00:08Welcome to MojoPlays and today we're looking at the moments from across FromSoftware's
00:13catalogue that made us question whether Miyazaki was testing our skills or simply enjoying our
00:18suffering. These aren't necessarily the hardest encounters ever made, instead we're focusing
00:23on design choices that made defeat feel less like get good and more like come on seriously?
00:32I will snuff out these ashes for good.
00:35Before we begin, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and ring
00:40the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:44Ordena, Liturgical Town, Elden Ring Reaching Michela's Hallig tree already takes
00:55serious dedication, but before you can even get there, Ordena decides to make you earn
00:59the privilege. Players must enter an other jail, unlike four statues scattered throughout the town.
01:05Sounds simple enough, until you realise invisible black knife assassins are stalking the streets,
01:10while Orbenaric archers fire rapid magical arrows from the rooftops.
01:20The assassins can appear out of nowhere and backstab you for enormous damage,
01:25while the archers possess the accuracy of fantasy snipers with absolutely nothing better to do.
01:30Yes, the same tree's torch can reveal the assassins, but unless you already know that,
01:34the entire area feels deliberately malicious.
01:41Irithyll Dungeons Jailors, Dark Souls 3
01:54Nothing inspires instant hatred quite like watching your max health deplete,
01:58and the branding irons of these particular jailers slowly reduce your overall HP whenever
02:03they maintain a line of sight, temporarily shrinking even a massive health bar into
02:08something horrifyingly tiny. Several jailers staring at you simultaneously can leave your
02:13character one sneeze away from death without anyone actually landing a conventional attack,
02:17and naturally From Software places an entire group of them together near the dungeon's lower levels.
02:29Their actual attacks aren't especially impressive, but when you're running around with 5% of your
02:33health remaining, even a casual poke from one of these malnourished wardens can spell your doom.
03:00You beat Sister Frida, then she gets back up. So you beat Frida and Father Ariandel together,
03:06victory achieved, right? Wrong! Frida rises for a third time, transforming what already felt like
03:12a complete boss battle into one of the series' nastiest endurance tests.
03:25The genius, or cruelty, is how deliberately the game convinces you it's over. Giving players an actual
03:31reward before Frida resurrects is practically psychological warfare. Her final
03:36phase is also considerably more aggressive, featuring killer combos, frostbite, black flame attacks,
03:42invisibility, and enough acrobatics to make your stamina bar file a formal complaint. It's a fantastic
03:48boss fight, but discovering the third phase blind is one of From Software's greatest betrayals.
04:02Tomb of the Giants Dark Souls
04:14Most games use darkness for atmosphere, or as Dark Souls decided that having any manner of depth
04:19perception was entirely optional. The Tomb of the Giants is almost completely blacked out unless
04:25players bring a Skull Lantern, use Cast Light, or obtain the Sunlight Maggot. Without one, you can barely
04:31see a few steps ahead. Unfortunately, those few steps frequently contain narrow ledges, hidden drops,
04:44and bony enemies waiting in places where visibility would have been quite useful. Once you understand
04:50the layout, the area becomes considerably more manageable, but that first trip, oh you better
04:55believe we were praising the Sun the moment we got out!
05:05Capra Demon's Tiny Lodgings Dark Souls
05:14The Capra Demon isn't an especially complicated boss, it's just that his living arrangements are
05:20way more of a problem than they should be. Walk through the fog gate and you're immediately introduced
05:25to Capra, two aggressive dogs, several walls, and approximately enough floor space for one
05:30medium sized dining table. The dogs can stagger players almost instantly, allowing Capra to follow
05:41up with an overhead attack before the camera has even had a chance to finish entering the room,
05:45while any attempt to dodge will find you rolling directly into a wall. Once the dogs are eliminated
05:50and you gain control of the staircase, the fight becomes relatively straightforward,
05:54it just requires you surviving the most chaotic five seconds in early Dark Souls.
06:04In dire need of more suffering that you can only get from a Souls game? Scan the QR code on
06:09screen
06:09and hop on over to Mojo Play's 24 hour livestream. See you there.
06:13Then why won't you buy some of my moss? I need your souls.
06:21The Maneater's Bridge, Demon's Souls
06:35One Maneater would have been enough. From Software, obviously disagreed. The fight takes place on a long,
06:41narrow bridge suspended over one hell of a drop, meaning the camera and gravity immediately become
06:47additional bosses. The Maneater can charge across the arena, knock players from the edge, take flight,
06:52and generally refuse to stand somewhere convenient long enough to be attacked.
06:57Then, part way through the battle, a second one appears.
07:08Now you're tracking two flying monsters while trying not to accidentally roll sideways into Oblivion.
07:13Older versions also gain notoriety for occasionally unpredictable AI,
07:18making an already chaotic encounter even more frustrating.
07:28The Anor Londo Archers, Dark Souls
07:36Welcome to Anor Londo, please enjoy the magnificent architecture while two silver knights attempt to
07:42fire you directly off it. Players must sprint across narrow walkways while gigantic arrows slam into the
07:48scenery around them. Reach the upper ledge, and things somehow get worse. Because now,
07:53one archer blocks your path, while another can continue firing from behind.
08:03Blocking an arrow risks being knocked off. Dodging risks rolling off. Charging the knight risks
08:09getting stabbed off. Overall, existing is generally discouraged. On a first playthrough,
08:14this short stretch can consume more attempts than some actual bosses. Hard to believe after battling
08:20demons, dragons, and giant knights, the chosen undead's greatest weakness might just be two blokes
08:25standing on a balcony. The Shark Giants. Bloodborne, the old hunters.
08:37Bloodborne, the old hunters. Between the brutality of Lady Maria and the horror of the Orphan of Kos,
08:44one would assume the hunter's nightmare would have nothing left to throw at players. Enter the Shark
08:50Giants. Creatures that won't only haunt you forever, but will cause more game overs than practically
08:55any other boss in the base game. Their ferocity, their healthful, and their unprecedented reach make
09:08the fishing hamlet one of the most dreaded areas in all of Soulsborne. Your only options are to flee
09:15like a reasonable coward, or prepare to lose a shit ton of blood echoes, as trying to learn their
09:20patterns or whittle down their health is bound to leave you getting swallowed whole countless times.
09:33The Frigid Outskirts. Dark Souls 2, Crown of the Ivory King.
09:44The Frigid Outskirts may be the closest From Software has ever come to designing an area out of
09:49pure spite. Bearers must trek across a massive, frozen wasteland, while periodic blizzards reduce
09:56visibility to almost nothing. During these storms, lightning-spewing frozen reindeer can spawn and
10:02charge from the whiteness. Kill one, walk forward, and another may appear. Then another. Then another.
10:15There are also very few landmarks. Navigation becoming trial and error, and dying means repeating the entire
10:22exhausting journey. Survive all of that, and your reward is Ludd and Zalon, a dual boss encounter based
10:28on an earlier one that was already less than impressive. No thanks.
10:41The Bed of Chaos. Dark Souls.
10:53There are tough Souls bosses. There are annoying Souls bosses. And then there's the Bed of Chaos.
11:00Instead of a traditional battle, players must destroy two glowing weak points while the arena
11:05progressively collapses around them. Huge branches sweep across the floor, knocking the chosen undead into
11:11insta-death pits, while the final objective requires sprinting and jumping onto a narrow route beneath the boss.
11:24Because as we all know, Dark Souls is famous for precise platforming. Thankfully, destroyed weak
11:29points remain destroyed after death, which is perhaps the clearest evidence that even the developers
11:34understood what they had created. The Bed of Chaos doesn't test your build, parrying, dodging,
11:39or combat knowledge. It tests whether the floor happens to disappear beneath the correct foot.
11:53Do you agree with our picks? Which Souls moment made you scream bloody murder? Let us know in the comments.
