Bloodborne

Now that I have experienced them all, I thought I'd rank the Chalice bosses. For reference I thought all the bosses of the main game (required and optional) were excellent without a weak link. Even the lesser-liked ones such as Micolash, Witches, Rom and One Reborn were inventive and different hence I thought were great. The Chalice exclusive bosses however are more of a mixed bag, so let's see how they fair from worst to best:

Worst: Boar, Silverbeast and Brainsucker
These are great enemies in the main game, but seem rather sad and pathetic on their own as 'bosses'. Even a random NPC boss would have been better than these wastes of spaces.

Merciless Watcher trio - Another non-boss really, but at least you never find them as a set of three in a small space outside this encounter, so there is that. Unfortunately they are a bit slow and ponderous to make the fight anything but a bit forgettable.

Beast-possessing Soul - Still not quite a proper boss, though at least it can sit at the mini-boss variety rather than just a common strong enemy. No phase 2, dull design and tedious attacks make it a rather irritating and unfun encounter.

Forgotten Madman and Escort - The best of the not-really-bosses, this NPC duo at least are fun to fight...and they have a unique look and armour set, so well done to them.

Undead Giants - Finally into actual proper boss material, but these three types all sit at the bottom of all true Bloodborne bosses in quality, design and enjoyment to fight. They can be tough, but not in a good way. The blades one is not too bad as a Chalice entry level boss but the Cannon and Chains versions had mostly all very irritating attacks.

Pthumerian Descendant - Very close to the next one better on the list, it just loses out by its attacks that seem to be almost missing an animation frame or two. Maybe I don't have razor sharp reflexes but some of the attacks hit you within a split second of starting. Not that fun to fight but at least more dynamic than the Giants.

Keeper of the Old Lords - An alright boss (which in Bloodborne puts it near the bottom) that does nothing wrong but also isn't anything remarkable. Thank Oedon they didn't include those demonic dogs!

Bloodletting Beast - Not quite up to the standard of the main game bosses due to camera issues, this beastie at least is pretty fearsome and I enjoyed it once I had got used to dancing round and under him, even if I couldn't see what he was doing half the time.

Pthumerian Elder - Now we are into the good stuff and this guy is up to main game boss standard. Fun to fight, if a little easy, his warping and transforming staff make for some great moments.

Watchdog of the Old Lords - A great boss both in visual design and mechanics, it is no wonder they put it at the end of the first Chalice to entice people in deeper. The true version in the Cursed Chalice allows you to properly learn to beat it, so both encounters are well placed. Great stuff!

Abhorrent Beast - Such a good boss fight that they sneaked him into the main game! Looks amazing and is hyper aggressive, but also in a manageable and fair way once you get his timings down. Other than his sneaky punch, all moves can be avoided if you stay agile and clever.

The Best: Yharnam, Pthumerian Queen - She might not be the hardest or even the most fun to fight, but my goodness what a great design. Really a perfect end to the Chalices and Bloodborne as a whole, bringing in the themes of blood, cosmic babies and horror so damn well. She hits hard and has very distinct phases from one another, as well as compared to any other boss in the game, so she gets my vote for best of the Chalice bosses. (Not quite up to the best of the main game and the dlc, but not far off imo).

There ends my Chalice Dungeon drivel.

Only a few months until Elden Ring though, Samil

Oh he definitely does still use call beyond when you are in his face.

Nioh is the only other one that really appealed to me. Most non-From Souls games just look like poor imitations

Yeah I've got a list to go through:
Dark Souls III
Nioh
The Surge
Ashen
Sekiro
Remnant
The Surge 2
Code Vein
Nioh 2
Mortal Shell
Hellpoint
Elden Ring
In release order as far as I know, and not counting the platformer-like ones which I'm less fussed about...tho Hollow Knight will be the exception.

Oh I got very lucky then!

Yeah, the dev strikes me as having decided one day that they want to make a Souls game but not actually having the talent to do so or any original ideas. They're just iterating, trying to get it right

And talent

I'd play these ones first, before you get burnt out on the fomula. And Dark Souls 2 again because you clearly weren't paying attention

I say talent because most of the gameplay is 1:1 without taking into account the background stuff. There's lore in DS about bonfires, etc so it makes a bit of sense. In The Surge 2 they have those medi bay things, which everyone just agrees not to smash up or claim so everyone has equal access to modifications, even though the streets are in chaos with everyone trying to kill each other. Likewise, they just went with a standard linear story and NPCs with dialogue trees. They can copy the basic gameplay but the rest of what makes Souls good is clearly beyond them

Bit harsh. Did one of the devs steal your wheelie bin or something.

Now that you mention it, someone did steal one of my wheelie bins once. I hadn't put it together until now. What's their Twitter?