"Even the most distant memories of the past are not lost entirely. They fade... into darkness" - Sculptor

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is more than just a test of reflexes; it's a love letter to precision and patience. What sets it apart for me is the subtle storytelling woven into every corner of the game. From the intricate level design to the cryptic conversations with NPCs, there's a depth that goes beyond the hack-and-slash surface. Plus, the way it seamlessly blends stealth, swordplay, and supernatural elements makes it a truly immersive experience. So, if you're looking for a game that challenges both your thumbs and your intellect, Sekiro is your ticket to gaming nirvana.

Infelizmente ainda não fiz 100%, mas nas próximas sessões de jogo eu pego.
Simplesmente sensacional como as mecânicas são absurdamente fluidas, jogar isso aqui foi bom demais. Sem falar da ambientação do jogo, ele consegue proporcionar à experiência algo totalmente dinâmico e imersivo. Definitivamente uma masterpiece.

Mayoeba yabureru
Sou itta de arou

I've only just been getting into the From Software games after years of avoiding them due to the horror stories of how challenging they are. After "Elden Ring," I decided to pick up "Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice" and while the combat system and difficulty are more advanced, I found the game to be extremely fun and satisfying. The world design and enemies are awesome, there is a pretty cool story that you don't need to read hours of lore to understand, and the boss fights are challenging and intense, yet extremely rewarding once you memorize the attack patterns. It's a difficult game, but it has one of the best combat systems I've encountered so it's worth spending the time retrying boss encounters and learning the mechanics. There's really nothing like it. Don't be afraid to give it a try, I'm a From Software noob and even I was able to "git gud."

It's a very enjoyable game, I just... wish there was more, you know?

Not only is Sekiro much, much shorter than the Soulsborne games, it also is quite lacking in actual content if you compare it to its predecessors. The game reuses a ton of bosses, mobs and locations. The fact that you basically run through the same castle 3 separate times is a bit strange. And if you don't count repeat fights, there are legit like 7 "human" bosses in the entire game. Which sucks because the human bosses are by far the most fun part of the entire thing, and they're what it feels like the entire combat system was built around.

I also have a lot of other minor grievances, mainly that this game sometimes seems to take inspiration from DS2 when it comes to ridiculous enemy ganks, except Sekiro's combat system makes it so that dealing with ganks is even more annoying than in Dark Souls. Also, throughout the entire game the minibosses remained more difficult for me than the actual bosses - oftentimes because of really annoying, artificial difficulty mechanics, such as, again, spamming many enemies into a single small space (fuck you Juzou) or just doing the classic "boss you've already beat but now there's two of them" (you know what I'm talking about).

And the story and worldbuilding is nowhere near the level of Soulsbourne. There's a ton of potential and some flashes of brilliance (Senpou Temple and Fountainhead Palace are awesome locations) but, once again... it just feels like there is not enough. FromSoft tried to simultaneously keep their esoteric storytelling style and also do a more straightforward plot and I don't think this really works. I just kind of didn't give the story much thought when playing the game, because whenever I did actually think about it, my only conclusion was that I have no clue why the hell I should care about my supposed "objective".

I really hope they do a sequel, because the base combat loop is so incredible (and so is the idea of becoming stronger only by honing your skills as a player instead of leveling in-game stats), but this to me almost felt more like a proof of concept than a truly perfected, finalized product.

And I want some harder bosses!

If you are a souls fan boy (like me) you will love this game.
If you are not a souls fan boy (unlike me) you will also love this game.

It seems the only people who cannot enjoy this game are game journalists (I know it's on the industry and the time restraints, not the people, but still) or people who have sticks up their bums and only think a game is enjoyable if it is littering them with achievements without having to work for it.

With that out of the way:
Sekiro is not Dark Souls. I know many people, including me, thought of it as just ninja Dark Souls in Japan haha, but no. It is it's own seperate thing and yes, while it has a lot in common with Dark Souls, it stands on it's own two feet and it is not a good game BECAUSE it is Dark Souls, but IN SPITE OF IT.

Sekiro's gameplay at its core might appear similar. Third person rpg action adventures, where you run around, kill stuff, loot stuff to kill stuff better. But while Dark Souls offers player freedom and emphasises build variety, Sekiro plays a much different tune. There is one main weapon: Kusabimaru, your Katana. Sekiro's fighting system is about learning to use your Katana offensively and most importantly defensively. Parrying is the central defense mechanic of Sekiro, where you have to time your blocks in the rhythm of the enemy's swings. You can't get around this mechanic. It might seem thereby that Sekiro's combat system is one dimensional. Attack when enemy is not attacking and parry when enemy is attacking. But that is not the case. In head to head confrontations you have to consider unparyable attacks as well as how to deal with multiple enemies. Often times it is favorable to use the environment to your advantage. As a shinobi, you have the ability to climb, sneak and grapple your way through levels. And unlike in souls, stabbing an enemy from behind (or above) will instantly kill them and effectively half the hp of any mini boss. Shinobi tools, though often overlooked because they are quite difficult to use, offer major advantages and can make life much easier, if used correctly, like for example stripping the amor of heavily armored enemies with the spear, breaking the shields of enemies with the axe or poising the Okami warrior women to leave them vulnerable. And don't even let me get started on abilities and combat arts. So you could say that Sekiro traded build variety for more freedom of expression in the way you use your comparatively small selection of tools, making every tool count and hiding nigh infinite potential behind every new tool you get. Sekiro's gameplay might seem very similar at first, but at further inspection you can clearly see that Dark Souls and Sekiro go into completely different directions.

I also wanna quickly mention that you are not some rotting, half dead animated corpse of an abomination with light green skin and pink hair that you made in character creation. You play as a shinobi named wolf that isshin calls Sekiro, which is Japanese for one armed wolf. I always liked this stig of the character in Dark Souls reflecting you, the player (and I certainly like looking like shrek in every cutscene), but this story is not your story. You follow the wolf on his quest. This changes things, as characters can now bond with you much better and you finally have the ability to actually utter sentences, giving the wolf a lot of character, even if the character is a single string of dismissiveness towards every other person except maybe Kuro. In the beginning at least. But especially with the sculptor you can build quite a strong bond, showing growth over the course of the journey. Only Sekiro can do this in that manner.

So to sum my rant up. Sekiro is amazing. Everybody knows that and I am not shattering no grounds. But I do want to stress that Sekiro is not Dark Souls. It's an experiment from the part of From Software to stray form what they are best known for. And they have proven to everyone, beyond any shadow (no pun intended) of a doubt that they are not one trick ponys, but that they can make every game work. That's why they are geniuses.

10/10

I was there on day one, at 4 am my time when Sekiro got released. I still remember vividly being awake because I was extra nervous for a job interview the same morning at 9 am. Could not sleep, picked up my phone and a friend told me it was available. The wait for the unpacking of the preload was torture!

I also remember losing my first 5h of playtime to my mother opening yet again the laundry machine and oven, on top of my PC, the fridges, etc.; a killer load for our electrical system. My UPS had recently died, my PC went off during a save and it corrupted. Don't get me wrong, my 5h were less than 1 when knowing where to go and what to do, but it still scorched me so bad I keep setting hourly backups of all the active games I play! 😂

For reasons I can't even understand, I'm five years late for this, but it's time I get around to reviewing Sekiro.
And what better time than now, right after playing through it again? Shoutout to Chad of Astora for the video about the intricacy of the maps in From Software's titles, as that reminded me how wonderful Sekiro is.

Ikuzo, SEKIRO!

The main character, Wolf, is a servant to Kuro, the Divine Heir, who is blessed with the ability to grant immortality to those who serve him. An ability that shapes the world of Ashina into obsession, considering it's so rare. Said blessing, is the lore explanation for why we as the main character can die and resurrect at least once during a fight, but also at the familiar idol checkpoints in the game when failing, but not without a cost.

Being a shinobi, Sekiro can't win a strength contest but excels in ability and agility. Sekiro's mobility is one of the best parts of the game. The grappling hook feels amazing, and the wall jump, plus grab ledge ability, really gives complete freedom of movement.
Gravity is not deadly anymore, and fall damage is a lot more lenient and can be canceled by anchoring where possible with the grapple, regardless of height.

The world's interconnectivity, heavily inspired by Dark Souls 1, is second only to the aforementioned, and Elden Ring. It's possible to explore and do so much before even completing the first objective after the prologue.

The stealth mechanics and the ability to assassinate from behind walls, above, or behind enemies are so fun and well executed! The game is better at assassin's-creeding than any of the last games of the series.
Combined with all the shinobi tools you're given, unlockable skills, and shinobi arts, there is a good amount of customization and build-making available while keeping all the options viable.

Lastly, the collaboration with Activision has given us a great introduction and tutorial.

Stagnant Flaws

Although set in feudal Japan, Sekiro is surprisingly varied when it comes to its environment and design, with plenty of cultural nuances. It's sad that for a foreigner many remain obscure because of a lack of cultural understanding.

Sekiro is extremely transparent with its story and is probably their most story-driven title to date with plenty of cutscenes and dialogues. It leaves little to speculate, and descriptions take the place of instructions for usage, more than pieces of a puzzle.

Compared to Western tropes, it seems to me some subjects are dearer to the Japanese narrative, and are often included in many mediums. For example, the cyclicity of a world/universe can be seen in Dark Souls, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Dragon's Dogma, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, and Evangelion which I can think of. Much like the Moonlight being present in almost all From Software titles in one way or the other, some subjects and mechanics are bound to be improved and reintroduced in new ways.
The subject Sekiro focuses on is stagnancy, accompanied by a familiar mechanic that had not been seen since Demon Souls, abeit less punishing.
I mentioned all this because, for the longest time, the Dark Souls community was stuck in the misunderstanding - caused by a flawed translation - that the flow of time for those games was "convoluted" when the actual translation was "stagnant".
Stagnancy in Sekiro is so excruciatingly explained that in the process, it gives a better idea of what that looks like in Dark Souls.

In Sekiro, my favorite example that sent me into a rabbit hole of research is the character "源” used for the name of an area. Although translated correctly, it also translates to Minamoto, the most powerful and important clan out of four great clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, and Edo periods, who in the Genpei Wars crushed the Taira clan, which the Ashinas were related to.
It's a small history nuance, and not as major as the translation flaw in Dark Souls hindering the understanding of the world, but sad nonetheless as a history buff, when the main setting of the game is Japan, and we could have been exposed to more things like this.

Mastery is victory, hesitation is defeat.

I consider myself a From Software veteran, but there is one boss, my favorite actually, I would say I know like the back of my hand. I can easily tell exactly what it'll do next, and take perfect spacing from its attacks.
I don't say this to boast myself, but to depict a picture of what killing any and all bosses in Sekiro is like. Mistakes are heavily punished, while ability is greatly rewarded.

Learning a fight and its pattern is, for lack of a better example, like learning a track on a rhythm game. It's not just about knowing the song, but knowing how to execute it to a level that will allow you to complete it.
When you learn how a boss moves, the objective shifts from using their windows to damage them, to using what they do against them.
Deflecting attacks will slowly chip away at their posture, giving you the opportunity, if well executed and with enough aggressivity to perform a death blow on a boss with almost all its vitality intact. At the same time, taking some of the vitality down will make their posture recover slower during breaks.
Not all attacks can be deflected, some must be avoided and others must be countered, and it's this intricate dance you do with each enemy that is the magic of Sekiro.

This rhythm, the bosses' ability to dodge or tank after consecutive hits, and the moveset of your attacks being a 4-hit combo with a long recovery on the last move, make the game a souls-lite, although it misses many key components of the genre.
The moveset combo idea worked well in Bloodborne, fast-paced and with low stamina usage, and made its way into Sekiro. The new posture system and rhythm of the boss attacks solve both the attack and roll spam Dark Souls 3 suffered from. All this then made its way into Elden Ring, making it the peak of their work yet.

I never lost a fight without understanding where my mistake was and learning from it, and I was never victorious without feeling like I could do it again.
Sekiro's punishing yet rewarding gameplay is what made me celebrate audibly for defeating a boss I had already defeated in the past, just because I didn't learn it so well at the time, but mastered it now.

Memories of Extraordinary [...]

After winning GOTY - might I remind everyone against Control, Death Stranding, and Resident Evil 2 Remake - almost a year after, a patch was released that added both a boss replay mechanic and three boss rush modes that award different outfits for Sekiro.
This is something I always felt was missing, and I'm glad made its way into it, although breaking a LOT of mod compatibility in the process. This also added some asynchronous online functionalities, like player ghosts and messages.

Although seemingly more restrictive at a glance, Sekiro offers some of the best visuals, gameplay, and movement in gaming.
It all builds up to the best reward for skill and ability of any of the From Software titles, and it makes me hope the true ending is nothing but a nudge to a sequel that would be more than welcome.

10/10