Ult1mat3X

From a purely analytical point of view, there’s the boss as the final exam. You are given tools to interact with the world created around you and the game itself is the journey to master those tools. The boss is the test of that mastery. The Legend of Zelda series has always followed this philosophy to some degree. Every dungeon gives you a new item, like a hook shot, and finishing it and beating the boss is like a course in how to use that hook shot. But there are so many ways to look at this question; sometimes a boss is great because of the visual and sound design alone. Sometimes it’s because it flips how you look at the entire game itself. Or maybe the concept of the boss itself is so weird and cool it stands out. Bad boss design? For me, ones that focus too much on difficulty. But this is so subjective that it’s hard to pinpoint this exactly. I believe the Souls series went too far down this road as they entered the inevitable feedback loop with its fans. Specific examples? Hollow Knight, I enjoyed the fights with Hornet immensely, they were like duels with a mentor who was trying to teach you the ropes. Inversely, I hated the Watcher Knight battle, which felt like a test of reflexes and endurance, a pure difficulty spike.

Enjoy them, they are dying breed - They hate it when you enjoy it. 😀