Schadenfreunde

One of my favourite and I feel the most creative boss fights in videos games is Demonica from the brilliant, yet obscure, PS1 classic Freak Out! In this game, you play as Linda whose sisters have all been possessed by demons of vanity and turned into ironic monsters. Your scarf has also been possessed and you use it to pinch the breasts of comically inflated women, but this is beside the point. Demonica’s conceit is that she is so incredibly terrifying that even looking at her would causes death, so during the boss fight, Linda must prevent Demonica from entering a Gothic castle room by listening out for her movements and pinching whichever door or hatch she tries to break down. Failure to do so is an instant loss. Rather startlingly for what I thought to be a kids game was the presence of silhouettes behind stained glass of people who had hung themselves, but it definitely fits the horror aesthetic. Different from the other clunky and angular bosses of the game, Demonica is so ingenious in that we never see her true form (aside from a single eye) and this mystery lends itself so well to anxiety and fear, especially when Linda is forced to constantly spin to find the source of ominous banging. While the game itself may be somewhat unremarkable, this boss always stood out for its brilliant design and genuine terrifying nature.