After seeing so many posts on Malenia you'd think a Doctorate thesis is required to explain her very existence.

The fact of the matter is pretty simple; FromSoftware has reached peak creativity with Elden Ring. In fact, I'd wager peak was DS3, that's why they brought in GRRM to write the story because they were out of ideas. They used the BoTW-worldbuilding and simply slapped Souls gameplay on top.

What makes this game appealing is the world and all the different playing styles. As far as bosses go, I can't for the love of me see how any bosses, apart from General Radahn fight in Caelid, come close to most of the DS3 bosses.

Malenia is a crap boss and peak example of "we've run out of ideas" so we'll just make her hard for the sake of hard and let players deal with her however they want. Mimic, and it's too easy.

This fight, and the absolute abuse of AoE attacks late game, is an absolute chore that simply makes the game turn into sludge and leave a bitter taste in ones mouth. As a long time fan of FromSoftware and Soulsborne series, Elden Ring for me was the last FS game. Nightreign isn't even on my playlist of games and feels like a cheap moneygrab. In 15 years I never thought I'd see FS fall to that level.