FromSoftware is no stranger to revolutionary boss fights and Elden Ring's battle with Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy, is one for the history books. Players can't go two steps within the open world before stumbling into a new boss fight, making Rykard's encounter stand out even more.
Elden Ring is FromSoftware's latest Soulslike, known for their challenging and larger-than-life boss fights. Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy, can be found in Volcano Manor and is the son of Rennala and Radagon, but chose to defy the Erdtree. In his search for immortality and intoxicating power, Rykard allowed himself to be devoured by the God Devouring Serpent and adopted not just the serpent's form, but its desire to devour gods as well. This caused Rykard's devoted followers to rebel against their greedy master and create the Serpent Hunter to destroy him once and for all.
The Serpent Hunter is found at the start of the boss fight and is the centerpiece of the fight. Rykard is the only boss in Elden Ring to have a specific weapon tied to the fight, but it isn't the first time FromSoftware has done this. This trick was first used at the inception of the Soulslike genre with Demon's Souls. To kill the Storm King, the player needs to pick up and equip the Storm Ruler greatsword found in the Storm King's boss arena. Just like the Serpent Hunter, the Storm Ruler is a weapon with special properties made to kill that specific boss.
While the idea may be similar, Demon's Souls' version is lacking. In Demon's Souls, the Storm King is a flying enemy, making Storm Ruler the best projectile weapon to use because it shoots out deadly gusts of wind. However, that special attack is the only one the Storm Ruler has, which oversimplifies the boss fight into spamming one attack until it's dead. Storm King's moveset is just as limited as the players wielding a basic lightning strike with additional enemies flying around to pick up the slack. While it was unique at the time, it was clearly a proof of concept. This idea was later revisited in Dark Souls 3 with Yhorm The Giant, improving upon it with a more deadly boss, but still giving the special weapon only one move that damages him.
Rykard is impressive for longtime Soulslike fans because he's the culmination of everything FromSoftware has learned to perfect this clever boss fight idea. The Serpent Hunter has special abilities tied to the boss fight like the others, but this time around, players have a full moveset to utilize. Giving players more attack options means they have more agency over their performance against the boss. They have to think carefully about when it's best to go for the longer attack that stuns Rykard, or the quicker but weaker attack.
Not only is the player's moveset diverse, but so is the boss'. This boss fight actually begins with a confrontation against the God Devouring Serpent before Rykard shows his face. It's a large and vicious serpent that strikes fast with many attacks that mostly go out the door once he is defeated. Rykard takes control of the dead serpent body, and the second phase of the boss fight begins with an entirely new moveset that's twice as deadly with added projectiles, fire attacks and sword sweeps.
Building upon the first phase's moveset with cataclysmic visual changes gives the boss battle a sense of escalating scale never before seen in a FromSoftware game. Rykard's haunting face creeping out of the serpent's body intensifies the boss' design, making him tower over the player compared to the hunching serpent's head. He's bigger and meaner and destroys the boss arena throughout the length of the battle. What started as a dark cave with chandeliers and spires ends as a flattened crater with red fumes engulfing the sky.
FromSoftware finally delivers on their most promising idea with Rykard's boss fight, creating an intense, deadly battle with cinematic flair, unlike other Soulslike bosses. It's tough to definitively say which boss is FromSoftware's best when there're so many jaw-dropping bosses from which to choose, but Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy, is simply unforgettable.