If you could pick any boss from across theDark Soulstrilogy to bring back, who would it be? A lot of you might say Artorias or maybe the Soul of Cinder, but FromSoftware went truly rogue inElden Ring Nightreign, and I’m not just talking about the genre.
Rather than series staples,it chose opponents like the Smelter Demon and Duke’s Dear Freja. It’s amazing to see some of these more niche fights brought back and remastered for a new game, but there are plenty of standout bosses that deserve a similar return.
10Darklurker
Twice The Pride, Double The Fall
The Darklurker is easily one of Dark Souls 2’s most underrated bouts. Found as an optional fight in the Dark Chasms of Old as part of the Pilgrims of Dark questline, they’re an all-too easily missed four-armed angelic figure shrouded by the Abyss, wielding an assortment of devastating spells. After you whittle away enough of their health, they’ll even split in two.
It’s hardly surprising that they’re regarded as one of the hardest bosses in the game, especially since you can’t summon help. But in a more co-operative setting like Nightreign, where two enemies firing lasers and flooding the arena with hexes would be more manageable, maybe they’d finally get their dues.
9Yhorm
Without The Storm Ruler
Elden Ring Nightreign doesn’t have a lot of colossal-sized bosses - at least, not humanoid ones. The closest we get are trolls, fire giants, and golems, which are all minor battles. Thankfully, there are plenty of towering opponents across Dark Souls that could easily fix that.
Old Iron King could be fun, but like Centipede Demon, I doubt it’d be that hard without the lava.
Take Yhorm. While in Dark Souls 3, he’s a gimmick fight — you have to use the Storm Ruler to deal any noticeable damage, much likeRykard and the Serpent-Hunter— with a bit of tweaking, he could be balanced around trios and normal weapons. It would be one heck of a spectacle, especially if you gave Raiderthe Catarina armour.
8Ornstein And Smough
It’s Obvious, But Come On
I’m amazed that of all the bosses from the first Dark Souls, we got the Centipede Demon and Gaping Dragon (at least it’s not Pinwheel, eh?). They’re great first-day fights, since they’re pretty easy to take down, but when FromSoftware is pulling The Nameless King and Dancer from Dark Souls 3, it feels lopsided.
An easy remedy would be to bring back arguably the most iconic boss from across the entire series: Ornstein and Smough. They could be made into a powerhouse against trios, as rather than defeating one to make the other stronger, they could both trigger their second phase at the same time. That would make them fit right in with some of the harder second-night bosses.
7Looking Glass Knight
If Aura Farming Were A Boss
The Looking Glass Knight is one of Dark Souls 2’s most striking designs, wielding a giant silver mirror as a shield from which they summon invading players as black phantoms. However, as far as boss fights go, they’re incredibly simple. All you need to do is hug their back, and you’ve practically won.
They’d fit better as a day-one boss. But it’d be fascinating to see some kind of invasion system implemented into Nightreign, maybe with a team being summoned from the Roundtable Hold to help the Looking Glass Knight in return for a unique Relic.
6Slave Knight Gael
Hand It Over. That Thing.
The Nameless King is surprisingly easy in Nightreign, despite being one of the hardest bosses in Dark Souls 3, so why not take it up a notch and bring back Slave Knight Gael? Let’s showElden Ringplayers what we struggled with years ago.
He wouldn’t feel out of place in Nightreign, leaping across the arena at breakneck speed while dealing huge swaths of damage to anyone unlucky enough to get swept up in his attacks. He’s practically a Nightlord-lite.
5Stray Demon
Where It All Began
The Asylum Demon and all of its variants are a Soulsborne staple at this point. They’re a spiritual successor to The Vanguard fromDemon’s Souls, who served as the first-ever Soulslike tutorial, immediately showing players just how gruelling this action RPG would be with all the subtlety of a giant axe to the face, literally.
Since Sony owns the rights to Demon’s Souls, they can’t bring back The Vanguard, but the Asylum Demon is close enough.
FromSoftware brought the Asylum Demon back for Dark Souls 3, while Erdtree Avatars serve as another spiritual successor in Elden Ring with a slightly tweaked moveset. But as Nightreign opened the floodgates with returning bosses from across the Dark Souls series, FromSoftware now has the opportunity to bring the Stray Demon back as it was, paying homage to where the Soulslike genre was born.
4Sir Alonne
Bring Back The Challenge
Introduced in the Crown of the Old Iron King DLC for Dark Souls 2, Sir Alonne quickly became one of the most beloved bosses in the game, if not the series. His battle is a thrilling duel that leaves little room for healing, keeping you on the defensive as you attempt to find what little openings he leaves you.
But being a Dark Souls 2 boss, he was let down by the clunkier movement and focus on adaptability. In a faster-paced and smoother experience like Nightreign, he would be elevated to entirely new heights. And what a treat it would be for your team to see the unique seppuku animation triggered if you take no damage and win in just three minutes.
3Throne Watcher And Throne Defender, And Nashandra
Elden Ring Really Is Dark Souls 2, 2
If you don’t enter the throne room until the very end of Dark Souls 2, then you’ll face the Throne Watcher and Defender, followed by Nashandra. It’s a true test of mettle, fighting two bosses back-to-back (or three with Aldia, thanks to the post-launch update and Scholar of the First Sin edition).
In Nightreign, I’ve only run into one instance so far of a second boss suddenly appearing mid-way through a fight: the hippopotamus and Crucible Knight. Hardly that intimidating. There’d be far more fanfare to bringing back Dark Souls 2’s climactic finish, but no final bosses return in Nightreign, so this might be a pipe dream. Then again, without Aldia, is it really the final boss?
2The Abyss Watchers
The Artorias Fan Club Extends All The Way To The Lands Between
I’m gonna say it: Artorias would not be hard in Nightreign. Sure, he felt fast by Dark Souls standards in 2011, but we’ve come a long way since then, and with three people wailing on him at once, I can’t imagine him putting up much of a fight.
The Abyss Watchers, on the other hand, would be right at home. Some of the toughest bosses across Nightreign are the ones where your attention as a group is split, like the infamous first Nightlord,Gladius. With a bit more health and damage, these Artorias wannabes would fit in perfectly.
1Artorias And Sif
Or Just Bring Back The Real Deal
Okay, Artorias might be easy, but c’mon. It’s Artorias. A skin isn’t enough. That being said, they do needsomethingto make them more formidable against three opponents, because bringing back such a notorious boss fight just for him to get obliterated hardly seems right.
If not Artorias, then at least Manus.
FromSoftware should take this opportunity to rip our hearts out by bringing back ArtoriasandSif, his loyal canine. Fighting both of these bosses at once would be a true sight to behold, and dying to the duo would be a lot less frustrating knowing that Sif gets to live another day.
