Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

I bought Sekiro to relax after work. Now my neighbors know every curse word in three languages, my controller has trust issues, and I’ve achieved a kind of spiritual enlightenment that only comes from being repeatedly stabbed by a seven-foot monkey with a sword.
This game will break you, rebuild you, then break you again—like a violent personal trainer who only accepts your tears as payment. But when you finally parry that boss after the 437th attempt, the dopamine hits harder than any FromSoftware backstab.
Gorgeous world? Check. Swordplay tighter than my grip on the last healing gourd? Double check. Story that whispers “you’re not worthy” while secretly making you a shinobi legend? Triple check.
Buy it. Suffer. Transcend.
—10/10 would die to a chicken again.

Hesitation is defeat. The combat of Sekiro once you understand that it rewards aggression and deflections and ruining your enemy's posture, becomes something totally addicting and unique. Sekiro was by a wide margin the steepest learning curve, but once mastered it ruins the combat system of every other game. The sense of accomplishment this game delivers is unlike any other in my opinion. Some of these boss battles feel so real with how much of a struggle the player has to endure. Sekiro's combat is as realistic as it gets. Best game I've played in a very long time.

Only issue with this game is that its going to ruin combat for all other games, nothing reaches this high

I came from Black Myth: Wukong, in search of a similar experience and some challenging boss fights, as it is said, that this game is the hardest soulslike. I had a blast in the 54 hours I put down and would encourage anyone who is man enough to brave these waters. It is a journey and a challenge you shan't soon forget and I found the words "Greetings, Sekiro Guru here" soothing more than hindering. As of 01/26 you can't really cheese 1) Genichiro (you souldn't; either) , 2) Owl ( Great Shinobi), 3) Owl (Father) and I didn't have the patience to grind for the skill points to cheese Isshin, so I just defeated him. Demon of Hatred Cheese works like advertised though, but I promise I could have gotten him.

On March 2024 i started my first ever souls game ( Dark Souls remastered ) and by August of the same year the whole trilogy was beaten. With momentum on my side, i started Sekiro, but the first encounter with the snake gave me a bad impression, i found it too difficult and i dropped it... After beating Elden Ring, i gave it another try, but playing it like a dark souls game , this style didn't fit this game, i was not having a good time and as a result again stopped - this time at the first main boss Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa... Lord of the Fallen, Thymesia, Mortal Shell, Demon Souls and Bloodborne ( on consoles ) and the Elden Ring DLC followed, but this game remained in my mind... I owed it a good and proper try, it was the last remaining unbeaten game of FromSoftware...

And this November i thought that if i'm gonna play it, it's gonna be now or never. Fired up the game and started immediately on the boss, but this time tried to follow the way the game was supposed to be played and eventually though hard, i was victorious.. I pushed forward and despite all my previous experience of souls game, every inch of progress i was making was a struggle. And before i realise it i'm on the rooftop of that majestic castle having as my second boss Genichiro.. He destroys me over and over again until at one try i parry successfully... And then again and then once again and then... his posture breaks and i deal a deathblow and progress to the second phase ( and die ). However that's where something clicked, something changed, something starts making sense... The breakthrough i was in need so much happens and not long after that, Genichiro is beaten and im feeling finally for the first time very good playing this game and slowly start to enjoy it a lot... Finding shortcuts, learn techniques, using my money and skill points carefully and with a plan and suddenly i have the same feeling i got from Dark Souls 1 - exploring, fighting, connecting the pieces of the plot, finally i 'feel'' the game... every fight is a celebration, a challenge .. I start doing air attacks, sliding under jump attacks and parry with precision... I feel confident, no boss more than a few tries... No sugars, no oil, no poison, no cheesing, just me and my katana.... As i keep pushing forward i appreciate more the sceneries, i am invested to the story, i feel the burden of the consequences of my decisions... And before long unfortunately i end up at the same field i lost my arm, facing Isshin and hearing '' Hesitation is defeat''. I couldn't think anything else except admire how that in just a sentence, in a few words, the amalgamation of the essense of this game was described. So, i followed that advice and fought him the way he deserved and our battle was one of those epic ones you get to see only on movies...

With the defeat of the Sword Saint, i release Kuro and the credits roll... The only FromSoftware game of this genre i hadn't completed is finally over and it turned out to be one of my favorites. Leaving me with a bittersweet flavor and a feeling of a circle that's over , starting with DS1 with its interconnectivity and difficulty spike as my first souls game and finishing with Sekiro that has a similar interconnectivity and again demanding the git gud but this time in a different level, much much higher... A perfect game in every and all aspects...

Is the game recommended? I've ran out of ways to say yes for this kind of games... Is it worth it? Yes, in every game wise aspect and beyond... Just do yourself a favor and try this and all the other games of this genre, you will enjoy them and along the way you will learn some important life lessons too... I am a Chosen Undead, a Bearer of the Curse, an Ashen One, a Tarnished, a Shinobi....And now i am ready for the most difficult part, the waiting for the next Fromsoft souls-like game...

Until they release the next one and we are " lent shelter for one more time", this collection of games will mean to us more than a mountain of gold made from one single sen...

Sekiro is indisputably the best game FromSoftware has ever created in terms of mechanical combat. It delivers a hyper addictive gameplay loop that demands absolute, unadulterated skill. While many label it the hardest entry in the "Soulsborne" pantheon, it is also easily the most deeply rewarding to master.
The genius of Sekiro lies in its Posture System, which is vastly deeper, more intelligent, and frankly way less goofy looking than standard action games. In typical Souls games, your primary defense is the panic roll you spend half the boss fight repeatedly tumbling across the floor like an acrobat just to escape a hit.
Sekiro eliminates that entirely. You don't run, and you don't roll. You stand your ground, look a ten-foot-tall boss dead in the eye, and meet their blade face-to-face. Because perfect deflections deal posture damage, defense becomes an offensive mechanic. Every parry is a statement. It transforms the combat into a beautiful, high-stakes dance of clashing steel where you feel like an absolute anime legend slashing, hacking, and controlling the rhythm of the blade.
The narrative and setting get a massive plus. Unlike other FromSoft titles, the lore isn’t buried in cryptic item descriptions you don't need to read the underwear of a zombie soldier just to understand the plot. Sekiro delivers a clear, compelling, and emotionally driven story from start to finish. Because the narrative actually moves forward, the New Game Plus (NG+) cycles stay fast and aggressive, never letting the momentum run dull.
9/10 strongly recommends

Thank you to that one Steam Support person who denied my Refund and made me lock tf in!
Best Souls game in the series 10/10