Sekiro is undoubtedly one of Fromsoft's best works, but I often don't see it talked about nearly as much as Bloodborne or Dark Souls. After coming off Elden Ring, I found myself finding it to be a great experience, though overtime the flaws have become more clear to me. I don't think it was until I played Sekiro however that I realized how many steps back Elden Ring took compared to Sekiro.

Sekiro has an incredibly rich setting, filled with disturbing and elegant creatures, the balance struck in environments is top-notch. I can appreciate a lot of Sekiro's melancholic winter feel while also being able to be bright and beautiful in many instances. This delicate balance between the monster and environmental design makes it stand out in the same ways Bloodborne does with an incredibly rich atmosphere complimented by the nature of the world and story. I think Sekiro does a bit better in specific instances like with the giant white snake, that really highlights just how great the environment can look without being compromised by gameplay mechanics. Just as well, Sekiro’s environment provides new gameplay opportunities such as being able to swim underwater, and the option of stealth elevates Sekiro higher since the environment and gameplay mechanics are married perfectly together and don’t fight each other, making for an incredibly immersive and engaging experience.

Environment design is probably some of the best I’ve seen in a game purely from a gameplay perspective as well. Right from the start, Sekiro encourages and rewards using stealth to take out enemies, since you can assassinate them and take them out in one shot while also not alerting other enemies nearby. While you can most definitely play Sekiro like any other Fromsoft game and rush in to fight everyone all at once, it’s how Sekiro balances both playstyles of stealth and aggression that’s particularly amazing. The grappling hook allows you to approach many battles in many different ways, since the environment has plenty of spots you can grapple onto, once again not compromising environment design for gameplay while still working perfectly. You can either take out foes one-by-one, using the grappling hook to stay in their blind spots, as well as bushes and other obstructions to methodically get through a fight unscathed. Or, you can rush in, and use the grappling hook as a quick method to reposition if you get overwhelmed, allowing you to take the high-ground and using your ranged tools to dispose of enemies, or to get the jump on them, or even to get away and heal. I believe this to be one of Sekiro’s strongest assets, since every part of the game maintains this balance between both options, it never neglects what was introduced at the start which is really commendable.

Actual combat in Sekiro is very much focused on parries and breaking your opponent’s stance to get a fatal blow. It’s just like a rhythm game to me, since every enemy has specific parry timings you need to learn to defeat them. Though not every enemy needs to be parried to be disposed of, some enemies will allow you to get away with mashing light attacks, though most enemies will require some skill to beat. Other enemies, such as beasts require less parrying and more damage to their vitality so their stagger bar fills up faster. I think Sekiro’s combat is incredibly unique and satisfying, but definitely the most demanding combat of any Fromsoft game so far for sure, since you really need to have good timing.

Prosthetic Tools are another aspect of combat that adds even more layers to combat. Prosthetic tools are softly required to deal with specific enemies, like the loaded axe to break through shields, the Flame Vent is particularly good with beasts and enemies afraid of light or fire, and the firecrackers allow you to stun more aggressive enemies, and are especially effective against beasts as well. While you can get through the game without using the prosthetic tools much, you are rewarded for experimenting and figuring out what’s weak to what, which adds depth and is just fun to do. While some of them aren’t even somewhat required to deal with enemies, the advantages and variety available to you is impressive, and being able to upgrade them throughout the game is even better. Upgrades can be a bit tedious to grind for, but it allows you to personalize what you want them to do that suits your preferences and playstyle, so it’s very a fantastic inclusion I really loved overall.

On top of Prosthetic Tools, you’ll also be able to upgrade your swordplay as you progress the game. A lot of these skills aren’t even required to finish the game, but provide substantial advantages against enemies which makes it a bit easier on the player. Though there’s one specific skill that’s so strong, it overshadows all the rest once you get it, but until then, it’s really up to your discretion on what you want to specialize in. You can increase how many times you can use your Prosthetic Tools, you can gain new sword techniques, new combo routes, and new techniques that all play back into the idea of wanting to be more stealth oriented, or more aggressive. This duality continuing to persist even among these options really hits home how important it was for the developers to maintain this balance, even among the entirely optional components, which I deeply respect and like a lot.

Combat isn’t just about parrying or using your prosthetic tools though, there’s also some specific moves you can’t simply parry. Sekiro has three specific types of attacks that require you to adapt on the fly, which makes combat much harder, but much more satisfying. Each of these three attacks has a visual cue of a red kanji symbol flashing above the enemy using it, which makes them be reactive to and fair, but you do need to be quick to not be punished. Sweeping attacks need to be jumped over, if you do jump over it, you can jump off the enemy who did it which rewards you with a bit of stagger bar. Thrusting attacks need to be countered by pressing forward and circle, which gives you a lot of stagger bar in return for it. Finally, and very rarely are electrical attacks which require you to jump, parry in mid-air, and then you can reflect the lightning attack back, stunning the enemy for several seconds and also giving you some stagger bar gain. While the electric parry is definitely the hardest, the other two are definitely hard to learn initially, but flow incredibly well with the combat. You could get away not doing them, but it’s strongly encouraged you do, especially since many bosses and enemies later will very commonly use these attacks to keep you on your toes. I personally love these additions because it truly doesn’t make any attack unable to respond to, which makes it very fair on the player. Yes, it’s got strict timing, and you got to practice, but I think the reward and flow for these attacks and counters is brilliantly implemented to not make it feel like a chore or unnatural. Though later bosses will start combining them together, like a sweep into a thrusting strike which can be very hard to adapt to, but it feels like a steady progression of difficulty overall. There’s also some variants of the sweep attacks larger opponents use that you can’t jump off of them for, which makes sense in a realistic sense, but definitely a small shortcoming.

Boss fights in Sekiro are spectacular as well. You’ll be fighting all kinds of beasts and warriors. Boss fights really do boil down to rhythmic timing, dodging, memorization, and immense skill. There’s definitely a few that aren’t very good, especially one particular… demon that goes against everything Sekiro hammers into you throughout the game only to throw all that away for a not so spectacular boss fight that not only is frustratingly long, but again, just doesn’t fit with the combat of Sekiro at all. Besides that one boss however, every boss feels amazing to fight, there’s certainly some difficulty curves throughout the game as well that will really challenge and expect you to master the game. My personal favorite fight in the game though is Guardian Ape, because it’s a combination of a beast you need to attack, but also an opponent you need to parry to defeat them, while also taking advantage of your grappling hook to avoid particularly dangerous moves. I think Guardian Ape balances every mechanic and enemy archetype in the game perfectly and was awesome to fight. Some of my other favorites were Genichiro, Owl (Father), and the final boss. Bosses overall were really good, with two or three stinkers, but that’s par for the course in Fromsoft games, so it’s not a big criticism. While the bosses can get insanely difficult later on, Sekiro tips the scales by allowing you to respawn after you die once, giving you another shot. Had this not been in the game, I’d actually say the difficulty might be the slightest bit over-tuned, but since you do get one more chance after you die, it motivates you to get back up and make a comeback, which I really appreciate.

The actual story of Sekiro is much more involved compared to other Fromsoft games which I really enjoyed as well. Having actual characters driving the plot forward was refreshing, and while none of them are exceptional or anything, they definitely had me a bit invested in the plot and how things were going to conclude. What I really appreciated about Sekiro’s story though was how it took a lot of direct inspiration from Japanese legends and folklore, seeing it all being realized in the setting and story was awesome, and definitely made Sekiro unique and stand-out in all the right ways I’d say. Much like Souls and Bloodborne as well, there’s plenty of interesting lore to read on, and how something as trivial and game-like as respawning is explained in the world and why it occurs, which I really liked.

Graphically stunning as I’ve mentioned before, and the music is also quite great. I actually don’t listen to the OST outside the game much if at all, but while playing Sekiro, I can say I enjoyed it and it only enhanced the experience. I really enjoyed the unique Japanese instrumentation in a lot of the tracks since it really helped emphasize the setting is Japan. While the tracks don’t really stick in my mind much methodically speaking, they are very well done and match the bosses, environments, and story beats well.

Sekiro is truly an amazing experience, and it’s such a shame Elden Ring couldn’t recapture the amazing environmental design of Sekiro, or really the quality of the bosses either. I understand Elden Ring is an open-world game so there has to be certain sacrifices to achieve that, but after I played Sekiro, I was honestly shocked at the difference in quality to me. Not to say Elden Ring is a terrible game or anything, I’m just surprised by Sekiro’s quality really since I neglected it for a long time thinking I wouldn’t like the emphasis on parrying attacks, but boy was I wrong. Sekiro is definitely the hardest and most demanding Fromsoft game I’ve played that is also fair which is a huge achievement. This game is absolutely not for everyone, but absolutely give it a chance if it looks interesting, you will not be disappointed! Thank you all for reading my review. I've been trying to do one review a week, so I hope I can keep the momentum up from here. I’m very close to finishing Final Fantasy IV, so please look forward to that review soon as well! Got some other reviews in the works as well, so I hope you all enjoy reading them as they come. See you all in the next one!