Otherwise known as DarkSouls: Sengoku Edition. I know this section of the forum is titled “what else are you playing” and I am not playing it at the moment, but thinking of buying it. But before I do, just wanted to see if anyone else here have. I saw a few youtube videos and liking everything so far, but what about you guys? any thoughts on it? can I expect it to be grossly incandescent?
Atleast I know poop slinging is back.
I love it!!! 2nd half of he fight is disturbing
just spend 3 hours playing it. Was worried about some previews how this game is parry intensive. Especially since I suck at parry timing in bloodborne/dark souls. I couldn’t bother practicing it either. But its not to bad in this game.
The flow of combat is fast paced and is very different compared to darksouls and such games. You have to attack, then a pretty lengthy parry window so that even I can make the deflection followed by a kill attack. Which feels really satisfying. Instead of just going toe to toe you’ll run into enemies…especially generals and bosses…that have different attacks. Where they charge and lunge at you. Trying to tackle you to the ground or stomp you down. Requiring you either Jump or Dash dodge away to safety. However those often come with very short telegraphed sounds/motions. Which can be annoying and frustrating in the beginning.
I love how its more Tenchu than darksouls. Controls really smooth, stealthing around. Using the shinobi tool to move around trees and roof tops is really well made. Lots of depth in the skills and tool upgrades you need to unlock. A lot of exploration. I saw a platform way down a cliff and decided to jump down. Found some nice loot. A place you’d normally wouldn’t even visit. Same for lots of other loot that is sprinkled around. Good variety in opponents and how they fight. Exploration can also reward you by providing occasional different ways to deal with a boss I’ve noticed.
The a mount of keybinds used is laid out well. Easy to switch through the tools you want to use or items. Unlike Nioh where it just took you out of the fight while you moved through the list basically.
I’m stocking up on Sugars that give you bit more resistance to mitigate incoming damage during boss fights. Because opponents kill you fast if you fuck up 
Using blinding and other items is actually worth while to use as well instead of just being in your inventory throughout the entirety of the game.
I also learned that you shouldn’t use the Death Blow as soon as it becomes available in a boss fight. By the time you get it the boss’s armor is down. Allowing you to reduce its remaining HP down of that bar. Usually when you break the armor the remaining HP is so low you might as well keep attacking and drain the remaining HP into the next bar. Then use the deathblow and reduce that new bar entirely.
Well… decided to go for it. Now just need to wait until it finishes downloading. Ty Gibly for the tips too, should help prevent my death toll from reaching triple digits
My only regret and complaint is that I won’t get to touch the demon or darkness inside anyone ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
(No, Emma doesn’t count for waifu status!)
Damn, game is harder than I thought. The whole parry mechanics, faster gameplay, plus playing with mouse and Keyboard basically equals more time spend dying than playing
Alternate names for this game:
-Sekiro: Shadows Die ZERO DEATHS!
-Sekiro: Shadows Die twice because of no preparation
-Sekiro: Shadows Die - git gud
-Sekiro: Shadows Die a lot
-Sekiro: Shadows Die Hard
-Sekiro: Shadows Die because of The Amulet
-Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - Prepare Controllers Edition
Sekiro: Shadows Die a FUCKLOAD of Times Really What The Fuck Is Wrong With From Are They Fucking Insane Is This Some Kind Of Cruel Joke Damn I Broke My Fucking Pad Again Where The Fuck Is My Xanax
Sekiro Shadows Die 01000111011010010111010000100000010001110111010101100100001000000101001101100011011100100111010101100010 times 
More like 11111111010010010010000001110111011000010110111001110100001000000100100101100011011001010100001101110010011001010110000101101101 times
After 10-20 hours in the game - Bull and Butterfly dead - I can say the game is immensely demanding. It has little in common with Dark Souls, in fact, but comparisons are inevitable so let’s put it this way: imagine Dark Souls but twice as fast, and you HAVE TO parry every second blow… There’s no one universal defense mechanic (like dodge is in Dark Souls or Devil May Cry) - you have to master them all: dodge, dodge jump, block, parry, thrust stomp, preemptive strike, etc. Use the wrong one at the wrong time - with a fraction of a second to react - and you’re often dead. So almost every single miniboss has a very long learning curve (like the goddamn purple ninja guarding the raven feather prosthetic - he alone took me 1-2 hours…) and this is something you must get used to or leave the game alone. But, sadly, in some places it feels like RNG. It’s not a game for manually unsound, impatient or nervous players. Default difficulty is still easier than Ninja Gaiden on nightmare but not by far (!)
Another thing that’s surprising is that there’s very little RPG in it. It’s not Dark Souls. Not even Bloodborne. The level of complexity in character progression is comparable to DMC or God of War. You don’t collect and match gear or figure out what to do with the stats. The sword, a few different hands for special attacks and consumables - this is all. It’s a 100% action game. But on the other hand, compared to some of the top titles in the genre, the number of offensive combinations seems to be on the low side. If you’re looking for a Ninja Gaiden this is not it. It’s more like Dark Souls in this department but with just one weapon instead of a few dozen. However, the moves that do exist seem to be really well balanced and the game does not feel simplistic at all.
So is it worth your money? Absolutely. Best game in a while. The only thing that can compete now is the new God of War.
Besides, I’d love this game to succeed just to show the industry that the plague of banality bullshit like Assassin Creed should not be allowed to spread.
Game is definitely much harder than DarkSouls. Maybe it is because of the faster nature of gameplay and because I am too used to rolling around, but it feels like FROM softwares really did outdid themselves this time. I have lost count of the number of times I have died so far and in the end resorted to using a trainer just to see the endings. Will have to git gud and go at it legit some other time.
Oh and you get to fight 2 of the monkeys at the same time as a secret fight. Twice the Fun, yay! /s
I don’t think that rolls in Sekiro have any invincibility frames at all. And hitboxes can be wild plus tracing is insane if you roll too early. Afaik it only works for thrusts and vertical slashes and only at a close distance so the habit to roll to gain distance is usually what causes the first ~100 deaths.
I find this game much better and “easier” feel than in darksouls actually, but only once you get the hang of the rythmic combat down. The combat in Sekiro has a lot more depth and variety compared to Dark Souls. It also grants you a lot more tools/means to deal with a situation as well. So if you use sugars, the right shinobi tools and combat arts for the specific environment/opponent. Not to mention the Eavesdrops are just stupidly spoilery as well to help you with stuff. You’ll be locking down a lot of the opponents at that point. Which feels a lot more rewarding instead of just hugging the boss’s sweaty ballsack while doing boring dodge rolls and taking out most bosses on the first attempt…because they can all be beaten in the same boring way. In Sekiro bosses actually require a different approach/set up in some way. Which takes several times to figure out the ideal tactic for.
Lack of attributes and gear… It will limit the build diversity and as such the replayability of this game. I’m ok with that since the first time experience is still worth its money. If you play through this game 3 times you’ll probably had all endings/quest approaches and different unlockable skill combo’s.
It is very much not “Sengoku Dark Souls”. The quicker people realize this, the quicker people will be able to truly rate the game(as opposed to “it’s not like Dark Souls” complaints). Sure, it’s got Zaki san signature, but the gameplay is different. You can’t level, you can’t exploit, you can’t truly customize your character. Everyone is just “Wolf, the shinobi”.
With that said, does the game take a different turn if you don’t lose vs Genichiro in the beginning?
Just a different cutscene. You still get your arm cut off and proceed the same.
But how do you lose it then? A giant axe falls from the sky and chops your arm down? :rolleyes:
I didn’t play it, but from what I gather, it’s more aimed towards Tenchu players and / or players who enjoy Parry in Dark Souls. Magic, Shield and Dodge roll players could have a bad time though. The simplest way to put it is:
Dark Souls Rapier playthrough set in Japan with tighter dodge rolls. With Lords-like Gauntlet, just for the good measure(they really did rip off that, didn’t they).
Such a bullshit! Also, why is Genichiro carrying that Bow if he doesn’t use it?
He does use it.
EDIT: To be specific, when you get to fight him again later.