The soulslike genre, a digital crucible where triumph is forged through relentless adversity, continues to captivate players globally in 2025. At its core lies a delicious paradox: the most excruciating challenges are often entirely avoidable. These optional bosses—lurking in hidden alcoves or locked behind obscure questlines—demand peak reflexes, flawless strategy, and an almost masochistic perseverance. They've evolved from FromSoftware's signature design philosophy into a genre-wide tradition, with recent titans like Black Myth: Wukong and Lies of P weaving their own nightmares into the tapestry. Conquering them isn't mandatory for progression, yet doing so offers bragging rights that shimmer like dragon hoards in the community's collective consciousness. 🏆

Sekiro's Ghostly Vendettas

In Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, precision is oxygen—and two optional encounters suck it clean from the room. Owl (Father) isn't merely a harder clone of Great Shinobi Owl; he’s a spectral chessmaster who turns the Hirata Estate memory into a claustrophobic deathtrap. His new moves materialize like poisoned shadows, punishing missteps with combos that feel like falling dominos of despair. Then there’s Demon of Hatred—a screeching anomaly in Sekiro’s elegant combat ballet. This fire-beast demands consumables and stamina reserves that vanish faster than morning dew, turning the fight into a marathon where victory tastes like charred relief. Beating either is akin to threading a needle during an earthquake: a feat of absurd, trembling focus.

Elden Ring's Undefeated Valkyrie

"I am Malenia, Blade of Miquella..."—a mantra burned into every Tarnished’s psyche. Even after Shadow of the Erdtree unleashed mandatory terrors like Promised Consort Radahn, Malenia’s twin-phase duel remains the gold standard of agony. Her Waterfowl Dance slices through defenses like a hurricane through cobwebs, while her lifesteal mechanic turns every landed blow into a gut-punch betrayal. Defeating her birthed legends like Let Me Solo Her, players who transformed jolly cooperation into performance art. In 2025, she’s still the benchmark—a boss who treats your hard-earned build like origami, crumpling it with scarlet rot flourish.

Black Myth: Wukong’s Primordial Trials

Though often called "accessible," Black Myth: Wukong hides fangs in its mist-shrouded valleys. Enter Scorponlord and Yellow Loong—optional encounters that gatekeep true mastery. Their attacks chain together like collapsing constellations, demanding frame-perfect dodges amidst sandstorms and lightning. No obvious weaknesses exist; exploiting openings feels like stealing secrets from a sphinx. Casual claims about the game’s ease dissolve when faced with these ancient sentinels. They’re less boss fights and more spiritual audits, measuring whether you’ve truly absorbed the game’s rhythm.

Dark Souls 3’s Forgotten Monarchs

Before Malenia, there was Darkeater Midir—a dragon so brutally magnificent he redefined scale. Found in The Ringed City DLC, this optional behemoth shrugs off gimmicks, demanding direct confrontation beneath apocalyptic fire. His health pool sprawls like an ocean, and each swipe carries tectonic weight. Paired with the storm-riding Nameless King (whose first-phase wyvern is a patience-taxing prelude), they form a duo that separates completionists from tourists. Many never find them, hidden as they are behind illusory walls and arcane triggers.

Lies of P’s Carnival of Cruelty

Lies of P’s Mad Clown Puppet epitomizes optional horror. Appearing with deceptive whimsy, this jester unleashes attacks that stretch across the arena like taffy pulled by giants. His fight is a carnival of cruelty—each swing a mallet at your resolve. Strategies exist:

• 🎭 Bait his lunge-and-spin combo

• ⚡ Parry his overhead slam

• 🏃‍♂️ Or simply sprint past him to the next checkpoint (a mercy many embrace)

But those who engage face hours of pattern-memorization, where victory hangs on split-second ripostes.

Star Wars Jedi’s Amphibian Apocalypse

Jedi: Survivor resurrected 2020’s meme-worthy terror: Spawn of Oggdo. This optional toad-god in Fort Kah’lin moves with unsettling speed, its tongue lash snatching players like flies. Rumors of dual Oggdo fights swirl—a prospect as welcome as a sandpaper hug. Defeating it grants no story progress, only the sweet nectar of communal vindication.

Boss	Game	Key Challenge
Owl (Father)	Sekiro	Confined space + relentless combos
Malenia	Elden Ring	Healing on hit + Waterfowl Dance
Scorponlord	Black Myth: Wukong	Sandstorm AoEs + rapid tail strikes
Darkeater Midir	Dark Souls 3	Colossal HP + fire breath spam
Mad Clown Puppet	Lies of P	Unpredictable reach + frenzy mode

These battles share DNA: they’re Rubik’s Cubes doused in gasoline—solve them fast or watch your efforts ignite. Yet for all their fury, they represent gaming’s strangest alchemy: transforming frustration into euphoria. So as soulslikes evolve, one wonders—do we chase these victories to prove our skill, or because we’ve learned to savor the exquisite pain of growth? 🔥