10 Un-winnable Video Game Fights (You Can Actually Win)

It either takes a great deal of skill or a good grasp on an exploit or two

but some of the scripted losses in games can actually be prevented

Not only that, the game will sometimes take note of your unexpected victory

and reward you for it, with a secret in the form of an alternative ending

or a special complimentary item. Don't let the hopelessness of the following fights discourage you

There's actually a way to win them. I'm Jess from WhatCulture and here are 10 unwinnable video game fights

you can actually win. 10. Genichiro Ashina – Sekiro Shadows Die Twice

Genichiro Ashina is Sekiro's greatest swordsman, and your character's main rival, who you fight multiple times throughout the game

Your first fight against Genichiro in the intro is what sets off Sekiro's story

as this is when Genichiro cuts off your hand and kidnaps the prince you've sworn to protect

The fight is incredibly difficult, which is why the developers expect you to lose it and build the plot around your defeat

This said, from a gameplay perspective, the duel can actually be won

It isn't scripted and works like a regular boss fight, so if you're skilled enough to go up against Genichiro without any items or upgrades

Machina's general can be brought to his knees. Unfortunately, this doesn't alter the course of the story in any way

When Genichiro is defeated, the game fades to black and triggers a cutscene

where a hidden ninja slices your hand off anyway, altering Genichiro's dialogue ever so slightly

Well, no one said your efforts and skills were going to be appreciated. We aren't talking about a From Software game after all

and those aren't really known for treating their player base fairly. Number 9, Shinra Army, Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core

Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core is the prequel to Final Fantasy VII

which casts some light on the incident at Nibelheim and the tragic fate of Cloud's friend and role model, Zack Fair

In the game, you play as Zack, experiencing his life from his humble beginnings all the way to his downfall

where you're pitted against a battalion of Shinra troops and doomed to a certain death

The fight is meant to be unwinnable, since it's a turning point in Final Fantasy VII's story

The sheer volume of soldiers combined with their attacks can bring Zack down in just a few turns

except if he comes prepared. With enough grinding and stacking up on healing, it's possible to keep Zack alive

and give him a fair chance at taking on the army of soldiers. Not only that, you can also wipe out all 1,000 of them

technically winning the encounter. Technically, we gotta say technically, because the following cutscene will still show Zack falling to the ground and dying

Well, it seems no matter how skilled you are, you can never win against scripted cutscenes

Number 8 Commander Zulk Baldur Gate 3 Baldur Gate 3 starts the player off already in the deep waters of Dungeons Dragons craziness with a tutorial set inside a Mind Flayer ship which is flying across one of the circles of the

Nine Hells. In the final sequence of the tutorial the Hell's Devil forces flood the ship's helm

and you need to activate its engine within a time limit with only one not so friendly Mind Flayer

who's helping you hold off the enemies. The Devil's Commander Zulk is the strongest opponent you face

in this section. He's capable of striking down any member of your team in just one turn

which is why the game expects you to run away from him as the Mind Flayer distracts him

However, Zulk can actually be defeated. Takes a lot of random luck and heavy reliance on the

Mind Flayer's stun ability, but it's doable within the time limit, and you even get a powerful sword

as a reward for it. Just be mindful that killing Zulk will make the Mind Flayer immediately turn

on you. And then there's also the remaining army of devils who probably won't let you enjoy your

new shining weapon for too long. Ah well, you win some, you lose some. And if you win this

enjoy your sword. 7. Lavos, Chrono Trigger Lavos is the main antagonist of Chrono Trigger as well as its first and final boss. Your initial

fight with him is supposed to be unwinnable as you're essentially going up against the most

powerful creature in the game with nothing but your base level equipment and abilities

The loss then forces your party to travel back in time to find a way to stop Larvos from destroying the world

putting the rest of the game's storyline into motion. Well, that's the standard playthrough of Chrono Trigger anyway

An experienced player knows how to defeat Larvos and Trigger a completely different outcome

There are two ways of killing Larvos early without involving cheating. One is to beat him in Chrono Trigger's New Game Plus mode

and the other is to use a series of in-game exploits to lower the chance of Larvos hitting you

and give you just enough time to deliver the killing blow, which may or may not be cheating depending on how you see exploits

Once you do so, you get a secret ending where the developers of the game personally congratulate you on achieving the impossible

A bit cheeky considering they were clearly prepared for this impossible eventuality

Number 6. Dallas the Hammer, Divinity Original Sin 2 Dallas the Hammer is a powerful magister from Divinity Original Sin 2

who's secretly an undead imposter, using her likeness to enact their plan of ridding the world

of magic. The player can stumble upon this faux Dallas early in the game, inside a location called

Fort Joy. Even if you know her secret identity, you can't really pick a fight with her at this

stage. She's surrounded by loyal guards and wields almost godlike powers, making it impossible to

defeat her. Well, that is unless you use exploits. A common tactic for defeating the fake Dallas

early on is using a stack of explosive death fog barrels which you can loot from the ship level

preceding fort joy all you need is a character with high enough level strength or telekinesis to carry the barrels and a quick use of a wall clipping glitch in order to reach the location where they stashed

After procuring the barrels and speaking with Dallas, you place a barrel or two around her

character and then blow them up for an instant wind that forces her to retreat. Ah, explosives

The most powerful magic of every fantasy setting. Number 5. Overboss Coulter, Fallout 4

The Nuka World DLC for Fallout 4 begins with the sole survivor getting trapped inside a deadly gauntlet

and then fighting a raider boss, Coulter, or if you'd rather I not use my Australian accent, Coulter

who uses a special electrified power armor, making him impervious to all damage

The way the game wants you to defeat Coulter, yes I've gone back, is by using a Thirst Zapper squirt gun that one of his lackeys left in the room leading to the jewel arena

The water breaks Coulter's electric defenses, stunning him and allowing you to deal damage

However, as it turns out, Coulter's invincibility isn't all it's cracked up to be

Though the game wants you to believe Coulter can't be defeated without the water gun

his armor has a secret threshold of damage it can withstand. If you have a weapon that can deal a lot of damage really fast

Coulter can be wounded even in his invincible stage. Of course, defeating him like this is an exploit

so you don't get anything extra from going the extra mile and never touching your free wind squirt gun

other than the satisfaction of breaking the game, which, let's face it, is pretty good

Number 4. Surviving the Sacrifice – Left 4 Dead The Sacrifice DLC for the original Left 4 Dead includes a special mission that serves as the canonical ending to the game

In the mission, your group makes a final run towards the sailboat, which will allow them to flee to safety

As you cross the bridge leading to the boat, a humongous horde of zombies descends upon you

and one of your teammates is forced to sacrifice themselves by staying behind and raising the bridge

therefore cutting away the horde from the other survivors. The sacrifice is unique in that it's the only mission in the game that requires one player to die in order to complete it

Although, if we're being honest, the fight against the army of zombies isn't really so doomed

The more skilled players can technically fend off the encroaching horde, and, if they're fast enough, make it past the bridge before their only path of escape is closed off

The last stand against the zombies is stacked against you, but it's not impossible

In fact, if you manage to flee while playing as Bill, who canonically makes the sacrifice

you get a special achievement called Defying Fate. Because who needs canon when you've got skills

3. Sir Cothran – Dragon Age Origins Dragon Age Origins is a brutal game where each encounter feels like a matter of life and death

Most boss fights in Origins can be classified as hard, but the one that even the developers would consider unwinnable is the encounter with

Ser Cothran inside the Denerim Palace Cothran appears right at the end of your rescue of Queen Enora where she tries to arrest you for your crimes She accompanied by a squad of fully armored guards that surround your party

ensuring any fight that might occur will not end in your favor. The situation demands that

you surrender to Cothryn and let her deliver you to Fort Drakken, prompting yet another rescue

mission where you become the proverbial damsel in distress. However, if you don't feel like

getting unjustly imprisoned, you can try to fight your way out. The battle with Cothryn and her

knights is one of the toughest encounters in the whole game, but it is doable with the proper

crowd control and healing abilities. Beating Cothryn allows you to skip the prison escape

sequence entirely. Unfortunately, though, it also means missing out on all the amazing banter

between your companions as they work together to break you out. 2. Grafted Scion – Elden Ring

From Software Games have a history of impossibly hard tutorial bosses that teach you the important lesson of death and suffering

Dark Souls has the Asylum Demon, while Sekiro puts you against the previously mentioned Genichiro

Elden Ring is no different in this regard, featuring a tutorial boss in the form of a horribly contorted heap of dead bodies known as the Grafted Scion

The boss can be encountered only once per playthrough, as dying to it progresses the game to the next stage

so you just get one shot at defeating it. Combine this with the fact that Scion's moves are

ridiculously nimble and hard to predict and it becomes obvious why it's impossible to kill him

when you're just starting your game. However, you might have a chance to do it on your next

playthrough, but don't get your hopes up about being rewarded for it. The only loot you get from

the Scion is a set of mediocre blades, and to make your victory feel all the more bitter

the only way to leave the arena after killing it is to jump off a cliff and die. Well, leave it to

from software to make you feel miserable even when you win. 1. Urizen – Devil May Cry 5

Urizen from Devil May Cry 5 is a reoccurring boss that the player fights during multiple points in

the game, including its intro sequence. Since in the beginning you don't have most of your

equipment and abilities, the first fight with Urizen is a brutal slaughter that the developers

clearly expect you to lose, therefore setting off the main story of the game. That said

that Yurizen from the intro isn't indestructible. Just like any of his other iterations, he can be

killed, although it takes an immense amount of skill and almost just as much time. Not to mention

perfect execution, as your defeat is technically scripted, and dying to its attacks will immediately

progress the game forward instead of giving you a retry. Speaking of progressing the story

because your defeat is what begins it, if you manage to defeat Yurizen in the intro

the game will have no reason to continue and you'll get a special secret ending that immediately

cuts to credits. You'll also unlock a new difficulty mode as taking down yours in so

early is a clear sign the regular difficulty settings are not for you