The 10 Most FRUSTRATING Bosses of the Decade So Far
10 Most Frustrating Bosses of the Decade So Far
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re counting down our picks for the bosses post-2020 that aggravated us to no end.
Serpenphare “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” (2025)
After gaining the ability to traverse the Continent via flying, it’s only natural that players would want to explore the open skies and see what secrets lurk amongst the floating islands. Where there just so happened to be a giant, misshapen snake ripped right from an artistic fever dream. While it certainly hits hard, its most agonising feature is its insistence on depleting the entire party’s AP - every, single, round. Meaning you’ll have no access to your skills, all the why the sky serpent will continually spam shields so the chance of you landing any damage becomes increasingly minimal.
Asterius and Theseus “Hades” (2020)
Double bosses are a tricky tightrope to walk, as it can easily become overwhelming, and while this duo of hero and minotaur do it better than most, that’s not to say they can’t be the bane of a player’s run. You’re either going to be tussling with Asterius and his wide axe swings, or Theseus and his long-range armaments. Tricky on their own, but if you end up trying to take on both at once, then poor Zagreus is going to get caught up in a mythological slaughter-fest, made all the worse depending how high you push the pact of punishment beforehand.
Oggdo Bogdo and Spawn od Oggdo “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor” (2023)
Forget the Sith, the true chosen of the Dark Side are this pair of oversized frogs. They may be optional, but there are few challenges Cal Kestis has faced in his Jedi journey quite like tangoing with this duo of killer space amphibians. They never let up with their attacks, their tongues can reach all the way across the arena, and will continually spam their unblockable moves until they tear into Cal’s handsome face. It got so bad that you’d be forgiven for wanting to consult Palpatine just on the off chance he’d teach force lightning so we could barbecue the entire Oggdo bloodline!
King Hrolf Kraki “God of War: Ragnarok” (2022)
The Berserker King is no joke, to the extent he arguably overshadows even the valkyries with his difficulty spike. And it's all down to the seemingly endless bag of tricks he pulls out of his cape to control the pace of the fight. He’ll switch between elemental affinities on a dime, forcing you to swap between Kratos’ entire arsenal to weaken his defences. All the while he’ll be pelting you with ranged homing attacks, spamming ground strikes, and lashing out with a variety of different weapons. You’ll have to adapt on the fly, but even the most flawless of runs can be undone when the undead ruler starts lathering you in Bifrost!
Trial of the Dragons “Metaphor ReFantazio” (2024)
Before taking on the likes of Louis in the game’s closing chapter, players are offered one final gauntlet to undertake, all with the promise of epic gear and major bragging rights. Easily worth it, right? That is, until we came face to flame with some of JRPGs most demanding dragon bosses to date, and that’s saying something! Aside from constantly granting themselves more turns, each dragon has unique properties that can be excessively tricky to overcome without pre-planning. The Devourer of Nations will go ham with physical attacks, the Devourer of Flames can unleash scorching AOEs that deal 9999 points worth of damage to all party members, and the Devourer of Stars is immune to everything save Almighty moves and loves nothing more than to cast the Hex status ailment every chance it gets.
Angel and Devil “Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course” (2022)
Should you go out of your way to uncover the hidden ritual site that leads to this secret boss, then congratulations, because now you’re about to have your perception and platforming skills severely tested. On the surface it might seem simple - the Devil attacks with burning projectiles while the Angel sends out halos that cause no damage. But here’s the twist, every time you turn your character around, the Angel and Devil swap positions. In a bullet hell setting such as this, it's all too easy to lose your sense of placement and end up getting dragged down into a plethora of game overs.
Commander Gaius “Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree” (2024)
There are certainly more treacherous and lethal enemies to face within the Land of Shadow. Looking at you Radahn. But there were few that caused such tremendous blowback from players quite like Gaius. It shouldn't have been all that difficult - heavily armoured knight riding a massive war-pig who likes to dabble in gravity magic. Nothing new to Souls veterans. At least until the hit boxes started making themselves known, or rather, the absurdity of them. It felt like the oversized boar was able to smash apart your health even if you were standing several feet away, while dodging appeared to be an impossibility. With limited time and space to summon your own mount or catch your breath, it was all too easy to get shish-kebabbed right out of the gate!
Viper “The First Berserker: Khazan” (2025)
The Blade Phantom? Easy pickings. The Ruler of the Mountain? Get out of here. As far as Souls bosses were concerned, the first few encounters on our road to revenge as the fallen general weren’t too troubling. And then we met Viper. Who feels like an endgame boss who was casually dropped in as roadblock way too early. In his first phase alone, he’ll lash out with staggers, ranged strikes, and grasps that will obliterate your health, all the while the snowy environment will slow down your movement. And that’s all before he hulks out for phase two, where he really starts to pile on the damage! Taking this dragonkin’s head felt like conquering one hell of a hurdle.
Green Monster of the Swamp “Lies of P” (2023)
An absolute cluster-dump of a boss brawl, parrying alone won’t be enough to save you from this swamp dweller’s wrath. In its first form, the monster will do what it does best – try to poison you with its far-reaching tendrils, while occasionally digging underground to try and uproot you. When that fails, it will switch things up by merging its body with the remains of a giant puppet. This form is far more hard-hitting, throwing itself around the already limited arena to try and crush you. Worst of all, it can easily shift back to try its poisonous antics all over again. It’s a recipe for a brutal fight if you let it drag on for too long.
Raven “Stellar Blade” (2024)
Monsters, robots and aliens of every shape and size, and the one enemy that broke us happened to be a busty young woman with a giant sword. Doesn’t get more anime than that. Abandoning her Naytiba form for something far more slim fitting, Raven’s sword skills are absurd in their variety and speed. By the time you’ve deflected one blow she’s already stringing together counters. Memorising her move set is a ridiculous task, as is trying to nail the timings of her slashes. It’s a dance of death that purely relies on your ability to crunch out those parries, otherwise you’re going to be ripped to ribbons by the envious android.
Which of these bosses caused you to stress out? Let us know in the comments!
