Playtime:
9802 minutes
I think Sekiro is the most close-to perfect game out of every game I've ever played.
I won't lie, my first playthrough, I was extremely close to just refunding the game and forgetting about it. It is super difficult to learn. Every enemy is different, no boss fights the same, they all have a different and unique set of moves which makes it very enjoyable, yet frustrating at the beginning. When you first meet Genichiro and get absolutely obliterated by him, you can tell the game isn't going to be easy.
Start of the game, I do have a slight flaw, and it's that the bosses at the very start don't really teach you great mechanics in my opinion. Chained Ogre doesn't really teach you to parry, you CAN but I feel like everyone just dodges all his attacks, and Gyobou also has some awkward parries for your first playthrough, I don't think I actually focused on parries at all when I first fought him. Then finally Bull, you get punished for parrying which is a big design flaw for the start of the game as the game is focused around this one mechanic.
All of this aside, progressing after this gives you the perfect opportunities to learn. The Ashina Elite boss, teaches you quick parries. Then Genichiro, has a mix of fast attacks and some easier ones, perfect for teaching how the game is meant to be played.
The map also doesn't feel super confusing. Playing through Dark Souls 3 I always feel very lost and just no idea where to go, however I found it way easier to navigate my way around in Sekiro. The map layout is fantastic, it's a beautiful looking map.
Finally, the main mechanic: parrying. The single most satisfying thing I have ever done in any game. It takes time to learn it for each enemy, however hearing that sound of a perfect parry is the most rewarding sound ever, and the sounds for this game truly are a 10/10.
My one criticism with this game comes with how the story ends. [spoiler ]I found it quite lazy that you go on this massive search for the Mortal Blade and you go through all these difficult and gruelling challenges. Then Genichiro shows up one final time and just happens to have... a second one. It didn't really make a lot of sense to me and thought it could've been written better. From memory, I don't remember hearing about a Second one prior to the final boss fight? Maybe some lore on there being 2 would've been nice, but it felt like they were running out of ideas on how to end the story so it just happened. [/spoiler] That said, I still think the story was interesting, my first playthroughs I did want to learn more, it was enjoyable.
Overall, the game has very little to improve upon. I've done 10 New-Game+ playthroughs.
Mods make this game super replayable with the new attack patters and increased difficulty, Resurrection mod is some of the most fun I've had replaying the game and adds a new level of satisfaction when re-learning all the attacks and timings.
Genuinely a 9.9/10 game.
👍 : 8 |
😃 : 0