This is the terrifying uncertainty that Elden Ring presents you with.

I get there eventually, after being ravaged by the Watchdog for maybe the eighth or ninth time, but the victory feels hollow. So here I am, stuck in that peculiar cycle of despairing stubbornness that these games are so good at cultivating. “Almost” doesn’t count for anything in FromSoftware games, of course. In fact, I almost beat the Watchdog on the first attempt. But I am certain it shouldn’t be this hard. The forward sword thrust, for example, takes a few nanoseconds longer to connect than the animation would suggest, so I invariably dodge too early or too late. A couple of the attacks have an odd rhythm to them. The Watchdog’s attacks are heavily telegraphed – more so than those of most bosses I recall from the Souls games, Bloodborne, or Sekiro. Then it crashes down in a devastating area-of-effect attack that doesn’t fail to one-shot my avatar when it connects. It chops at me with its sword, belches fire, and floats into the air in an animation so unsettling I initially assume it’s a glitch. I have a second to retrieve the Runes left over from my previous run before the Erdtree Burial Watchdog is off. The rigidly straight silhouette reminds me more of a cat than a dog – if cats were the size of a house, with a flaming tale, a giant claymore, and made of stone. There it is, sat on its haunches, watching me with its unblinking eyes that glow a menacing orange.

Elden ring watchdog boss