Have you ever come across a deceptive boss in games? I think everyone has. You’re playing around, smashing your way through an easy level, only to be confronted by an exceptionally difficult boss that leads to shattered controllers, cursing, and a vast increase in blood pressure. The Bomberman series is a great example of this, or Dead Rising: the zombies are basically no threat, but the psychos? Well. That’s where it gets difficult (and where I normally get annoyed and stop playing Dead Rising, but let’s move on. How about the opposite, though? Sometimes you’re confronted by a boss who appears to have it all. They’re huge, terrifying, apparently well-armed and armored. They are the Ivan Drago to your Rocky. You’ve got to beat them, but god knows how you’re going to. Then you actually start fighting them, and what happens? They’re actually not a threat. Whether that’s because of glowing weak spots the size of Lake Superior, attacks that do as much damage as a soap bubble, or a stunning lack of intelligence, they are the video game equivalents of a drunk guy who’s convinced he can fight a heavyweight boxer.

In this list, I’ve trawled through a back catalog of video games, some good, some bad, some ugly, to find the most amazingly weak bosses I can. Whether they’re literal deities, kings who should’ve been deposed, sentient confectionery or vampires, you’ll find them on here. Let us know what you think the most deceptive bosses are on our Facebook page!

20 Easiest. Regicide. Ever.

If you’re up against a literal King, you’d expect toughness really, wouldn’t you? I mean, Kings are meant to be the big bads, the tough ones that keep their books in order. Often that’s the case. In King Dodongo’s case, in Ocarina of Time...yeah, less so. See, this scaly monarch loves to breathe fire, but to do that, he’s first gotta inhale. Since he's inhaling harder than a 60-a-day smoker, and you’ve got bombs, he's toast. I hope you’ve made the connection — lob a bomb into his open maw, and he’ll collapse to the ground, letting you run in and do the business with your sword. Repeat this a couple and you’re done! He’ll even finish the fight for you by rolling into lava, apparently shamed by his lack of regal fighting ability.

19 The Most Aggressive Funfair In History

You ever play Yoshi’s Story? It was okay, not as legendary as Yoshi’s Island, but a decently solid experience. It did feature one of the most ridiculously soft bosses in history, however, and I mean that both metaphorically and literally. Cloud N. Candy is literally a big old fluffy cloud of cotton candy. Now, you can’t really get into a physical fight with cotton candy, not least because throwing a punch at it leaves your hands feeling gross and sticky. So, what do you do? Well, Yoshi’s famed for his appetite, so, eat him, of course. Yep, that’s right, the aim of this boss fight is literally to eat a sentient cloud of candy alive. It’s...kind of horrifying when I put it like that.

18 Toss Him On The Fire

Banjo-Tooie is a game that holds a truly special place in the hearts of many. Unlike the disappointing Nuts & Bolts, it captured the vibrant creative spirit that ran through Rare at this point in time. It did, however, contain an amazingly deceptive boss in the shape of Old King Coal. Now, this jumped-up piece of carbon can be found in Glitter Gulch Mine, and he looks extremely intimidating at first. Living inside Chuffy the train, he’s a massive enemy, that is convinced you’re trying to steal Chuffy, and will do anything he can to stop you. He’ll lumber around, all tough, but you soon discover that you don’t need to do anything special to beat him. Any attack will hurt him, and after a certain amount of damage, you’ll begin to dismember him. Eventually, despite his best efforts, he’s reduced to a much more normally-sized lump of coal, and concedes, allowing you the use of Chuffy.

17 Not Mensa Material

The Gradius series of games are rightly remembered as classic games, being some of the best side-scrolling shoot ‘em ups to grace the arcades, and later, the Virtual Console. Their choice in bosses though, well...it’s not so great. See, they’re composed of giant brains, many of which don’t fight back at all. Instead, you’re free to give them an intergalactic lobotomy and end the game. I’ve chosen to include Gradius II’s Gofer on this list, because he does at least attempt to fight back. His attacks are not exactly hard to dodge, however, with them just involving him vomiting up lighting and some energy balls, which can be destroyed by your own weaponry. Being just a head, he doesn’t move either, making the whole thing ridiculously trivial.

16 Tick Tock, It's Croc O'clock

Killer Croc’s appearance in Arkham Asylum encompasses everything this article is about. The massive scaly reptilian lives in the sewers under Arkham Asylum, where the staff basically just throw meat to him and leave him alone, letting sleeping crocs lie. However, after the Joker starts spreading Titan far and wide, creating monstrously strong henchmen, The Bat has to venture down into his lair, and proceed to fight him. Now, this would seem like a good match — Batman has his martial arts skills, Killer Croc has superhuman strength, it’s going to be like the Bane fight, right? Nah, not really. All you have to do is throw batarangs at his shock collar, activating it and making him fall back into the murky waters. You do this several times, then you detonate explosive gel under him, sending him to the depths. A disappointing fight in an otherwise superb game.

15 Excelsior!

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance isn’t typically a difficult game. You roam around slicing and dicing enemies like a gruesome version of the fencing game from Wii Sports Plus, without a care in the world. The bosses, however, can be pretty tough. Take Monsoon, an enemy who can quite happily dislocate his body and attack you from several directions at once. Metal Gear EXCELSUS, the first stage of the final fight against lunatic libertarian Steven Armstrong, should be a true test, being a Metal Gear and all. It’s really not, though. It may be the size of a skyscraper, but all you need to do is cut its legs off, before dueling with one of its immense blades. It’s really not all that testing, Raiden being a cyberninja. Strangely, fighting Senator Armstrong is a vastly more difficult fight, even though he’s just a middle-aged politician, albeit an exceptionally buff one.

14 The Lunatics Are Taking Over...

The Asylum Demon. For anyone who’s played Dark Souls, the mention of this early game boss probably stirs a mixture of memories. Dark Souls’ reputation really did proceed it, with every gamer going into it knowing that it would prove to be a game tinged with frustration. So once you meet the Asylum Demon in the starting area, the natural reaction is going to be one of “oh [explative].” This big, ugly bastard wields a massive hammer, and swings it around like he’s trying to do some urgent renovations. While getting hit with the hammer will sting a little, you can knock a huge amount of his health off by doing a plunging attack from the floor above, then cheesing him with the time-honored strategy of getting between his legs and hacking away. Kill him first time, you’ll get his hammer! New Game Plus makes this encounter even more trivial.

13 No Need For A Stake

Dracula has been imbued with a reputation that precedes him. From his original appearance in Bram Stoker’s novel to his numerous film depictions, it’s safe to say that when you are to fight him in a video game, you’d expect a tough, rewarding boss battle. Castlevania II does not deliver. In many ways, it’s a perfectly competent game, but Dracula’s fight is less rewarding than the Van Helsing movie. When you eventually face the Dark One, you’re armed with Sacred Flames. These weapons, as well as lighting your enemy up like a Wicker Man, have the added bonus of freezing them in place. Using these prodigiously in your fight against Dracula renders him unable to even get down off his altar and attack you, killing him supremely quickly.

12 The Hive Mind Needs To Study More

The final boss of Dead Space, like all Necromorphs, looks pretty gross. A sac-covered mass of tentacles, its fight consists of three stages, each of which are lacking in challenge. In the first phase, it’ll attempt to give you a slap with its tentacles, which would be a problem...if it didn’t telegraph its movements like a 19th-century diplomat. End this stage, and it’ll grab you, hold you upside down and shake you, while you attempt to shoot its...organ things in its mouth. Aiming still isn’t too difficult. The final phase is to shoot five explosive sacs that cover its body, while avoiding mooks, projectiles, and the aforementioned telegraphed tentacle slaps. The hardest part of this battle is the low-level things that’ll vomit out other necromorphs, while the Hive Mind could have benefited from some more education.

11 I Am Become Death, Destroyer Of Destroyers

Borderlands’ joyous celebration of bullet spraying happy fun time doesn’t end with the final boss. The arrogantly-named Destroyer is no match for the player/s with their high-level firearms thanks to a couple of convenient design choices. The Destroyer’s tentacles have massive, literally glowing weak spots, and once those are dealt with, the monster’s single, massive eye serves as the next one, alongside its tongue, which it occasionally attacks with. Another design choice that plays strongly into the players’ favor is the huge array of cover in the arena, with several pillars providing excellent cover, and one (at the top-right) providing pretty much total cover. Go into this fight with a strong shield and good weapons and you’ll have finished the game in no time.

10 God. No, Really.

Of course, the game that has you fight God would be from the Silent Hill franchise, wouldn’t it? After Heather vomits up a fetal form of God, Claudia eats it before disappearing down a hole, where God appears to have suddenly grown into its final colossal form. There, you must face them in all their cracked dummy-looking glory. Luckily, God is actually pretty easy to beat. All you’ve got to do is shoot it twice, bringing it down on all fours, before smacking it down with a melee attack, and then sprinting away to avoid its slow melee attacks. Its ranged attacks fly out in a semi-circle, making them extremely predictable. What happened to its omnipotence? Repeat until dead. I know Silent Hill 3 hasn’t gone down as being one of the best in the series, but you’d think a final fight would be afforded a bit more design time.

9 Erasin' Eredin

The Witcher 3 has gone down in history as one of the best games of all time. From great writing, to a massive map, and beautiful graphics, it’s a game that has it all. That is, aside from a suitably climactic boss fight. Eredin is the King of the titular Wild Hunt, and is built up over the course of the game. The huge, imposing villain with a voice like a gravel-gargling James Earl Jones is set up to be one of the most challenging fights that Geralt could have. As it turns out, he’s slow as hell, and Geralt’s dodge ability makes it easy to avoid a huge amount of his snail pace melee attacks. When he does hit, the low amount of damage dealt will come as yet another anti-climactic surprise.

8 Alduin The Business

From one fantasy disappointment to another, let’s hit up one of Skyrim’s big bosses. Skyrim’s fame doesn’t have to be talked about, and the first time you see a dragon, you’re reminded why this game got so many plaudits. Huge, frighteningly intelligent beasts, the dragons are a terrifying enemy to face. At least, they are early on in the game. See, while Alduin may have more titles than Kim Jong-Un, i.e. “creator of dragon civilization,” Skyrim’s key mistake is letting you level your character. By the time you end up facing Alduin, your Dragonborn will likely be ridiculously powerful, allowing you to take down this Romulus and Remus of reptiles with little-to-no trouble for yourself. If this is what their all-father is like, I don’t think the Nords really have that much to worry about.

7 A Rough Patch In A Rough Game

Aliens: Colonial Marines is an embarrassment of a game. I’ve gone over why in a previous article, but right here, I want to talk about the game’s final boss. When you look at the Alien Queen in Aliens, you see a terrifying beast sat atop a mechanical throne. When you fight the Queen in Colonial Marines, you’ve already laughed yourself to death at a dizzying array of glitches, meaning any terror left your system long ago. The Queen may be invulnerable to your attacks, but she’s also so huge that her mobility is severely limited, turning the fight into an existentially threatening game of tag. Her attacks are easy to dodge, and the climax of this game, the way you finally deal with this threat? Flipping some switches. Whoopee.

6 Going, Going, Golem

Chrono Trigger is an interesting game. Exceptionally rare in Europe for years, it was always the object of jealousy for people like myself, who loved Final Fantasy, but never got our hands on this wonderful experience. However, when we finally did get to play it, the fight with the Golem Overlord was…bemusing. A big-ass, ugly looking enemy whose fight you go into thinking “oh boy, this is gonna be a tough encounter, isn’t it?” Well, it would be, barring a few things. He forgets his strong attack. No, really. The boss actually does have a memory like a goldfish. Not only this, but the locale of the fight is an ace up your sleeve. See, he’s not a terrifying, fearless leader. No, this poor guy, who you find on a floating fortress has a fear of heights. If you don’t defeat him in the time allotted, he’ll escape, presumably heading to decompress in a nice, warm bath.

5 Hasta Luego, Del Lago

Del Lago is the first boss you encounter in Resident Evil 4: a huge mutated salamander, that, as the name suggests can be found in the grim depths of the pueblo’s lake. Its sheer size is terrifying, with the beast measuring in at around 65 feet long. Luckily, however, its brain doesn’t appear to have grown with the rest of it. You throw harpoons into the boss, letting it drag your tiny boat around, before it begins dragging your lake along. The hardest part of the battle isn’t actually the monster, but dodging the inanimate objects in the lake. All you’ve got to do in the fight is continuously throw harpoons into its body, before it eventually succumbs to its injuries. In a game that contains some incredible boss battles, including a parasite-possessed giant and a massive living statue, Del Lago is a very gentle introduction.

4 Bye Bye, Bowser

Bowser has to be one of the most famous big bads in gaming. Appearing in just about every game in the Mario franchise, his appearance in Super Mario Sunshine is notably lackluster. Bowser is luxuriating in an ooze-filled hot tub, but that’s no reason not to fight him. Bowser’s attacks are pretty basic: breathing fire, shaking the hot tub to spill the toxic ooze on to you, while Bowser Jr. fires Bullet Bills at you. The fire can be easily rocketed over, and both of them take just five hits to put out of action. I don’t think Sunshine deserves the bad reputation it gets, but when it comes to boss fights, it’s definitely far from the best in the series. Bowser isn't even taking it seriously, for God's sake!

3 An Explosive Revolution

While Super Mario Sunshine may not have received universal acclaim, it’s no exaggeration to say that Super Mario 64 is second only to Super Mario Galaxy as the best game in the franchise. A platforming masterpiece, its level design is second to none. One particular boss battle is a little underwhelming, however. King Bob-omb’s first appearance as Big Bob-omb seems like it should be a decent boss fight, but its solution is incredibly simple. When the big guy appears, all you have to do is run behind him, pick him up, and throw him, three times. Once you’ve done this, the boss fight is complete. That’s literally it. You just have to throw more explosives than a B-52. While it took some gamers a little bit of time to figure out, he may be the weakest boss on this list, not requiring any combat moves whatsoever.

2 Bringing The Hammer (Of Dawn) Down

Gears of War may be responsible for giving birth to the “chest-high wall” cliche in numerous ripoff games, but it’s by far and away one of the best shooters ever made. Gears of War 2 is a fine sequel, but its final boss battle is a HUGE anticlimax. The original had a massive fight with General Raam, requiring multiple weapons and genuine skill. The fight with the Lambent Brumack, well, it’s less fun. The solution to this boss fight is hella weak sauce. You have to use the Hammer of Dawn on him three times. Oh noooooo, what will I do? The fight, if it could even be called that, is not challenging in the slightest. It makes a change after the hard fights the game gives you throughout, but it’s not a satisfying one.

1 Begone, Ganon

Now, let’s make one thing clear from the start. I’m going to talk about a sub-par boss in Twilight Princess. If you want the honest truth, I think Twilight Princess is pretty much all disappointing, but this battle doesn’t help its case in any way. Ganon is meant to be a tough enemy, a big bugger who’s provided some excellent fights. In Twilight Princess, he wanders around like a college professor, waving his sword with all the élan of a laser pointer. The attempt at creating a cinematic final battle fails miserably: with it turning out more Battlefield: Earth than Apocalypse Now. The battle isn’t even difficult! It’s miserably easy! I’m sorry if you’re one of the rare people for whom Twilight Princess is the pinnacle of the series (may I recommend Breath of the Wild?), but man! This thoroughly deserves its number one spot on this list.