You could argue that there is no such thing as one perfect open world gamebut some releases come really, really close. After spending 50 hours in a wonderful world, going through an immaculate story and creating the perfect build, nothing stings more than an underwhelming final boss that ends the journey with a wet fart rather than a glorious triumph.
A lackluster final chapter or fight doesn't erase all the good work that came before it, and all of these open world games are still 100% worth playing and among the best in the genre. Still, they left me thinking, “that's it?” rather than “That's it!”, and you never want to end a long journey with disappointment.
Spoiler warning for all upcoming games.
Calamity & Dark Beast Ganon in The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Style over challenge or substance
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Calamity Ganon is way too easy.
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Dark Beast Ganon looks spectacular and is a visual treat… but it's hardly a fight and more of an interactive cutscene.
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Fix: The monk Maz Koshia presents a much better plan for a final boss fight, one Ganon should have taken advantage of.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is undeniably one of the most important open-world games of all time, and Nintendo hit the nail on the head in almost every area. Still, the game has its issues, like the polarizing weapon durability system that's arguably a bigger problem than its most mediocre boss fights. None of the divine wonders are particularly good, but they are all better than Ganon.
If you defeat all (or most) of the Divine Beasts before facing Calamity Ganon, Link will be so overwhelmed and stacked with hearts that he will destroy his eternal enemy without ever being in danger of being defeated. To be fair, Calamity Ganon would be an OK first phase if it was followed by a solid sequel, but Dark Beast Ganon is much worse. For the climate fight, Nintendo went for spectacle at the expense of challenge, interesting mechanics or player agency.
Dark Beast Ganon is just a slow motion with attacks so telegraphed that they pose no threat. Considering BOTW rewards a “fix it yourself” mentality, the game to just leave the Bow of Light to Link for the final showdown is a betrayal of the entire game. One of the most ambitious and liberating open-world games ever shouldn't end with a shooting gallery
Joseph Seed In Far Cry 5
An Atomic Speed
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The ending is among the worst in the franchise, and just overall infuriating.
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The last part is repetitive and leaves no room for any strategy, something the rest of the game offers.
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Fix: Turn the final encounter into a full-scale siege of Joseph's facility, with your allies working alongside you.
Far Cry has a habit of dropping the ball with its final boss, with the third entry probably being the most famous example. While Hoyt is a big disappointment after Vaas, Far cry 5 is even worse, with the climactic encounter with Joseph Seed dropping the ball and culminating in a frustrating ending.
Instead of going into a big or intimate battle, Far cry 5 forces you into a repetitive escort mission As you free your allies from Joseph's Bliss hallucinations, a process that is boring, uninspired, and still welcome. For most of the campaign, players can try different tactics when approaching outposts, something that is completely thrown out the window in the climax.
Then we have the ending: Joseph releases armageddon and traps you in a bunker with himwhich comes with nasty consequences considering Far Cry: New Dawn. Everything you did throughout the game is nothing.
Alduin in Skyrim
The World Eater is not impressive
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An overhyped meeting that becomes just another dragon fight.
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NPC allies trivialize an already trivial battle.
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Fix: Turn Alduin into a puzzle that requires constant use of shouts and other magical abilities.
To be honest, no one cares Skyrim for the main story, that is Alduin's status as the “final boss” doesn't really matterand players can continue playing indefinitely after taking down the dragon. Still, that doesn't make this encounter any better, and its underwhelming nature provides no incentive to actually complete the core quests.
By the time they meet Alduin, the Dragonborn would have already taken down a bunch of dragons, so the big bads needed to bring something new to the plate. The World Eater simply doesn't, instead he's basically a reskinned Frost Dragon. Unless someone streamlines the main story and ignores everything else, they will be overpowered by the time of this fight, turning this monster into a piece of cake.
If that wasn't enough, Skyrim even gives you three Nord heroes as allies, making you remove all stakes.
Pope Alexander VI in Assassin's Creed 2
A fist fight with the Pope sounds more entertaining than it really is
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A fist fight. That's all the final fight is.
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No challenge and an unsatisfying ending forced by a faithfulness to historical accuracy.
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Fix: Ezio is an assassin, so make him act like one. Turn the final encounter into a hard-hitting assassination.
Assassin's Creed 2 is considered one of the true highlights of the franchise, and its quality cemented the IP as a staple in the gaming industry. Although its age shines through these days, the game is still ultimately a wonderful experience built around a likable protagonist and a beautiful setting. However, the final meeting with Rodrigo Borgia, aka Pope Alexander VI, never went well and has mostly been reduced to a meme.
“Ezio fighting the Pope in the Vatican” is a memorable way to end Assassin's Creed 2but the execution is not incredible or epic. For the final fight, AC2 strip you of your Assassin tools and just throw yourself into a boxing match with Rodrigo, using awkward and clunky mechanics. Thanks to a forgiving counter system, Ezio never feels in any danger, which makes sense considering his opponent is a 68-year-old Templar stuck in an outfit that restricts his mobility.
The ending isn't great either, as Ezio spares Rodrigo for what seems like no real reason. Sure, he says he realizes revenge wouldn't bring his family back, but he's already killed so many people by then. Because of Assassin's Creeds adherence to historical accuracy, history could not kill Rodrigo in 1499 when his real version died a few years later.
Lord Scrotus in Mad Max
Not quite a Magnum Opus Of A Boss Fight
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Anticlimactic handling of Magnum Opus.
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Weird end phase.
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Fix: This is Mad Max. The final encounter should be vehicle combat only.
Avalanches Mad Max is a brilliant open-world game that doesn't always get the love it deserves, even though its reputation has improved in recent years. A few issues aside, the game is carried by its incredible driving and vehicle combat systems, along with car customization that allows you to create the ultimate death machine, aka the Magnum Opus.
Unfortunately, the final boss doesn't lean into the game's strengths. While it starts off well with a chase sequence, things fall apart when Max destroys the Magnum Opus, essentially killing his only friend in the process. Not only is the second part atrocious, but the first also undermines the rest of the campaign, which spends so much time establishing a connection to the car.
After that, the battle culminates with Max chasing after Scrotus' vehicle while throwing a spear at him. At the very least, we could have had a traditional on-foot battle that made use of Mad Maxs simple but brutal combat system.
I will say, I think the narrative ending is good and fitting Mad Max universe.
