The Amygdala is an iconic part of the Bloodborne landscape, showing up first as a terrifying addition to the cosmic aesthetic of Yharnam before challenging the player in the Nightmare Frontier. However, what really helps this boss stand out among the crowd of Bloodborne's incredible boss roster, is the way that its weak points force players to face this horror head-on.
This concept of designing a boss to take extra damage when attacked at a specific part of its hurtbox is nothing new to gaming as a whole, and has been a staple of FromSoftware bosses from before and after Bloodborne. So, it isn't the existence of these weak points that lifts the Amygdala fight up, but the fact that they are placed front and center where the boss is most likely to attack from that pushes the fast-paced and aggressive combat.
Amygdala's Weak Points Make it One of Bloodborne's Most Unique Fights
The weak points on Amygdala are located on the enemy's arms and head. Noticeably, two of these vulnerabilities are located where the majority of the boss' attacks will be coming from, and the last is held up and out of range for the majority of the fight. This means that in order to deal maximum damage and return to Bloodborne's city of Yharnam sooner, the player has to consistently be in danger of a counterattack from Amygdala at any time. To make matters worse, attempting to stay safe isn't always an option either.
If a player does try to take a more passive role in combat against Amygdala, staying by the creature's legs and avoiding the brunt of its attacks, this can lead to the boss' strongest attack. Whenever spending too much time out of range of the head laser and arm swipes, Amygdala will jump into the air and land back down after a couple of seconds directly on top of the player. This can easily kill most characters regardless of Bloodborne's build diversity at the point in the game where the boss is normally fought, making even the safest locations quickly turn deadly.
How Amygdala Incentivizes Bloodborne's Aggressive Combat Loop
What makes these specific locations for weak points so successful for Amygdala is the way that it pushes the aggressive nature of Bloodborne over many other games in the series. With mechanics like the HP Rally that returns lost health for attacking shortly after being hit, much of Bloodborne's combat loop is centered on taking as aggressive a stance as possible. So, having one of the largest monsters force players to stand right in front of an attacking enemy makes the best use of Bloodborne's aggressive mechanics with Amygdala.
Even the risk and reward of avoiding the weak points continue to force players into an aggressive state thanks to the constant threat of the jump attack. A lack of any kind of safe space means that whatever gets the fight over as quickly as possible will always be the best option. So, taking a slower path doesn't necessarily guarantee victory against the Amygdala. Instead, the player is consistently reinforced on the major themes and concepts of Bloodborne, where active aggression while in the line of fire is the best way to play.
It's incredible to see the ways that FromSoftware can keep the core concept of these boss fights relevant even in Bloodborne's optional bosses. While Amygdala is an impressive showcase of a boss that keeps players on the offensive while up against unsure footing, it isn't even required to beat on the way to the end credits. That means that as well-designed as the boss is, Amygdala is just an extra part of the game that gives players even more reasons to explore Bloodborne's Yharnam map outside of the main campaign.
Bloodborne is available now for PS4.
