets old fast.

Overall, though, I would still say Directive 8020 is a solid experience.
The characters are decent, and the story is well told with plenty of twists and turns, making a second playthrough to spot the foreshadowing worth it
It still does not beat Until Dawn but at this point I think nothing will.
I will just have to wait and see if the long awaited Until Dawn 2 can live up to the original’s status but, given that a different studio is also behind this game, I have my doubts.

Ranking the Shadow of the Colossus Bosses from Worst to Best.

When I first played the Shadow of the Colossus remake back in 2018, I titled my review of it, “not a masterpiece but a really fun game.”
Eight years and multiple playthroughs later, I wonder what the hell I was smoking when I wrote that… and I don’t even smoke!
The tale of Wander’s journey across the Forbidden Land to kill all sixteen Colossi is both simple and yet undeniably tragic by the end.
It is a masterful story with some (mostly) masterful boss fights, from Valus, all the way to Malus.
So, after something like my fifth playthrough, I have decided to rank all sixteen Colossi from the weakest to my absolute favorite.
My opinion on Shadow of the Colossus may have become much more positive over the years, but there is one Colossi I still have a very negative opinion on.
That Colossi is…

16. Celosia, the Eleventh Colossus.

Celosia was my least favorite Colossus on my first playthrough, and it is still my least favorite all these years later.
For starters, it is the smallest of the Colossi, going against the game’s trope of scaling massive giants.
In order to beat Celosia, you need to bait it into knocking a flaming torch down, which you can use to scare it off a ledge, exposing its weak point.
Simple enough, right?
Wrong.
See, if Celosia knocks Wander down at any point during the fight you are probably screwed.
This is because Wander’s recovery time is pretty much the exact same as Celosia’s attack windows.
So, by the time Wander gets up, he has just enough time to regret that decision before Celosia charges him into a game over screen.
There is one way to avoid this, button mashing to increase Wander’s recovery, but the game does not tell you about this.
So, on your first few play throughs, you will probably, like me, find yourself getting hit by Celosia and caught in a hit loop, resulting in Wander’s death.
However, even when you expose Celosia’s weak point, the problems do not end.
This is because it feels almost impossible to get a hit in when riding Celosia back to the original fighting spot.
It will just keep running and shaking itself, giving Wander no time to strike the beast, before his stamina meter runs out.
All of these issues combine to make Celosia easily the worst of all sixteen Colossi.
Every time I replay the game, I always dread fighting Celosia, because I know I am not going to have a fun time.

15. Phaedra, the Fourth Colossus.

I will give Phaedra this, they have a pretty great design.
A giant stone horse, with crab-like legs, the design is unfortunately all Phaedra really has going for it.
To beat Phaedra, you have two options.
You can either lure him to the tunnels and jump up his braids once he bends down, or circle around in the tunnels to jump onto his tail.
Either way can get you to his weak point, making the fight seems simple enough.
The problem is Phaedra’s attention span.
You have to constantly shoot arrows at it, otherwise Phaedra will lose interest and walk away.
A lot of the times, I entered the tunnels, waited for Phaedra to get into position to jump on him, only to walk out after a long time waiting and find him walking away from me.
Most of your time fighting him will be spent trying to get into place, rather than actually scaling him.
It creates a lot of frustration and, even when you reach Phaedra’s weak point, he is not that fun, since it is pretty easy to just hold on and stab at him.
Phaedra appears promising, given his design, but the fight quickly turns frustrating, pushing him all the way down near the bottom.

13. Hydrus, the Seventh Colossus.

One of the few water-based Colossi, I know I had fun fighting Hydrus.
It felt tense to run along his back when he surfaced, hold on for dear life when it went underwater, and stab certain points so Wander would not be electrocuted.
The problem?
The sheer amount of time it takes to grab ahold of the damn thing.
Hydrus is one of the slowest moving Colossi and it takes forever for it to get into position so you can grab onto its tail.
Wander’s slow swim speed does not help matters, and things get worse if you miss or run out of stamina.
Either one, means having to restart the slow, boring process of trying to grab Hydrus’ tail all over again.
As a result, much like Phaedra, it is a boss you spend more time trying to get into place, rather than actually fighting.
If they had made the boss faster, it probably would have been a lot higher than it is.

13. Cenobia, the Fourteenth Colossus.

In my first review of Shadow of the Colossus, I said Cenobia was my least favorite boss, alongside Celosia.
Subsequent playthroughs have improved my opinion of this boss (as well as of the entire game).
Starting on the negatives, Cenobia is just as small as Celosia, resulting in a less than awe inspiring encounter.
The charge death loop problem from Celosia is also here.
Thirdly, while the obstacle course to beat Cenobia is fun, if you die (which I did on my first attempt this playthrough) it becomes a bit tedious to do it all over again.
Finally, I would have put Cenobia’s constant shaking in the negatives, until I learned mid-fight that you have to bait him to charge into the fallen pillars, stunning it and giving Wander enough time to deliver some blows to the weak point.
As for the positives, like I said, it is fun on the first run to constantly jump from falling pillar to falling pillar.
Also, once you figure out the way to stun him post obstacle course, like I did, the fight is a breeze.
These qualities pushed Cenobia up a few placements from the bottom, even if it is still on the weaker end of Colossi.

12. Quadratus, the Second Colossus.

Quadratus makes quite the first impression with his cutscene, smashing through a wall to reach Wander before the fight begins.
Despite the intimidation factor, Quadratus is a simple fight.
You just have to shoot the soles of his hooves with arrows, causing him to fall, and allowing Wander to climb and then stab him.
Easy enough.
Granted, Quadratus is only the second Colossus of the game, so it makes sense that his fight is so simple.
But, when ranking him amongst the other Colossi, it becomes hard to justify placing him any higher.
He is a good boss, which teaches the player some of the games mechanics, like shooting weak points with arrows, but on replays he is a little too simple.

11. Basaran, the Ninth Colossus.

Speaking of Quadratus teaching players to shoot weak points with arrows, this is seen nowhere better than with Basaran.
Whenever I see someone rank the Colossi, Basaran usually sits somewhere near the bottom.
I have it a few places higher, but it is easy to see why so many have negative opinions on this fight.
For one thing, Basaran moves extremely slow.
This makes guiding it over the geysers a tedious experience, especially with how the geysers are pretty inconsistent with their timing.
What makes the fight much more bearable for me is Basaran’s attacks,
He will shoot fireballs at you constantly, requiring Wander to use his horse Agro to evade, creating a few exhilarating moments, like the one in the image above.
Once Basaran is positioned over the exploding geyser, shoot the bottom of his feet like Quadratus taught you, then scale the beast to stab his weak point.
Basaran might be a slow fight, but it has just enough interesting about it to put him in the eleventh spot.

10. Pelagia, the Twelfth Colossus.

We enter the top ten with Pelagia, another water fight, like with Hydrus, but a much better one.
The steps to fighting Pelagia are more complicated, though.
First, you have to swim around him so you can climb on his back.
Once that is done, you hit the teeth-like objects on his head to guide him to one of the platforms.
When you have reached the platform, jump on it and hide to avoid his lightning blasts, before jumping to reach his weak point when he finally presents it.
It is strange that I enjoy this fight when there are so many steps to actually complete it, but that is due to the pacing, I think.
When you learn how to beat him, the fight moves pretty quickly, unlike Hyrdus, which takes so long.
It is a lot of fun to move Wander and Pelagia from different positions, all to expose the Colossi’s weak point, leading to a leap of faith to reach it.
Pelagia is one of the most complicated bosses in the game, but that complication provides plenty of fun.

9. Valus, the First Colossus.

The first Colossi in the game, Valus, is obviously way simpler than the twelfth.
He serves as a tutorial fight for the rest of the game, after all.
And what a tutorial battle he is.
There is nothing like booting Shadow of the Colossus up for a beginner’s playthrough and seeing Valus stomp across his boss arena for the first time.
Most players will find themselves thinking, I’m supposed to fight that!?
Thankfully, Valus does not serve as much of a challenge, with the weak point on his leg making it easier to climb him, and the balconies he has which you can stand on without losing stamina.
Yet, despite the exhilarating experience climbing and defeating him, the sad music which plays upon Valus’ his death hints that what Wander is doing is not right.
This score will haunt the player which each Colossi they slay, and it all begins with Valus.
Valus may be a simple fight to teach the player the game’s mechanics, but he makes quite the impression in doing so.

8. Malus, the Sixteenth Colossus.

We go from the first Colossi fight in the game to the final one.
The buildup to Malus is magnificent, with the tragic loss of our horse Agro, and then having to dodge fireballs to reach the biggest of all Colossi.
Malus is also a pretty tragic figure since, given his extreme height, he has probably seen the beams of light, as all 15 Colossi before him have fallen to Wander’s blade, meaning he knows we are coming.
No wonder he attempts to shoot Wander on sight.
When you finally reach Malus, you are in for a long climb to the top of his head, and it feels like you have surpassed truly insurmountable odds upon killing him.
Malus would be a lot higher on this list if it was not for the shere frustration that inevitably arrives when he shakes you off near the top and you have to climb him all over again.
This is at its worst during the part where you have to shoot an arrow at his shoulder, while constantly trying to hold onto a hand which is moving around.
The arrow controls make this moment even more frustrating, and I am sure most players fall at least once here.
It is a shame because otherwise Malus is a great final fight for Shadow of Colossus, being both awe inspiring and tragic.

7. Dirge, the Tenth Colossus.

Back when I played Shadow of the Colossus for the first time, Dirge was one of my favorite bosses.
This stayed true for all of my following playthroughs.
So, when I decided to play through the game so I could rank the bosses, I was sure Dirge would be in the top five, if not the top three.
Unfortunately, I encountered a few hiccups, which placed him at number seven.
Starting with the fantastic, being pursued by Dirge on Agro is one of the most intense experiences Shadow of the Colossus can offer.
Sure, the arrow controls while riding can be a bit to get used to but, once you master it, the chase becomes extremely fun.
My issues this playthrough arrived when I stunned Dirge.
The first time I stunned him, I got turned around for a minute and could not find him.
I figured when I did finally locate him, I would have no time to attack but no, Dirge was just patiently waiting for me to climb and stab him.
The second time I stunned him, I got him one hit away from death, when I decided to jump off because of how much he was shaking, sure that he was about to dive beneath the sand.
Instead, Dirge just sat there, waiting for me to deliver the killing blow.
I am not sure I encountered a glitch or Dirge was designed this way, but him just patiently waiting for me to kill him greatly lessened the intensity of the fight.
That being said, the chase is still exhilarating enough to put Dirge all the way up at number seven.

6. Barba, the Sixth Colossus.

Much like Dirge, Barba’s fight begins with a chase, although not on Agro.
Wander has to flee towards a passage, climbing walls which Barba smashes behind him and, if you aren’t quick enough, smashes through you.
Once Wander reaches the passage, it becomes a game of waiting for Barba to kneel down, much like with Phaedra.
However, unlike Phaedra, Barba’s AI can be relied upon because he does it relatively quickly.
From there, you just need to jump on Barba’s beard, unique to the Colossi, climb it up to reach his weak points and just stabby-stab from there.
With a great starting chase and reliable AI to reach his weak point, the Sixth Colossus makes it all the way to number six on this ranking.
Funny how that worked out.

5. Kuromori, the Eighth Colossus.

Despite being on the smaller side of Colossi, like Celosia and Cenobia, Kuromori is a fantastic fight.
The lizard-like Colossus will scale the walls in its sanctum to reach you, which you can turn against the creature by shooting its leg with arrows, causing Kuromori to fall.
From there, you have to decide to run or jump down, risking fall damage to attack Kuromori.
Rinse and repeat until the Colossi falls.
Granted, I do make it sound easier than it is.
On harder difficulties, it is very easy to die by Kuromori’s laser breath, and I died to him more than any other Colossi.
However, unlike the other smaller Colossi with their unfair charge attacks, Kuromori’s laser shots felt fair and were intense to avoid.
Kuromori shows how a smaller Colossi should be handled, putting him in fifth place.

4. Avion, the Fifth Colossus.

When I first finished Shadow of the Colossus, Avion was my favorite boss fight.
While I do still love him, he has fallen down a few spots in subsequent playthroughs.
Much like how Valus’ arrival stuns first-time players, there is nothing like grabbing hold of Avion for the first time and being carried off into the sky, while holding on for dear life.
It was the moment which truly taught me how far Wander was willing to go to resurrect Mono, as he hung upside down from Avion’s wings.
Running the length of the Colossi’s wingspan, all the way to the tail to strike the weak points creates a view like no other.
So, why is at number four and not number one?
Well, when you fall off Avion, depending on where you land, it can be a bit of a chore to get back into place to trigger the Colossi.
As I said when talking about Hydrus, Wander’s swim speed it extremely slow, so it feels a bit tedious to get back into place if you fall far away from the platform.
Otherwise, Avion is a fantastic boss who just misses out on the top three.

3. Gaius, the Third Colossus.

Much like how the sixth Colossi came in sixth place, the third Colossi comes in third.
Gaius is pretty much the poster child of Shadow of the Colossus at this point, what with him being on the cover of the remake.
And you know what?
That position is entirely earned because he is one of the game’s best fights.
The tallest Colossi you have fought at that point, Gaius is unique in that the way he attacks you is also the way to beat him.
You have to position Wander deliberately, so Gaius’ next strike hits the platform at the center of the arena.
This will chip off some of the stone around Gaius’ arm, allowing Wander to climb up his sword on his next strike, and more easily attack him.
There is also unexpectedly some humor with Gaius’ fight because, upon defeat, you can actually see Wander being thrown from Gaius as he falls, something which always gets a laugh out of me.
One of Shadow of the Colossus’ most iconic fights, Gaius is easily the third best boss, in my opinion.

2. Argus, the Fifteenth Colossus.

While Gaius is the poster child of the game, I would argue Argus is actually the most underrated boss in Shadow of the Colossus.
Most people seem to rank him a little under or below the top ten, while I think he is amazing.
His introduction makes for one hell of an impression, as he climbs up a cliff to face you, weapon in hand.
It is probably the biggest aura farming moment of the entire game.
The arena you fight Argus in is also one of the best, taking place in massive ruins, which really make you question what the Forbidden Lands were like before it was abandoned, and if Dormin had anything to do with its destruction.
Back to Argus himself, after tricking him into stomping on a platform, and into knocking down sections of buildings to reach him, including a bridge, you can jump upon his head to attack the weak point.
But there is a final trick to Argus, which is a hidden weak point upon the hand holding his weapon.
You need to stab him in the arm to get Argus to drop the weapon, then either drop down onto the hand or grab a hold of it by getting him to slam the ground, getting Wander close enough to deliver the final strike and bring Argus to the ground.
Argus is the penultimate fight of the game, and he does a great job of hyping the player up for the end with how amazing he is.
But Argus is not my favorite boss in Shadow of the Colossus.
No, that title belongs to…

1. Phalanx, the Thirteenth Colossus.

I see Phalanx ranked at the top spot on a lot of lists ranking the Shadow of the Colossus bosses.
In the end, I am no different because Phalanx is a masterpiece of a boss.
Fought in a large desert, the thirteenth Colossus is honestly the most tragic of the entire game.
He is the one Colossi in the game who does not attack Wander, even when provoked.
It is just a peaceful giant, flying through the sand and sky, minding its own business, until we come along to kill it.
It makes me feel guilty for having such fun defeating it, which is pretty much the point of Shadow of the Colossus.
Agro is essential for this fight because you have to chase after Phalanax and shoot arrows into its air sacks, causing it to lower altitude to the point where you can leap from Agro and grab its fins.
From there, much like Avion, you run along its back, striking weakpoints, holding on for dear life when it tries to throw you off.
Eventually, Phalanx dives into the sand and the fun, yet tragic process starts all over again.
Phalanx is a thrilling fight, full of many moments of brilliance which some players can experience.
I have even seen one clip of someone falling from Phalanx, only to land directly on Agro and continue chasing after the Colossi.
Name another video game where you can experience something like that?
It is for this and many other reasons that I consider Phalanx to be the best boss in Shadow of the Colossus.

So, there you go, my ranking for the Shadow of the Colossus bosses.
It is just a shame that BluePoint Games recently got shut down after delivering such a great remake.
I will continue to play Shadow of the Colossus for years to come, and enjoy scaling its colossal beasts even more.
If you somehow have not played this masterpiece of a video game yet, I would highly recommend it.
Even if you do not love it immediately, you may in time, which is the experience I had.

Resident Evil: Requiem Review: An Intense Blend of Survival Horror and Action.

It is hard to believe that a decade ago it seemed like Resident Evil might be a dying franchise.
The last mainline installment, Resident Evil 6 in 2012, had not been well received by the fans and, even worse, Capcom had released Umbrella Corps in 2016, one of the most reviled games in the series.
Then Resident Evil: Biohazard arrived like a godsend in 2017, returning the series to its survival horror roots and revitalizing the brand.
This was the game that first got me into series, and what a time to become a fan because ever since then, Capcom have been on a roll.
Over the years, they have released Resident Evil: Village and numerous remakes, which are considered among the best video game remakes of all time.
Well, now we have another banger with Resident Evil: Requiem, the ninth mainline installment.

*Resident Evil* goes back to the Umbrella well with *RE9.*

After finishing my first playthrough, I am excited to say that Requiem is definitely in the top five best Resident Evil games.
It does a truly fantastic job of blending the survival horror of Biohazard with the over-the-top action of 4.
The story follows FBI Agent Grace Ashcroft (Angela Sant’Albano), the daughter of one of the previous game’s protagonists, Alyssa,
Tasked with investigating a mysterious disease tied to the Raccoon City Incident, Grace finds herself kidnapped by Umbrella scientist Dr Victor Gideon (Antony Byrne) and must survive his care facility of horrors.

You have to wonder how these crazy looking, mad scientists keep getting people to help with their potentially world ending experiments.

Grace’s segments of the game are pure survival horror, and I found myself screaming many a time when faced with terrifying zombies.
What makes these zombies so unique is that they retain parts of their personalities from when they were alive.
A massive zombie chef tries to cook human flesh, a maid cuts herself repeatedly on glass trying to keep everything clean, and some zombies even apologise for trying to hurt you when they are killed.
It makes them not only scary but also pretty pitiable.
But the true horror of Grace’s segments is The Girl, a hag-like monstrosity with a weakness to light that pursues Grace throughout the facility.

The Girl is *Resident Evil*‘s scariest stalker enemy since the baby in *Village.*

With Grace’s limited stock of weapons, every fight with the undead could be her last.
It is a good thing then that she is not alone because the one-man army Leon Kennedy (Nick Apostolides) is also investigating Gideon, with Sherry Birkin (Eden Riegel) acting as his handler.
Leon’s segments of the game are when the over-the-top action comes into play and, I have got to say, after a few hours of hiding in the dark terrified as Grace, it is such a relief to kick zombie ass as Leon, shooting them, hacking them up, and cutting them apart with a chainsaw.
I never thought the survival horror of the series could blend so well into the action and yet Capcom achieved this.

How Leon is still doing roundhouse kicks on zombies in his 50s is unknown to me. Not complaining though. Rule of cool, and all.

They even provided different styles of gameplay for different playthroughs, with the choice between first or third person for both Grace and Leon.
I went with the recommended first-person for Grace and third-person for Leon, which felt perfect for their playstyle’s differing atmosphere.
Just as perfect was the game’s use of nostalgia, which can be a slippery slope.
Too much and it will feel like the game is just pandering to fans for cheap points, rather than doing something new.
Thankfully, Requiem offers plenty of new with that old, and the old content is lovingly handled.

Returning to the RPD was just one of many nostalgic moments in *Requiem.*

Well, I have spent so long lathering this game with praise, you have to be wondering if I have any problems with it.
A few, but I really had to think about it for a bit.
For starters, I think we can all agree that there was one antagonist who deserved a boss fight but did not get one.
Along with this, there is one segment of the game which reminded me of the cannon section in the Resident Evil 4 remake.
Since that was my least favorite section of that game, you would be right in assuming it was my least favorite part of Requiem as well.
Finally, there is one reveal towards the end that feels like a bit of a copout, but it was a convenience that made me smile so I can let it go.
And that is it for my issues.
The rest of the game is so good that it overwhelmingly overshadows any bad.

The game looking fantastic also helps matters.

Resident Evil: Requiem is one of the best Resident Evil games.
The story is investing and the gameplay styles of Grace and Leon blend perfectly.
I know it is only March, but it would not surprise me if Requiem ended up topping a lot of best games of 2026 lists.
And, with new story DLC probably dropping at some point, the game is only going to get better.
If you are a Resident Evil fan and have somehow not played this yet, hurry up and do so.
It is one of the series’ best.

Dispatch Review: HR’s Having a Heart Attack.

2025 has been a spectacular year for indie gaming.
Games from smaller studios like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 captured the attention and hearts of gamers everywhere.
Clair Obscur (deservedly) won Game of the Year, so that is proof enough.
One of the games released by a smaller studio later in the year was Dispatch, a superhero comedy in the vein of Telltale.
This description was enough to sell me on it and, after completing my first playthrough, I can say it is well worth the money.

I highly recommend this game is you are a Telltale fan.

Dispatch follows Robert Robertson The Third (Yes, that is his actual name), the superhero Mecha-Man.
After his suit is destroyed, Robert is left driftless, until superheroes Blonde Blazer (Erin Yvette) and Track Star (Jeffrey Wright) come to him with an offer: Work as a dispatch worker, coordinating a team of former super villains turned heroes, and they will help him rebuild his suit.
And so, Robert has to work to transform the Z-Team from a group of combative, squabbling children, into heroes the public can trust.

The Z Team are all great characters, but the HR Department’s worst nightmare.

Each of the characters you dispatch are interesting in their own way, from the Crypto-Man-Bat, Sonar (MoistCri1tiKaL), to shortie Irishman, Punch Up (Jacksepticeye), to the rebel Invisigal (Laura Bailey).
The latter in particular takes center stage, with the player’s decisions determining how Robert’s relationships with both her and Blonde Blazer progresses.
All of the performances for these characters are great, especially Aaron Paul’s as Robert.
Usually whenever I hear him in a voice-acting role, I associate his character with the actor.
For Robert, however, he felt completely his own person, showing how good of a job Aaron Paul did for this game from the serious moments to the humorous ones.
Speaking of the humor, this game can be incredibly funny, and I broke out into laughter multiple times.
Probably one of my favourite jokes was delivered by Prism (Thot Squad) in a bar fight.

But enough about the characters, what about the choices?
Dispatch does have quite a few after, all.
Well, overall, the story does not change too drastically.
The current end point of a few characters changes depending on your choices, along with who Robert decides to romance but, otherwise, the storyline is generally the same.
That being said, the quality of the story more than makes up for it.
One thing Dispatch has over Telltale though is its gameplay.
Dispatch’s is strategy based, with you sending different combinations of heroes on different missions and then leveling their stats with their successes while learning from their failures.
After Episode One, I thought this would make the gameplay a bit of a chore, but Dispatch quickly proved me wrong.
The banter between the characters, the time limits to send characters on missions, the suspense over whether I had made the right choices, and even the sheer randomness of outcomes created a lot of fun moments, even if I did a really good job one episode and a terrible one the next.

Who knew dispatching heroes could be this fun?

All in all, Dispatch is a great time.
The story is fun and often hilarious, the choices, while not incredibly impactful, are cool to see play out in the moment, and the gameplay is engaging.
I really hope we get a Season Two because I want to see the continuation of Robert’s story, alongside his dispatch team.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review: A Stunning Exploration of Grief.

All of us, in some way, have experienced grief.
Whether it be over the loss of a family member or friend, grief is part of the human experience.
There are many ways we can deal with this grief, both healthy and unhealthy.
Yet, I have not seen a video game explore the concept in such a profound way before as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
With many AAA games falling below the mark recently, AA studios have risen to the challenge to fill in the quality gap.
Directed by Guillaume Broche. Expedition 33 is the latest video game to fill in that gap.

The world will have truly gone mad if this game is at least not nominated for Game of the Year.

Set in an alternate universe, the island of Lumière is facing certain oblivion.
Every year, a mysterious gigantic figure, known as the Paintress, paints a number upon her monolith.
The people that age then disappear in an event known as the Gommage.
With the Paintress counting down, it will not be long before everyone in Lumière has passed on
And so, every year, a group of expeditioners are sent out to kill the Paintress, so that the people of Lumière can hope to grow old again.
The game follows, you guessed it, Expedition 33 on this mission.

“She’ll never paint again,” a character states, perfectly summarizing many of the character’s goals.

On the journey is our main character Gustave (Charlie Cox), his adopted sister Maelle (Jennifer English), the intelligent Lune (Kirsty Rider), and the optimist Sciel (Shala Nyx).
They are also joined by a mysterious former Expeditioner named Verso (Ben Starr), his hilarious friend Monoco (Rich Kebble), and the giant friendly creature known as Esquie (Maxence Cazorla).
Together, the seven travel across the land, befriending Gestrels and fighting Nevrons in numerous fantastic battles.
Expedition 33 is a turn-based game, and it is already one of the best in the genre if you ask me.
Every character feels unique to use with their various different skillsets.
Not only that, but the dodge and parry mechanics are riveting.
There is a lot of challenge in getting the timing down for certain bosses strikes but, when you can parry an eight-hit attack you feel like a god.

It feels very similar to the boss fights of *Elden Ring,* in that way.

Speaking of the bosses, they are all mostly excellent, as are the soundtracks accompanying them.
This is made all the more impressive by the fact that the game’s composer, Lorien Testard, had never worked on a video game before.
This is a common theme with Expedition 33.
Many of its developers are newbies to the industry, with a lot of them having been discovered by complete chance.
This makes the existence of Expedition 33 nothing short of a miracle, and I would highly encourage you to look into the history of the game just to see how it all came to be.
Much like the composer, the game’s main writer, Jennifer Svedberg-Yen, had also never written for a video game, and this makes the excellence of her writing all the more inspiring.
The reveal of why the Paintress does what she does is excellent and perfectly set up throughout the narrative.
That narrative also does a fantastic job of building up the characters, especially Maelle and Verso, who are already among some of the most morally complex characters in video games.

I am going to remember Maelle’s journey for a while.

And then there are the themes.
As I stated at the beginning of this review, Expedition 33 is a game that centers around grief and what it can drive people to.
This results in multiple emotional moments, the standout of which is the ending.
No spoilers here, but it had me questioning the morality of characters in such a way that I have not experienced since the ending of the original Last of Us.
It is an ending I have already seen multiple debates about online, arguing over which character, if any, made the right decision.

*Expedition 33*‘s conclusion really makes you think.

As of right now, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is my game of the year.
The gameplay is enthralling, the music is spectacular, and the writing delivers an emotional and beautiful message about grief.
I cannot wait to see what Sandfall Interactive does next in the gaming world.
If their future titles are anything like Expedition 33, we may have another legendary studio on our hands.