Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Sekiro to me is one of the prime examples of a "git gud" game. Without a doubt it's harder than Dark Souls. In DS if you suck as a knight you can try a mage, here we don't have that. The game looks deep into your soul and says "my way or the highway" and I gotta respect that. In Sekiro you can't use summons or call other players for help. You just have to "git gud" in the game. The only time I managed to cheese a boss was the Demon of Hatred 40hrs into my first play-through. Learn the patterns of your enemy and learn to deflect and you shall be fine. By the end I was in love with Sekiro and the lessons that the game tried to teach me. I guess my main problem is the story it's not interesting enough.

And if you want a tip for the start of the game, just DON'T give Kuro's Charm to Kuro. That was my first mistake and it's something I learned when I started NG+ because I gave it to him the first time and then I finished the game without it.

"The Kuro's Charm item is given early in the game, when you collect the Ornamental Letter. After meeting Lord Kuro in the tower and gaining your primary sword, you'll have the option to give away the Kuro's Charm. Giving away the charm increases difficulty by adding chip damage to all blocks."

Then again I finished the game without it but it was hell... that final boss was a nightmare.

9/10.

This game is pretty cool

I'm not good at it but it's pretty cool

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 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!

Okay, I'm not going to sugar coat it, this game is astronomically hard. In fact, it should be illegal to make a game this hard and not include an "easy mode." However, this is also one of the reasons why this game so dang satisfying to beat. So many people think that giving players more freedom and power makes a great game, and in many cases, this is true, but not with this game. When I played through this game my first time, I couldn't believe how difficult it was. I'd consider myself a pretty cool-headed fellow, but there were countless times where this game made my blood boil. However, once I finally beat the game and started it over, I couldn't believe that I was playing the same game. I was beating enemies significantly faster, and I was dying significantly less. It was as if an "easy mode" had been turned on, but it wasn't because of the game, it was all because of me; because of MY skill, MY finesse. Now THAT'S power to the player; THAT'S freedom of play.

P.S. Pro-tip, if you're playing this game like dark souls and bloodborne, you're doing it wrong.