DLCs in video games have become a staple for developers to churn out more content for their games. In most cases, DLCs in RPGs and ARPGs often means having a new boss or bosses to encounter and defeat.
But of course, these new DLC bosses are not cakewalk: these bosses expect players to have achieved most if not all the end game items the base game has to offer because they will need them to go toe-to-toe against these world-enders. Here are some of the hardest DLC bosses that will give players a true test of their patience and game knowledge.
8 Ryu/Evil Ryu/Akuma/Oni: Asura’s Wrath Lost Episodes DLC
Asura’s Wrath is a fun action game from CAPCOM where players control Asura, a demigod who’s fueled by vengeance and plans to destroy the other demigods who betrayed him. In the Lost Episodes DLC, Asura encounters two of CAPCOM’s popular characters: Ryu and Akuma from the Street Fighter series.
After the cutscene, Asura will fight Ryu in a Street Fighter 4 style fight. Ryu’s damage is scaled to hit hard. Players have to beat Ryu in SF4 mode twice: Ryu transforms into Evil Ryu, and the battle reverts to the standard Asura’s Wrath mechanics.
Once Evil Ryu is defeated, Akuma jumps into the fray and challenges Asura for another Street Fighter 4 fight. Akuma is a more aggressive version of Ryu, and after beating him twice in SF4 mode, players will then battle Oni in normal fighting mode. Oni deals more damage and will test players’ patience.
7 Omega: Final Fantasy 15 Royal Pack DLC
Final Fantasy 15 is one of the more recent JRPGs that helped Square Enix evolve the way they design their battle system. This led to more action-packed boss encounters, and more dynamic strategies players have to consider while in the midst of boss fights.
This holds true to the Omega fight in the Final Fantasy 15 Royal Pack DLC. Square Enix is known for their formidable endgame optional bosses, and Omega does not disappoint. Starting at level 119, Omega sports tons of damaging attacks that can wipe out a player’s party while having armor that can fend off most hits.
Players need to equip royal arms to damage Omega, and rely on Warp Strikes to chip away at its HP. This battle is more of a battle of attrition and seeing how many Phoenix Downs players can chuck at their downed party members.
6 Extreme Behemoth: Monster Hunter World Iceborne DLC
When talking about tough boss battles, the Monster Hunter games are often not far from the conversation. The Iceborne DLC gave players more colossal monsters to fight with, and the second to the last monster hails from the Final Fantasy universe: the Behemoth.
This iconic late-game monster gave tons of trouble back in the multitude of Final Fantasy games it was featured in, due to its high HP, defense, and strong attacks and skills. In the Iceborne DLC, the Behemoth retained most of its raw power while gaining new attacks to threaten wily hunters.
Its Meteor is its staple attack and does colossal damage to anything it hits: Charybdis is a move that unleashes devastating tornadoes that hone into a hunter. Taking down a Behemoth and its highly powerful Extreme variant needs tons of preparation, high-level weapons and armor, as well as a well-coordinated team who knows their roles during the various stages of this intense monster battle.
5 Dark Esau: The Binding Of Isaac Repentance
While most DLC bosses have their own areas that players need to get to first, Dark Esau from The Binding of Isaac Repentance DLC flips the script by relentlessly searching for and trying to kill the player.
Dark Esau relentlessly pursues the player as soon as they spawn on a floor. Once Dark Esau manages to touch the player, the player turns into a version of The Lost and will die in one hit from any source. Like most bosses, Dark Esau also possesses a ton of HP, and trying to take it down is possible, it will take a long time to do so, and once the player moves into another room, Dark Esau will respawn and chase the player again.
Players who want to have an even more challenging run should try this DLC. But take note that Dark Esau will not give any quarter or moment of rest throughout a single run.
4 Chef Saltbaker: Cuphead The Delicious Last Course
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course is an amazing DLC for the much beloved 2D action platformer. This is in large part due to the additional stages and boss battles that will test the dexterity and mental fortitude of many players.
The final boss of The Delicious Last Course is Chef Saltbaker. Getting to him is a tough one to do since players have to collect some key ingredients which can be attained by beating some of the main bosses. After getting the ingredients, players can go to the Chef’s location and find a trap door. After a brief cutscene, players will then face off against the dastardly sodium dispenser.
What makes this boss fight a difficult one to beat is in its sheer number of stages. Chef Saltbaker has four phases, and he does not give much breathing room. Players will have to bring their A game when trying to run through this gauntlet of a boss fight.
3 Orphan of Kos: Bloodborne Old Hunters DLC
From Software games are notorious for their rogues' gallery of difficult bosses. For their DLCs, however, the Bloodborne Old Hunters DLC gets the nod for having the hardest DLC boss.
Players in Bloodborne are taught that aggression is key to stay alive and fell bosses, and for most of the bosses in the Old Hunters DLC, this still holds true. However, The Orphan of Kos ramps up this mechanic up to eleven.
As the final boss encounter, the Orphan of Kos is extremely aggressive and will rip, tear, claw, and bludgeon into players who aren’t ready for its attacks. The Orphan of Kos is relentless, and will only give small openings for players to take advantage of.
While it only has two stages, the second stage sees the Orphan sprout wings and will leap around the map to smash the player. It also gets a vicious thunder attack that will permeate most of the arena. Hunters better have their Blood Vials stocked at maximum for this fight.
2 Adam And Eve: Nier Automata 3C3C1D119440927 DLC
Nier Automata’s 3C3C1D119440927 DLC gives players access to a small side story about Plato 1728. But the main reason players get this DLC is for its arenas that house powerful enemies and various loot.
Among the multitude of hard enemies players can fight in the arenas are Adam and Eve. This is a particularly hard fight since players will have to deal with both Adam and Eve during the whole battle. They are extremely quick and can destroy players with one hit or combo.
Getting to this final boss fight in the arena is a colossal undertaking since most enemies in the gauntlet exceed the player’s highest level. As such, players who want to test the deadly duo have to grind for the perfect chip sets for damage and survival on top of their preferred maxed out weapons.
1 Absolute Radiance: Hollow Knight Godmaster DLC
Hollow Knight is a Metroidvania title that is beloved for its sleek gameplay and generous DLCs. The Godmaster DLC opens up players to the notorious Pantheons arena. This area houses all the game’s bosses, and sitting atop the Pantheons of Hallownest is Absolute Radiance.
As the final boss in the DLC, Absolute Radiance is the toughest enemy players can face. This is the perfect form of Radiance, another boss that players have to beat to get to Absolute Radiance.
Absolute Radiance’s attacks are similar to her Radiance form, but all of them appear at a much faster and deadlier rate. These include the Sword Wall, Spike Floor, and Wall of Light. In phase six, she unleashes Orb Barrage which litters the screen and home into the player.
Memorizing each of Absolute Radiance’s attacks is essential since this boss fight is the ultimate test of the player’s mastery of the game.