I can see why people dislike it. The controls feel unresponsive driving the boat around and just shifting the camera to different angles around the boat hoping to start throw the spears in the right direction is not a fun time.

I sort of never viewed it as a real boss fight however, most of the time it just die so fast. Did not know it healed itself until I tried playing on higher difficulty and suddenly I could bury mountains of harpoons right in the fish spine without anything seem to happen. Turns out I was to slow and the thing got 70% health each resurface. 

It heals itself? No wonder it was such a pain to take down. 😕 

Hot take, but - while its definitely not the worst main boss of the game - I do think Elden Beast is one of the weakest design-wise (gameplay wise) bosses in Elden Ring, at least prior to the patch that allows you to use Torrent in the fight. Mostly because it keeps teleporting away and you have to constantly give chase and this is the very final boss of a very long game. It should be a very climatic fight, but the manner its done makes it very underwhelming imo.

DJ Octavio will remix your face for that comment

Someone above already mentioned him sobmaybe not a hot take plus no one ever mentions this boss which is a sign of a weakly designed or pushover boss in souls, people would be raving if they felt good killing it. I agree at least, I dropped game on this boss it for two years, only finished the game cause of the DLC recently. Not cause it was difficult but because you had to fight what's his face on the cross everytime you die to Elden beast only to be playing catch and since I had a blood build, it was just a pain to chip away at. Had to beat him three times for the platinum. Really fucking annoying. 

Let him bring it, I've spent days in battles with some bosses, thinking about strategy by night and at any moment I don't have a controller in my hand by day. I fear noone. 

I just used rockets to blast through the last few bosses in RE4.