Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

I would start by saying that this game changed my perspective about gaming altogether. I was always a shooter and RPG fan. Some would call Sekiro an RPG game, but I would beg to disagree. I would put this game more in the category of a rhythm game, something which I was not aware about before playing Metal Hellsinger and now Sekiro. But wait there is more to it - both Good and Bad!

Yes, I beat the game, yesterday night and felt compelled to write a few words about this INSANELY difficult sword, rhythm game. Believe me when I say the word INSANE (I have bet Elden Ring twice). I could not beat the Sekiro Final Boss on my first playthrough. Spent hours on learning skills (waste of time). Gave up and uninstalled Sekiro. Came back and tried to device a winning strategy and finally succeeded in my 2nd playthrough (NG) after acquiring all items needed to implement the strategy. Yes, so building a 'strategy' against each boss (even mini bosses) helps, even if your parrying skills suck as mine!! And that's why I don't hate the game so much any more compared to when I started and saw that it's all about parrying, no matter how many confetti, sugars you consume and skills you acquire through endless grinding. Get your 'strategy' right and you will be able to beat Sekiro.

Some parting thoughts on the general build of the game, apart from the brilliant combat style, which is a basically the major cause of a love hate relationship with the game.

• Great graphics, sound track.

• Mediocre storyline. Did not make any sense/difference to me, really.

• Most explorable items are useless (except a few really good ones). And From Software is notorious for not helping/guiding the gamer on that front. The same applies to Skill Trees.

• Too much emphasis on just ONE fighting style - parrying.

• No levelling up of payer in terms of weapon or armor choices.

Love or Hate the game, but definitely worth buying and giving it a try!

This game is absolutely perfect. Original story, much easier to understand than that of dark souls trilogy, more npc:s and dialogue. Multiple endings and ng+ add to replay value.

Combat is a blast, if you die, its 100% your fault and this time grinding away to level up or acquiring better weapons is not the way to proceed, this game puts pressure on player to invest time and work to learn different bosses movesets and weaknesses and fight accordingly. There is lots of skills and gadgets to find and acquire in the game world to help you in your Journey and many of them can be upgraded with materials gathered in game.

Graphics are stunning on just regular xbox one, can't imagine how good they would be on pc.

Soundtrack is amazing aswell, there wasn't a single situation where I thought music didn't fit perfectly.

Bosses are many and varied from easy to insane and require lot of player skill to overcome.

All in all, this game has everything you might want from fantasy action game, don't let the difficulty scare you away from this game, its worth it.

Being honest it's the most beautiful game with epic battles, incredible music, with incredible combat system...but it's not perfect and sadly it's level design it's not that great in my opinión compares with other Miyazaki games.

When you think of action adventure look no further than Sekiro. From software have developed a game that combines the best gameplay mechanics with stunning visuals and a very original story line. Uncharted, metal gear solid, assassin's creed, tomb raider, dynasty warriors; imagine all these games mixed into one! And you get Sekiro! Yes it's somewhat challenging! BUT you will learn to progress by learning new combat skills, engaging with the enemy in a certain way, and timing your movements to perfection. This game is not for anyone who is impatient, but more tailored towards someone who seeks gaming perfection and appreciates there's more to a game then cut-scenes and mindless hack&slash attacks. I cannot stress enough how excellent and exciting this game is. How much detail has gone into the gameplay, and how much progressive gameplay there is. Brilliant a must have!

I can't believe I enjoy dying in this game. The combat is so engaging and entertaining, once the Death screen is on I am keen on going back and trying it again.

It isn't even about defeating your opponent, it's much more about learning to master the shinobi techniques and pulling them off with the required timing.

Another nice addition to From's formula here is stealth. Crowd control has apparently always been a good idea in games like these, so incorporating stealth gameplay makes perfect sense and since I'm all about stealth - I enjoy picking off enemies one by one. I'd sometimes go back to an area and clear it out, not to grind, but just cause I feel like doing it again, maybe even solve the puzzle once more, but with a better arsenal.

As for difficulty - I really can't tell if it's hard. I would struggle so hard on a fight and then when I win, I would completely forget that I was having a hard time.

The atmosphere is also amazing. FromSoftware fan or not, please check it out.