Gaming has evolved over the years, with trends and fads coming and going. But whether it’s a side scrolling shooter, epic platform adventure, mammoth RPG or driving challenge there has forever been one constant: the Boss Battle.
Standing proud at the end of a level and preventing progression unless defeated by the player, a Boss is always a challenge and a good one can make a game as much as a bad one can ruin it. In our weekly feature throughout April, the team will offer their take on some of the best boss battles the industry has to offer. Following on from Ben’s post last week that looked at Mr Freeze, Kim takes a look at the Asylum Demon from Dark Souls.
When do you face him?
The Asylum Demon is found in the Undead Asylum, and will attack the player in the room immediately after the first bonfire. The first encounter with him is optional and it’s highly advised for first-timers to get the hell out of there! But the second attack is mandatory so sooner or later you’ll have to face this foe.
Why is the battle great?
When we started talking about the idea for this series, the 1001-Up.com guys teased me a bit because they expected me to choose a boss from an adventure game: namely, the ghost pirate Le Chuck from the Monkey Island series. But I thought I’d surprise them by going for something completely different, the Asylum Demon from Dark Souls. Ok ok, so some may not consider this a ‘proper’ boss as it forms part of the title’s tutorial; but let me explain why I think this battle is so great.
For anyone who’s ever watched me play Dark Souls, you’ll see that I have very limited hand-to-eye coordination; and by ‘limited’, I actually mean ‘none whatsoever’. This is the reason why I tend to enjoy point-and-clicks more than any other video game genre, because when it comes to action games I’m really bad and it can take me a while to make some decent progress.
So when Kevin suggested the team play Dark Souls one evening and I go first, I was a little skeptical. But it was late, I was tired, and it was a case of ‘I’ll play it if you lot leave me alone and let me go to sleep afterwards.’ Being the cruel teammates that they are they decided to stream the whole thing on Twitch so the entire world could have a laugh at my expense.
So imagine my surprise when I actually managed to make my way through the Undead Asylum, hack my way through hollow soldiers and zombies, reach the bonfire and defeat the Asylum Demon? Ok, so the whole thing took me several goes and I had both Kevin and Phil guiding me along the way, but I actually did it – much to my surprise. I’ve since managed to progress a little further through Dark Souls and have even managed to defeat the Taurus Demon, and for someone who usually sticks to adventure games I’m really enjoying it.
How does it play out?
As soon as you step through the light, you’ll find yourself standing on a balcony high above the Asylum Demon. You can gain a massive advantage by using a plunge attack if you land on him at the right time as this will empty around a quarter of your enemy’s health bar; but be warned, he’ll destroy the platform you’re on if you take too long.
Once you’re back on the ground, unfortunately there’s nowhere to hide in this arena: the Demon will smash the concrete pillars so there’s no point in trying to hide behind them. He’ll come at you with everything he has including Hammer Drives, Butt Slams, Leaping Hammer Smashes and more – all attacks that can deal you some serious damage – so you need to keep your wits about you.
Keep on the move and use your roll ability to dart out of the way of his hammer. As soon as the weapon hits the floor, dash in close and keep whacking away; when your health bar gets below half-way, back off and roll around until the Demon slams his hammer into the floor once more. This is a good time to use an Estus Flask to fill up your metre before getting reading to whack at him again. Don’t try and use a spell before his hammer has touched the ground, otherwise you’ll get caught by the swing whilst taking a swig (I know this first-hand).
Getting behind the Asylum Demon and whacking his tail is a good option too, as he turns quite slowly and can’t take a swing at you. Keep on the move, reviving your health and hacking away whilst in close – and you’ll get there eventually! If I can do it, anyone can.
So what do you think of this boss fight: what’s your favourite from Dark Souls? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Up next week in our Boss Battles series is Phil, so stay tuned!
