Or an electrified goat that rolls.
Or a bald man cackling as he kicks you down a hole.
And, of course, the tricky boss fights with deformed dragons and Fell Omens from the West Country.
And I reckon much of their differences come down to the simple health bar, or lack of it.
Of course, the health bar isn’t a feature exclusive to Elden Ring I get that.
Big lizards in Monster Hunter Rise don’t have health bars.
You smack their scales and some damage numbers pop up.
Both games view challenge differently, I think.
Elden Ring’s bosses are deities and rulers.
Spectral beings and dog statues that orbit an all-powerful tree.
Beat them, and you’re erasing an irreplaceable being.
Compare this to Monster Hunter, where the monsters no matter how menacing or large are resources.
You construct a routine to harvest them more efficiently, even wearing their own skin to optimise the process.
They are frightening and powerful, but they aren’t out of reach.
Listen, I’m not saying that I want all health bars to disappear.
I love the elation of emptying a bar down to zero.
