I've always been told that to really get into Sekiro, you need to find that "click" where the game finally makes sense. Most of the time I've seen people say if you don't find it by the boss at the top of the Ashina Castle, you might as well give up on playing. I've tried this game several times, the first three or four I dropped it at the Chained Ogre. This time around I decided to persist, and I found that click. Unfortunately that click doesn't inherently make the game fun, just doable. I kept hoping I could find some enjoyment after each boss I took down just filled me with that sense of apathy or angry relief instead of satisfaction. Every boss took me less than 20 tries, the vast majority of which took less than a handful and by NG+, most went down first try. But on this initial playthrough, by the time I got to the final boss I thought maybe the satisfaction would come with me being more powerful in NG+. By the time I got to Genichiro in NG+ I thought it'd come as I got stronger with all the memories I got (without realizing that giving back the charm to Kuro makes the game noticeably harder).
This continuous cycle of "maybe I'll like it more" continued until I got to the final boss of the first NG+ run, where I realized that this game isn't for me. I toiled through and finished the Shura ending to get the plat and in the end all I learned is that I don't get satisfaction out of intrinsic rewards. The way most people get joy from Sekiro (this is a generalization but I feel it's true) is from the satisfaction of your skills outplaying what's in front of you with minimal reward in defeating your foe (sure you get damage increases but those effectively just keep you at the pace the game is ramping up at). The clang of your sword as you perfect deflect, the gushy sound of deathblows, the swift defeat of a boss you've got down to a science. And none of this felt good to me. I never felt like I learned or earned anything from beating a boss. I guess the whole point I'm saying is Sekiro just isn't for me and if you want to play something that gives you a reward that's more than satisfaction, this probably won't be for you.
This continuous cycle of "maybe I'll like it more" continued until I got to the final boss of the first NG+ run, where I realized that this game isn't for me. I toiled through and finished the Shura ending to get the plat and in the end all I learned is that I don't get satisfaction out of intrinsic rewards. The way most people get joy from Sekiro (this is a generalization but I feel it's true) is from the satisfaction of your skills outplaying what's in front of you with minimal reward in defeating your foe (sure you get damage increases but those effectively just keep you at the pace the game is ramping up at). The clang of your sword as you perfect deflect, the gushy sound of deathblows, the swift defeat of a boss you've got down to a science. And none of this felt good to me. I never felt like I learned or earned anything from beating a boss. I guess the whole point I'm saying is Sekiro just isn't for me and if you want to play something that gives you a reward that's more than satisfaction, this probably won't be for you.
2 Comments
"Click" as in getting the feel for the game, it's how I've seen the vast majority of people describe it and I also think it's a good descriptor. I managed to understand how to play the game without just spamming L1 to parry without thought but it never felt fun or good to me. It all felt too algorithmic and artificial, with there being one main solution that's the same for the entire game (I know prosthetic tools are useful but most of the time I just felt they weren't worth using besides firecrackers).
AlbG1
1 year ago