The Relic: First Guardian bosses — every named Brutal so far

The Relic: First Guardian bosses — what is verified

The bosses are called Brutals, and the count depends on which official source you read. The current Steam page says “up to 80 bosses”; the earlier PlayStation Blog systems overview said “more than 70.” Press coverage of the July 2026 “Meet the Brutals” trailer settled on 80. Since both figures are official, the honest reading is a 70-80 range — likely including optional encounters — until a release-build count is completed. We will publish an exact number only when that count is documented.

What all sources agree on: each Brutal was once an ordinary person, twisted by starvation, curses or forgotten memories, and each fight doubles as a short tragedy — defeating a boss lays their soul to rest and reveals their story. The designs draw on Korean folktales and mythology.

Every Brutal named publicly so far

Five bosses now have verifiable public names. Four come from the launch trailer/preview record below. Harlan was already named in the official Patch 12 notes (August 17, 2026), which also say the in-game map marks boss locations. Patch 13–14 do not add a new named Brutal:

Perp Games said individual boss reveals would continue on its social channels in the run-up to launch. No new named Brutal is added here without a traceable source. We only add names we can trace to a real trailer, official post or published hands-on — no leaked or invented entries.

Patch 13–14 boss notes (official)

Patch 14 is the current client. Official notes still do not list weaknesses, HP, phases or rewards.

Patch 13

• The map stopped working after the Harlan fight; that is listed as fixed.
• Bosses could clip outside the arena wall when approached from behind; that is listed as fixed.
• Harlan was already named in Patch 12. This page does not treat Patch 13 as a new boss reveal.

Patch 14

• A Raider T-Pose at The Hungry Fields (Chapter 1) is listed as an animation fix. It is not a boss, and the notes are not a boss-reward dump.
• Trophy At the End of All Memory progress tracking is fixed. Launching or loading after the patch retroactively updates progress. Named sub-trophies in that post only: The Cycle of Ruin; Age of Dying Embers; The King Who Denied the World; Those Who Hear the Language of Wind; The Sealed Truth; A Name Beyond Time.

Weaknesses, HP and unverified drops stay unpublished. For story-path checkpoints, use the quest and progress tracker.

How boss fights play (what trailers and the preview show)

From press breakdowns of the combat deep-dive and boss trailers, plus the hands-on preview — treat the details as observed, not exhaustive:

• Fights reward aggression: attacking costs no stamina, so pressure is limited by your dodge resource and skill cooldowns, not an attack budget. The system rules behind this are unpacked in the beginner guide.
• Press analysis of the trailer describes Sekiro-style deflection and a stagger state that opens a heavy execution attack for free damage. Not yet verified in hand.
• The hands-on preview fought Entom early and reports that boss order allows some player choice, with roughly 15 bosses present in the preview build.

None of this constitutes strategy advice yet. Movesets, phases and difficulty tuning routinely change between preview and the current launch build.

Bosses are the progression engine

Officially, clearing dungeons and defeating bosses is what expands the world and grows your character — the preview adds that boss kills yield more relics. In a game with no levels, that makes the Brutal roster the closest thing to a progression path: each victory feeds the relic-and-gear loop described in relics, runes and progression, and unique weapons guarded along the way feed the build system in the weapons guide.

The pre-order dungeon, Sanctuary of the Forgotten Light, is officially described as a high-difficulty challenge with deadly enemies — details on getting it are on the release date and editions page.

What gets added after release testing

Boss locations, weaknesses, resistances, phase breakdowns, rewards and recommended builds are not fully documented in the sources above, and we will not fabricate them. This page will become an index for per-boss entries as first-hand playthrough testing is completed: location, moveset notes, punish windows and verified drops, each marked with the game version tested. Treat uncited weakness lists as unverified.

For which bosses sit on the story and DLC path, use the quest and progress tracker, and recheck the latest news and patch notes, because numbered patches have already changed arena walls, clipping and field animations. Weaknesses and HP are still unpublished.