I certainly met my master with this FromSoft game. I played all the souls games before and lately Elden Ring. Now Sekiro was on sale lately and I’m having a blast.
It’s Elden Ring without a horse, but with Ninjas and emphasis on parry and really action-focussed souls-like combat.
After the boss fight with Genichiro (like 40 tries) I really gotten into the flow on how the game works and it got even better after that. Aquiring Player skill is even more rewarding than in Souls or Elden Ring. Killing previously very difficult enemies with ease because you get all the timings right just feels great.
I can totally recommend it to anyone who likes getting better in Souls games and enjoys fast-paced combat, adrenaline spikes and the occasional “fuck this, how can you beat this guy?”-moment.
I’m at Fountainhead Palace right now. Things certainly don’t get boring later in the game. And I’m more excited about NG+ than I ever was in a Souls game.
I rarely lookup boss fight guides in souls-like game and Sekiro made me look it up the most. The final boss fight is a bit too tight and actually for the first time, actually made me watch a video guide (which I dont do in souls-like games).
This is one of the harder boss fight. Congrats on defeating him!
I tried this with DS2 and my Sekiro parry skills didnt seem to translate well. It seems parry windows are more generous in Sekiro and remains tight in DS2 at the very least - I used rapier + parry dagger but went with Rapier + shield instead. (Played DS3 as pyro lol).
I first did in Sekiro. DS2+3 I think I’ve never watched any boss guide as you just know what to expect trying 3-4 times to see most of their stuff.
Sekiro on the other hand often has multiple phases which are vastly different from the initial phase. I did check guides for headless and the apparition warrior bosses because I knew I was just missing something I couldn’t figure out myself. I rarely use any consumables, so these bosses were kinda hard
After beating Genichiro I checked on some guides and see how others did it. There wasn’t any magic at work that would have made my fight easier. And I certainly don’t use exploits.
I certainly wouldn’t feel satisfied if I didn’t pay the iron price for beating the bosses.
Doesn’t feel like 30, but it’s certainly more generous than other games. But you also have to parry a massive volume of blows and a parry isn’t a guarantee for a critical and not nearly as powerful as in Souls.
But those bosses with the sheathed stance (one miniboss and one boss) certainly need more precise timing than your average Elden Ring parry. I like the variety in skill sets you need for Sekiro bosses.
Fromsoft games rarely are on sale. I had Sekiro in my wishlist for like a year as a “nice to have” option. But after Elden Ring, I wanted some Katana action. And the game engine is the same, so no downgrade in terms of graphics. But full price for a 3 year old game is always a bit mehh.
Two tips if you buy: Get Mikiri counter and learn how to use it. So fun! And Eavesdrop on friends and foes. It’s actual relevant on what quests you get. I did miss a few things because I didn’t bother hearing all the ramblings.
I wasn’t that surprised. The game already took a more mythical and fantastic touch by this point. But I had some real troubles beating him. Probably 2nd place for hardest boss after Genichiro. But the muscle memory helped immensly in a “similar” fight later on. May be on par with the demon, but I remember Guardian Ape being more difficult.
I still didn’t beat the final boss. Got him to the last phase, I just can’t do it. I may take a new approach in a couple of months or so. Fromsoft titles always pull me into replaying them at some point. But that box is still left unchecked.
FromSoft knows how to do bosses. They don’t give you victory for free, you have to earn it. And I’d rather fight and beat Malenia three times in a row than doing 4 (!!!) phases in Sekiro’s final showdown.
