I have kind of a weird history with the Dark Souls series. On one hand I adore these games for being something different. There is something just so satisfying and rewarding about the gameplay. Not to mention the monsters From Software cooks up are second to none. That said, I only have the willpower to dip my toes into these games. They are just too intense for me. The closest I came to finishing one was Dark Souls 2. Now if we’re talking about Souls like games, I defeated Bloodborne thoroughly. The more action, offensive-oriented style spoke to me. It is the perfect evolution of the formula that started out with Demon’s Souls.
So, that being said, I was kind of hoping Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice would have the same sort of appeal to me. While I love the idea of bringing ninjas back into the video game space, it is also a daunting task. It is the hardest From Software game in my opinion, which I will dive into why later on. So the focus of this piece is to try and give new players advice that will help their journeys. That is the obvious part. The second part may serve as a warning. If you were like me and couldn’t get into the Dark Souls games, but loved Bloodborne and think this is going to be like that, well, it is and it isn’t. Even though I’ve decided continuing this game may not be for me, I adore it from a historic point of view if that makes sense. Now let’s see where you fall.
25 One Weapon To Rule Them All
I’m not sure if this is a bad thing, or a good thing, but you only get one weapon in the game. You’re bestowed the awesome power of Kusabimaru, your trusty katana. In some ways I like this because I don’t have to worry about which weapon is better than the last, but it also gives you less options to work with. This can be frustrating with some of the bosses that have long reaches with pole arms, making you wish you had some sort of lance too.
24 You Can Pause?
One of the biggest mechanics that have stayed with From Software’s games since Demon’s Souls is that the game is always on. That is to say, you can’t pause to get your bearings adjusted. This is because of the online integration. Since there is no online component to this game, they finally lifted the ban and players can once again breath a sweet sigh of relief, because the game can be paused. You still can’t use items from this menu, but it is a small start.
23 Small GB Space
I don’t know about you, but my PS4 hard drive has been filling up fast these past couple weeks what with The Division 2, Devil May Cry 5, and not to mention keeping Anthem around and up to date. I assumed Sekiro would be huge too so I frantically tried to clear up some space only to uncover that the game is only about 12GBs. That seems crazy for how big it is in scope, but here we are. I hope that helps someone out there.
22 Cool But Ugly
Ah yes, the trials and tribulations of From Software. On one hand, you can always count on them for an experience unlike any other. On the other hand, you can also be assured there is going to be some jank. It’s nowhere near as buggy as any of Bethesda’s games at launch, but it does share some of that ugliness. At times it can look beautiful, like a modern PS4 title in 2019, and other times it can be a flashback to the mid-2000s.
21 Nauseating Camera
Camera placement and camera movement have never really affected me in video games. I kind of take pride in that fact. That is until I tried Resident Evil VII in VR. Whoa, what a festival of stomach queasiness. Anyway, that said I was kind of stunned how nauseating the camera movement made me feel. I got used to it, and adjusting the sensitivity in the options helped, but I write this as a warning. If you too can get sensitive, buckle up.
20 Not Mission Based
From early info and trailers, I kind of thought Sekiro would be a spiritual successor to Tenchu since From Software had a hand in some of those games. They are mission-based, so I was curious if this would be too. That wouldn’t be a bad thing if true, but Sekiro is still Metroidvania like in nature in that the entire world is connected. Well, for the most part. There are some areas you have to warp to in order to get there.
19 You Can Talk!
One of the craziest revelations that hit me early on is that you can talk. If you have never played any of these Souls like games, one of the biggest tropes is that you can’t talk. Another core feature is that the story is left to player interpretation. That is to say, they don’t spoon-feed you. While there is still some mystery left on players to ponder, it is a lot more integral to the game than what I had predicted.
18 Deflect And Counter
Sekiro shares more in common with Bloodborne rather than Dark Souls. The reason being is that it is all about being offensive. That doesn’t mean this is a Dynasty Warriors style of hack and slash. What I mean is Dark Souls can often feel more plotting in that combat was usually slower what with shield integration. In Sekiro, it’s all about deflating attacks and countering, meaning you have to have incredibly fast reflexes in order to master these mechanics.
17 Shadows Die Twice
The biggest reversal for this game, compared to its predecessors is how falling in battle works. See, you are sworn to protect Kuro, a young noble and heir to a divine bloodline, who gets taken at the beginning of the game. Because you are his guardian, the power of said blood is bestowed upon you, meaning that when you fall, you can be revived right there on the spot. The balance here is that you also get a lot less health up front.
16 Fullmetal Ninja
When Kuro is taken, your arm is sliced off as well. This leads you into your temple hub world where you meet the Sculptor who gives you a prosthetic arm. At first, this is used to swing around via a grappling hook. However, it is more than that. Throughout your journey, you will find ninja tools you can then bring back to the Sculptor (like an axe that can break through shields). You can equip three tools into your prosthetic at a time and switch between them on the fly. Unlike the grappling hook, these cost points to use, though.
15 You Can’t RPG Your Way Out Of This One
As hard as these Souls like games could get, there was always one factor you could count on to even the odds: leveling up. Well, too bad for you if you relied on this strategy, because there is no traditional leveling up in this game, which is to say there is no major stat progression. Bosses and mini-bosses drop special beads that can add a point to your HP, or attack power, but you need four in order to do so and thus it is very infrequent.
14 Skills, Thrills, And Chills
So there are no traditional RPG elements compared to Sekiro’s predecessors, but there is an alternative path. Defeating enemies will net you skill experience. Get enough and you accrue one point you can then spend on your varying skill trees. You can learn normal moves to round out your abilities like the very important Mikiri counter, passive buffs like being able to regain HP when downing an enemy, or special moves like the spin slash. The latter of which must be equipped, and only one at a time.
13 What You Lose
Now let’s talk about the consequences of perishing. If you happen to fall after you revive yourself once, you are then sent back to the last checkpoint you prayed at. You also lose part of your skill points along with half of your gold. Not only that but if you happen to perish multiple times after using your revive once, which I should mention charges at said prayer points, you risk the chance of inflicting a curse upon NPCs meaning you can no longer use them. There is a cure, but it is hard to come by. It is an extreme countermeasure.
12 Enemies Interrupt Prayers
Running away is a viable strategy in the game, which is especially true if a boss gets the better of you and you don’t want to infect the world with Dragonrot. My strategy would be to retreat to a resting checkpoint wherein I could reset the world and become safe. However, I learned the hard way, twice, that if an enemy is directly in your resting spot, you couldn’t activate it. I thought this was only for bosses, but then it happened to me with normal enemies too.
11 Immortal Hanbei Training
Buying skills can sometimes make, or break your progress. Not just in Sekiro, but other action titles as well. The thing I get hung up on is learning these moves while in the game world. It stinks whenever you can’t practice them. I applauded Devil May Cry 5 for letting you both try moves and practice them before buying and the same is true here. You can’t try before you buy, but you can practice with the Immortal Hanbei in the temple hub area. He is the best!
10 No Ninja, No Ninja, No Ninja, No!
This is a ninja game and in turn, stealth is emphasized. It, however, is not really a viable option in that it is not balanced well. If you were to stealthily eliminate an enemy from behind, the animation is loud and bombastic thus alerting everyone around to what you did 3/4 of the times I tried. Wouldn’t an assassin want to, oh I don’t know, what to avoid that? I even bought skills to hopefully cloak myself better, but I rarely found that this helped. I really wish it were better although that might make it too easy?
9 No Custom Characters
If it wasn’t obvious by the fact that you talk and are thus an actual character in the game, I should clarify this point as well. You cannot customize the Wolf in any regard. Since this is a more focused experience, telling a full narrative, I am okay with that. Who knows, maybe costume packs will be added later on, which would be a nice cosmetic thing that wouldn’t really change how the game plays. Might I suggest a Tenchu homage?
8 Cut Content
Because you can pause the game due to the lack of online connectivity, I thought this then meant a photo mode would be in it. I was half right. It is currently not in the game, but thanks to one fan’s discovery, it was going to be. You can see Lance McDonald go through some of the other cut content as well like possible Bloodborne tie-ins. This could mean these are going to be in future patches, or DLC packs, but as of now, we have no idea.
7 Falling Damage
Here is another mechanic, or pitfall I learned the hard way. When you warp into the Hirata Estate area, you have to fall quite a ways. I assumed, as a ninja, that I would always land on my feet. While you do indeed land on them gracefully, you also take damage. The best way to go down is to grapple branches along the way. This didn’t cost me my life, or anything and is thus a small footnote on this list, but like the title says, I really wish I knew this before starting. Ouch!
6 Breaking Posture
While all enemies do indeed have health, this isn’t a game about whittling said HP down. It is more about building a break meter called Posture. If you break through an enemies Posture, which you can liken to stamina from the other games, that enemy will be opened up to a deathblow, which is to say you can vanquish them in one hit. This is different for bosses, which is a whole other can of worms, but yes, 90%of Sekiro is all about deathblows.
