Top 10 Scariest Modern Video Game Bosses
Video Games, Horror, Single Player, watchmojo, watch mojo, top 10, list, Cuphead, The Devil, Sekiro, The Great Serpent, Marguerite Baker, Resident Evil 7, Panzermörder, Call of Duty: WWII, Photoshop Flowey, Undertale, The Evil Within, Frightening Monsters, Scariest Monsters, Scary Monsters, Bosses in Horror Games, Terrifying, Spooky, Spider Mastermind, Doom, The Witcher 3, Darkest Dungeon,
With new advancements in graphics come new ways to terrify! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Scariest Modern Video Game Bosses.
For this list, we’re looking at the most frightening boss battles from current-gen games. Again, we’ll only counting titles from this generation, meaning anything prior to 2013 is out of the picture. Sorry, Mr. Freeze...you’re still the coolest in our book. Pun intended.
#10: The Thing from the Stars
We can already hear you asking: “Just what in the hell is that thing?” What you’re looking at is an Eldritch creature that somehow snuck its way into an already spine-tingled turn-based beast of a game. This horrifying construction of horse, human, and crystal is one of the toughest minibosses to stem from the Color of Madness, boasting a high resistance to stun and capable of inflicting massive stress onto your party. On top of that, it can take two turns and cure itself of any ailments WHILE attacking! Best come up with a solid plan before hunting it down, assuming you even want to rise to the challenge. We’ll...take our chances elsewhere.
#9: The Crones
This trio of witches - Brewess, Weavess, and Whispess - inhabit the swamps of Velen, both praised and feared by locals as the Ladies of the Wood. Sure, they’re attractive when Ciri first meets them, but in actuality they're a bunch of old hags always in search of their next meal. What puts these living sacks of wrinkles on the list however, is the fact that they appear to be immortal, using elixirs and cruel concoctions to keep themselves from aging and continue to appear as gorgeous women. Don’t bother asking one of them dinner! You’d be setting yourself up for the worst (and last) date of your life.
#8: The Great Serpent
Snakes…why did it have to be snakes? If you thought From Software would ease up on players with Activision published Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice; you were sorely mistaken. Meet the Giant Serpents that guard the Sunken Valley passageway. These things are categorized as bosses, but you spend more time cowering and running away then you do fighting them. While they aren't the most observant or skilled hunters, the Great Serpents persist, stalking and killing you over and over again and because The Great Serpents don't care that you're the hero of the story, everything is a mouse to them.
#7: The Devil
It may be rated E for Everyone, but the Lord of Hell is not a boss that the little ones can handle. Sure, there’s been some terrifying transformations from the likes of Beppi the Clown and Hilda Berg, but the Devil is in a league unto himself. Things are pretty manageable in the first phase of his fight. However, as soon as the second kicks in, things start to get trippy, with his various forms eventually taking up the entire screen. Then just to rub salt in the wound, should you lose the fight, the Fluffy Prince of Darkness will show you the melted remains of Cuphead and Mugman. Swell.
#6: Spider Mastermind
Lock us in a room with the Cyberdemon and we'll let loose every weapon at our disposal until every last bullet is spent. Trap us with the Spider Mastermind, however, and we’ll just accept our fates. While the creature wasn’t too scary during the franchise's early days, the reboot tapped into our fears of both spiders AND robots! What was it that left us on edge? Its massive size? The fangs? The giant brain protruding from its head? How about the rapid-fire plasma guns and ability to electrify everything around it? Let’s just go ahead and mark “all of the above."
#5: Rom, the Vacuous Spider
At least the Mastermind was incapable of spawning miniature versions of itself like a real spider. This on the other hand is every arachnophobe's worst nightmare. Joining it's fellow bosses in the Pantheon of OMG KILL IT WITH FIRE, this Great One will strike terror into your soul the moment you see its hulking form emerge from the Moonside Lake. Seriously, look at this thing. Everything about its anatomy is so deeply unnatural and unnerving you don't even want to try taking a swing at it. Throw in its nasty habit of teleporting, and don't be shocked if you have the sudden urge to unleash a blizzard of bug spray around your house.
#4: Marguerite Baker
One of the most memorable ways in which the franchise's return to glory distinguishes itself is by making each member of the Baker family represent a subgenre of horror. Jack represented slasher flicks, Lucas embodied psychological horror, and Marguerite was...ugh...body horror. Needless to say, Capcom succeeded in making our stomachs churn with her character design. Really, what’s more frightening than an old woman who’s lower half is a freakin’ bug nest and has centipedes pouring out of her mouth? This was a boss fight we may have won, but only at the cost of losing our lunch.
#3: Amalgam Alpha
There is many a demonic creature occupying this hellscape meant to give you an anxiety attack. The Keeper is willing to kill himself just to keep up the chase, and the Watcher is one seriously gross glob of goop! Despite the steep competition however, we have to give this spot to Amalgam Alpha, a horrifying monstrocity composed of mutated body parts. Get in its way, and the beast will flatten you like a bloodsoaked pancake. Thankfully, there is a way to cheese the fight against it; simply hide behind a pillar and start sniping away! Just make sure you have enough Freeze Magnum ammo for the second phase. Otherwise, say goodbye!
#2: Panzermörder
Just when you thought Nazi Zombies had run it's course in the scare department, along comes this Cronenberg fantasy. Made entirely of flesh and metal, this armour killer has final boss written all over it, and is pretty dead set on ruining your day. It doesn’t matter how much armor you’ve stocked up on - the Reich's secret weapon will make short work of it if you aren’t careful. Try not to look at his disgusting structure for too long or the nauseating sight may turn you from a zombie-killing machine to a deer stuck in headlights.
Before we reveal the most disgusting of the pack, here are a few Honorable Mentions…
The Bloater
“The Last of Us” (2013)
Snatcher
“A Hat in Time” (2017)
Eddie Gluskin (aka “The Groom”)
“Outlast: Whistleblower” (2014)
Mr. X
“Resident Evil 2” (2019)
High Lord Wolnir
“Dark Souls III” (2016)
#1: Photoshop Flowey (aka “Omega Flowey”)
Gardening will never be the same. What was once an adorable (yet psychotic) flower with dreams of godhood is now a haunting amalgamation of plant, stock photos and ghastly imagery! Though if you thought his appearance was off-putting, just wait until he unloads with his attacks. Flowey litters the screen with vines and projectiles in his attempts to leave you deader than dead! Each one more savage and bizarre than the last. The fight is an overwhelming ten minutes of torment, so, don’t be surprised if you need a psychological rest after coming out the other side!
For this list, we’re looking at the most frightening boss battles from current-gen games. Again, we’ll only counting titles from this generation, meaning anything prior to 2013 is out of the picture. Sorry, Mr. Freeze...you’re still the coolest in our book. Pun intended.
#10: The Thing from the Stars
“Darkest Dungeon” (2016)
We can already hear you asking: “Just what in the hell is that thing?” What you’re looking at is an Eldritch creature that somehow snuck its way into an already spine-tingled turn-based beast of a game. This horrifying construction of horse, human, and crystal is one of the toughest minibosses to stem from the Color of Madness, boasting a high resistance to stun and capable of inflicting massive stress onto your party. On top of that, it can take two turns and cure itself of any ailments WHILE attacking! Best come up with a solid plan before hunting it down, assuming you even want to rise to the challenge. We’ll...take our chances elsewhere.
#9: The Crones
“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” (2015)
This trio of witches - Brewess, Weavess, and Whispess - inhabit the swamps of Velen, both praised and feared by locals as the Ladies of the Wood. Sure, they’re attractive when Ciri first meets them, but in actuality they're a bunch of old hags always in search of their next meal. What puts these living sacks of wrinkles on the list however, is the fact that they appear to be immortal, using elixirs and cruel concoctions to keep themselves from aging and continue to appear as gorgeous women. Don’t bother asking one of them dinner! You’d be setting yourself up for the worst (and last) date of your life.
#8: The Great Serpent
“Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” (2019)
Snakes…why did it have to be snakes? If you thought From Software would ease up on players with Activision published Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice; you were sorely mistaken. Meet the Giant Serpents that guard the Sunken Valley passageway. These things are categorized as bosses, but you spend more time cowering and running away then you do fighting them. While they aren't the most observant or skilled hunters, the Great Serpents persist, stalking and killing you over and over again and because The Great Serpents don't care that you're the hero of the story, everything is a mouse to them.
#7: The Devil
“Cuphead” (2017)
It may be rated E for Everyone, but the Lord of Hell is not a boss that the little ones can handle. Sure, there’s been some terrifying transformations from the likes of Beppi the Clown and Hilda Berg, but the Devil is in a league unto himself. Things are pretty manageable in the first phase of his fight. However, as soon as the second kicks in, things start to get trippy, with his various forms eventually taking up the entire screen. Then just to rub salt in the wound, should you lose the fight, the Fluffy Prince of Darkness will show you the melted remains of Cuphead and Mugman. Swell.
#6: Spider Mastermind
“Doom” (2016)
Lock us in a room with the Cyberdemon and we'll let loose every weapon at our disposal until every last bullet is spent. Trap us with the Spider Mastermind, however, and we’ll just accept our fates. While the creature wasn’t too scary during the franchise's early days, the reboot tapped into our fears of both spiders AND robots! What was it that left us on edge? Its massive size? The fangs? The giant brain protruding from its head? How about the rapid-fire plasma guns and ability to electrify everything around it? Let’s just go ahead and mark “all of the above."
#5: Rom, the Vacuous Spider
“Bloodborne” (2015)
At least the Mastermind was incapable of spawning miniature versions of itself like a real spider. This on the other hand is every arachnophobe's worst nightmare. Joining it's fellow bosses in the Pantheon of OMG KILL IT WITH FIRE, this Great One will strike terror into your soul the moment you see its hulking form emerge from the Moonside Lake. Seriously, look at this thing. Everything about its anatomy is so deeply unnatural and unnerving you don't even want to try taking a swing at it. Throw in its nasty habit of teleporting, and don't be shocked if you have the sudden urge to unleash a blizzard of bug spray around your house.
#4: Marguerite Baker
“Resident Evil 7: Biohazard” (2017)
One of the most memorable ways in which the franchise's return to glory distinguishes itself is by making each member of the Baker family represent a subgenre of horror. Jack represented slasher flicks, Lucas embodied psychological horror, and Marguerite was...ugh...body horror. Needless to say, Capcom succeeded in making our stomachs churn with her character design. Really, what’s more frightening than an old woman who’s lower half is a freakin’ bug nest and has centipedes pouring out of her mouth? This was a boss fight we may have won, but only at the cost of losing our lunch.
#3: Amalgam Alpha
“The Evil Within” (2014)
There is many a demonic creature occupying this hellscape meant to give you an anxiety attack. The Keeper is willing to kill himself just to keep up the chase, and the Watcher is one seriously gross glob of goop! Despite the steep competition however, we have to give this spot to Amalgam Alpha, a horrifying monstrocity composed of mutated body parts. Get in its way, and the beast will flatten you like a bloodsoaked pancake. Thankfully, there is a way to cheese the fight against it; simply hide behind a pillar and start sniping away! Just make sure you have enough Freeze Magnum ammo for the second phase. Otherwise, say goodbye!
#2: Panzermörder
“Call of Duty: WWII” (2017)
Just when you thought Nazi Zombies had run it's course in the scare department, along comes this Cronenberg fantasy. Made entirely of flesh and metal, this armour killer has final boss written all over it, and is pretty dead set on ruining your day. It doesn’t matter how much armor you’ve stocked up on - the Reich's secret weapon will make short work of it if you aren’t careful. Try not to look at his disgusting structure for too long or the nauseating sight may turn you from a zombie-killing machine to a deer stuck in headlights.
Before we reveal the most disgusting of the pack, here are a few Honorable Mentions…
The Bloater
“The Last of Us” (2013)
Snatcher
“A Hat in Time” (2017)
Eddie Gluskin (aka “The Groom”)
“Outlast: Whistleblower” (2014)
Mr. X
“Resident Evil 2” (2019)
High Lord Wolnir
“Dark Souls III” (2016)
#1: Photoshop Flowey (aka “Omega Flowey”)
“Undertale” (2015)
Gardening will never be the same. What was once an adorable (yet psychotic) flower with dreams of godhood is now a haunting amalgamation of plant, stock photos and ghastly imagery! Though if you thought his appearance was off-putting, just wait until he unloads with his attacks. Flowey litters the screen with vines and projectiles in his attempts to leave you deader than dead! Each one more savage and bizarre than the last. The fight is an overwhelming ten minutes of torment, so, don’t be surprised if you need a psychological rest after coming out the other side!
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