Line #53 Main/MooksButNoBosses


1	Nowadays, the vast majority of video games, even when not pure action games, include fighting enemies on the way. There may be [[{{Mooks}} a lot]] [[GoddamnBats of weak ones]] or [[DemonicSpiders a few]] [[EliteMook tough]] [[BossInMookClothing ones]], they may be [[WhatMeasureIsAMook humans]] or [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman monsters]], you may kill them half-heartedly or [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential with great enjoyment]] but they will be on your path to prevent you from SavingTheWorld, rescuing the DamselInDistress, [[QuestForIdentity finding your lost memories]] or [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry eating your pizza]]. And at some points, you will have to fight [[BossFight big enemies, much more fearsome and dangerous than the others]] with an appropriate tension buildup.
2
3	But some games go around this. Even though you fight your way through numerous {{Mook}}s and death traps, no climactic battle against a boss ever comes. There can be several ways to explain and/or compensate the absence of bosses:
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5	* The fighting, even if present, is actually secondary to the action and the developers want to focus the intensity on other aspects, like the general atmosphere or the ShockingMoments in the scenario.
6	* The climactic battle(s) will be [[TheWarSequence against an army of mooks instead of a single boss]], placing the player against seemingly impossible odds to create tension.
7	* Sometimes, you expect enemies to be bosses, but they are fought and finished every bit like normal {{Mook}}s in the end. The difference with a mere AntiClimaxBoss being that they aren't just easy, they are ''identical'' to Mooks so you can't call it a BossFight.
8	* Alternatively, [[BossInMookClothing boss-like enemies]] may be encountered outside of a traditional BossRoom. These enemies are only boss-like in their difficulty, and don't receive any special designation from standard mooks.
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10	Polar opposite of a BossGame where all the fights are {{Boss Fight}}s. Not incompatible with CutsceneBoss.
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12	Note this trope is about the absence of bosses ''in a genre where their presence is the norm''. An individual level with no bosses in a game where most or all the other levels have at least one each does not count as an example; ''all'' levels must be boss-less. {{Endless Game}}s and ConstructionAndManagementGames are generally bossless for obvious reasons, as well as {{Strategy Game}}s where the notion of "Boss Battle" is meaningless (potential aversions may be added as examples though). And of course, no need to list the games where there are no enemies in the first place.
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14	The extreme end of HardLevelsEasyBosses.
15	----
16	!!Examples
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18	[[foldercontrol]]
19
20	[[folder:Action Adventure]]
21	* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'':
22	** There are no real major boss fights in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'', unlike previous games in the series. Most of the assassination targets aren't even particularly skilled combatants. The only real exception is a ClimaxBoss fight against [[spoiler:Haytham Kenway]] towards the end, which is more of a cinematic PuzzleBoss fight than a straight boss encounter. The very last enemy you kill in the game is not even a challenge - he's killed in a cutscene.
23	** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'' only has one enemy resembling a boss in the main story, with the other main targets being more like EliteMooks in combat - and indeed, every other target in the game can be assassinated just like any mook. There are even bonuses for one-shotting them in specific ways. There are also four {{Superboss}} ships in the form of the four legendary ships.
24	* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' games:
25	** There are only 3 bosses in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' only encountered in the endgame, all of them being taken out either by [=QTEs=] or through a cutscene. Noticeable because the [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity previous]] [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins two]] ''Arkham'' games have several bosses.
26	** In the ''Film/BatmanBegins'' game, you fight Victor Zsasz, the Scarecrow and [[spoiler:Henri Ducard]], but they fight in exactly the same way as the {{Mooks}}, right down to the way they're taken down.
27	* ''VideoGame/BattlestarGalacticaOnline'' dispenses with ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''-style storied raids and bosses to focus on PVP and sector control. As a result, the lategame challenge comes from swarms of EliteMook or enemy players instead. The closest things to bosses are the outposts, but those are more like {{King Mook}}s, if {{Damage Sponge\| Boss}} ones.
28	* The ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' level of ''VideoGame/DisneyInfinity'' has unusually nasty mooks, but just ends abruptly after the last story mission with nothing like a boss in sight.
29	* The video game adaptations of ''VideoGame/TheGodfather'' series. The "bosses" are the dons of the other families but they're easy to kill, the real challenge is fighting all their {{mook}}s. The sequel adds different levels of KingMook between the dons and the street-level rent-a-mooks, who correspondingly aren't that tough either.
30	* In ''[[VideoGame/LegacyOfKain Soul Reaver 2]]'', a good part of the game is slaughtering the soldiers and demons who want you dead, but curiously, there is no Boss. The Sarafan counterparts or Raziel's "brothers" at the end ''seem'' like they will be bosses but they turn out being [[EliteMooks like normal mooks, just tougher]], and the [[EleventhHourSuperpower Soul Reaver]] prevents you from dying anyway. The real OhCrap moment comes ''after'' this battle.
31	* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'': The closest thing the game has to boss fights are instances where Ori is trapped into a room with a few enemies to kill in order to exit, and two [[EscapeSequence Escape Sequences]] where you have to flee from [[BigBad Kuro]], one of them acting as the final boss.
32	* In ''VideoGame/Uncharted3DrakesDeception'', the closest thing to boss fights in this game are basic fistfights against a guy who has a bit more HP than usual.
33	* ''VideoGame/TheEndTimesVermintide'' features five heroes against Warhammer's Skaven in a mission-based game similar to ''VideoGame/Left4Dead''. Until its third DLC of missions, the only "bosses" were the usually one-per-level Rat Ogres, miniboss enemies who are mindless mountains of muscle and hit points that berserk their way into the party, and the Stormvermin Patrols, which are simply an unusually large collections of EliteMooks who patrol together and are much easier to avoid than fight. The invasion's leader, a Grey Seer, cannot be fought directly at all, and beating him simply requires fulfilling level objectives while ignoring the Seer. The third DLC finally added a true boss in the clan's Chaos-infused chieftain. [[VideoGame/VermintideII The sequel]] fully averts this with five full boss fights (two Chaos Champions, two Chaos Sorcerer Lords, and the same Grey Seer now riding a Stormfiend) and several new miniboss types who usually show up twice per level (on top of the ogres there are now Stormfiends, Bile Trolls, Chaos Spawn, and, in the DLC, Minotaurs).
34	* Creator/{{SNK}}'s ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28sixKPgwNg T.N.K. III]]'' has a few GiantMook vehicles, but no traditional bosses, with the game cutting to a "[[AWinnerIsYou Congraturation]]" message at the end of the last area. Averted in the NES adaptation, ''Iron Tank''.
35	[[/folder]]
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37	[[folder:Action Games]]
38	* The only adversaries in ''VideoGame/{{Dodge}}'' are small squares, and the only other dangers in the game are "patterns" that are closer to obstacles than a type of boss.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Driving Games]]
42	* ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooieNutsAndBolts'' only has the FinalBoss, Gruntilda, fought at the end. Though Mr. Patch (who first debuted as a boss in ''Tooie'') appears as well, he's merely a BossInMookClothing target in two challenges.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:First-Person Shooters]]
46	* ''Videogame/BioshockInfinite'' has exactly one actual boss character, who is fought [[RecurringBoss several times]], while all other significant antagonists, including a giant monster who would have been an ''extremely'' obvious candidate for a boss fight and was practically ''[[AdvertisedExtra advertised]]'' as such in pre-release marketing, are killed in cutscenes. The first DLC chapter also has a boss fight, but it's against the BossInMookClothing MascotMook from the original ''Bioshock'' games rather than something new or truly unique.
47	* ''VideoGame/{{Breed}}'' sees you battling the titular alien forces in entire droves, and you spend multiple missions gunning down hundreds of Breed soldiers. But there's nary a boss in sight - even the Breed leader in the final stage is more akin to an EliteMook whose demise gets as much fanfare as lower-level Breeds.
48	* The ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' series never really had any bosses (with the exception of a CutsceneBoss fight at the end of each game since ''Modern Warfare''), with practically all enemies fighting the same and taking the same number of bullets to kill. ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare2'' upped the ante with the addition of Juggernauts, but in general all the major, plot relevant foes are either killed in a cutscene, quick time event, or as easily as any other mook. This is averted by ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsIII'', with each of the major antagonists being fought in a boss battle, including a giant mecha, a giant aerial assault vehicle, a FlunkyBoss, and a ProactiveBoss.
49	* ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezTheCartel'' doesn't have any one-on-one boss fights, unlike the previous 2 games. The closest it gets is fighting an enemy gunship at a few points in the game.
50	* ''VideoGame/CodenameTenka'' revolves around the hero's attempts to escape from a bio-lab he's imprisoned in, filled with assorted monsters, with the help of an AI. At no point does he battle any boss enemies.
51	* ''VideoGame/{{Deadhunt}}'', an open-world arena shooter, have you killing every enemy in an arena before progressing to the next level, and there isn't a "boss" enemy at any point. The closest there is being a few "ringleader" enemies at the end of some stagees, but they go down as easily as any random mook.
52	* ''VideoGame/DeathlessHyperion'' has mutant monsters in a variety of designs, but oddly enough there isn't a "boss" mutant you need to fight. Your last stage simply ends with you reaching an exit.
53	* ''VideoGame/FarCry2'' is a game consisting of Mooks and only Mooks, due to attempting to be more realistic than its mutant-battling predecessor. There aren't even any GiantMook or EliteMooks. Even the assassination targets are just bog-standard enemies. This is averted in ''VideoGame/FarCry1'' and ''VideoGame/FarCry3'', which do have at least one or two traditional boss fights. ''VideoGame/FarCry4'' is filled with mooks, a few EliteMooks during specific missions, and two badass boss fights that have almost nothing to do with guns whatsoever.
54	* ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997'' and ''VideoGame/GoldenEyeWii'': The only boss you fight is Alec Trevelyan, who doubles as the FinalBoss. During the rest of the game, you confront numerous mooks, solve puzzles and complete objectives, but no bosses appear. This is justified due to the game's efforts to remain faithful to the 1995 James Bond movie, where Trevelyan is the only villain whom James confronts recurringly.
55	* ''VideoGame/HalfLifeBlueShift'' is notably the only title in the entire ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' series that lacks boss fights. While a single Abrams tank is present in the chapter "Captive Freight", it's not given much fanfare, and your opposition during the finale while you're powering up the prototype teleporter amounts to a few houndeyes and a squad of HECU soldiers. The remake ''VideoGame/BlackMesaBlueShift'' makes a point of averting this by adding a [[WolfpackBoss Vortigaunt ambush]] at the end of "Duty Calls" and presenting two proper boss battles against a LAV and Abrams during "Captive Freight".
56	* The ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series is known for this, with ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'', ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' and ''VideoGame/HaloInfinite'' being the only real exceptions. The boss fights in ''Halo 2'' were so highly criticized that Creator/{{Bungie}} decided to not put traditional boss fights in any of their subsequent games. In the case of ''Halo 5'', all the boss fights are the against cloned iterations of the same character, with most encounters involving multiple bodies, though the multiplayer Warzone mode features other boss enemies. ''Infinite'', meanwhile, completely averts the trope by having a variety of boss characters and going so far as giving them onscreen name and health displays for the first time in the franchise.
57	* ''VideoGame/{{Instinct}}'' throws human and undead enemies aplenty at you, but no bosses.
58	* ''VideoGame/{{Industria}}'' has plenty of robot enemies, but not a single boss.
59	* Both entries in the ''VideoGame/{{Kreed}}'' duology sees you fighting alien soldiers and human pirates, but there's nary a boss in either.
60	* The ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' series has generally avoided boss fights and other elements that would conflict with its more realistic tone. There have been a couple of exceptions, though, namely Baron Sturmgeist in ''[[VideoGame/MedalOfHonorFrontline Frontline]]'' and the officer battles in ''European Assault''.
61	* ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'': Up until the last mission, no bosses appear in the game. The only boss that appears is Skedar, in the last level.
62	* ''VideoGame/MobEnforcer'' throws plenty of rival mobsters and policemen for you to shoot at, but the game doesn't have any boss battles. Your named targets, like the Cenzo brothers and the rival mob leader Jimmy Toretto, is treated as EliteMooks at most.
63	* ''VideoGame/NervesOfSteel'' doesn't have any bosses (it barely has enough mook verieties to make the game at least '
64	'mildly'' interesting!) - the BigBad, General Kim Dung-Moon, is depicted as a random mook at the end.
65	* ''VideoGame/OfficePointRescue'' have you killing every terrorist in sight, but there isn't a head honcho serving as a boss.
66	* ''VideoGame/OperationMatriarchy'' has a colorful variety of alien enemies, but not a single boss.
67	* ''VideoGame/Receiver2'' has no bosses; only a bunch of turrets and shock drones scattered around you. [[spoiler:Aside from an obscure {{Puzzle\| Boss}} BossInMookClothing, that is.]]
68	* ''VideoGame/StarWarsRepublicCommando'' completely lacks bosses (although it does have a BossInMookClothing in the form of spider droids and occasional Magnaguards).
69	* ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}'' has the occasional BossInMookClothing in the form of some of the more monstrous and powerful mutants, but none of them are unique and, for the most part, they spawn randomly in addition to scripted encounters. The final level of the first and third game both essentially boil down to "get to the place while under fire from EliteMooks", and the first game's such sequence can even be solved without killing anyone, assuming the player has the capability to tank it out.
70	* ''VideoGame/LandOfTheDeadRoadToFiddlersGreen'' has zombies. ''Only'' zombies. Some of them have weapons, some of them throw up occasionally, and one was a buddy, but none of them are anything special.
71	* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSurvivalInstinct'' only has one enemy type; the basic zombie. There are no EliteZombie enemies, let alone a boss. The closest you get is the occasional zombie herd.
72	* ''VideoGame/PathwaysIntoDarkness''' closest thing to a boss enemy is the "Big Blue Meanie", a unique BossInMookClothing encountered on the level "Need a Light?" In lieu of a FinalBoss, the climactic battle is a MultiMookMelee against every mook type encountered over the course of the game.
73	* ''VideoGame/WarstrideChallenges'' sees you blasting legions and legions of demons in the caverns of hell, but there isn't a single boss anywhere in the game.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Light Gun Game]]
77	* ''VideoGame/MaximumForce'' doesn't have any bosses, with all your enemies being terrorists, gunrunners, and generic-looking mooks (and occasionally an attack helicopter). While the final level have you taking on a drug baron's army, once you reach the end of the level... you then blow up the drug baron via rocket launcher, in a cutscene. And then the game ends. Same goes for its SpiritualSuccessor, ''VideoGame/TargetTerror''.
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80	[[folder:Party Games]]
81	* ''VideoGame/MarioPartySuperstars'': While many minigames involving mooks are brought back for this game, none of the boss minigames from ''VideoGame/MarioParty9'' or ''[[VideoGame/MarioParty10 10]]'' are present, nor are any of the Bowser fights from other games (''[[VideoGame/MarioPartyTheTop100 The Top 100]]'', which was conceived with the same premise as ''Superstars'', still had the ''VideoGame/MarioParty4'' Bowser fight).
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83
84	[[folder:Platformers]]
85	* ''VideoGame/CommanderKeen'': Every level in the games is devoid of bosses, with the exception of the final level in the third (the Grand Intellect), fifth (the Shikadi Master) and [[GaidenGame spin-off]] episodes (Boobus Tuber). Even among the exceptions, the Shikadi Master is invincible, as the goal in that level is to defuse the energy source of the Armageddon Machine while avoiding the big enemy's attacks. The majority of {{Fan Sequel}}s are devoid of bosses as well, with two of the notable exceptions being Episodes 8 and 9 in their respective last levels, where you confront a doppelgänger of Keen in the former and the Grand Intellect ([[spoiler:in his true human form, Mortimer a.k.a. Keen's vicious rival]]) in the latter.
86	* ''VideoGame/CosmosCosmicAdventure'': The second EpisodicGame doesn't have any bosses at all, and the first and third only have a FinalBoss (the same in both cases).
87	* ''VideoGame/DoItForMe'': The Wooffles serve as enemies for the player to fight, but there is no boss in any of the endings. [[spoiler:The girlfriend]], the BigBad, is confronted but never fought- even in the "Psychopath" ending, where [[spoiler:you kill her, she is too scared to fight back]].
88	* ''VideoGame/{{Dustforce}}''. The boss-looking {{Evil Counterpart}}s from the intro and trailer are actually multiplayer characters.
89	* ''VideoGame/ElectroMan'' by xLand Games. The last level is particularly brutal, and may serve as the "boss" of the whole game, but, due to the nature of the game, there's never once any real bosses.
90	* ''VideoGame/{{Eversion}}'' has [[SugarWiki/{{Eversion}} no bosses]], [[spoiler:but it makes up for that with [[DarthWiki/{{Eversion}} its more famous attributes]]]].
91	* ''VideoGame/GarfieldsFunFest'': There are no bosses in any of the levels in the game. Even the game's antagonist, Ramone ([[spoiler:who is Nermal in disguise]]), is unfitting, as Garfield simply outperforms him in the last level via a dance, so in terms of gameplay the level is no different from the other rhythm-based stages; and when the main antagonist's true identity and intentions are exposed, he runs away in shame, ending the story and the game.
92	* There are several enemies in ''VideoGame/HappylandAdventures'', but no boss fights.
93	* The 2D Platform/PlayStation game ''VideoGame/HeartOfDarkness'' is like this. The final battle is against a huge number of mooks but you never actually fight the EvilOverlord, he's just [[CutsceneBoss destroyed in the following cutscene]].
94	* ''VideoGame/JillOfTheJungle'': Neither the original episode nor its sequels feature any bosses, though you do fight several mooks and make your way by opening locked doors.
95	* ''VideoGame/MonstersIncScreamTeam'': There are MechaMooks in all levels, and the objective in each level is to scare the mechanical dummies (Nerves) to earn medals. However, there are no bosses of any sort; not even Randall, who is challenged via races and you simply have to reach the goal first (collecting a specific amount of coins is also necessary). It's also justified, because this game is a prequel to the ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'' movie, and the actual confrontation between Randall and the starring duo doesn't happen until the climax of said movie.
96	* ''VideoGame/MutantMudds'' has no bosses, instead focusing on the platforming levels. Once all of the {{Plot Coupon}}s are collected, [[spoiler:the Mudds are defeated, and the game is won]].
97	* ''Mystery Quest'' lacks bosses in the traditional sense, but each castle has its own {{Giant Mook}}s that must be killed to obtain keys.
98	* The first two ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}'' games involve killing a lot of guards in usually [[CruelAndUnusualDeath gruesome]] [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential ways]], but since Abe has no weapon nor actual fighting skills there is nothing in the games that looks like a Boss (well there are [[CorruptCorporateExecutive "bosses"]] but not in the video game sense. [[spoiler:Abe actually has to possess those and guide them to voice locks only they can open ― and only then kill them by dispossessing. So the trek to the lock becomes a "boss encounter"]]).
99	* In ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia1'', Jaffar is the FinalBoss only in the sense that, unlike any other enemy, you have to kill him; he fights like all the other {{Mooks}}, and though he does have more health, that advantage is nullified by an [[DisneyVillainDeath obvious situational weakness]]. Other [[BossInMookClothing pseudo-boss]] enemies include the [[InvincibleMinorMinion Skeleton]] in Level 3, [[FatBastard the Fat Guard AKA Politician]] in Level 6, and the [[MirrorMatch Doppelganger]] in Level 12. A few ports(e.g. Japanese computers, Sega CD, Turbo CD, and XBLA) throw in a conventional BossBattle with Jaffar after this, and the SNES version adds many original bosses.
100	%%* ''VideoGame/RickDangerous''.
101	* Neither of the ''VideoGame/SpeedyEggbert'' (aka Speedy Blupi) games have any bosses.
102	* ''VideoGame/ToeJamAndEarl in Panic on Funkotron'' has lots of tough Earthlings and they all have to be captured before finishing the level, but there are no bosses and the final challenge of the game is an underwater maze.
103	* ''VideoGame/MonkeyShines'' has hundreds of different mooks, but no bosses.
104	* While ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'' has plenty of enemies and combat techniques, the closest thing to a boss fight that exists in the game are escape sequences. Averted in [[VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps the sequel]].
105	* ''VideoGame/MichaelJacksonsMoonwalker'' on Genesis plays with this. Every level except the last will conclude with a rush of baddies, but they'll introduce EliteMooks now and then that are a bit tougher to beat or have different attack patterns. The very last level has a proper boss in Mr. Big.
106	* ''Flipper 2: Flush The Goldfish'' is an infinite runner example, as the only boss you ever fight is the devil who kidnapped the kid (Flipper's owner) at the start, and even then [[LevelInBossClothing it's played like the rest of the game]].
107	* Inverted in ''VideoGame/YoNoid2EnterTheVoid'': the final boss is the only combat in the game, and the rest is purely about navigating across obstacles.
108	* Most enemy encounters in ''VideoGame/{{Fe}}'' consist of [[StealthBasedMission playing hide and seek with the Silent Ones]] or [[SetAMookToKillAMook siccing other animals such as deer or bears against them]]. The closest thing to a boss fight is a MultiMookMelee with a den of BrainwashedAndCrazy [[MixAndMatchCritters wolf/rodent/pig hybrid]] creatures in the mountain area.
109	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfKage'' has occasional encounters with EliteMooks, but no actual bosses, not even guarding the DamselInDistress in the palace. The only remotely boss-like enemy is the flying dual-sword-wielding ninja encountered while escaping.
110	* ''VideoGame/SuperKiwi64'': None of the levels in the base campaign have any bosses (there's NoAntagonist). And half the levels don't have ''mooks'' either. However, the ''Doomsday'' campaign does have a boss battle against the Robot Melon King.
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder:Puzzle Game]]
114	* The original ''VideoGame/AngryBirds'' has no bosses; King Pig does appear at the end of each episode, but he's functionally identical to the regular minion pigs. ''Angry Birds Space'' does have a few bosses, both against him and other pigs, and later games in the series occasionally follow suit.
115	* ''VideoGame/ChipsChallenge'': A large portion of the game is spent dodging, killing or even ''creating'' mooks (through a [[MookMaker clone machine]]), but there's no boss in any of the 149 levels of the game. This also applies to the CC Level Pack {{Fan Sequel}}s as well as the official sequel.
116	[[/folder]]
117
118	[[folder:Rail Shooter]]
119	* ''VideoGame/AfterBurner'' and ''After Burner II'' have no bosses. Instead the challenge comes from dealing with waves of enemies that constantly go MacrossMissileMassacre on you.
120	* ''Videogame/TheWalkingDeadArcade'' have no super-zombies and bosses. Instead, the final level has you found a bus to escape while fighting ever increasing hordes of zombies [[spoiler: [[DownerEnding and watching the other survivors met their inevitable death as you escape on your own... while a zombie sneaks behind your character's bus]] ]].
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Roguelikes]]
124	* In ''VideoGame/AzureDreams'', all combat takes place within a tower teeming with monsters, but with no unique encounters. The powerful sorcerer Beldo waits on the top floor, but [[spoiler: it's [[AnticlimaxBoss impossible to actually lose to him]]]]
125	* Roguelite ''VideoGame/ToeJamAndEarl'' has a veritable cast of enemies, but no actual bosses, and no need to attack any enemies beyond getting rid of them.
126	* ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRogue'':
127	** The game only has mooks to deal with for any of your missions ([[ImmersiveSim and often not even those if you're clever]]) and considers it a victory just for reaching the Mayor's Village regardless of what happens there.
128	** Even if you do consider the Mayor encounter, [[spoiler: it stills plays it completely straight since they're far weaker than most mooks and their elite mook Super Cop guards can be easily dispatched in a wide variety of ways. If you won the election then you don't even need to bother with what little fight there is, [[TheUnfought they just hand you the hat and walk away.]]]]
129	** In particular, the killer robot (which can show up as part of a random disaster) has all the hallmarks of a boss due to it having a massive amount of HP, attacking with infinite rockets and ability to track you anywhere, but in practice it's very easy to just run away from it and skip the fight altogether. Custom chunks can try to repurpose it into a proper boss fight by marking it as an owner of a locked steel door (thus requiring the player to kill it to get the key), but even that can be avoided by just finding some other way to open the door ([[NiceJobFixingItVillain including just pushing the robot itself into it somehow, triggering its "tear down any doors in the way" effect]]).
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Role Playing Games]]
133	* ''VideoGame/DeusEx'': You do engage several elite enemy operatives, but they are not much stronger than a regular mook, if better armed and augmented, and die almost just as easily. The same is true of ''VideoGame/DeusExInvisibleWar'', even more so than the original as all the elite operatives are just regular enemies with somewhat more health. They don't even have any special abilities even though plot-wise they are supposed to.
134	* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3:'' There are only two bosses in the game, and one of them is closer to a beefed-up Phantom than anything. The second being one of the three [[EldritchAbomination Reapers]] (the first and third encounters function more as environmental hazards than enemies with which Shepard can interact).
135	* The ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' series in general is known for not having bosses at all, with many of the games being more about actual role-playing than pure combat. Some of the games do have a final confrontation against a unique enemy, but they're usually not noticeably tougher than regular enemies.
136	* ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' probably comes closer to this trope than any other Japanese RPG. It has very few boss battles at all and many of them are unconventional and/or scripted fights. Most dungeons have nothing resembling a boss.
137	* ''VideoGame/{{Albion}}'' is almost like this. There's really only one regular boss (the avatar of Kamulos); the few other boss-like characters include a unique named character who's not actually powerful, a more powerful version of a regular bandit who's only here for being unique (more powerful versions of monsters being otherwise common), a strong guard you don't have to fight, and a HopelessBossFight. Most of the time, the final fight somewhere will just be a group of powerful regular enemies.
138	* ''VideoGame/{{Prey 2017}}'' has no boss encounters. The large Typhon called the Nightmare doesn't need to be killed to progress and will eventually respawn. The major endgame threat that is [[spoiler:Walther Dahl]] can be easily killed or stunned like any human. The [[spoiler:Apex Typhon]] isn't fought at all and is indirectly destroyed when you trigger either of the game's endings.
139	* In the Ernothian trilogy of ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' games the bosses are almost non-existent regarding gameplay mechanics; in case something is supposed to represent a boss, it's either a strongest tier of given enemy type with possible slight increase of statistics and different name (Xenofex in ''VII'', who is just Devil Captain with different name, in the middle of other Devil Captains no less), or it's just an enemy taken from different dungeons (Corlagon in ''VI'' is just a generic Power Lich in dungeon with Specters and Skeletons only). There ''are'' unique enemies with high stats and model that serve as a boss (Robert the Wise/Tolberti in ''VII'') but in these games that happens only rarely.
140	[[/folder]]
141
142	[[folder:Shoot-'em-up]]
143	* ''VideoGame/{{Radirgy}} Swag'', despite being a modern (2019) shmup, has no bosses whatsoever, with the game's premise being mainly to reach the goal as fast as possible. The game only throws "small" and "medium" enemies at you, [[ZergRush in large numbers]].
144	[[/folder]]
145
146	[[folder:Stealth]]
147	* ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' plays it straight save for the possibility of Daud, who not only has similar powers to Corvo but is quite resilient and has ContractualBossImmunity. However, he can also be dealt with sneakily.
148	* Most targets in the ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' series go down just as easily as regular enemies, unless they are scripted or wearing body armor (Which doesn't help if they're being strangled from behind). The catch is to [[HardLevelsEasyBosses actually get to them]], which is more difficult than it sounds. In the earlier games major assassination targets were much tougher than regular Mooks, but could still be killed with a headshot or taken out stealthily. This has been downplayed in later games starting with ''[[VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney Blood Money]]''. The ''VideoGame/Hitman2016'' game is the most extreme example, without a single assassination target that's any tougher than a normal Mook (with the exception of an Iron Man-expy in one of the bonus levels).
149	* ''VideoGame/MarkOfTheNinja'' does have plot-critical antagonists, but none of them are fought as anything other than a CutsceneBoss.
150	* Most ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' games at most have assassination targets but devoid of bosses. Instead, the games throw in mooks with stronger armor or equipped with night vision goggles. The only time there are bosses are the [=PS2=] version of ''Double Agent'' and ''Blacklist''.
151	[[/folder]]
152
153	[[folder:Survival Horror]]
154	* The ''VideoGame/AlanWake'' series seems to avoid boss fights, instead using large numbers of regular enemies combined with a few EliteMooks for major encounters.
155	* In ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'', you only ever encounter hostile humans, [[AIIsACrapshoot Working Joes]], and [[InvincibleBoogeyman completely unkillable]] Xenomorph drones, and the closest thing the game has to a BossBattle is when you beat up several stunned Working Joes at once in an attempt to steal a key-card from them.
156	* There is only one type of enemy at all in ''VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories''. They are mooks which grapple the protagonist and drain his body heat away.
157	* VideoGame/TheWalkingDead: Apart from the zombies and human mooks, there are only two [[CutsceneBoss Cutscene Bosses]] that incorporate the game's PressXToNotDie function; [[spoiler: Andrew]] and [[spoiler: The Stranger.]]
158	* ''VideoGame/StateofDecay'' does not have an actual boss unless you count the Juggernaut during a siege. These guys pack a lot of punch and can survive about three grenades. Like all kinds of enemies, however, they can be encountered occasionally while travelling.
159	* The only real boss fight in ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' is the fight against [[spoiler:David in the [[BattleAmongstTheFlames burning restaurant]]]], and the difficulty comes more from the fact that it's a NoGearLevel than because the boss is any tougher than the game's other human enemies.
160	* ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'' downplays it, by having one unambiguous boss fight [[spoiler:The Rat King in the lower floors of the Hospital as Abby]]. Otherwise, any confrontation between characters is played as NoGearLevel or LevelInBossClothing challenges.
161	[[/folder]]
162
163	[[folder:Third Person Shooters]]
164	* ''VideoGame/LinksCrossbowTraining'': Link spends most of the game shooting down common enemies and targets. The only two enemies that approximate bosses are [[BlackKnight the]] [[OneToMillionToOne Darknut]] and [[{{Dracolich}} Stallord]]. Even then, the player ''doesn't actually have to defeat either of them''; as there is no health system and points are based solely on shooting, the stages they're in can be passed just by waiting for time to run out.
165	* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'':
166	** In the first ''VideoGame/MaxPayne1'', there are many fights against "boss" mobsters who could withstand boss levels of punishment before being defeated.
167	** ''VideoGame/MaxPayne2'' does away with these fights almost completely. There's only one enemy who's at all tougher than a regular Mook, Kaufman, and even he goes down in less than a dozen shots. The final boss fight is mostly a PuzzleBoss, although you do shoot him up after solving the puzzle.
168	** ''VideoGame/MaxPayne3'' is mostly like ''Max Payne 2'' in this regard, although there are several confrontations against [[MoreDakka machine gun-toting]] {{Heavily Armored Mook}}s spread throughout the story.
169	* ''VideoGame/PowerPete'': Bad toys abound, some a little tougher than others, but none of them serve as bosses.
170	* ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'', which features stronger-than-usual enemies but otherwise no conventional bosses. The closest thing to a traditional boss is [[spoiler: Captain Walker's hallucination of Lugo. If the player is killed by "Lugo" and continues playing, it will be replaced by a [[EliteMook normal Heavy enemy]].]]
171	* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002'' has all of 3 bosses: A GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere [[KingMook Queen Mook]] who is so easy that there's a [[VideoGameAchievements Skill Point]] for killing it with the Omniwrench, [[spoiler:the Blargian Snagglebeast that Captain Qwark traps you with]], and the FinalBoss, the BigBad Chairman Drek.
172	* ''Warp'', hosted by [=FreeArcade=]. Reach a certain distance and you pass automatically.
173	%%* ''Electroman'' by Epic Megagames.
174	* There are no unique boss enemies in ''VideoGame/ThePersistence''. Instead, the game marks the end of each deck with a unique room that get flooded with enemies.
175	[[/folder]]
176
177	[[folder:Tower Defense]]
178	* The first two ''VideoGame/BloonsTowerDefense'' games have no bosses, just steadily bigger and bigger waves of bloons. The third game would introduce the first BossInMookClothing, the MOAB, while ''VideoGame/BloonsMonkeyCity'' later featured actual bosses.
179	* ''VideoGame/DesertMoon'' only has four different types of mooks, and no bosses. At the end of each level is a ''massive'' ZergRush of mooks, and the final wave of the final level are TheWarSequence.
180	[[/folder]]
181
182	[[folder:Wide Open Sandbox]]
183	* This is common with [[Creator/TakeTwoInteractive Rockstar Games]]' open-world titles.
184	** The ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games have never been big on boss fights, with your main foes often being no tougher than a random mook wearing {{body armor\|AsHitPoints}}, and being threatening more for the power they wield over their underlings than because they themselves are all that physically imposing. Case in point is Ending C in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', which pits the player against [[spoiler:all of the antagonists at once, but none of them have unique strengths and go down as easily as any random pedestrian. Steve Haines and Devin Weston, in particular, don't even get to be truly "fought", as the former is sniped and the latter is kidnapped in a cutscene.]] As a result, the ending of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' stands out even more for its aversion of this trope, with a conventional boss fight [[spoiler:against Big Smoke]] in a [[BattleAmongstTheFlames burning warehouse]] with far more health than any other enemy in the game.
185	** The nearest you'll ever get to a boss in ''VideoGame/LANoire'' is an important enemy with a slighly better gun than usual, unusual car chase (such as the one against [[spoiler:a tram]]), or the occasional scripted GoodOldFisticuffs fight or "shoot the villain before he shoots the [[HumanShield hostage]]" minigame. The emphasis is instead on detective work.
186	** In ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'', the closest thing there is to a BossFight is [[spoiler:Edgar Ross in the epilogue]], but it's played like a normal duel (except you don't have the option of sparing his life). As for John's old companions, two are summary executions and the last throws himself from a cliff.
187	* ''VideoGame/{{Spore}}'': the closest thing it has are the Grox, and even then they act more like EliteMooks.
188	* ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' only has one boss-like encounter, [[spoiler:Delford "Iraq" Wade, fought at the top of his building]]. And it's only barely stronger than an Enforcer (these being the EliteMooks of the game). All other plot-critical targets are killed in cutscenes, quick-time events or in the same way a traditional enemy is.
189	[[/folder]]

Context Main / MooksButNoBosses