Summary
The Soulslike genre has taken many of the principles that made its namesake so popular to begin with.Dark, unnerving lore, extreme difficulty, and a story mostly pieced together from incredibly cryptic NPCs and item descriptions, to name a few.
Beyond the Soulslike genre, one of the main draws to video games with high-intensity battles and dynamic combatis the bosses. It can’t be overstated how much these giant-health-bar-wielding behemoths have contributed to the popularity of games likeDark Souls.These bosses serve as not just extreme challenges, but icons within the lore and gameplay of these titles. But what good is a dangerous fight if there isn’t some kind of reward at the end?These Soulslikes have great boss weapons to help push the player through some difficult battles.
The Surge 2essentiallyimproves on its predecessorin almost every way, including the variety of weapons and armor the player can equip. This expansion on the first game’s world and lore might not be as tight and focused as the original, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction for players looking to get their hands on some boss weapons. The boss weapons in this game aren’t as numerous as they are in other titles on this list, but they can be obtained in the same way any equipment can be inThe Surgetitles: by cutting them off of their owners.The Surge 2uses a stun mechanic that opens up enemies to dismemberment, allowing players to target specific body parts to then acquire their associated weapon or armor.
As such, there is an incredibly rewarding nature to obtaining these boss weapons. They’re often difficult to get, but in acquiring them, players will have a piece of equipment that outmatches their enemies at that point in the game, granting an incredible sense of weight and power to each one.
Code Veincasts a pretty wide net. It’s a good title worth sinking hours into for anime fans, vampire fans, orSoulsfans, with the caveat being that the latter group might find the combat a tad easy after some of the more intensiveSoulsand Soulslike games available today. Blood codes,which fundamentally rewritethe player’s skills and stats, are the main feature used for gameplay variation in this title, but supplementing these codes is an incredibly broad array of boss weapons, only further broadened by the DLC and the bosses they add.
Boss weapons are typically guaranteed drops, and are the central reward for defeating the more important bosses in this game. Players can freely experiment with these boss weapons and Blood Codes to find the perfect combination for them.
This altogether underrated Soulslike is a love letter to the genre, and feels much more like a tailored experience for its shorter playtime. Part of this design philosophy that heavily leans towards quality over quantity can be seen in the array of weapons available to the player. Each weapon must be unlocked by defeating a recurring boss, who is wielding the very weapon players are seeking to gain.
UtilizingShells instead of normal armormeans that players have a large amount of variation in how they mix each Shell with corresponding weapons to create a unique playstyle. Each weapon has a unique skill set and elemental affinity that makes learning how to wield them feel like as much of an exploration as wandering through the grim, dire setting ofMortal Shell.
Salt and Sanctuarystands as one of the best Soulslike games in general; a fantastic mix of Metroidvania style exploration with a Soulslike esthetic, and an incredibly interesting faction system that changes gameplay styles and how the game is framed overall. This is a title worthy ofSoulsveterans' attention, and worthy of a few replays at that, but part of what makes this game shine are the colossal boss weapons on offer, and the satisfying punchiness they add to the game.
Combining the token obtained from a fallen boss, usually an ear, with the right materials will transmute the ingredients into a boss weapon that universally feels balanced and powerful, making this one of thebest 2D Soulslikesavailable today.
Labeled by many as FromSoft’s magnum opus,Elden Ring’simmense quality and detail speaks for itself in every corner of The Lands Between, from Limgrave to the very base of the Erdtree and everywhere in between. This game has a plethora of fantastic — if somewhat terrifying — boss battles for players to ceaselessly slam themselves into until they finally emerge victorious.
Part of what makes these boss battles so compelling, whether they’re monolithic mainline bosses or lesser foes sequestered away in a smaller dungeon, is the weapons they reward their conquerors with. Players willing to separate themselves from the cacophony of conversation on meta-builds will find that almost any boss weapon they happen upon or transmute will fit into a solid, reliable build for tackling the challenges of The Lands Between.
