For most players, the bosses in Dark Souls act not only as the obstacles that block access to the next area, but as one of the leading draws to the series as a whole. However, among the host of brutally difficult encounters, there is one fight against two legendary enemies that stands as the pinnacle of challenge delivered by FromSoftware.

That isn't to say that FromSoftware has never managed to create a challenge that was more difficult to overcome since Dark Souls, as made obvious by how notorious Elden Ring's Malenia has become. Instead, Ornstein and Smough stand apart as a mandatory boss that perfectly tests the skills of the player, as well as the utility of any build that has made it to Anor Londo.

Ornstein and Smough on a First Playthrough

dark souls remastered ornstein and smough

When asked if there are any games that someone might want to be able to play for the first time again, many FromSoftware fans would likely put Dark Souls at the top of that list. There isn't enough that can be said about the sense of discovery that comes with exploring Lordran and the triumph of facing off against either the regular cannon fodder or the mainline boss roster. The highest point for this feeling of triumph comes from Ornstein and Smough, who will likely send most players back to the bonfire repeatedly before victory is ever achieved.

In a rare case for the first Dark Souls, this encounter pits the player against two enemies, both capable of quickly shredding chunks of health with each attack. This means that the normal tunnel vision a player might get in a boss fight will likely be the leading cause of death, as focusing in on either Ornstein or Smough often ends with the other attacking from off-screen. It forces players to behave differently than in almost any other fight, making more strategic use of the lock-on system to keep both enemies in frame at once. That is, if the player even chooses to use lock-on at all.

The key to victory, in the end, is carefully positioning around the pillars in the room in order to split the faster-moving Ornstein up from the much-slower Smough. By baiting one away, the player can then focus for a few hits, but will then have to reorient and start the whole process over again. In the end, getting even one of these bosses down to zero requires even more patience than dwindling the massive health bars on Dark Souls' beefiest dragons, the bosses that tend to have the most vitality in the series.

Challenging Ornstein and Smough in Subsequent Playthroughs

Dark Souls PvP Builds

One aspect of many of FromSoftware's titles that influences their replayability is the way that games like Dark Souls balance different builds from playthrough to playthrough. This sometimes comes in the form of New Game Plus builds, where players get to use endgame weapons from the very beginning of the game. However, more often than not, trying out a new build requires creating a whole new file and carefully leveling stats in order to best make use of specific weapons and abilities.

For the more experimental players, trying out every strange weapon Dark Souls has to offer, the Ornstein and Smough fight will often be the ultimate test for if the build is viable for the rest of the game. Even though these two bosses are roughly in the middle of the game, depending somewhat on the route taken, the duo will likely be the last main obstacle for any build. Any combination of weapons or spells that aren't fast enough to deal with Ornstein will be unwieldy against anything that comes after Anor Londo. Similarly, a build that can't block, evade, or tank a hit from Smough isn't going to make it much farther either.

Being forced to go up against the duo together puts more strain on an experimental build than almost any fight that comes before or after, even if there are some bosses that technically hit harder. It makes for an impressive barrier right in the center of the game that stops a weaker build in its tracks and makes the player have to rethink how they approach not only Ornstein and Smough, but every other boss. Of course, patience and player skill can triumph over these obstacles, even with meme builds in Dark Souls. Although, that kind of patience might be a hard ask after dozens, if not hundreds, of defeats.

Dark Souls is available now for PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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