One big plus to DS1 bosses is that they feel like a part of the world and add to the environmental character of the game. It's not believable that in Elden Ring dudes (or pairs of dudes) are just waiting in caves for someone to fight them.

Coming across pic rel boss fight was unironically more interesting than 90% of the encounters in the game because it was actually somewhat plausible than an exiled necromancer would just be hiding in a secret room.