Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)

I. Mother. Fucking. Did it.

15+ hours to beat Genichiro + Isshin. Yeah maybe I still need to get gud. But that fight, among the several others that took me 5+ hours, highlight the biggest problem I have with Sekiro and other Souls games: you're not necessarily getting "gud" in the sense that your skill must increase to beat the bosses and enemies. Skill does increase and is important for beating the bosses, but memorizing arbitrary movesets for each specific boss is actually the key to winning. Like you could train someone for 1000 hours in Sekiro, then introduce them to a new boss and they still wouldn't beat it the first time. Other Souls games have this problem, but Sekiro is probably worse in the sense that it's more than just "dodge everything." You have to deflect, jump, dodge, and ideally counter moves, and the timing of all of it needs to be perfect. And why did the last boss need to be 4 phases (where 3 of them are each pretty unique, the last one just builds off the previous)?? Whose idea was it to make the boss "harder" by just increasing the number of phases??

With that gripe aside, I think FromSoftware probably achieved exactly what they set out to, and executed on that idea perfectly. The fighting system is nearly flawless (except for the occasional counter attempt that turns into an unexpected dodge for some reason). The music is amazing, the story is pretty cool, bosses are incredible. The levels are interesting and interconnected. I personally didn't ever look forward to logging into this game, but maybe it's just not my cup of tea, so I can't fault the game for that.

Incredible game. But don't play unless you want to understand true pain.

Celeste is a hard game. Beating the game without assist modes will see you stuck in difficult levels multiple times and failing more times than succeeding. Of course, that's the intended experience. Celeste is a game about struggle and growth so it has to be hard for the player to learn and to improve their skills. But it also wants to be beaten (See also Dungeons of Hinterberg). The game is rooting for the player at the same time that it throws a bunch of obstacles on their progression.

For example, the game keeps track of your deaths and proudly presents them along with the number of collectibles caught. It's not there to rub it in, it's there to show you how far you've got. It's uplifting. It let's you know that failing, even failing repeatedly, doesn't mean you are a failure. Dying is just part of the game's progression.

The game also has multiple mechanics that err on the side of the player. Coyote time, hitboxes that tend to be slightly smaller than expected are some of the examples.

But this is a review for Sekiro, why am I talking about Celeste? Well, this is how Sekiro approaches player death:

Each time you die, not only you lose half your experience and currency without any chance of getting it back, but you also spread disease into the world. NPCs will cough and barely be able to speak, blocking their story progression. Dying repeatedly in this game is shameful. You are a fuckup hurting everyone you meet and the world would be a better place if you just stopped.

This attitude also informs other game's systems, like some hitboxes being much wider than they look (especially grab attacks), enemies having x-ray vision, arrows that curve to hit you, blatant input-reading, and some attacks that can't be blocked even if they are not labeled as such. Onboarding is also terrible, with the first miniboss being a fucking cheap asshole whose grab attacks can grab you from the other size of the areana and can one-hit you without respawn if it throws you over the ledge (yes, enemies an throw you over cliffs, but you can't throw them).

This antipathy towards the player is probably intended, but I think it encourages bad habits and attitudes. From my casual perusal of reddit and steam discussion, the community is incredibly toxic. Complains about any aspect of the game are met with "git gud"/"skill issue" responses. People ranting about an enemy being hard is an invitation for some insufferable asshole to come and say that it's "actually" very easy and gloat that they beat it first try. Of course there are also some encouraging comments, helpful advice and even people commiserating on their shared difficulties, but if a community is the worst that it allows, then the Sekiro community is putrid.

I can't imagine that FromSoftware intentionally wants an exclusionary fanbase full of gatekeeping shitheads, but that's what they are nurturing.

(BTW, I'm not the first one to compare Celeste and soulslikes, see this article that makes a similar argument).

At a gameplay level, this also encourages this antagonistic attitude towards the game. You stop playing with the game and start playing against the game. Forums and articles are chock full of cheese strategies to abuse the (frankly poor) enemy AI or items. Like spamming fistful of ash to stunlock a boss, which it's as unrewarding as it sounds.

Is this a fair comparison? Do all games need to encourage player growth like Celeste does? Maybe not. Maybe there is place in gaming for a game that hates its players like Sekiro does. But all I can say is that while Celeste left me feeling accomplished, helped me grow as a person and to create bonds with a new community, Sekiro felt like a pointless struggle that introduced me to a new corner of the internet to avoid at all costs.

With all the trappings of a modern FromSoftware game, Sekiro 's focus on a single well defined character and their specific playstyle ensures the game stands alone from the pack. Without getting into spoilers, that seems somehow fitting.

Your mileage may vary, but I have a sneaking suspicion that if you go into this game expecting Dark Souls you will be disappointed and likely write this off as 'too hard'.

The mastering of a very specific type of play was the real joy of this game. I really can't think of a better game to demonstrate the difference between 'growing ones ability as a player' versus 'making numbers go up on a screen'.

After finishing the game, I had to know - was I a better player now? I started the game right away and got to an early boss at the end of an informal tutorial. And yes, while I had some extra health I brought from the previous game, where I was meant to die and start my journey, I defeated the enemy handily without taking a scratch. Foolishly, for a moment, as an unseen cinematic played, I thought I had found a special 'short' ending to the game. I quickly realized the game was rigged and despite my formidable display I would have to play the whole game over again.

The experience stuck with me for days because it made me reflect on how far I had come as a player and that was a pleasure in its own.

Sometimes you want to mindlessly click on a screen while some numbers go up and you catch up with your friends. And other times you want a game like Sekiro.

THE GOOD

• I found Sekiro a much more streamlined experience than Bloodborne or Dark Souls. I think this is mostly due to the lack of character creation, "classes" and stats in Sekiro. This means that the focus is on skill and learning mechanics rather than understanding opaque systems that are never really explained.
• The world is beautiful and the level design makes it worth exploring for alternative routes or means to surprise enemies, or sometimes even bosses.
• Some brilliant enemies that terrified me the first time I encountered them. Plus the feeling of coming back later and feeling like a bad-ass knowing how to deal with them as my skills have improved.
• The story was not as vague as other For From Software titles. For some this is a bad thing, but I found it a lot easier to get involved in this story.
• The music and sound design is great (as always).
• I appreciate that although you lose half your experience points when you die (unless you get the pointless Divine Aid), you do not lose skill points (full experience bars). This made it a lot easier for me to decide whether I wanted to farm a little to get a full bar before going into an area/boss fight I knew was going to punish me.

THE BAD

• Like all the From Software games, I always end up feeling like I miss out on loads of stuff, even though I try to explore every nook and cranny.
• There are multiple endings, but reading online I got the impression you can only get to specific ones with the help of a guide, as the game doesn't really tell you how to get them.
• Some items are quite rare but also very important. I always struggle with items (use them now? Keep them for later?) in From Software games and Sekiro is no exception.
• I. Hate. Terror.

PROS

• Highly atmospheric environments are full of evocative character and creature designs
• Tense, impactful combat
• Fun character progression mechanics that successfully adapt the Soulsborne formula from ARPG to Action/Adventure
• Wonderful audio design
• Levels are highly pleasurable to navigate and explore
• Open-ended game world gives the player just the right amount of agency over their goals
• Yet another immersive, expressive FromSoft experience

CONS

• Uninteresting story with a structure that suffers from a degree of samey-ness to previous FromSoft titles
• Poor enemy AI and "stealth" mechanics
• Easy levels and tough bosses make for an uneven difficulty
• The depth of the world and lore pale in comparison to Dark Souls and Bloodborne

From Software are fast becoming my favourite video game developer, and Sekiro is just another example of there brilliance. Some of the most brutal yet rewarding combat I've ever experienced with punishing boss fights and lush locations. It even has a pretty good story that didn't feel too convoluted. The elation I felt after getting past each of the many stumbling blocks Is a feeling I won't forget anytime soon.

I'm sure if you've heard of this game, you've also heard it's very challenging. I will say that's true. I'll also say it's totally worth it.

While the enemies in this game are very difficult (even the little guys), it's very fun to fight them. As Sekiro, aka Wolf, you are a ninja with the skills to match. Throughout the game, you gain an arsenal of tools and sword skills which make the combat fun even when you're losing. I'll admit, it got frustrating at times. But the moment when you finally overcome those obstacles makes it all worth it.

The story was much more in-depth than I expected, even offering multiple endings. You can play through it multiple times; in fact, the game encourages you to do so. If you're someone, like me, who cares about the story elements, then this is still a good game for you too.

I obviously don't recommend this to someone who wants something easy or relaxing. You won't find it here. However, if you like a challenge, if you like action games, and if you like a good story, then you should definitely pick this one up. It's worth it.

I'm going to try and keep this review as short, even though I could easily waffle on for 100 pages. I was anticipating Sekiro for years, and from initial press releases I was concerned: no RPG stuff, no stamina bar, a grapple hook? But the biggest concern was that it might be greatly simplified for the masses with reduced difficulty and easy mode and the like. Well, I wasn't disappointed, because Sekiro is a very challenging game. After facing all the optional bosses, seeing all endings and doing 3-and-a-half playthroughs, I'm probably ready to voice my thoughts.

Straight off the bat, I give it five stars. The game kept me entertained for close to 100 hours, the difficulty was brutal, the combat system is arguably better than anything From Soft have ever created (which is quite a feat, given that their games are renowned for the combat). The world of Sekiro is massive, engaging, immersive and beautifully detailed. So many varieties of enemies, dozens of bosses and mini-bosses.

My favourite thing about the game was the combat, which was difficult to master, but once you get your head around it, it's so satisfying to fight the enemies and bosses. I often found myself leaping in the air IRL and roaring with excitement upon defeating a boss for the first time. In Sekiro, there's no room for error; there's no Havel's Armour or hiding behind a shield: you have to learn the game, understand the mechanics and fight the bosses with perfect timing. You can't level up your character and blast your way through with OP items and summons; rather, you have to actually prove yourself. I complained that Dark Souls 3 had too many puzzle bosses; and they corrected this in Sekiro. There are one or two interesting puzzle-based bosses, but most of them are just brutal fights without any bells or whistles. I also really love that they included a hard mode (two hard modes actually), almost as if they were thumbing their noses at critics of the series.

Though, despite my praise, Sekiro is not a game without flaws. A defining feature of souls games was the bloodstain, to run back to your corpse and collect your dropped loot. Sekiro does away with this and implements the Dragonrot system, which I didn't find very interesting; there was no risk-reward, and I found myself just ignoring it completely, since recovering your stuff upon death was such an infrequent event even under the best circumstances. I would complain here about the story being confusing and making little sense, but incoherent narrative is a cornerstone of every From Software game, so it doesn't matter. A purely subjective complaint I have is the setting: though this was a cool setting, I thought it was much less imaginative compared to previous games. The locations were all basically mountains and snowy mountain paths, there weren't too many strange or inventive creatures; the game was much more grounded in history and reality, especially compared to something like Bloodborne/Demon's Souls.

My biggest gripe is the lack of re-play value. Once you've mastered all the enemies and bosses, there's not much more to do with the game, apart from trying on harder modes (demon bell/kuro charm). One of the things I enjoy most about Dark Souls is the RPG elements, which allow you to create all kinds of weird builds. And the weapon varieties, so there are basically unlimited ways in which you can approach the game. Sekiro's prosthetics offer some small variety, but really there's only one way to play the game. This was intentional: they trimmed away the RPG stuff and weapons, and so were able to make the most sharply-honed combat system yet. But in doing so, they sacrificed much of the flavour and variety.

Overall it's a brilliant game, despite my complaints. Looking forward to the DLC, and I wonder where From Soft are going to take the series next.