Boss Runbacks have come up lately – I’m not a huge fan but I’m not always against them. Some of these ones though…these are just too much. What’s your least favorite Boss runback in Souls? Let me know in the comments!
Ember: https://www.youtube.com/c/EmberPlays
Gameplay from:
SweetJohnnyCage: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCPx_7xVmkgMx7YzHqcdP9w
FightinCowboy: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9N0DmacOi4iWKQyygX89OQ
Music Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY12XiDB82X7mYnXeIgBiLw
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightwalkreal/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NightwalkReal
Consider Supporting me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Nightwalk
Intro: 0:00
Dark Souls: 0:31
Dark Souls 2: 2:58
Bloodborne: 4:41
Dark Souls 3: 5:51
Sekiro: 7:12
Elden Ring: 7:35
Demon’s Souls: 8:39
44 Comments
I put a lot of time and effort into these videos, yet only 4% of you guys are subscribed. What are ya doin!?! Join me immediately, or I will banish you to the Frigid Outskirts. That is all.
Worst runback in demon souls is definitely 2-2. Cuz it is a tough, dangerous, long run, with a really tough boss at the end. 4-2 is just barely in second, only cuz the boss at the end is easier by comparison
This is why I think From software sometimes gets confused between being challenging and being frustrating
4-2 is easily the worst Demon Souls runback. Due to world tendency, deaths are punished so much more with the addition of red phantom enemies that spawn, the extra enemy damage and your HP being lower. And even without world tendency, getting to the bottom of the Shrine of Storms is still brutal due to the copious amounts of skeletons, the flying storm rays, etc. Easily the place I died the most often on.
5-2 is pretty awful as well, but mainly because you have to run through the biggest poison swamp I've had the displeasure of experiencing, but it's more inconvenient than actually hard, especially since the boss at the end is hilariously easy if you have any fire resin.
Honestly I find Nitos runback to be fine. The dark part is over in seconds and the enemies can be easiely avoided. I would’ve gave the award manus and the abyss. But if we would only look at the runback itself instead of the boss. difficulty pinwheel would be number one by far.
Btw demons souls runbacks are aweful, especially leechmonger and maneater but usually most of the bosses are done in 1-3 tries due to their easy design so it’s not that bad. I played the remake and had more fun with it than with Elden ring.
Glad you mentioned ember lol. I watched his video last night then saw this. After all the Eredin/Thenthapple business I was a little worried. Great video I personally hate runbacks so most bosses in Elden ring having a stake nearby was a great help.
midir is really bad. No fighting but its a loooooooooooooooooon way with a 20% chance to die of fall damage
An actual outro?
IMPOSSIBLE
Demons souls boss run backs and penalties for dying is worse than every other souls game combined. So much so I just got fed up of playing it.
@Ember literally just posted this exact video yesterday
Unless there is a hidden shortcut that I haven't found before, Old Hero is definitely the worst runback in my opinion.
Personally I think cainhurst has the worst run back because atleast for the shadows there are 2 elevators that place you fairly close to the boss but cainhurst just sucks
In Demon souls its easily Allant, I didn't die to him but I died a few times to the runback. Flamelurker's run back back is long and there's fall damage but there's not a lot of PVE threat.
5-1 was the worst boss run in demon souls for me. That boss run was designed to spit in your face. The plauge rats, spammy enemies, posion plants that block your way, and giants that can knock you off the tiny pathways were terrible.
old king allant demons souls no competition
hard boss-check
long and useless elevator sequence-check
gank enemies on the way-check
what more do you want🤣🤣
for as ancient as des level design is, the runbacks aren't a s bad a s dark souls 2
Worst run back in demon souls is old hero because there aren't any shortcuts in the level
Demon's souls' runbacks are brutal … 4-2 being the most traumatising for me even if the old hero isn''t that hard, I panick every time exactly because of the runback
In the tower of latria there are those black Cthulhu which are hurrendous, shout out to the one on the stairs for the maneaters, and obviously the King Allant one is terrible too, being the entire level (even if there's a new shortcut in the PS5 remake)
personally deacons runback in ds3 was the real boss
its easy 5-2 no question
I find ds1 bosses a lot harder than the newer games because of the clunkiness and Barely any iframes
Like DS1, Demon's Souls runbacks aren't that bad because the bosses are either easy, or the runback is just LONG with no difficulty, some even being right next to the boss fog. But, Old Hero, Flamelurker, and Old King Allant have the worst runbacks by a mile!
Old Hero is placed at the end of one of the hardest levels in the series with no shortcuts. However, Old Hero is somewhat of a pushover once you've fought him.
Flamelurker is again placed at the end of a long, maze-like level with tons of tanky enemies. Or you can take the parkour shortcut that killed me more than the boss. And thats saying alot because Flamelurker is one of the hardest bosses in the series!
And Allant is placed at the end of a shorter runback… that has the most difficult knights, 4 npc encounters, a dragon that can only be killed by hundreds of arrows, AND a 30 second long elevator ride! Plus, Allant is arguably harder than Flamelurker!
Despite that, I seriously think you should check out the game. It's bosses aren't amazing, but the creativity that went into them is somewhat lost by other entries. The level design is some of the best in the series, and the story and atmosphere is hauntingly beautiful. Though, I personally prefer the original because of its aesthetic, atmosphere, and music, the Remake is still incredible.
I don't know why people keep saying the run back to the shadows is long. I can get back to them in 30 seconds from the bottom of the elevator
Dark Souls 2 really takes the cake here. I think it says a lot that Ancient Dragon wasn't even mentioned, and that one is still worse than any from the other games.
The worst run-back in elden ring by far is the fallingstar beast in Sellia Crystal tunnel. Not a main-story boss, but a notably awful run-back all the same.
I find the Capra Demon run back to be one of the worst in DS1, it's not difficult, but it's SUPER TEDIOUS for a boss that can easily kill you in 30 seconds.
Placidusax's runback is awful, you can easily die by falling into the void or onto the next platform that you're intended to drop down to after the first because it's conveniently placed at a point that it's a lethal fall.
I find Placidusax to be a miserable boss and the run is one of the reasons why. The others being his teleportation (something that all melee oriented bosses with it as a big part of the fight have I'm not a fan of outside of the Twin Princes) and his damage.
My list would go something like this:
Demon’s Souls- 4-2 or Old Hero runback. Super long and absolutely brutal with skeletons on narrow ledges and summons that can beam you through walls. At least the boss isn’t too hard.
Dark Souls 1- Kalameet. One of if not the hardest bosses in the game and you have to get past dogs to get there. The run itself is just long enough to piss me off every single time I die to a BS hitbox. I think this game actually has the worst runbacks overall, DS2’s may be challenging but this game sure puts the run in runback.
Dark Souls 2- close but I have to say Sir Alonne’s memory. Only runback where I’m actually likely to despawn the enemies with how many times I have to do it. I will say that the archer trolling you at the boss fog is pretty funny though, shooting you in the back then retreating up the stairs only to do it again.
Bloodborne- I haven’t played the game as many times or struggled with many bosses, but I’d have to agree with the Shadows. Especially on my gun only run, where the attempts lasted as long as the runback.
Dark Souls 3- Deacons? Maybe? None of these are offensive, just remember that one a bit from my bow only run where I had many attempts on the boss.
Sekiro- either the Hirata Estate shinobi hunter as you have to stealthily clear out normal enemies after a decent run or one of the inner bosses in the gauntlets, since the runbacks are other boss fights. Really had to stretch to find something here
Elden Ring- yeah it’s gotta be our favorite dragon lord. At least it kinda makes sense lore wise for there not to be a stake of Marika here?
I hated the 4 kings run back, literally had to run from firelink every single time
Flamelurker in Demon's Souls hands down
Ember literally just smashes youtube shorts together and doesnt even have outros to his videos
Demons souls is definitely false king allant there's a reason the remake added a shortcut…
I hard agree with all your picks so I don't need to list any more
Literally every boss run in Demon Souls except Phalanx
DeS – Allant, extremely long and painful and man that elevator outstays its welcome
DS1 – Four Kings, with Nito you can just hug the right wall and avoid all conflict on the way back but these guys force you to trek all the way back through New Londo
DS2 – Frigid Outskirts, I don’t even need to explain
BB – Logarius, not terribly long, just a lotta enemies, and being the hardest base game boss you’ll be running back a lot
DS3 – Vordt, one of the hardest bosses to die to but god his runback is LONG, just lots of going up and down strewn with hollows that hit me more times than I’d like to admit
Sekiro – Jozou, but it’s not a terribly long run and at least in this game you can almost always avoid conflict with grunts
Elden Ring – Placidusax, gotta go down the dumb elevator every time, reset it and do some clunky parkour
Deacons of the Deep in DS3. Not a hard boss, not even a hard run back. But it’s loooong. You have a choice, too! Mud to slow you down, or ladders and elevators the other direction.
Mine will be slightly different.
Dark souls I'd say Four Kings
Dark Souls 2 I completely agree
Bloodborne I agree
Dark Souls 3 I agree
Never got far in Sekiro or Demons
Elden Ring doesn't really have any bad ones but I guess I'd say Godskin Duo just because banished knights can be tough.
I just finished Demon's Souls for the first time, and it's an awesome game, but I'm glad I was playing on an emulator and could just close the game when I died on a boss. That just respawns you outside the boss door with your items.
the runback to divine dragon (if u die the git gud) is not enjoyable
I actually managed to memorise the tomb of the giant run back so well I didn’t need a light and I’ve never died to oceiros
In Demon's Souls has to be either 5-1 5-2 or 4-2 these 3 are the pain in my existence and they are the reason i still didnt beat Sl1
For the rest i will say
Dark Souls probably Seath or Ornstein and Smough and dont let me start with Blightown
Dark Souls 2 run back Reindier Fuckland
Dark Souls 3 it has to be the Runback to Princes Lorian and Lothric i still cant get through that area
Bloodborn i think the Cleric Beast since first playthrough on first area took me ages
Sekiro easily Drunk Run
Elden Ring man i hate the runback to Placydusex as well if i was better at this shit
Demons souls is definitely either the fools idol or flamelurker for pretty much opposite reasons. Flamelurker is probably the hardest boss with easy enemies but awful parkor and fools idol is incredibly easy with some of the most annoying enemies and a maze like level design
to me it was Laurence, hardest boss for me and that runback would drive me insane
I did the nitto one without the mask🥲💀
The Oceiros boss run is not actually that bad, on the right side of the garden there is a shortcut, though the shortcut doesn’t cut down on the time aspect much, it makes it so that you will find no pus of man or toxic
Demon’s souls 4-2 gives me nightmares to this day