Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – Love it or hate it

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the latest title from developer FromSoftware, and directed by the legend Hidetaka Miyazaki himself. And just as the other games by the company and director better known as the “Souls Saga” (from Demon’s Souls to Bloodborne), it is incredibly tough. It wasn’t for free that the saga has earned the public renown in the gaming industry as some of the hardest games ever made.

Sekiro, just as before, demands excellent precision to get the timing of the enemy right, but overall there is really only one way to enjoy this game, and it is just how the community says… by “getting good”. To “get good” on these games just means to get a better understanding of the game mechanics, this is achieved through practice and dying over and over again. Trial and mistake is the best way to “get good” on these games.

A little too hard?

There is a controversy currently surrounding the game, and it is that some people have been complaining about the game’s difficulty, claiming that it is too hard for most players.

The funny thing is that the game is actually set to “easy”, and the difficulty setting can e changed later in the game to turn the Hard mode on, and while that may be a little too much, it is indeed a big difference that will make you appreciate just how easy the game is without it on. But not really easy, don’t worry, you’re still going to die a lot, more than twice

The beauty, however, of the Souls games lies in its difficulty though, and it pushes you to try over and over until you understand why you failed the first time, and playing Sekiro is just like starting from zero, even for experienced Souls players. But the only real way to check just how hard the game is is to play it yourself!

About the game

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is an action-adventure game, but unlike the other Souls games, it has fewer RPG elements, so it doesn’t have the character creation nor the leveling up on stats, neither does Sekiro have a multiplayer element. The gameplay revolves around attacking the enemy’s stability and posture to cause an opening and then strike them down with one final devastating strike of your katana.

The game also features a new stealth system, unlike anything we’ve seen throughout the saga, and some exploration and combat items such as the grappling hook that will be key to move around the world. The ninja-like mechanics are a little similar to those of the Tenchu games too, so you can expect a lot of hiding and keeping quiet, patience and observation is the way to go sometimes.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has received universal acclaim, it is said to be, according to reviews, one of the best games of 2019 so far. The game also had over 108.000 concurrent players on Steam on release day, making it the third highest one on the platform behind Monster Hunter: World and Dark Souls III.

Universal acclaim, hardcore gaming, feudal Japan, monsters, and more await for you in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, now it is up to you to choose, are you up for the challenge? Then grab your controller and get ready for an incredibly tough ride