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Why The Hardest Bosses Always Look Like Survivors | In Games — Transcript

by Gorguinni · 3,329 words · 510 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00There is a story behind the most
0:02difficult bosses in games. A story that
0:04surprisingly repeats itself. The plot
0:07may look different each time, but the
0:09theme is always the same. They are all
0:12survivors. Survivors of war, of disease,
0:16of betrayal, things that could or should
0:18have killed them. There's a pattern
0:20here, one that stretches across multiple
0:22series. So, my question is, why? Why are
0:26some of the hardest bosses, why do they
0:29always look like survivors? And how does
0:31survival itself create such difficult
0:34encounters?
0:37Survivors, by definition, are someone
0:40who stays alive and continues to move
0:42forward after a major threat, hardship,
0:45or trauma. It shifts the focus from
0:47simply being a victim of circumstance to
0:50an active agent of healing, endurance,
0:52and personal strength. Now, in stories,
0:55survivors are hardened veterans who bear
0:58deep emotional and possibly physical
1:01scars. Survival isn't simply about being
1:04alive. It's about what being forced to
1:07survive does to you. They've already
1:09lived an entire lifetime before we meet
1:11them, and so their strength remains
1:13quiet, their resolve absolute, and they
1:16have acute senses for anything
1:18dangerous. Think of characters like
1:19Kratos, who survived the collapse of his
1:22entire pantheon. Granted, he was the
1:24catalyst for such a catastrophic event,
1:26but the fact remains true. He did
1:28survive betrayal, war, manipulation,
1:31being stabbed in the chest twice, once
1:34by his own hands. And after all that, he
1:36chose to bury that life and live as a
1:38man inside the Norse realms. His
1:41strength at this point is unmatched, and
1:43his character continues to be reformed
1:45by his past, by what he survived. He's
1:48an example of survival equaling
1:50strength, resilience, endurance. Now, is
1:54it always like this? Is every single
1:56survivor in a video game always depicted
1:58with power? Not really. Funny enough,
2:01the complete opposite is true. I think
2:03of the last giant from Dark Souls 2 who
2:05survived the war against said giants and
2:08was imprisoned underneath the ground for
2:10who knows how long. His movements are
2:13slow and withered. He's basically a
2:15shell of his former self. He even rips
2:18off his own arm out of desperation, not
2:20strength, to defeat us. But that is the
2:23opposite side of the spectrum here.
2:25We'll start slow and escalate each
2:27category until we reach the finale where
2:29what those bosses survived is beyond
2:31anything you would expect. Our story
2:34begins with one of the most difficult
2:36monsters I've ever faced, 12 hours to be
2:39exact. A boss that hasn't necessarily
2:42survived much at all, but was born into
2:44a cruel world without his mother.
2:47An orphan.
2:50The Orphan of Kos is a notorious boss in
2:52Bloodborne and I think a majority of the
2:54community would agree he is the most
2:56difficult boss in the entire game. He is
2:59birthed from the corpse of his mother
3:00crying as he enters the world completely
3:03alone. And by the way, his birth
3:04perfectly mirrors the story of Guts from
3:07Berserk, who was also born from the
3:08corpse of his mother hanging from a tree
3:11by the way. It's pretty metal, I love
3:12it. His weapon is his own placenta from
3:15the womb still attached to him. It's
3:18quite absurd to me that an infant is the
3:21toughest boss in Bloodborne immediately
3:24after its birth. It is faced with
3:26surviving its environment without
3:28support and of course comes face-to-face
3:30with us, the hunter. It fights with wild
3:33flailing tantrum-like combos and
3:36constantly screams at us, which makes
3:38complete sense. It is a baby after all.
3:41It's quite ironic how I said minutes ago
3:43that these bosses have already survived
3:45a lifetime worth of hardship. And yet,
3:48the Orphan of Kos was just born, but is
3:51already challenged with having the right
3:52to live. So, what exactly does this
3:55mean? I think it means survival is
3:58instinctive. And what happens when an
4:00animal is cornered? They will do
4:02anything to ensure they live to see
4:04another day. The Orphan of Kos is
4:06incredibly difficult in the first phase,
4:08but mere minutes after its birth, it
4:11evolves to try and claim victory. It
4:13grows bigger, gains wing-like
4:15appendages, and enhanced abilities. He
4:18can even call upon his dead mother's
4:20corpse to summon lightning, indicating
4:22his mutation has already exceeded the
4:24limitations of the physical. It is a
4:26god, after all. I think that's what
4:28makes the Orphan of Kos so interesting.
4:30Survival is the only thing it knows.
4:32It's by default. The moment its
4:34existence is threatened, it adapts. It
4:37becomes faster, more aggressive, more
4:39powerful, and more unpredictable. And
4:42isn't that exactly what makes a boss
4:43difficult? I mean, we learn its
4:45patterns, we adapt to its attacks, we
4:47expect it to behave in a certain way,
4:50and then it changes. The Orphan fights
4:52not to defeat, but to survive. And
4:55that's it. Now, this is just the
4:56beginning, quite literally. But there
4:59are those who have endured imprisonment,
5:01and their prisons only became a catalyst
5:03for their power.
5:09Recently, I replayed through God of War
5:122018.
5:13But when I first played these games, I
5:15was a battle-hardened veteran. I played
5:17the Souls series, Bloodborne, Sekiro,
5:20they were all under my belt. I thought I
5:22could take on anything at this point,
5:23but I was proven absurdly wrong by the
5:26Valkyries. They're optional end-game
5:29bosses that challenge the ceiling of the
5:30game's combat mechanics. They're fierce,
5:33they're fast, and they provide some of
5:35the greatest boss fights this game has
5:36to offer. But of course, none of them
5:38can compare to their queen, Sigrun. Her
5:41boss fight is essentially the
5:43culmination of every other Valkyrie's
5:46unique abilities, combining them
5:48together to create the most formidable
5:50opponent in the game. Now, for the sake
5:52of this video, what has Sigrun survived
5:54and how does that relate to her
5:55strength? See, in the story, the
5:57Valkyries were corrupted by Odin. Their
6:00minds are gone and instead of guiding
6:02spirits into Valhalla, they're trapped
6:04in their corporeal forms, sealed inside
6:07hidden chambers. Sigrun was strong
6:09enough to resist and being their queen,
6:12she sealed her sisters away before they
6:14could wreak havoc on the realms. Now,
6:16Valkyries in the lore are already very
6:18strong, but being reduced to almost
6:21animalistic mindsets, fighting without
6:24restraint, makes them even more
6:25dangerous. She's difficult because she
6:28retains the experience of a Valkyrie
6:30while losing the restraint that normally
6:33governs that experience. Her ferocity is
6:35very prominent in that fight. She does
6:38not give Kratos a moment to breathe. You
6:40have to essentially be perfect if you
6:42want to win and in this game, you're
6:44only healing from health stones that
6:46will occasionally drop after enough
6:48damage is dealt. Sigrun survived
6:50imprisonment, the torment from Odin's
6:53magic, and who knows what else in her
6:55time of serving as a Valkyrie. My point
6:57is that imprisonment preserves and
6:59intensifies a warrior's ability to
7:02fight. But come to think of it, I just
7:04thought of this, I definitely didn't
7:05write it in my script, but survive
7:07survivability can also be viewed as a
7:10curse and in turn creates a difficult
7:12boss fight, too. Baldur was blessed with
7:15invulnerability to all threats, physical
7:17or magical. He's probably the best case
7:20in this entire video about how a boss's
7:22ability to survive death-like situations
7:25makes for an ever-looming threat. Our
7:28first encounter with him has multiple
7:29phases where he regenerates all the
7:32damage we've done to him. I've played a
7:34lot of games, very rarely does the
7:36first, technically second, major boss in
7:38the game have this many phases or goes
7:41on for this long. It really does speaks
7:44volume about Balder's durability.
7:46Unfortunately, his strength came at a
7:48cost. Not only can't he feel pain, but
7:50he can't feel anything. Once you
7:53understand the tragedy of his powers,
7:55you kind of understand where he's coming
7:56from. But of course, Odin doesn't care.
7:59Balder is his main tracker, enforcer,
8:02and closer. He's truly a tragic
8:04character defined by his curse. That
8:06translates into difficult, memorable
8:09boss fights. He is a very unique case of
8:11survivability. So, let's talk about
8:14something more common. What about war
8:17and disease?
8:21Malenia and Radahn are some of the most
8:23difficult boss fights in the game with
8:25clear events that earn them the title of
8:27survivor. Radahn survived the
8:29shattering, his battle with Malenia, the
8:32Scarlet Rot, and returned in the realm
8:34of shadow where he now serves as
8:35Miquella's consort. Malenia also
8:38survived the shattering, her battle
8:40against Radahn, but her affliction is
8:42not the same. She has Scarlet Rot, but
8:45this curse was given to her at birth.
8:48It's almost as if she was a chosen
8:50vessel to harbor such a fate. Now, the
8:53Scarlet Rot is basically the essence of
8:55an outer god that takes the form of
8:57decay and disease. At birth, Malenia not
9:00only lost her eyesight, but her arm as
9:03well. She's crippled, suffering from an
9:05intense illness, and yet, she has never
9:08known defeat. Which is not exactly the
9:10best thing to hear when, you know,
9:12challenging a demigod. But it's these
9:14traits that make her so formidable. She
9:16was fitted with a prosthetic arm that
9:18acts as an extension of her being. She
9:20gracefully wields the blade in ways that
9:23most other bosses can't physically do.
9:25In her second phase, she embraces the
9:27very thing that has been consuming her
9:29since birth. Her wings blossom. Her
9:32attacks become more aggressive, and
9:34every attack she lands brings her closer
9:36to spreading the same disease that has
9:38ravaged her body. And on top of all of
9:41this, she has a great rune, which allows
9:43her to heal per strike. As you can
9:45probably understand, and for those who
9:47have actually defeated her, it's very
9:49difficult. Any boss that can heal
9:51themselves like Malenia is in an
9:53entirely different category of
9:55difficulty. But it's really cool to see
9:57Malenia's greatest weakness become one
9:59of her greatest weapons. Radagon,
10:01however, experienced the Scarlet Rot
10:03very differently. Unlike Malenia, he was
10:06not empowered by it. He was destroyed by
10:08it. He became basically an animal. After
10:11his battle with Malenia, Radagon was
10:13left wandering Caelid, completely
10:15consumed by the Scarlet Rot. His mind
10:17was gone. And during his cutscene, we
10:19can see him eating the corpses of friend
10:22and foe alike. And that's what makes
10:24Radagon so terrifying. There's almost
10:26nothing left of the general we knew, but
10:28his body refuses to stop fighting. And
10:31that endurance speaks levels for his
10:34difficulty. Not to mention his intense
10:36strength, the gravity magic. I mean, he
10:38is a one-man army alone. And I think
10:41that's the difference between these two,
10:42right? Malenia adapted to her disease,
10:45Radagon endured it. One turned her
10:47suffering into a weapon, while the other
10:49simply refused to die from it. The
10:52ironic thing is, war and disease doesn't
10:55necessarily make you stronger. They
10:57force you to find a way to keep fighting
10:59with whatever remains. Some characters
11:02have survived everything in their life
11:04and earn the honor of dying of old age.
11:08>> A war in among all men.
11:11Same
11:13relation.
11:14>> And that could not be more true than
11:16with Isshin Ashina, the man who fought
11:18and defeated countless foes in Ashina's
11:21wars and became known as the Sword
11:23Saint. Even in his sickly elderly state,
11:26he can still put up one hell of a fight
11:28in Sekiro's alternate ending. But it's
11:30the main ending where things
11:32interesting. The black mortal blade that
11:34Genichiro wields has the power to open a
11:37portal to the underworld. He cannot save
11:39Ashina on his own, so instead he
11:42sacrificed himself to bring his
11:43legendary grandfather back to the living
11:46world. But he brought him back in his
11:48absolute prime. One of the most
11:51intimidating cutscenes I've seen in a
11:53video game because unlike a lot of
11:55bosses I've talked about thus far,
11:57Isshin's reputation is well known. We
12:00know who he is and how difficult this
12:02fight is going to be. We know what he
12:04achieved and what he survived and that's
12:07what makes him so difficult. His legend
12:09reflects his gameplay. He has three
12:11distinct phases where the difficulty
12:13ramps up each time and that's what I
12:15think is really cool. He doesn't
12:17transform or become a monster, he just
12:20gets sharper, better, wields two weapons
12:24and a gun and freaking lightning. I
12:26mean, he is incredible to fight. But
12:29honestly, this is where we kind of reach
12:31an impasse. See, I've talked about
12:33bosses who have survived war, disease,
12:35imprisonment, betrayal and even their
12:38own bodies that are trying to kill them.
12:40So what about those [music] who have
12:41survived
12:43you? Or at least other versions of you.
12:48We usually enter these games believing
12:50we're the first person to challenge
12:52these bosses. We're the chosen one, the
12:55hunter, the tarnished, the warrior, but
12:58we're not really the first ones. See, in
13:00a lot of games you are not the first
13:02person to walk this path. There are
13:04other nameless hunters, tarnished
13:06warriors or whatever they're called who
13:08have taken the same journey as you, but
13:10have failed one way or another. These
13:13bosses, these characters have had to
13:15face countless other people like us
13:18until we show up. Let's go back to
13:20Bloodborne and talk about Gehrman, the
13:22first hunter. He's our guide throughout
13:24the whole game. He offers advice,
13:27guidance, hints, things like that. Even
13:30the doll, should it please you. But
13:31here's the important part. At the end,
13:33when you slay the final nightmare,
13:35Gehrman offers you a choice. A mercy
13:38kill to send you back to the waking
13:40world, or if you refuse, a final boss
13:43fight where Gehrman forces you to go
13:44back. I think this is one of the most
13:47crucial cutscenes in the game because
13:49it's defined by who you've become at
13:51this point. Resisting means you're
13:53blood-drunk on the hunt and essentially
13:56forcing Gehrman to end the cycle for
13:58you, which does beg the question, how
14:00many others before us challenged
14:02Gehrman? Again, he's the first hunter.
14:05This cycle has been going on for who
14:07knows how long and nobody has been able
14:10to beat this old man. He has survived
14:12other hunters just like us for multiple
14:15generations and his boss fight makes it
14:18clear how he was able to hold his
14:20position for so long. He's difficult
14:22because he is the culmination of an
14:25entire history of hunters. You're
14:27fighting someone who understands the
14:29exact tools you're using. There's an
14:32argument to be had that most bosses in
14:34the Souls series fit the concept of
14:36surviving the player character again and
14:38again. I think of Rykard who was
14:41challenged by others under his rule or
14:43Morgott who protects the throne from
14:45other tarnished. However, this concept
14:48of a boss surviving the player is not
14:51unique to FromSoftware. As a matter of
14:53fact, my other favorite series of all
14:55time has an entire species of monsters
14:58dedicated to this idea.
15:01Monster Hunter has a category of special
15:03monsters known as Deviants. Now,
15:05Deviants are monsters who have survived
15:07encounters with other hunters, whether
15:10they flee or fend off the attacking
15:12party. Since then, they've mutated or
15:15evolved. Their physical appearance
15:17changes, their abilities improve, and
15:19sometimes they change just enough to
15:22give them a unique fighting style. For
15:25example, Lagombi is an early game
15:27monster. He's quite nimble using his
15:29belly as a slide, but is rather clumsy
15:32and kind of cute. He can hurl ice at
15:34hunters or create giant snowballs, but
15:36other than that, he is not a real
15:38threat. However, its deviant, Snowbaron
15:41Lagombi, is a completely different
15:44monster. It is much larger, sports
15:47darker fur, and has a distinct belly
15:49color compared to the original species.
15:51Now, what's cool is this monster has
15:54essentially enhanced its abilities to a
15:56master's degree. He can slide at much
15:59larger, less predictable angles, cause
16:02snow blight through more basic attacks,
16:04and with newfound strength, hurl giant
16:07snowballs that deal devastating damage.
16:10Normal Lagombi is a more casual hunt, I
16:12would say. You can learn its attacks,
16:14understand its patterns, and eventually
16:16overcome it. But, Snowbaron demands
16:19constant focus and precision, because
16:21the monster itself has evolved beyond
16:23the limitations of its original species.
16:26You are not fighting the same Lagombi
16:28the other hunters encountered. You're
16:30fighting the Lagombi that survived them.
16:33And that's what makes the deviants so
16:34fascinating to me. Their difficulty
16:37isn't simply the result of having more
16:39health or dealing more damage. Their
16:41entire identity is built around
16:44survival. I mean, even if you want to
16:46start hunting these things, you need a
16:47special permit to prove that you have
16:50the strength [music] to even attempt the
16:52challenge. And they survived the one
16:55thing that every monster in the series
16:57is ultimately hunted by, us. In a way,
17:00these monsters kind of learn how we
17:02fight through their own experiences, and
17:04I think that's what makes them some of
17:05the most interesting examples of
17:07survival in gaming. They were only
17:09featured in Monster Hunter Generations
17:11and Generations Ultimate by extension,
17:13but I I I really want them to come back.
17:15Personally, I loved the Deviants. They
17:19were by far my favorite species or
17:21variants of monsters in the series.
17:24If you made it this far, first of all,
17:26thank you. I make more content like
17:28this, by the way. Shameless plug, I
17:29understand, but I did want to squeeze in
17:32this last game. The most recent game I
17:34finished was none other than Mortal
17:36Shell 2. Amazing, by the way. I give it
17:39like an 8.5 out of 10. There's not much
17:42lore though to dissect when compared to
17:44like Dark Souls, but there was something
17:47I did pick up on. You were a child of a
17:49cosmic entity known as the Mother. Your
17:52main objective is to collect your
17:54mother's eggs scattered throughout the
17:56world. There were others before you who
17:58tried to do the same, but again, failed,
18:00much like with the Deviants and Garmen.
18:03However, one of them mutated and began
18:05eating your disciples, your siblings, as
18:08well as others who were sent to dispose
18:10of him. This boss is known as the Lost
18:13Child. Your disgusting, deformed
18:16brother, who is now stopping your
18:18progress as he protects a group of eggs
18:20that you need to collect. The arena is
18:23scattered with the corpses of those
18:25foolish enough to test its might. His
18:27mutation and cannibalism has made him
18:29formidable. You can even see on the edge
18:31and inside of its mouth countless
18:34weapons stabbed into its flesh. And even
18:36then, this thing still lives. And it is
18:39worthy of being in a Souls-like game
18:41because it was certainly one of the more
18:43difficult bosses in the game. It
18:45survived, but it's been reduced to
18:47nothing more than a monster. And I think
18:49sometimes that's what survival does. It
18:52transforms you into a beast or something
18:55that you can't recognize anymore.
18:57There's not much lore beyond that. He's
18:59essentially a rogue child that's being a
19:01bad boy whose punishment is death.
19:05The whole point of this video is to
19:07recognize a pattern here. The most
19:10difficult bosses, at least in the games
19:12I've played, are survivors. And
19:14survivors harbor traits associated with
19:16difficulty, endurance, intelligence,
19:19skills, legendary reputations, sometimes
19:22a curse. In these worlds, survival is
19:25necessary, and sometimes it creates
19:27monsters or a character we love. But
19:30every single time there's a lesson to be
19:31learned. Don't let your situation
19:34determine who you are. Survive and keep
19:37moving forward. It's an interesting
19:39theme that I've noticed that I simply
19:40wanted to share with you guys. And with
19:42that, thank you for watching. And if you
19:44did enjoy, be sure to leave a like and
19:46to subscribe for more content like this.
19:48And I'll see you in the next video. Take
19:51care everyone, and of course, stay safe.

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