Corrupted Monk – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice  

FromSoftware’s latest Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is home to some of the most challenging bosses in all of gaming, although not all are created as equals. The Corrupted Monk (in its first incarnation) can be a pretty tough boss to take down by normal methods, but a bit of trickery is all that’s needed to take him down in moments unnoticed. Just equip firecrackers on the prosthetic arm, and then bait the monk to do a jump attack by circling around him. Once you hit him twice, throw down the firecrackers which will stun him momentarily allowing you to get in even more hits. Keep throwing those firecrackers one after the other, and the Corrupted Monk will be down in no time.

METAL GEAR SOLID 5: THE PHANTOM PAIN

Metal Gear Solid 5 is and always will be a stealth masterpiece, and while nothing will even diminish the game’s mechanical strengths, its open world doesn’t quite stand as tall. The open world maps are full of vast stretches of nothing populated only by the occasional enemy patrol, and getting from point A to point B ends up feeling like a chore. The emergent sandbox of the game’s web of mechanics does alleviate some of those issues, but by and large, it’s hard to shake the feeling that The Phantom Pain’s open world wasn’t executed nearly as well as it could and should have been.

THE ELDER SCROLLS 4: OBLIVION

Let’s start with an obvious choice, shall we? Bethesda made a big deal of their new Radiant AI system before Oblivion’s launch, and to be fair, it definitely did add quite a lot to the game. Each NPC having their own unique schedules and patterns meant that the world felt dynamic and lived in- but then again, those NPCs were also dumb as rocks. From overreacting in the most hilarious way possible to someone getting attacked in front of them to walking right into an obvious deathtrap to turning a blind eye to blatant crimes being committed to so much more, Oblivion’s NPCs were a very special brand of stupid. Combined with the hilariously bad voice acting, that definitely made for some memorable moments- though not, we’re sure, the way the developers would have been hoping for.

Two Worlds

The timing of Two Worlds’ release, coming up after The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, might seem like it created lots of unfair expectations. Unfortunately, this wasn’t helped by developer Zuxxez proclaiming it to be “a more focused, grittier experience” than Oblivion with “much more complex” magic, a “more complex society” and more depth to the horse riding. The final result was a mess with graphical issues, a cliched story wrought with awful voice-acting, repetitive combat and bugs galore. Some of the environments looked nice and the world was appropriately large. But that “deep” horse riding was a nightmare to control, souring the experience all the more. Overall, Two Worlds is looked back upon as a meme and an albatross that it’s successor had to bear.

Batman: Arkham City – Mister Freeze

Mister Freeze is easily the best boss fight in the Batman: Arkham series. Using a method to whittle his health down only for him to develop a counter-measure to that on the fly is awesome. However, in New Game Plus, you need to use not one, not two but 11 different methods to ultimately take him down. In that sense, having sources that outline each and every method is just perfect, if for nothing else than saving time from trial and error.

GYOUBU ONIWA- SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE

Gyoubu Oniwa is the first real boss in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and while he can pose a bit of a challenge, you can take him out pretty much in a matter of seconds if you want to. Speedrunner Distortion2, while setting one of his speedrun records on the game, displayed a trick that makes Oniwa chase you across the arena, and then fall to his death off the edge of a cliff.

Reality Pump Studios’ Two Worlds 2 will be getting a sequel in the next few years or so but before that, there will be new DLC coming. That’s right – the open world action RPG will see its first new content in seven years with Call of the Tenebrae. It’s out on May 25th and will add 10 hours of gameplay to the base package.

Unfortunately, this will only be available to PC users. Call of the Tenebrae will feature a new story, new locations, new bosses to fight and new characters. If that weren’t enough, you can expect an update to the current engine.

Two Worlds received some middle-of-the-road reviews when it arrived in 2010 but if you’re a fan of the game and want more content, Call of the Tenebrae may be up your alley. You can find out more about the DLC here and let us know in the comments whether you’ll be playing it (or not).