One Key Detail in Sif Boss Fight Makes Dark Souls 1 the Only Soulsborne Where Hidetaka Miyazaki’s Imagination Ran Wild

Few moments in gaming hit as deeply as the ones in Dark Souls 1. Building on the foundations set by Demon’s Souls, the game did more than refine the Soulsborne combat or tighten the world design; it crafted a hauntingly emotional narrative without so much as uttering a single word.

No encounter better encompasses this statement than our fight with Sif, the Great Grey Wolf. In this encounter, the gameplay transcends mechanics, becoming a story about duty and heartbreak—qualities that make it clear why this game is still Hidetaka Miyazaki’s crowning achievement.

Someone Grab the Tissues – Sif Even Falls Down When Attacking Us in His Final Moments

Facing Sif is less about winning and more about surviving an encounter with one of gaming’s most tragic characters, all while trying to see through the tears that just wouldn’t stop falling.

After all, our fight with Sif was never a mere obstacle to our fight with the four kings; he was protecting the grave of Artorias, a fallen hero and his master.

What’s most heartbreaking is that, as Sif starts limping in his final moments, his once-powerful moves become slower and more desperate, causing him to fall and struggle to get back up.

It’s like watching a friend fight a losing battle—one you don’t really want to win. Sif doesn’t rage or lash out in all the pain we cause him; he simply defends, each swipe of his blade less about harm and more about a painful duty.

If we’re being honest, it just doesn’t feel like a boss fight—it’s a story that plays out in real-time, and Dark Souls doesn’t spell out why Sif guards this grave so fiercely, and it doesn’t need to. The game trusts you to feel its weight.

By the end, when Sif finally collapses, you’re left wondering whether you were ever the hero in this story or just a trespasser simply set on their own goals. It’s this raw storytelling that makes Dark Souls unforgettable, even as other FromSoftware titles have improved on different aspects of it.

Here, you confront something many games struggle to capture—a boss that doesn’t want to kill you but has to, bound by memory and loyalty. It’s this quiet, tragic sense of purpose that lingers long after the fight is over, leaving you with a kind of sorrow that feels far more profound than victory.

Even Though FromSoftware Has Moved Too Far Away From the Game, Dark Souls 1 Is Still the King

Sure, the Dark Souls sequels, along with games like Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring, all advanced FromSoftware’s signature formula with faster, smoother mechanics and ever-more-intricate bosses.

Yet, in shifting toward pure action, some fans argue that the series left behind its quieter, more haunting spirit—the “soul” that gave Dark Souls 1 its name.

It’s like this: If playing the later Soulsborne games is like visiting the greatest concerts of our lives, the first Dark Souls feels like visiting a silent cathedral, with each step and encounter deepening our understanding of ourselves and the place we find ourselves in.

The problem with the newer games is that, while masterpieces in their own right, there has been a shift in focus to have fights that feel like a spectacle with over-tuned aggression.

It often feels as though these are sprinting from one spectacle to the next, prioritizing flashy mechanics over the slower exploration and layered storytelling that Dark Souls perfected.

Can you find such bosses in other games? Easily. But can you find encounters like the ones with Sif, Maiden Astrea, or even Micolash in other action games? Probably not.

The quirky, unsettling touches that made Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls feel alive—the unnerving NPCs, the eerie landscapes, the subtle lore—gradually became more predictable, which is perhaps why Dark Souls especially feels like the one game everyone must experience once in their lives.

But, with all that said, what are your thoughts on Dark Souls’ boss fights? Do you think FromSoftware has lost its way since that game’s release? Let us know in the comments below.