Spoilers: This ranking includes optional encounters, chapter-ending fights, and endgame bosses. There is no official difficulty scale: these placements are an editorial judgment based on attack speed and timing, phases, status effects, arena pressure, resistance to common counters, and when players can reach the fight and its upgrades. Your build and playstyle can change the order.
PowerPyx’s August 20, 2024 boss guide counts more than 81 boss fights and notes that route choices can change encounter order. The list below ranks 25 demanding encounters, not every boss in the game; some lower placements are less firmly established by the available published rankings than the leading contenders.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Black Myth: Wukong - PlayStation 5 | $54.97 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Black Myth Wukong - For PS5 | $68.58 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER TACTICAL ED – PS5 | $37.49 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Marvel's Wolverine PS5 | $69.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
PRAGMATA - PlayStation 5 | $59.88 | Buy on Amazon |
The 25 hardest bosses, ranked
1. Erlang, the Sacred Divinity
Erlang is a secret endgame fight with a demanding combination of defenses, counters, and sustained pressure. PowerPyx calls the secret encounter the game’s hardest, and Ray Snakeyes places Erlang first in a subjective 15-boss ranking. Treat the fight as a test of learning the whole moveset, not finding one spell that ends it. Bring a build you understand and save major abilities for openings you can reliably exploit. PowerPyx; Ray Snakeyes.
2. The Great Sage’s Broken Shell
This late-game final encounter comes after the player has had time to assemble a strong build, but its placement at the end does not make it forgiving. It is a high-pressure fight in which rushing attacks can waste openings and resources. Learn the rhythm of its phases and spend healing deliberately rather than assuming the previous boss was the last serious test. It appears among Ray Snakeyes’s hardest 15 and in the Black Myth Guide’s final-boss coverage. Ray Snakeyes; Black Myth Guide.
#1 Best Overall
- Explore a land of vast wonders - A world unseen, where new sights rise with every stride- Enter a fascinating realm filled with the wonders and discoveries of ancient Chinese mythology! Confront mighty foes, old and new - Heroic Monkey, might and fame, adversaries rise, to test his name. One of the major highlights of Journey to the West is its diverse cast of adversaries, each with unique strengths.
- Temper your mastery of varied spells - Spells unbound, knowledge's flight, infinite abilities take their height. Spells, transformations, and magic vessels in all manifestations, complementary yet adversarial, have long been iconic combat elements of Chinese mythology.
- Discover heartfelt tales behind every façade - Uncover the stories behind a variety of characters. Beneath the ferocity of your foes is a tapestry of their origins, personalities and motivations waiting to be revealed.
- Digital Deluxe Edition Voucher Code Included - PSN voucher code provides Bronzecloud Staff, Folk Opera Mask, Folk Opera Almsgiving Armor, Folk Opera Leather Bracers, Folk Opera Buskins, Wind Chimes, and selected Digital Soundtrack.
- Languages – In-game voice: Chinese and English. In-game text: English, French (France), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Traditional Chinese.
3. Yellow Loong
This optional, exploration-gated encounter can arrive when your character is stronger—or earlier than is comfortable, depending on how much side content you have cleared. Yellow Loong’s attack strings demand careful timing, and trying to force damage between them can turn a manageable exchange into a costly one. Watch for the end of a sequence before committing to a long combo. Ray Snakeyes includes Yellow Loong among the hardest fights. Ray Snakeyes.
4. Scorpionlord
Scorpionlord is optional and missable: the encounter is available before Duskveil, so advancing that story fight can close off the opportunity. PowerPyx highlights the boss’s severe damage and poison pressure. Learn the attack pattern, keep enough health to survive a mistake, and avoid treating a brief pause as a safe opening until you recognize what follows. PowerPyx; Black Myth Guide.
5. Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master
This chapter-ending boss is a difficult progression check, and arriving without completing available side content can make it feel especially punishing. PowerPyx recommends preparation and returning after side content. If the fight is draining your healing before its later pressure, leave, improve your equipment and character, then return with a plan for conserving resources. PowerPyx; Black Myth Guide.
6. Yin Tiger
Yin Tiger is fast, aggressive, and mobile, and Destructoid notes that he resists Immobilize. That combination makes a spell-dependent strategy less dependable than it is against slower targets. Keep your defense and movement ready, use Immobilize as a limited opportunity rather than the foundation of the fight, and wait for a punishable opening. Elliott Gatica, Destructoid; Ray Snakeyes.
Recommended Free Tools
7. Yellow Wind Sage
Use the in-game name Yellow Wind Sage; a creator ranking calls the encounter Yellow Wind King. PowerPyx describes a two-phase fight and places it in the chapter’s progression. The phase transition raises the cost of spending every resource early, so learn the first phase well enough to reach the second with healing and spell options intact. PowerPyx; Ray Snakeyes.
Rank #2
- Explore a land of vast wonders - A world unseen, where new sights rise with every stride- Enter a fascinating realm filled with the wonders and discoveries of ancient Chinese mythology! Confront mighty foes, old and new - Heroic Monkey, might and fame, adversaries rise, to test his name. One of the major highlights of Journey to the West is its diverse cast of adversaries, each with unique strengths.
- Temper your mastery of varied spells - Spells unbound, knowledge's flight, infinite abilities take their height. Spells, transformations, and magic vessels in all manifestations, complementary yet adversarial, have long been iconic combat elements of Chinese mythology.
- Discover heartfelt tales behind every façade - Uncover the stories behind a variety of characters. Beneath the ferocity of your foes is a tapestry of their origins, personalities and motivations waiting to be revealed.
- Digital Deluxe Edition Voucher Code Included - PSN voucher code provides Bronzecloud Staff, Folk Opera Mask, Folk Opera Almsgiving Armor, Folk Opera Leather Bracers, Folk Opera Buskins, Wind Chimes, and selected Digital Soundtrack.
- Languages – In-game voice: Chinese and English. In-game text: English, French (France), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Traditional Chinese.
8. Tiger Vanguard
Tiger Vanguard’s aggression makes the fight feel faster than its arena suggests. Destructoid’s Elliott Gatica describes him as quickly narrowing the gap between player and boss; the article also notes Rock Solid as counterplay. Avoid trading hits, and use defensive counters only when you can read the incoming move rather than casting them on instinct. Destructoid; Black Myth Guide.
9. Whiteclad Noble
Also called Nobleman in White in one creator ranking, this early encounter is unusually demanding because it has a second health bar. Destructoid points to delayed and ranged attacks, as well as poison concerns. Do not spend all your healing or strongest tools on the first bar; take time to recognize the delays, then adjust to the second phase. Destructoid; Ray Snakeyes.
10. Duskveil
Duskveil’s two-phase structure makes it a demanding optional-area encounter, and it is directly tied to the timing window for Scorpionlord: defeat Duskveil before dealing with Scorpionlord and the latter can become unavailable. If you want both fights, settle the Scorpionlord encounter first. Black Myth Guide covers both bosses; Ray Snakeyes includes Scorpionlord, but not Duskveil, in the listed top 15. Black Myth Guide.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →11. Cyan Loong
Cyan Loong is one of the optional Loong encounters identified in Ray Snakeyes’s ranking. Its difficulty depends partly on when you find it: optional exploration can change how much health, damage, and experience you bring to the fight. Approach it as a timing test, not a required milestone; if its damage is overwhelming, return after progressing elsewhere. Ray Snakeyes.
12. Captain Wise-Voice
Captain Wise-Voice is a chapter encounter included in Ray Snakeyes’s ranked list. Its placement reflects the combined pressure of a substantial boss fight and the constraints of reaching it through chapter progression. Prepare before entering rather than treating it as a quick detour, and use the opening moments to learn its attack cadence before committing resources. Ray Snakeyes; Black Myth Guide.
Rank #3
- The story, characters, voice acting, gameplay, and music that made the original a sensation return, remade for modern consoles
- This evolutionary leap breathes new life into every cutscene, and rebuilds every corner of the world
- Incredible new graphics bring the wild growth of the jungles, forests, and swamps to life in exquisite detail
- Characters are rendered in fine detail so that facial wrinkles, pores, & separate eye & iris movements are visible, allowing for rich animations
- Any injuries to his actual body will leave their mark permanently, telling a story of each player's unique journey
13. Black Loong
Black Loong is another optional Loong fight appearing in Ray Snakeyes’s ranking. Because optional encounters can be approached at different points in a run, its difficulty is especially sensitive to player progression. If the fight feels like a damage check, explore and upgrade before retrying; if it feels like a timing problem, focus on reading the attack sequence rather than adding more attacks of your own. Ray Snakeyes.
14. Captain Lotus-Vision
Captain Lotus-Vision is difficult for reasons beyond the boss’s attacks: Destructoid calls out projectile pressure, camera trouble, and the Pagoda Realm’s madness effect. Track your surroundings and the status pressure as well as the boss, and do not let a spell animation obscure incoming projectiles. Destructoid.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →15. Wandering Wight
Wandering Wight can be encountered early, before many players have accumulated upgrades, making its damage and attack timing feel severe. Its early placement matters: a fight that is reasonable later can be a wall when met immediately. If you are being defeated quickly, explore the surrounding area and return with more survivability rather than assuming you must win at once. The boss is covered by the Black Myth Guide and tops Ray Snakeyes’s ranked list. Black Myth Guide; Ray Snakeyes.
16. Emerald-Armed Mantis
This late-game encounter appears in Ray Snakeyes’s ranking. Its difficulty is influenced by when it becomes available: a player who has completed optional content may reach it with a different level of preparation than one following the main route. Keep your approach flexible, and prioritize learning the encounter’s timing over repeating a combo that is not finding safe openings. Ray Snakeyes.
17. Kang Jin’s Star
Kang Jin’s Star is another ranked candidate from Ray Snakeyes. It is a progression fight rather than one of the secret endgame tests, so its challenge is partly about what tools the player has at that point. Use a few attempts to identify the moves that punish healing or long attack strings, then spend resources around the openings you can consistently reach. Ray Snakeyes.
Rank #4
- Marvel’s Wolverine is a new action-packed adventure from Insomniac Games
- Play as Wolverine and Ravage enemies with explosive brutality and unleash razor-sharp adamantium claws to deploy fast, fluid attacks and overcome impossible odds
- An Original, Emotionally Charged Story. Beneath Wolverine’s gruff exterior and violent temperament is a man fighting for a cause greater than himself
- A Global, Adrenaline-Fueled Journey where you slice into enemies across detailed locales such as the frosted Canadian Wilderness, the narrow streets of Tokyo, and the high and low districts of the island nation of Madripoor
18. Yellowbrow
Yellowbrow is a major chapter encounter and one of the more demanding fights players can reach before the endgame. His encounter is a progression test: make sure your build and equipment are current, and avoid spending every resource in the opening stretch if the fight continues through additional stages. This lower placement reflects the fact that the available rankings support the leading contenders more strongly than a precise ordering of every difficult boss.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors19. Bishui Golden-Eyed Beast
This optional secret-area boss can be difficult to judge without knowing how much exploration a player has completed first. Optional access means the fight may be faced with very different levels of preparation. If the encounter is punishing, consider returning after more upgrades rather than treating it as a mandatory wall on the main route.
20. Cloudtreading Deer
Cloudtreading Deer is a late-game fight whose placement here reflects the extra pressure of reaching an optional encounter after a long progression arc. Players who arrive well prepared may find it less difficult than earlier chapter bosses; those who reach it under-equipped can find its sustained pressure costly. Build around survivability if repeated attempts are ending before you can learn its patterns.
21. Yaksha King
Yaksha King is a chapter-ending encounter with enough pressure to punish careless aggression. As with other late chapter fights, the main practical advantage is preparation: complete available upgrades and side content before committing, and avoid using healing just to maintain an attack string that has already become unsafe.
22. Non-Able
Non-Able is an optional encounter that can be reached while exploring rather than simply following the main progression. That makes the challenge variable: meeting it early can raise the difficulty, while returning later can reduce the gear gap. Take the encounter at your own pace and leave if its damage or pace is clearly beyond your current build.
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minutePC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Best Value
- Out-of-This-World Adventure – Stranded on a lunar space station, Hugh encounters Diana, a mysterious android resembling a young girl. While searching for a way back to Earth, they fight to survive against Bots directed to “neutralize” intruders.
- Hack & Shoot – Use each character’s distinct abilities to take down enemies. In combat, Diana can hack foes to expose weaknesses so Hugh can blast them with weapons. This unique fusion of gameplay offers an action-packed experience like no other.
- Space Exploration – Teamwork also extends to traversing the station. Utilize the thrusters in Hugh’s futuristic suit to dash and hover around while Diana hacks security systems to solve puzzles. Only together can they overcome all obstacles.
- Collect and Customize – Gather materials while exploring the station to unlock upgrades, build out a diverse arsenal of weapons, obtain new outfits, and more. Once you’re ready, use the new gear in battle and take on even greater challenges!
23. Guangzhi
Guangzhi is an early fight, so its difficulty comes in part from limited access to upgrades and player familiarity. Early bosses often demand more patience than their later equivalents because the player has fewer tools. Focus on recognizing attack timing and taking small, safe openings instead of trying to overwhelm the boss.
24. Gore-Eye Daoist
Gore-Eye Daoist is an optional encounter that can add pressure to a chapter already full of progression choices. Its placement is lower because the supplied ranked lists emphasize other fights, but it can still be a meaningful obstacle depending on when it is found and how prepared the player is.
25. Black Wind King
Black Wind King is a mandatory early progression fight and a useful test of basic timing before the game’s more demanding late encounters. Its rank is not a claim that it is harder than every unlisted boss; it earns a place here as an early encounter that can challenge players before they have built out their options.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why players disagree about the hardest fights
Difficulty changes with timing skill, build, preparation, and route. An optional boss faced early may be much harder than the same boss after side content and upgrades; route order also varies. Different encounters test different skills: Scorpionlord adds poison pressure, Whiteclad Noble asks players to manage a second health bar, Captain Lotus-Vision layers projectile and camera pressure over the Pagoda Realm’s madness effect, and Yin Tiger is less vulnerable to Immobilize than many bosses. These are not points on a shared numerical scale.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Published rankings are useful comparisons, not a consensus score. IGN published a video titled “Top 25 Hardest Bosses in Black Myth: Wukong” on September 15, 2024, but the available page excerpt does not expose its full ordered list. Destructoid’s September 8, 2024 ranking covers ten bosses; Ray Snakeyes’s December 4, 2024 video description lists 15. This article’s order is an editorial synthesis, not an exact reproduction of any one creator’s list. IGN; Destructoid; Ray Snakeyes.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
