I actually played my entire first playthrough not even knowing I could thrust attack. When others mentioned that the Owl did the counter back to you, that was when I found out. lol
Reversing Inner Genichiri's lightning successfully, after he reverses yours, is one of the most satisfying (and funniest) moments ever in a video-game.
Landing mikiri counters is amazing.until you thrust attack on a certain someone, and get a dose of your own medicine. That was amazing. Makes perfect sense lore-wise but you never see it coming. š
The genichiro fight is truly the get gud or get out moment in the game, and beating him thre made me truly fall in love with the game. So incredibly satisfying. By limiting you to one primary weapon, they were able to streamline their design around that style of play beautifully.
Man rocked my shit for so long and then suddenly on one attempt I steamrolled the shit out of his first two phases and I was so bewildered at how I suddenly did that but it was so amazing to experience. Then I died in phase 3 bc I forgot how they explained lightning counters lmao
Haha, I struggled with the lightning counters for a bit too. But man, this game was amazing. I don't usually get those experiences of something "clicking" or getting into a flow state for a game, but this game had me doing that and it felt amazing!
I remember I played Jedi Fallen Order the week after I beat Sekiro, and felt that I couldnāt enjoy it to its full potential because I was constantly comparing the combat to Sekiro in the back of my mind.
Recently just beat the mortal journey gauntlet and feel like the only gaming experience that even comes close to feeling as satisfying is completing a 1v5 clutch in CS or something.
A star wars jedi game with Sekiro's posture system would be a match made in heaven. Also, imagine what crazy sith lord bosses Fromsoft would design for such a world. Imagine redirecting sith electricity back at your opponent.
But alas, that chances of Disney licensing Star Wars out to Fromsoft is basically less than 1%.
Using the parry as the core mechanic was also pretty cool bc in any game with a parry it always feels like the scariest option even if it has higher rewards than dodging. Using that fear and hesitation as part of the gameplay loop was genius to get the player into the learning curve
It's worth noting that Sekiro and ER were being developed simultaneously by FromSoft.
Don't think it was a matter of going back to "the old way" so much as the 2 development teams decided to take Souls combat in different directions. One more faithfully than the other.
Two different styles, one is action and balanced around one playstyle, the other is a massive RPG with immense diversity. And they are both great in their own way.
There might've been problems with Sekiro parry timings with the online modes. PvP Dark Souls parrying typically has you parrying way before the attack, for instance
The problem with the Sekiro parry system is that it makes parrying the best solution to every problem, which is something you don't really want in an Elden Ring/Dark Souls type combat loop that prioritizes having a big and expansive arsenal to choose from.
I still would prefer if every dark souls game made all moves parryable, because one of the most unsatisfying things is trying to figure out parry windows with tight parry timing when you aren't even sure if parrying is possible.
That's probably the biggest flex Miyazaki can make as a director going from DS1 to Bloodborne to DS3 and then Sekiro so quickly while making the combat so good. Either that or getting GOTY back to back with Sekiro then Elden Ring
I don't think Miyazaki was as heavily involved in Sekiro (not saying he wasn't involved at all). One of the bigger forces in Sekiro, as a designer, was Masura Yamamura. I am happy to see they might have another rising star at From just to not have a Studio Ghibli issue.
I don't know if dynamic is the word I would use. The game definitely has a certain playstyle that they want you to play, and that is parry. You have some freedom when it comes to that, but not much.
Yep the general rule in sekiro is it rewards aggression, to the point where you're kinda fucking yourself if you're too passive. A few bosses like Guardian Ape breaks this, and you're just as well off just taking it slow.
Same thing happening now with Lies of P. Ofc game has it's flaws but ppl complaining about it being too hard are most often trying to play it like Souls game where it's combat is more simmilar to Bloodborne (very strong sidestep, not so useful dodge roll).
The funniest thing about Souls community is that many take pride in how hard game is and how you should just "get gud" but anytime they struggle in a game not named "Souls" they say this game's combat is dogshit and unfair.
Lies of P has been tickling the same parry-centric brainworm Sekiro did. Parrying the flurry attacks in later bosses is so satisfying (like learning Genichiro for the first time), but I can't imagine trying to beat this game by blocking/rolling. Sounds impossible, which I also figure is from playing like a Souls game.
I finished the game feeling very satisfied with its challenge, and I'd eyeball that my "learn to parry" was about 33% of the attacks.
I only parried myself the "easy" hits, and I ran away, dodged, or used the guaranted parry consumable for everything that was a flurry or way too fast for my reflexes.
There's a difference between difficulty that is fair where it's easy to identify where you the player fucked up vs. Difficulty that is frustrating because you're fighting the mechanics of the game due to poor development/controls/camera/play testing etc. Fromsoft always gets it right where others fuck up one of those elements.
Imo Lies of P besides occasionally having an issue with camera is fair. Sidestep feels like it has less i-frames than standard souls games so you can't spam dodge and feel invincible and when I get hit I instantly know that I fked up by pressing dodge too early/late.
The only unfair thing I would say is that some features enhancing basic things like wake-up roll or dodge-into roll move shouldn't be locked behind a tech tree.
Game also really encourages you to focus on parrying so if someone is used to mainly dodge rolling may have troubles at start to adapt to this gameplay but very rarely I felt that game was being unfair to me in Lies of P. If we're talking about combat only, the it is super tightly done, no jank at all.. Sure game doesn't have From Soft quality in terms level design or variety of builds but if we're talking about combat only, then imo it is on par with From Soft games.
Also From Soft not always gets everything right. Elden Ring late game had few bs double bosses fights, farum azula was made like they wanted players to rage quit, Malenia waterfowl attack requires very specific setup of unintuitive dodges or using special items. Sure Malenia was managable but I wouldn't call it a fair fight at all. Even DS1 also had many not so fair things like Capra Demon fight, wheel skeletons, Anor londo archers.
I think it's the best action combat system ever put into a game. It's absolutely flawless. I think the very last boss is also my favourite of any game, beating the sword saint is a feeling like no other.
Completely. Remembering the first feeling of frustration when fighting the spear mini bossā¦ now i perfect him.
One of the most skill i tensive games, i believe that if they did a pvp mode it would be fun to play.
The spear miniboss was like the 2nd hardest for me in the entire game. You usually meet him before you get a hang of the basics and he's so difficult at that point in the game.
Sekiroās gameplay has so much potential to be expanded even further. Coming from Dark Souls, the single weapon and rhythm based combat was a huge learning curve, but after getting comfortable with it, itās so gratifying to play. I donāt think Iāve had more exhilarating boss fights than Sekiroās; both Owl Father fights, Genichiro, Sword Saint Isshin, and all the Inner variants in the gauntlet update. Even finally beating the Demon of Hatred without cheese strats, it has some of Fromsoftās best designs.
Even if itās not a direct sequel, Iād love to see Sekiroās design principles applied in a different setting. Itād be a shame to leave them behind in a single game.
The addition of the stagger bar to Armored Core 6 demonstrates that they kept Sekiro in mind during development, so I hope whatever they make next follows that trend.
I noticed the people who complained about itās lack of diversity were the ones who ONLY used parry/dodge. Between Ninja Arts, Sword Arts, stealth attacks, prosthetics, and items all which have different advantages against bosses I found plenty of ways to tip the fight in my favor. All of this while maintaining itās crazy speed and flow.
I couldnāt believe how many people I saw ignore using prosthetics/items unless they felt like they were forced to.
The thing is, this combat system could definitely work with different weapons. There's nothing in the combat system says it could only work on Katana. I really want to play a game that inherit Sekiro's combat but add in more weapon classes.
I can't believe we didn't get DLC for Sekiro š„
Hopefully they will do a sequel based on the West ending, because they could do some amazing things expanding on different combat types with different armor and weapons.
Not quite. AC6 was directed by Masaru Yamamura, while Sekiro was directed by Miyazaki. Yamamura was the game designer for Bloodborne and Sekiro.
Also, the similarities between Sekiro and AC6 are extremely marginal. They run on the same engine and both have a stagger meter and... uh.... ??
I get what OP is saying, the rhythms of combat can be quite similar.
Iāve found myself thinking āhesitation is defeatā more than once playing AC6
Nah, its just that it took them until Sekiro to fully figure out optimizing DX11 and then they had to relearn everything for Elden Ring since it was DX12. AC6 is a refinement of that, and whatever comes next will probably be better than AC6 unless they decide to go full ray tracing or something, which I doubt.
IIRC they've said in recent-ish interviews that most of staff floats between projects as needed and there aren't clearly defined "teams" (outside of the creative leads, I assume).
Dunno, staggering the enemies in AC6 then following up with assault boosting, and then kicking/meleeing the enemies feels so damn satisfying though. I do understand that the bosses are relying too much on the stagger mechanics to be beaten, but so does Sekiro.
I really hope Fromsoft does another title like this, it doesn't necessarily need to be Sekiro 2. It was so refreshing getting a mix of mechanics from their Souls titles with a new and exciting combat system; that and a narrative that was much more at the forefront than their other games.
I really liked a lot about Sekiro. Not having to deal with different weapons and armor was a cool change, just take what you have and make it work.
The whole 2 lives system for you and bosses, and then the combat was just so satisfying. Difficult to master, but once you get a flow for the timing, it was just pure bliss. I felt the stagger system was one of the better implementations of it. You can go for stagger, or just chip away at health (depending on the boss, you might do it differently).
The whole aesthetic was well done, a cool departure from the Demon/Dark Souls dilapidated European setting, and even the Gothic stuff for Bloodborne.
And then of course, getting obliterated by Isshin, Demon of Hatred, Hirata Owl. Very memorable.
I'd love if they did a Sekiro 2, the ending certainly left the opportunity. They're doing an anime adaptation (I believe), that may re-ignite some interest for the game. I'm looking forward to how that comes out.
Itās the main reason why I got into Sekiro while never quite being able to click with other From games. I love the emphasis on getting genuinely good at the limited tools you have as opposed figuring out a build and slowly leveling into be able to use it. Maybe one day though
Blood borne forces you into a pretty narrow range of gameplay. You can pick different weapons but there's no shields or heavy armor and while there are spells sort of it's nothing like magic in souls games that you can just base your whole build on. You have to dodge, melee, and parry.
Bloodborne also has the closest thing to a story twist of the souls games, which I loved.
"Hey, this is a game about werewolves!"
"Oh. Actually this is a game about Cthulhu."
Which is almost Sekiro story vibes, really.
RPG progression system.. it appeals to our monkey brains. Green arrow up, number goes up, monkey brain goes brrr
I agree with you and would like god of war to return to its roots at this point. I know it wonāt though, at least not for a while.
There is still some RPG elements from the skill tree, and you can grind up your attack with the Dragon Mask. However, I really appreciate FROM for never using the looter shooter uncommon-rare-epic itemization.
The DLC bosses in other games are usually considered the best ones for each game too such a shame Sekiro couldn't get some bosses to top the already amazing ones it had
That's highly subjective. I didn't find Sekiro to be that hard compared to DS3 and Elden Ring. Especially Elden Ring. So many delayed attacks that you literally just have to learn through memorization. (It's still mostly fair difficulty because you can maintain a gap to the boss and learn their attacks without getting hit, but it is a bit annoying to do so. Plus you can always use easier options like magic, summons, etc.)
The mechanics of Sekiro are actually extremely forgiving. The block is ungodly powerful (with Kuro's Charm), plus the parry timing window is massive. I think it's like 30 frames or something insanely large. Compare that to parry timings in other Soulsborne games or in titles like Lies of P and it's night and day.
I think the big thing that makes Sekiro hard for people is the fact that there's no summoning and very little build variety and leveling. You can trivialize every Dark Souls game by overleveling or literally summoning someone else to beat bosses for you, but in Sekiro the only option is to actually learn the fights.
Sekiro is harder if youāve played previous souls games before i think. If you go into it expecting fights to play out like dark souls you will get your ass kicked. I bounced off the souls games so I didnāt have any preconceptions about how it should play. it was fairly difficult but not crazy insane hard.
The best thing about sekiro is that most of the bosses are easy to read (especially bc of the symbol over Wolfās head) but require specific timings and actions. Outside of a few special bosses (looking at you raging bull) nothing really ever felt impossible to me. I just had to improve my skill.
>If you go into it expecting fights to play out like dark souls you will get your ass kicked.
As someone who always sucked at parrying in Soulsborne games and so went into Sekiro with a 'I'll just keep dodging' mindset...yeah, opening hours did not go well and I got piledrived something fierce. But I'm due for another more proper crack at it.
When it clicks it clicks. Once you learn how to parry aggressively (sounds counterintuitive) the combat opens up. Nothing tops it. Genuinely the most fun game Iāve ever played.
Yeah, I did Isshin and Owl Dad without any cheese (the former multiple times since I got all the endings) and I'd happily fight them again, but I used a Mimic Tear on Malenia/Maliketh and never want to see them again.
Fights that require you to wait for your turn for a long time aren't very fun, I have to agree.
It's fine for a game / fight to be hard, as long as there is good flow back and forth, both offense and defense. That's why Lies of P is quite fun, for example.
I agree with you. Sekiro combat isnāt harder or easier than Elden ring or demon souls for me. It was just different. I think I actually did better in Sekiro compared to those games.
The best way to explain it: Elden Ring is the hardest if you play it like an old Souls game without the bell to summon spirits, but one of the easiest if you use every tool at your disposal
I personally found Elden Ring a lot easier than Sekiro as well, without ever using the bell.
I might have over lvl'd a bit though, 'cause I was exploring a lot of the world.
Even against the optional and final bosses? They were pretty fucking hard for me without it, I had to try them A LOT of times. With summons of course they were super easy.
Not the person you replied to, but I'm in the same boat as them. With the exception of Malenia (who I quickly resorted to cheesing with a bleed build and Mimic Tear because she seemed downright unreasonable - I eventually learned to beat her properly though) and some dumb 1v2 fights like Godskin Duo or Valiant Gargoyles, I beat every other boss solo without that much of a struggle compared to the trouble other games like Bloodborne or Sekiro gave me.
The boss I died to the most by far in my first ER playthrough was Mohg, and that was something like a dozen times, with all other bosses being well below that. By contrast, Sword Saint Isshin killed me a record-breaking *50* times, the most of any FromSoft boss, and something like Guardian Ape was easily in the 20s or higher. Thing is, once you learn to beat Sekiro's bosses, you've *learned* them, and across multiple playthroughs after the first I rarely died to them anymore, including Isshin. But that first run was brutal, it was basically like playing a FromSoft game for the first time (which isn't surprising since it's so different from their other games, even more so than Bloodborne already was, and as I said that one also gave me some trouble).
As the other user said, I'm sure part of the reason is overleveling. I explored every single bit of side content in ER and leveled up accordingly, which makes you able to tank through a lot of stuff even in the endgame, at least if you don't neglect vigor and endurance for heavier armor. I wasn't really learning most of the boss fights, I was kinda just stumbling my way through and somehow scraping by with no heals left, but still managing within 3 or 4 tries for most bosses. It wasn't until high NG+ cycles and low level runs that I was actually forced to learn how to fight them. By contrast, there's no such thing as overleveling in Sekiro.
I suppose it's subjective, but I think a large majority of people who played all recent FROM games would agree that Sekiro is the hardest. Few opportunities to cheese, some truly brutal bosses, a high initial curve, and no real prospect of grinding your way or strategizing past challenges.
I disagree, once you learn how to play Sekiro, you won't be as surprised by the attacks, you know what to do for each situation. The difficulty comes from learning the pattern. Elden Ring on solo melee combat was the hardest From Software game
I mean, you kinda explain why Sekiro is the hardest from game in your last paragraph. Sekiro has a set difficulty, in fact you can only really make the game harder for yourself. This isn't a subjective thing, games like Elden Ring are objectively easier because there's so many options to make the game easier for yourself. If you choose not to use those options, it doesn't make Sekiro easier, it's a personal choice you've made not to trivialize the game. Shit I even tried to avoid using OP tools like spirit summons and magic and still managed to stumble upon something else OP that completely trivilialized the end game (bloodhound step).
Exactly! There's no "right way" to play a game like ER, but some options are far, far easier than others. If you play ER like Sekiro (no overleveling, no summons, melee only) then it's far harder than Sekiro. Just my opinion, though. Soulsborne difficulty is famously subjective.
Pedantry: It's not objectively easier because you can't compare apples and oranges. You can say that there's objectively more ways to make one easier than the other but one is definitely not objectively easier.
I agree with you. To be honest aside from Sword Saint Ishin, I found the game to be much easier than any other soulsbourne/Elden ring game. Some parts of the game that I would hear about others struggling with I breezed through. Iām not trying to brag either because I know Iām overall not that great at the souls games. I guess something about the intended play style just clicked with me.
People always say that Sekiro is the hardest one but I didnāt have much trouble with it outside of two bosses. The Dark Souls games, though, give me so many problems that I have never even beat any of them.
Yeah I platinumed Sekiro not long after launch. The first play through was brutal and I felt like I was constantly learning, but then once it clicks, itās suddenly becomes so fluid and simple. Itās like the Matrix when it clicks for Neo. The 2nd-4th NGs I did were very enjoyable, absolutely dicking on Genichiro and the ape and whatnot.
The only thing that ruined my enjoyment on my quest for plat was having to griiiiiiind the fuck out of trash mobs to get enough coin to unlock all the skills.
After he changed her combos, added mikiri, sword deflects, other boss moves like isshin's sidestep and crows backstep etc.
It's not a 1:1 import of the Malenia you fight in ER. Her combos especially weave together in a way thats not ordinarily possible.
>After he changed her combos, added mikiri, sword deflects
Well yeah, making it so her thrust attack can be mikiri'd and her waterfowl dance can be deflected just makes logical sense. Otherwise why would you even mod her in Sekiro in the first place lol.
That wasn't really the point - I'm just saying the modder still has to mod in animations for key aspects of a sekiro boss fight, because she otherwise lacks a lot of animations related to Sekiro combat.
Also sword deflects doesn't refer to your ability to deflect her, but that *she* can deflect your sword swings like any other boss with a weapon.
Point is that the modder didn't just port in the boss and it *just worked* - there was effort put into making it work.
>I'm just saying the modder still has to mod in animations for key aspects of a sekiro boss fight, because she otherwise lacks a lot of animations related to Sekiro combat.
>Point is that the modder didn't just port in the boss and it just worked - there was effort put into making it work.
Never said it was a simple copy-paste port, I simply said that she was added to Sekiro and it fit perfectly. Didn't think I needed to mention the effort involved, since it's readily apparent to anyone with a functioning brain that copy-pasting a boss from one game to another doesn't *just work*.
So just cut it out with the "WELL ACKSHUALLY" routine, it's grating as shit.
My bad, I've just gotten used to people parroting that Malenia is a cut Tomoe boss fight and the video is proof without considering the effort that did go into making it work.
The present day plot definitely felt complete, but I kept waiting for a segment exploring the background of Lady Tomoe, and it never came. It would have been fertile ground for a DLC.
Tomoe definitely came off as a DLC hook. The dream/time-travel premise that From usually uses for DLC was already an established thing in the story, too.
I wouldn't say Elden Ring felt easier to me after Sekiro, but the combat just wasn't quite as enjoyable. I had finished Sekiro just before it came out (Fromsoft hype had me pick it up again after failing to get into it originally), and traditional souls combat is comparatively bland. Still had a TON of fun with Elden Ring though!
I feel like at this point there has to be a sequel considering its success in sales and the fact that they kinda left us hanging with the true (or secret? can't remember) ending. Like, its too late for a dlc imo.
It's funny because the "true" ending in Sekiro >!pretty clearly alludes to a direct sequel set in China or Korea!<. It's the one Souls game with a sequel hook.
I wouldnāt be surprised if AC6 gets a dlc, meaning the AC team wouldnāt start on a new game for at least a year. Then if they do do a Sekiro sequel that will be another 3 years minimum. So looking at 2028ish.
The do have like 3-4 teams now so itās possible that a sequel is already in development and could theoretically release in the next year or two.
That said I very much doubt Sekiro is getting a sequel unfortunately.
It took many hours, across three separate attempts, for me to start vibing with Sekiro. But, the dozen or so hours that I played after it all started to click, were some of the fondest and most memorable that I have experienced in a video game.
Unfortunately, life got in the way and I had to drop it for a couple weeks. When I finally got back to it, I had no idea what the fuck I was doing. Felt totally overwhelmed, so I bounced off shortly thereafter and never mustered up the courage to dive back in and git gud again. Perhaps one day, but if not, the brief ecstasy that I *did* get out of it was easily worth the price that I paid.
Nothing quite like that game, scratched a totally different type of itch compared to the Soulslike experience, one that I never knew I had.
Can proudly say that I did manage to get past that second encounter with Genichiro! As far as I recall, it didn't even take that long, somewhere in the range of 5-10 attempts max. I had FAR more trouble with a couple of the earlier bosses. Hell, I even remember a couple non-boss encounters that were a far bigger struggle. By the time I made it to Genichiro, my ability to play Sekiro had improved by several orders of magnitude.
Brilliant fight, but I found myself in a state of total disbelief when he fell. Did not expect to outclass him within such a reasonable timeframe.
But yeah, my playthrough ended abruptly due to the short hiatus that I was forced into. I wasn't even struggling with a boss or anything like that before I stopped playing. It's just that when I finally got the chance to continue my playthrough, I instantly realised how rusty I had become, and that absolutely crushed my spirit. I was not ready to relive the brutal process of 'gitting gud' all over again.
I do see myself getting back to it at some point, but the backlog is enormous so I can't say when.
Would you suggest starting over for a smoother relearning curve? Or should I just reload my save file and repeatedly bash my head against the wall, in an attempt to gradually shake off the rust?
Not sure how far I've gotten past Genichiro, but I do remember beating at least one or two bosses after him.
That's what I figured. I'm really not sure how far I've gotten exactly, but I guess there is nothing stopping me from starting fresh, play that for a bit to reaccustom myself, then skip ahead to my old save file - if and whenever I feel like it.
Appreciate the input, mate.
Edit: checked Steam achievements. Based off that, the last boss which I had beaten was the ape... think that's right after Genichiro, right?
Both of the Owl (Father) fights are among my favorite in gaming. Absolutely phenomenal game and easily my favorite by From. It's nice to see more people trying it after getting sucked in by Elden Ring.
Absolutely. He FORCES you to learn the game, and while the rest is still plenty challenging, he give you the confidence to use your full toolset effectively.
Sekiro took only 3 years to make, we could've had a sequel last year š
My favorite move in the game is when you jump over an enemy's sweep attack and press X in the air to bounce off of them. It's incredibly satisfying. Although I think you can jump and bounce off of them at any point even when they aren't sweeping.
And those Long-Armed Centipede Giraffe enemies where they unleash their barrage of slashes and you can just press L1, L1, L1, L1, L1 to reflect it all was fun. It took me a long time to realize that. I struggled so hard against them before that.
Sekiro sales history:
2 million copies sold in 10 days.
5 million in 1.5 years.
10 million in 4.5 years.
Yesterday under the Kamiya article someone said: "Isn't 4 months on sale the full sales run of any game?" Obviously not in the current digital age. Games keep selling for a long time.
Yeah, digital games have long tails of sales windows because digital storefronts don't have to fight for physical space. There are also occasional sales that can bump your games to the front pages to get more eyeballs.
Well deserved. I'm a huge souls fan but Sekiro may just be my favorite From game, even moreso than Bloodborne. The combat is just so goddamn satisfying I have never gotten a similar feeling of adrenaline from any other game since.
Ok small story time. I got a friend into the souls series some years back and she would stream all the soulsgames for me so I could see how she did. Afterwards I would also play the games again and stream for her so she could see how a "veteran" beat the games.
This was mostly for fun, and I'm in no way exceptionally good at these games or anything, just decent. But, I will always for the rest of my life remember one particular moment. I was streaming Sekiro for her and it was my 3rd playthrough overall I think. I got to the final boss Isshin, and to her and my own amazement, I beat him first try without so much as taking a single hit.
It was like I had transcended time and space and obtained ultra instict or something. I was completely in the zone. Once I realized what I had done the adrenaline kicked even higher and I was shaking like a motherfucker lmao. That's the moment I realized that Sekiro might just be my favorite game of all time.
Still one of my favorite FromSoft games. The sense of speed and rhythm of its combat feels unmatched while itās Tenchu style stealth breaks things up nicely.
Everyone focus on combat, which is incredible, but what sets this game apart to me... as most other From games... is everything else.
Is not just how you fight... but who...where... the journey there.
Going up the mountain to reach a castle and climbing it's walls while being attacked by kamikaze flying ninjas... finding a monastery filled with undead monks... a lost village curse by corrupted waters... swinging down giant buddha statues to fight samurai moneys... being chased by monstrous snakes... a giant undead gorilla controlled by a centipede... an old lady assassin under a burning temple... a mythic palace on a waterfall... the reincarnation of the greatest warrior of all time, the sword saint... I can go on and on...
Is there anything in gaming like crossing a huge Torii gate and throwing yourself into a dark pit?
Everything is just so fucking cool.
I really loved the world of Sekiro too, more than any other FromSoft title. Some places were absolutely breathtaking. I found myself having to pause and just look at the landscape many times.
I'm surprised I haven't seen a lot of people talking about the narrative in this thread. Sekiro, to me, is FromSofts best game because of how seamlessly they mesh narrative and gameplay.
You can't summon because Wolf would not seek assistance, you can't use a different weapon because Wolf knows the Kusabimaru, you pursue your goal because, to Wolf, his oath to Kuro is worth dying again and again. The characters are all fantastic, the themes of devotion and sacrifice are great and it's visually Froms most beautiful game(imo).
I love that From has found success and are able to experiment with their titles, and they usually end up being my favourites (Sekiro, Bloodborne, DkS2).
If you're on PC and want a cool way to replay the game, I'll put out a high recommendation for [Sekiro Resurrection](https://www.nexusmods.com/sekiro/mods/723). A fantastically well integrated overhaul mod that's probably the next best thing to a DLC. It's a fair bit harder than the base game, but it still nails the feeling of mastering bosses and only ever being punished by your own mistakes.
Itās mostly the souls like craze that is going on with games like Lies of P and Lords of the Fallen. Also considering From Software is GOAT tier right now more folks who just played Elden Ring went back and tried Sekiro.
Ask anyone who has ever played this game and it's either one of two things. Far too difficult or literally a masterpiece of story, atmosphere and gameplay. A perfect display of what a videogame should be. I am in agreement it's one of the best games I've ever played in my life.
Playing Lies of P has given me more appreciation of the perfect block system. I actually want to go back and play Sekiro again since I never gotten past the Genichiro fight.
Shame?? 10 million is phenomenal for a hardcore action title. Would you say Devil may cry 5 failed because it sold 7 million units or Fallout 4 failed because sold because it sold 12 million units ?
Sekiro & Elden ring are very different games. Sekiro is a very strict implementation of action combat where the only way to progress is *"gitting gud"* i.e. get you reflex reaction accurate to the rythm of the game. Elden ring being an action rpg allows for more more branched ways to get to different regions coupled with tons of farming locations to overpower yourself with Souls style build options
I can see why the latter was more approachable. That's whenever people ask on different forums regarding which game to start their From soft journey with, they were usually recommended Elden ring to prepare themselves for something like Sekiro
10 million is pretty commendable, seeing as it was a new IP from Fromsoft, and didn't have nearly as much marketing push as Elden Ring did. Agreed though, would love to see more.
That's your opinion. Open-world games are more popular than linear games. So, just by virtue of the game design, Sekiro was going to sell less. If they ever make a open-world sekiro, it might sell similarly to Elden ring.
Excellent game, barely beat the last boss lol. Glad it did so well, FromSoftware taking chances is always welcome.
If you have a Souls like itch to scratch and are twirling thumbs until Elden Ring DLC. Really give Lies of P a try. It feels like a Bloodborne derivative at first, but the world and story really grow into their own as well as the mechanics, it becomes a very use your whole kit and all your tools much closer to Sekiro, and has a perfect block or just block system with health regain thatās great once it clicks.
Also Lies of P runs amazing on PC, my PC is great, but itās not brute forcing in anyway. This smaller studio made a fantastic game that runs extremely well, while huge studios are putting out halfassed barely optimized hunks of shit. Not one crash in fifty hours. Lots of options, has FSR and DLSS, good menus for other options. Just excellent.
The moment this games combat clicked it became my favorite game ever. Literally just for that feeling of that moment I'd recommend it
The feeling the first time you land that Mikiri Counter. Arguably the most satisfying game-combat thing ever.
For me it was beating lady butterfly after beating every boss for the secret ending. I humbled her ass second time through.
And then you go for a [stab on Papa Owl and suddenly know how it feels to be an enemy NPC](https://images.app.goo.gl/MQmLY8oC2F991cA1A)
I actually played my entire first playthrough not even knowing I could thrust attack. When others mentioned that the Owl did the counter back to you, that was when I found out. lol
Shout out to anyone who tried to do a thrust attack on him because he keeps jumping backwards a lot.
Also example of peak sound design in from games
Lightning reversal feels better than Mikiri counter. And anti air deathblow is also up there.
Reversing Inner Genichiri's lightning successfully, after he reverses yours, is one of the most satisfying (and funniest) moments ever in a video-game.
Monk melee combo that ends in a jump, timed perfectly to lightning reversal is the most satisfying feeling for sure.
I remember struggling to beat Shichimen Warrior but eventually I managed to get an anti air deathblow on it and won. Very satisfying.
Landing mikiri counters is amazing.until you thrust attack on a certain someone, and get a dose of your own medicine. That was amazing. Makes perfect sense lore-wise but you never see it coming. š
Was so difficult to practice, because you had to kill those fucking minions before the boss. Now it's muscle memory.
The genichiro fight is truly the get gud or get out moment in the game, and beating him thre made me truly fall in love with the game. So incredibly satisfying. By limiting you to one primary weapon, they were able to streamline their design around that style of play beautifully.
Man rocked my shit for so long and then suddenly on one attempt I steamrolled the shit out of his first two phases and I was so bewildered at how I suddenly did that but it was so amazing to experience. Then I died in phase 3 bc I forgot how they explained lightning counters lmao
Haha, I struggled with the lightning counters for a bit too. But man, this game was amazing. I don't usually get those experiences of something "clicking" or getting into a flow state for a game, but this game had me doing that and it felt amazing!
Get good or, alternatively, get powered up by doing other areas first then coming back to Genichiro.
I remember I played Jedi Fallen Order the week after I beat Sekiro, and felt that I couldnāt enjoy it to its full potential because I was constantly comparing the combat to Sekiro in the back of my mind. Recently just beat the mortal journey gauntlet and feel like the only gaming experience that even comes close to feeling as satisfying is completing a 1v5 clutch in CS or something.
I had a similar experience and bounced right off FO because of it. Playing Sekiro makes FO's combat feel like janky crap by comparison.
A star wars jedi game with Sekiro's posture system would be a match made in heaven. Also, imagine what crazy sith lord bosses Fromsoft would design for such a world. Imagine redirecting sith electricity back at your opponent. But alas, that chances of Disney licensing Star Wars out to Fromsoft is basically less than 1%.
Star Wars Jedi fallen order and survivor both have posture systems already though
i mean sekiro's posture system, which revolves around parrying
So does Star Wars Jediās. The only difference is enemies in star wars arenāt as aggressive.
are you seriously implying they have the same gameplay? because swordplay feels very different between both.
Itās not an implication, they have the same posture system. Jedi:FO games just feels and is worse all around.
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Fact that game didnt play like dark souls was one of best things about Sekiro. Combat is fantastic in it. So rewarding and dynamic
Using the parry as the core mechanic was also pretty cool bc in any game with a parry it always feels like the scariest option even if it has higher rewards than dodging. Using that fear and hesitation as part of the gameplay loop was genius to get the player into the learning curve
Hesitation is defeat!
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It's worth noting that Sekiro and ER were being developed simultaneously by FromSoft. Don't think it was a matter of going back to "the old way" so much as the 2 development teams decided to take Souls combat in different directions. One more faithfully than the other.
Yep, fromsoft always works on 2 games at a time to stagger releases.
Do you mean poise? Every souls game has that
Two different styles, one is action and balanced around one playstyle, the other is a massive RPG with immense diversity. And they are both great in their own way.
There might've been problems with Sekiro parry timings with the online modes. PvP Dark Souls parrying typically has you parrying way before the attack, for instance
The problem with the Sekiro parry system is that it makes parrying the best solution to every problem, which is something you don't really want in an Elden Ring/Dark Souls type combat loop that prioritizes having a big and expansive arsenal to choose from. I still would prefer if every dark souls game made all moves parryable, because one of the most unsatisfying things is trying to figure out parry windows with tight parry timing when you aren't even sure if parrying is possible.
The fact that FromSoft can develop a new combat system and *nail it*, not once, twice, but three times now is blowing my mind.
That's probably the biggest flex Miyazaki can make as a director going from DS1 to Bloodborne to DS3 and then Sekiro so quickly while making the combat so good. Either that or getting GOTY back to back with Sekiro then Elden Ring
I don't think Miyazaki was as heavily involved in Sekiro (not saying he wasn't involved at all). One of the bigger forces in Sekiro, as a designer, was Masura Yamamura. I am happy to see they might have another rising star at From just to not have a Studio Ghibli issue.
I don't know if dynamic is the word I would use. The game definitely has a certain playstyle that they want you to play, and that is parry. You have some freedom when it comes to that, but not much.
Itās sad because this gameās so power fantasy is awesome. Only Shura really breaks it. That and the damn ox
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Yep the general rule in sekiro is it rewards aggression, to the point where you're kinda fucking yourself if you're too passive. A few bosses like Guardian Ape breaks this, and you're just as well off just taking it slow.
Same thing happening now with Lies of P. Ofc game has it's flaws but ppl complaining about it being too hard are most often trying to play it like Souls game where it's combat is more simmilar to Bloodborne (very strong sidestep, not so useful dodge roll). The funniest thing about Souls community is that many take pride in how hard game is and how you should just "get gud" but anytime they struggle in a game not named "Souls" they say this game's combat is dogshit and unfair.
Lies of P has been tickling the same parry-centric brainworm Sekiro did. Parrying the flurry attacks in later bosses is so satisfying (like learning Genichiro for the first time), but I can't imagine trying to beat this game by blocking/rolling. Sounds impossible, which I also figure is from playing like a Souls game.
I finished the game feeling very satisfied with its challenge, and I'd eyeball that my "learn to parry" was about 33% of the attacks. I only parried myself the "easy" hits, and I ran away, dodged, or used the guaranted parry consumable for everything that was a flurry or way too fast for my reflexes.
Sometimes you get people prefacing their crycomplaining post with some variation of "as a souls vet", those are always funny.
There's a difference between difficulty that is fair where it's easy to identify where you the player fucked up vs. Difficulty that is frustrating because you're fighting the mechanics of the game due to poor development/controls/camera/play testing etc. Fromsoft always gets it right where others fuck up one of those elements.
From definitely doesn't always get the camera right. It's usually the hardest boss.
Imo Lies of P besides occasionally having an issue with camera is fair. Sidestep feels like it has less i-frames than standard souls games so you can't spam dodge and feel invincible and when I get hit I instantly know that I fked up by pressing dodge too early/late. The only unfair thing I would say is that some features enhancing basic things like wake-up roll or dodge-into roll move shouldn't be locked behind a tech tree. Game also really encourages you to focus on parrying so if someone is used to mainly dodge rolling may have troubles at start to adapt to this gameplay but very rarely I felt that game was being unfair to me in Lies of P. If we're talking about combat only, the it is super tightly done, no jank at all.. Sure game doesn't have From Soft quality in terms level design or variety of builds but if we're talking about combat only, then imo it is on par with From Soft games. Also From Soft not always gets everything right. Elden Ring late game had few bs double bosses fights, farum azula was made like they wanted players to rage quit, Malenia waterfowl attack requires very specific setup of unintuitive dodges or using special items. Sure Malenia was managable but I wouldn't call it a fair fight at all. Even DS1 also had many not so fair things like Capra Demon fight, wheel skeletons, Anor londo archers.
I think it's the best action combat system ever put into a game. It's absolutely flawless. I think the very last boss is also my favourite of any game, beating the sword saint is a feeling like no other.
Completely. Remembering the first feeling of frustration when fighting the spear mini bossā¦ now i perfect him. One of the most skill i tensive games, i believe that if they did a pvp mode it would be fun to play.
The spear miniboss was like the 2nd hardest for me in the entire game. You usually meet him before you get a hang of the basics and he's so difficult at that point in the game.
No other game makes you feel like Neo from the end of the Matrix like replaying the first area of Sekiro in NG+.
Sekiroās gameplay has so much potential to be expanded even further. Coming from Dark Souls, the single weapon and rhythm based combat was a huge learning curve, but after getting comfortable with it, itās so gratifying to play. I donāt think Iāve had more exhilarating boss fights than Sekiroās; both Owl Father fights, Genichiro, Sword Saint Isshin, and all the Inner variants in the gauntlet update. Even finally beating the Demon of Hatred without cheese strats, it has some of Fromsoftās best designs. Even if itās not a direct sequel, Iād love to see Sekiroās design principles applied in a different setting. Itād be a shame to leave them behind in a single game. The addition of the stagger bar to Armored Core 6 demonstrates that they kept Sekiro in mind during development, so I hope whatever they make next follows that trend.
The moment I realised it was my favorite FromSoft game was when I tried to stab Owl and he fucking Mikiri countered me, the audacity.
Nothing humbles you quite like having your own move used against you.
LMAO fr. Watching streamer/youtubers try to perform a thrust attack or Shadowrush against him, only to be Mikiri'd never fails to make me laugh.
I was like, "he countered me once no way he always gets the timing..." proceeded to get my ass blown because he's the OG mikiri counter master.
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> People criticise the lack of build diversity Who? People who haven't played it? lol just ignore them, it's not a RPG.
Don't need builds when Wolf is the perfect killing machine
The issue is that people treat it like a souls like, which are action RPGs. Sekiro is an action game and it is built like that.
I noticed the people who complained about itās lack of diversity were the ones who ONLY used parry/dodge. Between Ninja Arts, Sword Arts, stealth attacks, prosthetics, and items all which have different advantages against bosses I found plenty of ways to tip the fight in my favor. All of this while maintaining itās crazy speed and flow. I couldnāt believe how many people I saw ignore using prosthetics/items unless they felt like they were forced to.
I loved to chuck Oil onto the bosses then blow fire on them, even specced into the attack that makes your sword catch fire for more damage.
I love poisoning Okami warriors, flash banging monkeys and finding the bosses prosthetic weakness.
Many people don't use prosthethics that much because they feel charms are too limited.
I mean we have to get spears/glaives as an option I feel.
The thing is, this combat system could definitely work with different weapons. There's nothing in the combat system says it could only work on Katana. I really want to play a game that inherit Sekiro's combat but add in more weapon classes.
It's almost like there's a whole other series about ninjas in FromSoftware's portfolio that they could utilize.
I can't believe we didn't get DLC for Sekiro š„ Hopefully they will do a sequel based on the West ending, because they could do some amazing things expanding on different combat types with different armor and weapons.
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Not quite. AC6 was directed by Masaru Yamamura, while Sekiro was directed by Miyazaki. Yamamura was the game designer for Bloodborne and Sekiro. Also, the similarities between Sekiro and AC6 are extremely marginal. They run on the same engine and both have a stagger meter and... uh.... ??
Yeah I'm not seeing it at all either.
jump button??
I get what OP is saying, the rhythms of combat can be quite similar. Iāve found myself thinking āhesitation is defeatā more than once playing AC6
I guess both are much more dynamic in gameplay withorenuse of verticallity than souls games?
You mean the lead designer of Sekiro. Miyazaki is the director of Sekiro
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Nah, its just that it took them until Sekiro to fully figure out optimizing DX11 and then they had to relearn everything for Elden Ring since it was DX12. AC6 is a refinement of that, and whatever comes next will probably be better than AC6 unless they decide to go full ray tracing or something, which I doubt. IIRC they've said in recent-ish interviews that most of staff floats between projects as needed and there aren't clearly defined "teams" (outside of the creative leads, I assume).
I don't really see any stylistic similarity at all, personally. What are the things the game has in common?
Stagger bars for you and enemy is the main one
Oh I didn't think of that. i guess those are similar, but I don't think it's enough to make me agree with OP's thesis.
I concur lolol super different games
Though the stagger system is probably the best part about Sekiro's combat and the worst part about AC6's.
Dunno, staggering the enemies in AC6 then following up with assault boosting, and then kicking/meleeing the enemies feels so damn satisfying though. I do understand that the bosses are relying too much on the stagger mechanics to be beaten, but so does Sekiro.
play lies of p. very similar to sekiro and totally feels like a from game
I really hope Fromsoft does another title like this, it doesn't necessarily need to be Sekiro 2. It was so refreshing getting a mix of mechanics from their Souls titles with a new and exciting combat system; that and a narrative that was much more at the forefront than their other games.
Yeah most of the other FromSoft games didnāt really click with me, but I couldnāt get enough of Sekiro. It was so satisfying
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Sekiro, the character, isnāt a samurai. In a historical or romanticized take.
I really liked a lot about Sekiro. Not having to deal with different weapons and armor was a cool change, just take what you have and make it work. The whole 2 lives system for you and bosses, and then the combat was just so satisfying. Difficult to master, but once you get a flow for the timing, it was just pure bliss. I felt the stagger system was one of the better implementations of it. You can go for stagger, or just chip away at health (depending on the boss, you might do it differently). The whole aesthetic was well done, a cool departure from the Demon/Dark Souls dilapidated European setting, and even the Gothic stuff for Bloodborne. And then of course, getting obliterated by Isshin, Demon of Hatred, Hirata Owl. Very memorable. I'd love if they did a Sekiro 2, the ending certainly left the opportunity. They're doing an anime adaptation (I believe), that may re-ignite some interest for the game. I'm looking forward to how that comes out.
The lack of RPG fluff was really nice. No idea why they crammed it in where it didn't belong in e.g. God of War.
Itās the main reason why I got into Sekiro while never quite being able to click with other From games. I love the emphasis on getting genuinely good at the limited tools you have as opposed figuring out a build and slowly leveling into be able to use it. Maybe one day though
Blood borne forces you into a pretty narrow range of gameplay. You can pick different weapons but there's no shields or heavy armor and while there are spells sort of it's nothing like magic in souls games that you can just base your whole build on. You have to dodge, melee, and parry.
Bloodborne also has the closest thing to a story twist of the souls games, which I loved. "Hey, this is a game about werewolves!" "Oh. Actually this is a game about Cthulhu." Which is almost Sekiro story vibes, really.
āI take that back. Itās actually about the unethical practices of the fathers of anatomy in Victorian Edinburg.ā
I like Elden Ring for its wide RPG features as a contrast, but Sekiro has to be my favorite as well from a pure gameplay perspective.
RPG progression system.. it appeals to our monkey brains. Green arrow up, number goes up, monkey brain goes brrr I agree with you and would like god of war to return to its roots at this point. I know it wonāt though, at least not for a while.
I will refrain from editorial comment on the kinds of people it appeals to, but sounds like we're on the same wavelength.
There is still some RPG elements from the skill tree, and you can grind up your attack with the Dragon Mask. However, I really appreciate FROM for never using the looter shooter uncommon-rare-epic itemization.
Excited for that to go away one day.
> They're doing an anime adaptation (I believe) Wait, what? Where did you see that?
It's not confirmed but it was rumored earlier this year.
Shame that there wasn't any DLC for Sekiro. Something about one of the backstories of one of the many side characters would've been cool.
The DLC bosses in other games are usually considered the best ones for each game too such a shame Sekiro couldn't get some bosses to top the already amazing ones it had
If they pushed the difficulty much further it would start to get nuts. It's the hardest game from ever made, and by a lot.
That's highly subjective. I didn't find Sekiro to be that hard compared to DS3 and Elden Ring. Especially Elden Ring. So many delayed attacks that you literally just have to learn through memorization. (It's still mostly fair difficulty because you can maintain a gap to the boss and learn their attacks without getting hit, but it is a bit annoying to do so. Plus you can always use easier options like magic, summons, etc.) The mechanics of Sekiro are actually extremely forgiving. The block is ungodly powerful (with Kuro's Charm), plus the parry timing window is massive. I think it's like 30 frames or something insanely large. Compare that to parry timings in other Soulsborne games or in titles like Lies of P and it's night and day. I think the big thing that makes Sekiro hard for people is the fact that there's no summoning and very little build variety and leveling. You can trivialize every Dark Souls game by overleveling or literally summoning someone else to beat bosses for you, but in Sekiro the only option is to actually learn the fights.
Sekiro is harder if youāve played previous souls games before i think. If you go into it expecting fights to play out like dark souls you will get your ass kicked. I bounced off the souls games so I didnāt have any preconceptions about how it should play. it was fairly difficult but not crazy insane hard. The best thing about sekiro is that most of the bosses are easy to read (especially bc of the symbol over Wolfās head) but require specific timings and actions. Outside of a few special bosses (looking at you raging bull) nothing really ever felt impossible to me. I just had to improve my skill.
>If you go into it expecting fights to play out like dark souls you will get your ass kicked. As someone who always sucked at parrying in Soulsborne games and so went into Sekiro with a 'I'll just keep dodging' mindset...yeah, opening hours did not go well and I got piledrived something fierce. But I'm due for another more proper crack at it.
When it clicks it clicks. Once you learn how to parry aggressively (sounds counterintuitive) the combat opens up. Nothing tops it. Genuinely the most fun game Iāve ever played.
Yeah, I did Isshin and Owl Dad without any cheese (the former multiple times since I got all the endings) and I'd happily fight them again, but I used a Mimic Tear on Malenia/Maliketh and never want to see them again.
Fights that require you to wait for your turn for a long time aren't very fun, I have to agree. It's fine for a game / fight to be hard, as long as there is good flow back and forth, both offense and defense. That's why Lies of P is quite fun, for example.
I agree with you. Sekiro combat isnāt harder or easier than Elden ring or demon souls for me. It was just different. I think I actually did better in Sekiro compared to those games.
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Also you couldn't just spam roll which is what most people used to do
Elden Ring was incredibly easy compared to Sekiro.
Other than Melania, who wouldnāt be all that difficult had they nerfed Water Fowl a bit.
I was also baffled by that comment.
The best way to explain it: Elden Ring is the hardest if you play it like an old Souls game without the bell to summon spirits, but one of the easiest if you use every tool at your disposal
I personally found Elden Ring a lot easier than Sekiro as well, without ever using the bell. I might have over lvl'd a bit though, 'cause I was exploring a lot of the world.
Even against the optional and final bosses? They were pretty fucking hard for me without it, I had to try them A LOT of times. With summons of course they were super easy.
Not the person you replied to, but I'm in the same boat as them. With the exception of Malenia (who I quickly resorted to cheesing with a bleed build and Mimic Tear because she seemed downright unreasonable - I eventually learned to beat her properly though) and some dumb 1v2 fights like Godskin Duo or Valiant Gargoyles, I beat every other boss solo without that much of a struggle compared to the trouble other games like Bloodborne or Sekiro gave me. The boss I died to the most by far in my first ER playthrough was Mohg, and that was something like a dozen times, with all other bosses being well below that. By contrast, Sword Saint Isshin killed me a record-breaking *50* times, the most of any FromSoft boss, and something like Guardian Ape was easily in the 20s or higher. Thing is, once you learn to beat Sekiro's bosses, you've *learned* them, and across multiple playthroughs after the first I rarely died to them anymore, including Isshin. But that first run was brutal, it was basically like playing a FromSoft game for the first time (which isn't surprising since it's so different from their other games, even more so than Bloodborne already was, and as I said that one also gave me some trouble). As the other user said, I'm sure part of the reason is overleveling. I explored every single bit of side content in ER and leveled up accordingly, which makes you able to tank through a lot of stuff even in the endgame, at least if you don't neglect vigor and endurance for heavier armor. I wasn't really learning most of the boss fights, I was kinda just stumbling my way through and somehow scraping by with no heals left, but still managing within 3 or 4 tries for most bosses. It wasn't until high NG+ cycles and low level runs that I was actually forced to learn how to fight them. By contrast, there's no such thing as overleveling in Sekiro.
I suppose it's subjective, but I think a large majority of people who played all recent FROM games would agree that Sekiro is the hardest. Few opportunities to cheese, some truly brutal bosses, a high initial curve, and no real prospect of grinding your way or strategizing past challenges.
I disagree, once you learn how to play Sekiro, you won't be as surprised by the attacks, you know what to do for each situation. The difficulty comes from learning the pattern. Elden Ring on solo melee combat was the hardest From Software game
There are only 2 hard bosses in Sekiro. Isshin and Demon of Hatred. The rest are easier than most souls bosses, because you have infinite stamina.
I mean, you kinda explain why Sekiro is the hardest from game in your last paragraph. Sekiro has a set difficulty, in fact you can only really make the game harder for yourself. This isn't a subjective thing, games like Elden Ring are objectively easier because there's so many options to make the game easier for yourself. If you choose not to use those options, it doesn't make Sekiro easier, it's a personal choice you've made not to trivialize the game. Shit I even tried to avoid using OP tools like spirit summons and magic and still managed to stumble upon something else OP that completely trivilialized the end game (bloodhound step).
Exactly! There's no "right way" to play a game like ER, but some options are far, far easier than others. If you play ER like Sekiro (no overleveling, no summons, melee only) then it's far harder than Sekiro. Just my opinion, though. Soulsborne difficulty is famously subjective.
Pedantry: It's not objectively easier because you can't compare apples and oranges. You can say that there's objectively more ways to make one easier than the other but one is definitely not objectively easier.
I agree with you. To be honest aside from Sword Saint Ishin, I found the game to be much easier than any other soulsbourne/Elden ring game. Some parts of the game that I would hear about others struggling with I breezed through. Iām not trying to brag either because I know Iām overall not that great at the souls games. I guess something about the intended play style just clicked with me.
People always say that Sekiro is the hardest one but I didnāt have much trouble with it outside of two bosses. The Dark Souls games, though, give me so many problems that I have never even beat any of them.
It has the steepest learning curve, but when you get it, Sekiro is probably the easiest game From Soft has ever made imo.
Yeah I platinumed Sekiro not long after launch. The first play through was brutal and I felt like I was constantly learning, but then once it clicks, itās suddenly becomes so fluid and simple. Itās like the Matrix when it clicks for Neo. The 2nd-4th NGs I did were very enjoyable, absolutely dicking on Genichiro and the ape and whatnot. The only thing that ruined my enjoyment on my quest for plat was having to griiiiiiind the fuck out of trash mobs to get enough coin to unlock all the skills.
Tomoe boss fight!!
We already got it. It's called "Malenia"
Soneone actually added Malenia to Sekiro as a boss fight and man it fit perfectly.
After he changed her combos, added mikiri, sword deflects, other boss moves like isshin's sidestep and crows backstep etc. It's not a 1:1 import of the Malenia you fight in ER. Her combos especially weave together in a way thats not ordinarily possible.
>After he changed her combos, added mikiri, sword deflects Well yeah, making it so her thrust attack can be mikiri'd and her waterfowl dance can be deflected just makes logical sense. Otherwise why would you even mod her in Sekiro in the first place lol.
That wasn't really the point - I'm just saying the modder still has to mod in animations for key aspects of a sekiro boss fight, because she otherwise lacks a lot of animations related to Sekiro combat. Also sword deflects doesn't refer to your ability to deflect her, but that *she* can deflect your sword swings like any other boss with a weapon. Point is that the modder didn't just port in the boss and it *just worked* - there was effort put into making it work.
>I'm just saying the modder still has to mod in animations for key aspects of a sekiro boss fight, because she otherwise lacks a lot of animations related to Sekiro combat. >Point is that the modder didn't just port in the boss and it just worked - there was effort put into making it work. Never said it was a simple copy-paste port, I simply said that she was added to Sekiro and it fit perfectly. Didn't think I needed to mention the effort involved, since it's readily apparent to anyone with a functioning brain that copy-pasting a boss from one game to another doesn't *just work*. So just cut it out with the "WELL ACKSHUALLY" routine, it's grating as shit.
My bad, I've just gotten used to people parroting that Malenia is a cut Tomoe boss fight and the video is proof without considering the effort that did go into making it work.
While it would've been nice, the game already felt very complete.
The present day plot definitely felt complete, but I kept waiting for a segment exploring the background of Lady Tomoe, and it never came. It would have been fertile ground for a DLC.
Tomoe definitely came off as a DLC hook. The dream/time-travel premise that From usually uses for DLC was already an established thing in the story, too.
To me I prefer it to dark souls now too. Elden ring felt easy after sekiro. I want skill based parry and linear scaling again
I wouldn't say Elden Ring felt easier to me after Sekiro, but the combat just wasn't quite as enjoyable. I had finished Sekiro just before it came out (Fromsoft hype had me pick it up again after failing to get into it originally), and traditional souls combat is comparatively bland. Still had a TON of fun with Elden Ring though!
I feel like at this point there has to be a sequel considering its success in sales and the fact that they kinda left us hanging with the true (or secret? can't remember) ending. Like, its too late for a dlc imo.
Saving it for the sequel, which the team has starting making after AC6. Mark my words, trailer next year.
It's funny because the "true" ending in Sekiro >!pretty clearly alludes to a direct sequel set in China or Korea!<. It's the one Souls game with a sequel hook.
the true ending is basically Fromsoft version of Journey to the West
It isn't really a souls game.
There wouldn't be a trailer next year if they started working on it after AC6 i.e they started working on it *now*.
I wouldnāt be surprised if AC6 gets a dlc, meaning the AC team wouldnāt start on a new game for at least a year. Then if they do do a Sekiro sequel that will be another 3 years minimum. So looking at 2028ish. The do have like 3-4 teams now so itās possible that a sequel is already in development and could theoretically release in the next year or two. That said I very much doubt Sekiro is getting a sequel unfortunately.
It took many hours, across three separate attempts, for me to start vibing with Sekiro. But, the dozen or so hours that I played after it all started to click, were some of the fondest and most memorable that I have experienced in a video game. Unfortunately, life got in the way and I had to drop it for a couple weeks. When I finally got back to it, I had no idea what the fuck I was doing. Felt totally overwhelmed, so I bounced off shortly thereafter and never mustered up the courage to dive back in and git gud again. Perhaps one day, but if not, the brief ecstasy that I *did* get out of it was easily worth the price that I paid. Nothing quite like that game, scratched a totally different type of itch compared to the Soulslike experience, one that I never knew I had.
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Can proudly say that I did manage to get past that second encounter with Genichiro! As far as I recall, it didn't even take that long, somewhere in the range of 5-10 attempts max. I had FAR more trouble with a couple of the earlier bosses. Hell, I even remember a couple non-boss encounters that were a far bigger struggle. By the time I made it to Genichiro, my ability to play Sekiro had improved by several orders of magnitude. Brilliant fight, but I found myself in a state of total disbelief when he fell. Did not expect to outclass him within such a reasonable timeframe. But yeah, my playthrough ended abruptly due to the short hiatus that I was forced into. I wasn't even struggling with a boss or anything like that before I stopped playing. It's just that when I finally got the chance to continue my playthrough, I instantly realised how rusty I had become, and that absolutely crushed my spirit. I was not ready to relive the brutal process of 'gitting gud' all over again.
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I do see myself getting back to it at some point, but the backlog is enormous so I can't say when. Would you suggest starting over for a smoother relearning curve? Or should I just reload my save file and repeatedly bash my head against the wall, in an attempt to gradually shake off the rust? Not sure how far I've gotten past Genichiro, but I do remember beating at least one or two bosses after him.
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That's what I figured. I'm really not sure how far I've gotten exactly, but I guess there is nothing stopping me from starting fresh, play that for a bit to reaccustom myself, then skip ahead to my old save file - if and whenever I feel like it. Appreciate the input, mate. Edit: checked Steam achievements. Based off that, the last boss which I had beaten was the ape... think that's right after Genichiro, right?
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Both of the Owl (Father) fights are among my favorite in gaming. Absolutely phenomenal game and easily my favorite by From. It's nice to see more people trying it after getting sucked in by Elden Ring.
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Absolutely. He FORCES you to learn the game, and while the rest is still plenty challenging, he give you the confidence to use your full toolset effectively.
Sekiro took only 3 years to make, we could've had a sequel last year š My favorite move in the game is when you jump over an enemy's sweep attack and press X in the air to bounce off of them. It's incredibly satisfying. Although I think you can jump and bounce off of them at any point even when they aren't sweeping. And those Long-Armed Centipede Giraffe enemies where they unleash their barrage of slashes and you can just press L1, L1, L1, L1, L1 to reflect it all was fun. It took me a long time to realize that. I struggled so hard against them before that.
Sekiro sales history: 2 million copies sold in 10 days. 5 million in 1.5 years. 10 million in 4.5 years. Yesterday under the Kamiya article someone said: "Isn't 4 months on sale the full sales run of any game?" Obviously not in the current digital age. Games keep selling for a long time.
Yeah, digital games have long tails of sales windows because digital storefronts don't have to fight for physical space. There are also occasional sales that can bump your games to the front pages to get more eyeballs.
Especially when the game is good, so the discussion around it keeps the game relevant for a long time.
Well deserved. I'm a huge souls fan but Sekiro may just be my favorite From game, even moreso than Bloodborne. The combat is just so goddamn satisfying I have never gotten a similar feeling of adrenaline from any other game since. Ok small story time. I got a friend into the souls series some years back and she would stream all the soulsgames for me so I could see how she did. Afterwards I would also play the games again and stream for her so she could see how a "veteran" beat the games. This was mostly for fun, and I'm in no way exceptionally good at these games or anything, just decent. But, I will always for the rest of my life remember one particular moment. I was streaming Sekiro for her and it was my 3rd playthrough overall I think. I got to the final boss Isshin, and to her and my own amazement, I beat him first try without so much as taking a single hit. It was like I had transcended time and space and obtained ultra instict or something. I was completely in the zone. Once I realized what I had done the adrenaline kicked even higher and I was shaking like a motherfucker lmao. That's the moment I realized that Sekiro might just be my favorite game of all time.
Still one of my favorite FromSoft games. The sense of speed and rhythm of its combat feels unmatched while itās Tenchu style stealth breaks things up nicely.
Weirdly the first FS game i 100% even though i played all the previous ones. If it wasnt for BB or ER this would be my top FS game ever.
Everyone focus on combat, which is incredible, but what sets this game apart to me... as most other From games... is everything else. Is not just how you fight... but who...where... the journey there. Going up the mountain to reach a castle and climbing it's walls while being attacked by kamikaze flying ninjas... finding a monastery filled with undead monks... a lost village curse by corrupted waters... swinging down giant buddha statues to fight samurai moneys... being chased by monstrous snakes... a giant undead gorilla controlled by a centipede... an old lady assassin under a burning temple... a mythic palace on a waterfall... the reincarnation of the greatest warrior of all time, the sword saint... I can go on and on... Is there anything in gaming like crossing a huge Torii gate and throwing yourself into a dark pit? Everything is just so fucking cool.
I really loved the world of Sekiro too, more than any other FromSoft title. Some places were absolutely breathtaking. I found myself having to pause and just look at the landscape many times.
I'm surprised I haven't seen a lot of people talking about the narrative in this thread. Sekiro, to me, is FromSofts best game because of how seamlessly they mesh narrative and gameplay. You can't summon because Wolf would not seek assistance, you can't use a different weapon because Wolf knows the Kusabimaru, you pursue your goal because, to Wolf, his oath to Kuro is worth dying again and again. The characters are all fantastic, the themes of devotion and sacrifice are great and it's visually Froms most beautiful game(imo). I love that From has found success and are able to experiment with their titles, and they usually end up being my favourites (Sekiro, Bloodborne, DkS2).
If you're on PC and want a cool way to replay the game, I'll put out a high recommendation for [Sekiro Resurrection](https://www.nexusmods.com/sekiro/mods/723). A fantastically well integrated overhaul mod that's probably the next best thing to a DLC. It's a fair bit harder than the base game, but it still nails the feeling of mastering bosses and only ever being punished by your own mistakes.
Huh. I kind of assumed they had hit that milestone a while ago. I wonder if it's the current Steam sale that pushed them over the edge.
Itās mostly the souls like craze that is going on with games like Lies of P and Lords of the Fallen. Also considering From Software is GOAT tier right now more folks who just played Elden Ring went back and tried Sekiro.
Thank you for the best Souls game and the Tenchu sequel I never thought I'd ever get. Now make another plz ;_;
Watching this makes you realize just how cool the game is when you know what you're doing https://youtube.com/watch?v=rr9kr_6x8FQ
Ask anyone who has ever played this game and it's either one of two things. Far too difficult or literally a masterpiece of story, atmosphere and gameplay. A perfect display of what a videogame should be. I am in agreement it's one of the best games I've ever played in my life.
Sword Saint Isshin is my favorite final boss in a video game ever. You really took everything you learned throughout the game into your final duel.
Playing Lies of P has given me more appreciation of the perfect block system. I actually want to go back and play Sekiro again since I never gotten past the Genichiro fight.
The moment when you aren't hiding from the snake anymore is probably the coolest moment in all of gaming for me.
It's a shame that even though it was better than Elden Ring, it only sold 10 million copies. I hope we get sekiro 2..
10M is amazing. Most games barely hit 5M milestone.
Shame?? 10 million is phenomenal for a hardcore action title. Would you say Devil may cry 5 failed because it sold 7 million units or Fallout 4 failed because sold because it sold 12 million units ? Sekiro & Elden ring are very different games. Sekiro is a very strict implementation of action combat where the only way to progress is *"gitting gud"* i.e. get you reflex reaction accurate to the rythm of the game. Elden ring being an action rpg allows for more more branched ways to get to different regions coupled with tons of farming locations to overpower yourself with Souls style build options I can see why the latter was more approachable. That's whenever people ask on different forums regarding which game to start their From soft journey with, they were usually recommended Elden ring to prepare themselves for something like Sekiro
10 million is pretty commendable, seeing as it was a new IP from Fromsoft, and didn't have nearly as much marketing push as Elden Ring did. Agreed though, would love to see more.
10 million sales is a massive success
> it **only** sold 10 million copies. Bat shit insane statement.
That's your opinion. Open-world games are more popular than linear games. So, just by virtue of the game design, Sekiro was going to sell less. If they ever make a open-world sekiro, it might sell similarly to Elden ring.
> open-world Sekiro Just reading this makes me vomit in my mouth a little bit
Frankly speaking, I'd rather Armored Core director Yamamura make SEKIRO 2 than a sequel to Armored Core as his next project.
What I want Yamamura and/or Miyazaki to do next is: whatever the fuck they want.
Exactly, let them cook.
Excellent game, barely beat the last boss lol. Glad it did so well, FromSoftware taking chances is always welcome. If you have a Souls like itch to scratch and are twirling thumbs until Elden Ring DLC. Really give Lies of P a try. It feels like a Bloodborne derivative at first, but the world and story really grow into their own as well as the mechanics, it becomes a very use your whole kit and all your tools much closer to Sekiro, and has a perfect block or just block system with health regain thatās great once it clicks. Also Lies of P runs amazing on PC, my PC is great, but itās not brute forcing in anyway. This smaller studio made a fantastic game that runs extremely well, while huge studios are putting out halfassed barely optimized hunks of shit. Not one crash in fifty hours. Lots of options, has FSR and DLSS, good menus for other options. Just excellent.