Holy fuck. Holy fucking fuck. This is what I desperately needed. This game is absurd levels of batshit difficulty, but if you're willing to take yourself to task and master its systems, its combat is the most satisfying and rewarding of any combat system in any game, period. There's such a high skill ceiling, and because of that, it's incredibly satisfying to become more skilled and overcome a scumbag boss. Every single boss fight in this game is a fucking masterpiece, straight up.
The storytelling is another standout. Most FromSoft action RPGs keep their stories mostly in the background as lore, and only show a bit of their hand in the actual gameplay. They also have nameless, customizable protagonists that the player can map onto. But in Sekiro, you play as one very specific guy with a very specific goal. This sense of internal motivation, a drive to do stuff that isn't merely "I wanna get to the next cool boss fight," makes Sekiro so special. You don't just learn about the characters in the world, you advance Sekiro's relationships with them. If you procure one of the several sake bottles in the game, you can even treat yourself to a hearty sit-down with your favorite character and learn more about them. There's a more tactile sense of character, setting, and plot that makes the world of Sekiro feel so much more special than the other titles. The fact that it is set in Japan (the real, actual island) during a specific time period (circa 1570) and features loads of enemies and worldbuilding lifted directly from Japanese mythology also serves to this end. Fighting a cool boss in Dark Souls is one thing, but fighting my own foster father TWICE in Sekiro cuts really fucking deep. This game is emotional, in many ways that the other titles rarely ever measure up to. Sword Saint Isshin is the most masterfully-realized boss encounter in FromSoft history, straight up.
From the start all the way to the bitter end, Sekiro is non-stop emotional heft and beautiful, effortless challenging combat. It is, far and away, my favorite game ever made.
The storytelling is another standout. Most FromSoft action RPGs keep their stories mostly in the background as lore, and only show a bit of their hand in the actual gameplay. They also have nameless, customizable protagonists that the player can map onto. But in Sekiro, you play as one very specific guy with a very specific goal. This sense of internal motivation, a drive to do stuff that isn't merely "I wanna get to the next cool boss fight," makes Sekiro so special. You don't just learn about the characters in the world, you advance Sekiro's relationships with them. If you procure one of the several sake bottles in the game, you can even treat yourself to a hearty sit-down with your favorite character and learn more about them. There's a more tactile sense of character, setting, and plot that makes the world of Sekiro feel so much more special than the other titles. The fact that it is set in Japan (the real, actual island) during a specific time period (circa 1570) and features loads of enemies and worldbuilding lifted directly from Japanese mythology also serves to this end. Fighting a cool boss in Dark Souls is one thing, but fighting my own foster father TWICE in Sekiro cuts really fucking deep. This game is emotional, in many ways that the other titles rarely ever measure up to. Sword Saint Isshin is the most masterfully-realized boss encounter in FromSoft history, straight up.
From the start all the way to the bitter end, Sekiro is non-stop emotional heft and beautiful, effortless challenging combat. It is, far and away, my favorite game ever made.