Nintendo just teased what it is calling maybe the hardest boss in its 136-year history. The Pudyin Den fight in Splatoon Raiders has players on Switch bracing for a wall, and the reaction has been the same one boss-fight fans know by heart: excitement, dread, and the itch to try again.
If you cannot wait for that fight, or you play mostly on desktop, there is a deep bench of PC games built around the same feeling. We tested eight of them across Windows and macOS to find the ones that pay off the practice. This list is for players who love the loop of dying, learning, and finally landing the kill. No filler, no easy wins.
What to look for in a boss-focused game
A good boss fight teaches you something. The best encounters have clear tells, patterns that reward memory over reflex, and a punish window that feels earned rather than lucky. When a phase changes, it should feel like a new problem to solve, not the same fight with more health.
Fair difficulty matters more than raw numbers. Look for tight input windows, consistent hitboxes, and audio cues you can lean on. Replayability is the other tell. If you want to revisit a boss on a fresh save, or watch a friend take it on, the design is doing its job. Ranked below on those five signals: tells, patterns, timing, phase design, and replay value.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Platforms | Free plan? | Starting price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elden Ring | Open-world boss variety | Windows | No | $59.99 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
| Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice | Parry-timing mastery | Windows | No | $59.99 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
| Lies of P | Bloodborne-style horror | Windows | No | $59.99 | Very Positive |
| Cuphead | 2D boss rush art | Windows, macOS | No | $19.99 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
| Hades | Roguelike scaling difficulty | Windows, macOS | No | $24.99 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
| Nine Sols | 2D Sekiro-style action | Windows, macOS | No | $29.99 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
| Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty | Three Kingdoms deflect combat | Windows | No | $59.99 | Mixed |
| Hollow Knight | Optional boss depth | Windows, macOS | No | $14.99 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
#1. Elden Ring
Elden Ring is the widest boss showcase on desktop right now. FromSoftware packed the Lands Between with dozens of major fights and hundreds of smaller ones, and each of the top-tier encounters has the layered phase design the studio is known for. Malenia, Radahn, and Mohg alone are worth the price of entry.
Where it falls short: some field bosses are recycled, and the difficulty curve is wildly uneven if you skip exploration. The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC fixes a lot of that with tighter encounter design, but you need the base game to reach it.
Pricing: $59.99 base game, $39.99 for the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: If you want the biggest single library of memorable boss fights on PC, start here.
#2. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Sekiro is the tightest parry-timing game FromSoftware has made. Every major boss is a rhythm test built around the posture system, and the moment you stop dodging and start deflecting is the moment the whole design clicks. Genichiro, Owl, and Isshin are still the benchmark for one-on-one duels in the genre.
Where it falls short: no build variety. You cannot cheese fights with a stat dump or a summon. If you bounce off Genichiro, the whole game closes behind you.
Pricing: $59.99.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The purest boss-fight experience on this list. Nothing else feels like landing a Mikiri counter on Isshin.
#3. Lies of P
Lies of P borrows from Bloodborne and makes it its own. The puppet-horror setting is a strong hook, and the Legion Arm system lets you tune your approach fight by fight. Bosses like Laxasia and the Nameless Puppet stack multiple phases with new movesets, and the perfect-guard system rewards aggressive play.
Where it falls short: the first third leans heavily on trash mobs between checkpoints. The pacing tightens after Chapter 4, but new players sometimes quit before the boss design opens up.
Pricing: $59.99.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The best non-FromSoftware soulslike, and the closest thing to a Bloodborne sequel PC has.
#4. Cuphead
Cuphead is a 2D boss rush wrapped in hand-drawn 1930s animation. Every fight is bespoke. There are almost no filler enemies, and each boss cycles through three or four visually distinct phases that shift the arena and your priorities. The Delicious Last Course DLC adds some of the sharpest bosses in the game.
Where it falls short: pattern memorization is heavy. If you do not enjoy running the same fight twenty times, the loop wears down.
Pricing: $19.99 base, $7.99 for The Delicious Last Course.
Platforms: Windows, macOS.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The best pound-for-pound boss density on this list, and it runs on almost anything.
#5. Hades
Hades is a roguelike where the bosses scale with you. Beat Hades once and the Heat system lets you dial the difficulty up in structured steps, so the same four boss fights turn into completely different problems at Heat 20 versus Heat 32. Theseus and Asterius in particular grow teeth as the modifiers stack.
Where it falls short: only four main bosses. If you want variety in encounter design, look at Elden Ring or Hollow Knight instead.
Pricing: $24.99.
Platforms: Windows, macOS.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The best “one more run” pacing on desktop, with boss fights that grow with your skill.
#6. Nine Sols
Nine Sols is a 2D take on Sekiro combat with a Taopunk art style that stands out from anything else on Steam. The parry system is unforgiving and the boss fights lean hard on it. Ji, Yi, and the late-game duels are among the best 2D encounters released in the past two years.
Where it falls short: the platforming sections between bosses are uneven. Some players hit a wall on the mid-game bosses before the mechanics fully click.
Pricing: $29.99.
Platforms: Windows, macOS.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: If Sekiro’s combat spoke to you but you want something 2D and shorter, this is the pick.
#7. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
Wo Long trades stamina for a Spirit gauge and builds every encounter around the deflect. Three Kingdoms bosses like Lu Bu and the final duel are highlights, and the movement is faster than any other soulslike on this list. Co-op scales cleanly and adds a whole layer for repeat runs.
Where it falls short: level design outside the bosses is thin and the DLC campaigns are shorter than the base game deserves. Reviews are Mixed for a reason, but the boss fights land.
Pricing: $59.99 (regularly on sale for less).
Platforms: Windows.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The fastest deflect-focused combat on desktop, held back by the levels around the bosses.
#8. Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight has the deepest optional boss roster in the genre. The main path is challenging, but the Pantheon fights in Godhome push some of the hardest 2D encounters ever designed. Absolute Radiance and Pure Vessel remain a benchmark years later, and the whole DLC is free.
Where it falls short: the game gates its best fights behind a long main campaign. If you want to jump straight into a boss rush, you have to earn it first.
Pricing: $14.99.
Platforms: Windows, macOS.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The best value on this list, and the deepest optional boss content on desktop.
How to pick the right one
Start with what you want out of the fight. If you want the widest catalogue of memorable bosses with room to experiment, Elden Ring is the default answer. If you want the sharpest duel-focused combat and are willing to bounce off a few walls, Sekiro is the pick. Nine Sols is the shorter, 2D version of that same experience.
For the toughest fights on the list, Cuphead’s Delicious Last Course and Hollow Knight’s Pantheon of Hallownest sit at the top. Cuphead expects pattern memorization, Hollow Knight expects reflex plus route planning. Hades is the best on-ramp if you are new to boss-focused games, because the roguelike loop lets you learn without punishing you for dying. On price, Hollow Knight at $14.99 is the standout, followed by Cuphead at $19.99. Wo Long is the pick if you already love Souls games and want something faster. Lies of P is for players who miss Bloodborne and can only play on PC.
FAQ
Which is harder, Elden Ring or Sekiro?
Sekiro is harder for most players because it has one combat system and you cannot spec around a wall. Elden Ring has higher peaks in specific fights like Malenia and Consort Radahn, but you can grind, respec, or summon your way through most of it. If we had to pick one, Sekiro has the higher floor.
What’s a good boss-fight game for beginners?
Hades. The roguelike loop means dying is part of the design, not a failure state, and the Heat system lets you scale difficulty at your own pace. Hollow Knight is a close second if you want a more traditional structure, since the early bosses teach you the language of the genre without punishing you.
Are there any free games with great bosses?
Warframe is the main one worth mentioning. It is free-to-play and the newer boss fights, especially the Duviri encounters and Archon hunts, are legitimately good. Path of Exile 2 has a strong free tier with sharp boss design too. If you already own a soulslike, the Elden Ring seamless co-op mod is free and turns the whole game into a shared boss rush.
How much time do these games take to finish?
Cuphead and Nine Sols land around 15 to 25 hours. Hades and Lies of P sit around 30 to 40 hours for a first run. Sekiro is 30 to 50 hours depending on how many walls you hit. Hollow Knight, Wo Long, and Elden Ring can each push past 60 to 100 hours if you clear the optional content.
Do any of these run well on macOS?
Cuphead, Hades, Hollow Knight, and Nine Sols have native or well-supported macOS builds. The FromSoftware games and Lies of P are Windows-only. If you are on a Mac and want a soulslike-style experience, Nine Sols is the closest match on this list.
Are the DLCs worth it?
For Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree is essential once you finish the base game. For Cuphead, The Delicious Last Course is short but has some of the best bosses in the game. For Hollow Knight, all DLC is free and includes the hardest fights the studio ever made. Skip the Hades and Sekiro DLC conversations since neither has paid post-launch expansions.
