7 Hardest Bosses in Metroidvania Games

Over the last few years, the Metroidvania genre has quickly been filled with difficult games. That’s not to say the genre doesn’t have a tough challenge as its roots, but modern developers have taken those old systems and ramped up the difficulty quite a bit. While many of those games are tough tests throughout, a few of them really shine when it comes to their boss fights. These boss battles can sometimes feel nearly impossible, forcing players to use everything at their disposal to even have a chance.

Here are the seven hardest boss battles in Metroidvania history.

7) Dreamborn Terror – Grime

Dreamborn Terror is relatively underrated as far as Metroidvania boss fights go. That’s because it was added in a patch for Grime and is only accessible during New Game+. That means many players missed this fight, but it’s worth going back to if you want one of the toughest challenges in the genre. It has several phases, each of which gets more difficult.

6) Raven Beak – Metroid Dread

Metroid is one of the games that started the genre, so its most recent 2D entry should get a spot on this list. Raven Beak is a brutal fight that forces you to complete several QTEs if you want to get through it. That’s frustrating enough, but Raven Beak also has tons of devastating attacks during normal combat. That includes claw swipes, laser beams, and even a black hole. It’s a hard enough fight on the normal difficulty, but prepare to die dozens of times if you try to beat Dread difficulty.

5) Lost Lace – Hollow Knight: Silksong

Hollow Knight: Silksong upped the difficulty of the original game in many ways, but fans are split about which of the true ending bosses are more difficult. To spoil this list, I’m on team Absolute Radiance, but don’t think that makes Lost Lace a pushover. She deals massive damage and attacks at lightning speed, making it nearly impossible to stay alive. However, I think her attacks are a little easier to learn than Absolute Radiance, which drops her slightly in the rankings. Still, Lost Lace is tougher than Normal Radiance, so if you want the hardest base-game Hollow Knight boss, she takes the cake.

4) Eviterno – Blasphemous 2

Eviterno isn’t the final boss of Blasphemous 2, but it is the toughest. Remember, this series is trying to mix Dark Souls-like combat with the Metroidvania genre, so it’s filled with difficult fights. Eviterno is tricky, though. His first phase is actually pretty easy, lulling you into a false sense of security. Then, you hit the second phase, and he starts to teleport around the battle arena, using quick-hitting attacks that feel impossible to parry. It’s doable once you get the timing down, but that might take you a few dozen tries.

3) Absolute Radiance – Hollow Knight

Absolute Radiance is the hardest Hollow Knight fight, which is saying something given how difficult that series is. You’ll have to fight her in the Pantheon of Hallownest to get the Godhome endings. To even get to this fight, you need to take out 42 other bosses. Then, you’re greeted by one of the fastest bosses in Hollow Knight. She also has a massive health pool and a huge list of attacks. Memorizing everything will take dozens of attempts, and even then, you might fail if your reflexes aren’t up to snuff. This slog of a fight is not for the faint of heart.

2) Eigong – Nine Sols

If Blasphemous is the Dark Souls of Metroidvania games, then Nine Sols is the Sekiro of the genre. Quick wits and an even faster parry button are key to finishing this grueling game. Eigong is the final boss, and she more than earns that distinction as Nine Sols‘ last challenge. You’ll need to bring equal parts timing and patience to this fight. Your windows for attack are so small that anyone without pinpoint precision might as well give up. Even worse, the deeper you get into this fight, the more attacks Eigong adds to her repertoire. It’s safe to say that each defeat is a painful lesson, and you may never pass this test.

1) The Emperor – Aeterna Noctis

Aeterna Noctis is one of the most challenging games in the genre, largely because of how difficult the platforming is. However, its boss fights aren’t easy either. The Emperor is the biggest challenge in Aeterna Noctis, using screen-filling attacks that deal massive damage. You have to be incredibly precise to not be hit by these attacks, as The Emperor will take huge chunks of your health bar if you ever step out of line.

Then, you get to the third phase, and The Emperor starts to teleport around the arena, making it nearly impossible to get a lick in. If you can finish this fight, you can safely say you’ve mastered the genre’s hardest challenge, at least until developers take it up another notch.

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