Well, this post will not be a re-write of my previous review of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice but more an update on my feelings of the game as just this week I decided to give it another go and see if I could enjoy it after my initial disappointing experience of the game.
Now, before I go on, just in case you aren't aware, Sekiro is an action game by the makers of the hugely successful Dark Souls and Bloodborne games (From Software) and this was a hugely anticipated release as it was set to be a real departure from the Soulsborne games that came before it.
I would like to also just say that this post is just based on my opinions of the game and you are free to disagree with me and if you really enjoy this game, that's great.
So, yep I decided to purchase Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Again as I am a big fan of the Soulsborne games, which I had put what must be easily thousands of hours of gameplay into over the last year or so alone! And for me, Sekiro had alot to live up to if it were to prove to be just as great and addictive as these previous games were. However unfortunately, I just felt really disappointed in this game on my first time playing it as I felt really underwhelmed by the environments, frustrated by the punishing difficulty level and above all else, discouraged by the tedious bosses and mini-bosses that paled in comparisons to the Soulsborne bosses.
MY THOUGHTS
So...what do I think of the game a second time round??? Unfortunately I feel exactly the same!
Yep, when I put that disc into the PS4 and loaded it up, I was prepared to give this game a second chance based on FromSoft's reputation alone and it was almost like I felt I owed them that chance. And having kept my save files from my previous playthrough, I was able to carry on where I left off but as soon as I did, I quickly felt that same old feeling of disappointment come back.
And to say a bit more about where I reached in the game, I was up to the point where Sekiro arrives at Senpou temple (Mt Kongo) and he takes on one of the mini bosses, Long Arm Centipede Sen-Un, who is basically a mutated centipede hybrid guy with very sharp long claws. And of course, Sen-Un can really tear you up with those claws if you are not careful and he can perform what is known in the game as a perilous attack (which is essentially an attack that cannot be blocked). So, I tried to beat this boss but I failed miserably to do so as I found his attacks were too fast and frenzied and following a walkthrough on Youtube, I was still not able to beat this guy.
So, I gave up on him and decided to have a go at one of the main bosses, Genichiro, who is well noted in the game for his difficulty and suffice to say again I struggled really badly against him. I did look at a Youtube walkthrough again to try and help me but I just felt at this point really demotivated by the game's overwhelming challenges and I just felt this game was not fun anymore and again decided to quit playing it.
And that for me is the whole problem with Sekiro is that it is simply not a fun game (well for me anyway) as it really feels like a major chore just trying to beat these bosses and mini-bosses. Its also pretty frustrating that in order to boost your health in the game, you have to kill these bosses in order to get what is known as a prayer bead from them and given how tough they are, it makes for a pretty tedious and long drown out slog.
I also still found the whole combat system pretty limited especially where all you do is try and deflect every attack your enemy makes before you can get in a parry and preform a deathblow to remove their health bars of finish them off. It also doesn't help that these bosses can deal out enormous amounts of damage to you and finish off Sekiro in just two hits or less at times where as you do no more than tickle their health bar with your successive strikes! And the whole game in this respect really does feel unbalanced.
And having watched several Youtube videos from Youtubers who have expressed their disappointment in the game, I totally agree with what they said about it and one of the things they said I definitely agree with is that this game forces to play just one game style and that's it. You basically have to learn to deflect and parry and that's pretty much it and you cannot therefore have access to any alternative game plans or strategies to take down bosses and that in itself is pretty frustrating.
So, in the end I just basically deleted the game and returned the disc to the seller I bought it from, which is a pity as I would really liked to have given this game a proper second chance but I just it wasn't worth it.
SUM UP
So to sum up, Sekiro still remains a letdown for me personally as a gamer and it just doesn't cut it or stack up to the Soulsborne games that came before it. I can only hope that when From Software release their next title, Elden Ring come next year, that it will have more appeal and bring something new to the table again just like Sekiro did but in a more accessible and refreshing way that Sekiro for me personally just didn't.
Its a pity I just didn't enjoy Sekiro a second time round as I really hoped I would change my mind but unfortunately it wasn't to be.
Anyway that's it for now and I will be back soon with another post.
Till then its bye for now.
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