The latest God of War game might not feature boss fights quite as epic in scale as past entries in the franchise, but it still does offer up some dramatic encounters that can give you a seriously hard time. With the overhauled combat system, fights are a lot more exciting as well, and players will certainly need to pay close attention to attack patterns if they want to come out on top.
Before reading on, do be warned that we’re going to spoil all the major boss fights in God of War, along with some optional secrets. If you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t read on. It’s also worth noting that this ranking only includes the unique boss fights in the game, and we won’t be taking the Ancients, Trolls, and Ogres into consideration.
6) Hraezlyr
The Hardest God of War Bosses
As the biggest boss (size-wise) in God of War, the cave-dwelling dragon Hraezlyr certainly leaves quite an impression. Kratos and Atreus first encounter the dragon while riding the lift up to the mountain peak, and the fight begins proper once you reach the top. This fight isn’t particularly difficult, but getting through it requires you to have fast reactions and good aim.
This is a very mechanic-heavy fight where you have to stun the dragon by throwing the red tree sap at it just as it’s about to rain down electricity on you. You have a rather small window to land that shot to stun it, and then run up to start wailing on its head. Later on, Hraezlyr starts showing off a couple of new moves, including a ground shockwave and a lightning strike. The trick here is to keep the camera on the boss, then raise your shield right when it slams its foot down for the shockwave. You have to dodge its attacks while inching your way to the next sap spawn point before throwing it at the dragon’s face to stun it again.
For such a magnificent looking boss, this one is a bit of a disappointment. It’s simply a matter of dodging attacks (which aren’t that hard to dodge), throwing a crystal at it, going HAM on its face, then rinse and repeat.
5) Helheim Bridge Keeper
The Hardest God of War Bosses
Alright, so I know I said we wouldn’t be counting the Trolls in this list, but the Helheim Bridge Keeper actually packs a couple of new moves that distinguishes it from the rest of its commoner brethren. Unlike your previous Troll fights, you won’t have Atreus around to distract the boss with arrows, which means that you’ll need to handle this one all on your own.
For the most part, the Bridge Keeper isn’t that big of a challenge. Its move set is largely the same as the other Trolls, except it can now summon orbs that will track you around the arena. Most of the challenge comes from dealing with the orbs by throwing your Axe or Blades at them, while also keeping the camera on the Bridge Keeper itself to make sure it doesn’t surprise you with a ground slam. It also has a rather cheeky teleportation move that can throw you off at times, but it’s still pretty easy to keep wailing on this guy with no real consequences, at least on normal difficulty.
We really liked the design of the Bridge Keeper, but ultimately it’s just a slightly upgraded, reskinned version of the Trolls we’ve faced so far. Moving on.
4) Baldur
The Hardest God of War Bosses
The final fight with Baldur is fairly similar to your first encounter with him, but this time, he has a new form for you to contend with. All throughout the fight, Freya will constantly try to intervene with shockwaves and vines, making the fight even more challenging than you might expect. Baldur is an incredibly swift enemy, and you’ll need to pay attention to his dashes and dodges, and basically keep track of his location at all times if you don’t want to get pummeled.
In this fight, Baldur is able to switch between ice and fire forms, which forces you to constantly swap between your own weapons as well. Baldur is absolutely relentless in his attacks, and his move set is varied and diverse enough to keep the player guarded at all times. The whole fight becomes a matter of watching his combos, dodging when necessary, then going in for the kill – all while making sure that you have the right weapon equipped for his different forms.
Put all that together with Freya’s occasional attacks and spawning enemies, and you’ll find that it’s extremely easy to get overwhelmed if you’re not paying attention. It’s just a shame that the final phase of the fight is a scripted affair, consisting mostly of timed button presses and easy punch/dodge combos.
3) Magni and Modi
The Hardest God of War Bosses
Probably the most unique fight in God of War, the face-off against Magni and Modi is a fun one. Unlike the other bosses you’ve faced so far in God of War, this one pits you against two distinct enemies. Magni likes to lunge at you with a large sword, while Modi is a little more passive with his mace. The fight consists of different phases, and you have to damage both of them enough to trigger the next part.
What makes this boss fight so challenging is having to keep an eye on two different enemies at once. Atreus becomes an invaluable ally here as he can distract one while you focus on the other. They’ve both got very distinct move sets, and focusing on either one presents the player with different challenges. This is one of the few fights in the game that actually gives you a bit of play style freedom in how you want to approach it.
In between each ‘combat’ phase, you’re then forced to have your shield up as you try to figure out which direction Magni and Modi are coming from. Rotating around in a circle while listening out for their voices is a tense affair, as you only have a few chances to guess correctly and block with your shield right before they pounce on you. As the fight goes on, Magni and Modi start using more deadly moves as well. Now, they can stun you and dash around quickly. This is a fight that’s constantly keeping you on your toes and throwing deadly surprises, and it’s definitely one of the brightest spots in God of War.
2) Svartaljofurr
The Hardest God of War Bosses
The Dark Elf King of Alfheim is the first real challenging fight you’ll face in God of War. Svartaljofurr is an absolute menace because of his flying abilities and darkness moves. If you thought the regular Dark Elves were annoying enough, this guy is even worse. It’s also the very first fight in the game that actually demands that you learn how to guard break and pull off timely dodges.
Svartaljofurr has a very basic melee combo that you can dodge pretty easily. Once his combo is over, he opens himself up to attack, and you can absolutely wail on him up to a certain point. If you keep spamming him with attacks, he eventually reacts with a parry and stuns you before moving away. And if you’re really unlucky, he might even throw a darkness bomb at your feet to trigger blindness. This is the one factor that makes this fight so challenging. Every now and then, he’ll throw a bomb on the ground. If you’re too close to it when it goes off, the entire arena is shrouded in darkness and you won’t be able to lock on to him. This only lasts for a few seconds, but Svartaljofurr can throw even more bombs to extend the timer.
As the fight continues, he becomes even more aggressive as well, and wailing on him won’t be as easy as it was before. He’ll start blocking your attacks (I hope you’ve learned how to guard break by this point), and even counter with a devastating uppercut. Surviving this fight is a matter of dodging at the right time, and making sure you’re not getting too greedy with your attacks and triggering the darkness bombs. It’s an A+ encounter all around.
1) Sigrun
The Hardest God of War Bosses
If you thought the story bosses in God of War were a letdown overall, don’t worry. This optional, secret boss fight should make up for it. After beating the game, you gain access to a legendary Favor that tasks you with hunting the corrupted Valkyries. After that, you’ll get to face Sigrun, the Valkyrie Queen.
Sigrun is an end game boss, and that shouldn’t come as a surprise. She’s on a whole other level, and she makes the story boss fights look like child’s play. Similar to the Svartaljofurr fight, this is a very skill-based encounter that requires the player to learn boss patterns and react accordingly. And since you have access to both the Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos by this point, you’re also given a lot of freedom in how you want to approach the fight.
What makes this fight so tough is the fact that Sigrun has so many different attacks to keep track of. She also moves around the arena at blinding speed, and she has a double air dive attack that could probably kill you instantly on higher difficulties. Sigrun is good at punishing greedy players, and taking advantage of any openings you might give her. And yet, all her moves are telegraphed properly, which means that there’s always a way for you to dodge or block her attacks.
This Valkyrie Queen fight is certainly the toughest one God of War has to offer, and it’s a memorable one to boot.
Published: Apr 27, 2018 09:00 am