Sekiro, Shadows Die Twice

Gameplay Notes

Combat in Sekiro is simple on the surface. You can Attack, Dodge and Block. Each aspect must be mastered to beat this game. The main mechanic is posture, and both you and your enemies will use this mechanic. By lowering posture enough, you or your opponent will be posture broken, opening one up to an instant kill deathblow. Attacking an enemy lowers their posture, whereas blocking attacks will lower your posture. The player can avoid this by parrying, blocking at the exact moment an attack comes through. Parrying will instead lower the enemies’ posture just like an attack would. This delicate dance of parrying and attacking is difficult at the start, but with practice it culminates in an incredibly fun combat system. The game isn't heartless though, Sekiro can resurrect once per fight, giving the player a second opportunity to close out a fight, or live to see another day.

What this game is about

Sekiro is an incredibly difficult game, demanding patience, and a strong mentality to complete. A typical complete playthrough can take anywhere from 20-30 hours depending on your skill level.

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Once the game is complete players can decide to start another playthrough, starting the story over but with much stronger enemies.

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While the game is incredibly difficult, mastery over the combat system has allowed players to beat the game with no damage taken, no weapon attacks, and even blindfolded. The skill cap for players willing to put in the effort is incredibly high.