Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

 PC
User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3214 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,674 out of 3214
  2. Mixed: 202 out of 3214
  3. Negative: 338 out of 3214
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  1. vlxedits
    Mar 23, 2019
    7
    Why do I have to stand still like an idiot just to parry

    Its like the only way to win...
  2. 21grams
    Mar 24, 2019
    6
    So much anticipation yet so much disappointment. It's decent game, especially if you're willing to wait for a sale, however it really doesn't live up to a hype it got.

    Pros: - Story and lore - tho I'm not fan of direct storytelling. I preferred Bloodborne and Dark Souls storytelling where you have dig deep to figure out what's going on and why, but it's good enough, - Good music    So much anticipation yet so much disappointment. It's decent game, especially if you're willing to wait for a sale, however it really doesn't live up to a hype it got.

    Pros:
    - Story and lore - tho I'm not fan of direct storytelling. I preferred Bloodborne and Dark Souls storytelling where you have dig deep to figure out what's going on and why, but it's good enough,
    - Good music score, not on the level of DS3 or BB, but fits the setting very well, builds tension and does other things good music score supposed to do.
    - Level design - it's just great, high versatility, a lot of things to discover, use environment to your advantage
    - challenge and difficulty - here they did not **** up. It will put you to the test like hell.

    Cons:
    - Combat is just not good for one simple reason. Everything is based on breaking posture by spamming attack (on weaker enemies) or deflecting and countering stronger enemies - rinse and repeat, it's just tedious and boring. On some rare occasion you can get leverage with one of special tools you unlock - but that's about it.
    - Character building is very simplistic, basically on the level of older Assassin's Creed games - find thing X to unlock tool, plus you have few skills to unlock at your disposal - that's it. There are no weapons to find, no armor to find - all the loot are upgrade components and consumables - which feels just very linear without any impactful decision making.
    -Graphics look dated, tho some of the artstyle is pretty good and there are some weird fps drops out of thin air (I suspect it has something to do with poor LOD and texture streaming), no ultra-wide support, game doesn't tolerate 2nd monitor and will cut performance severely until you unplug it, there are also some issues on Intel CPUs where having turbo boost enabled hinders performance severely - so pretty mediocre PC port to say the least.
    - Can't see any replay value (except maybe speed running) - because as I mentioned there is not enough diversity in character building (you won't make a different build to enjoy different combat experience - everything is just to thin and basic), there is no online component (so obviously no pvp) - there is just nothing worthwhile for a second playthrough to be seen.

    So yeah, don't believe all those 9s and 10s out of 10. The game is nowhere near on the brilliance of Dark Souls or Bloodborne. It feels like watered down and streamlined action game with very little diversity and choice making at your disposal. If not technical issues and piss poor PC port lacking basic features that should be standard in 2019, I'd give it 7/10, but with technical issues and other problems I mentioned in cons section - 6/10 is max I can rate it. Note: 6/10 means it's a pretty decent game but with some problems. See the difference is - for IGN and other crap outlets, 6/10 is equal to garbage game - personally I utilize full scale and thus it means it's not bad game at all - more like disappointing a bit.

    tl;dr: I suggest to wait for sale, at    … Expand
  3. devilchao0
    Mar 22, 2019
    5
    Pros:
    -Decent Graphics
    -Good voice acting
    Cons
    -Artificial Difficulty
    -Strange Hitboxes
    -Low enemy variety
    -Jerky movement coupled with strange animations
  4. AkumaJack
    Apr 15, 2019
    7
    Okay, so this game is quite good but like every fromsoft game it has many problems.
    Pros:
    AMAZING world design
    Good level design
    Almost every bossfight is great...

    Cons
    ... But they copy&paste like 20 bosses/minibosses.
    Combat system is subpar
    No replayability
  5. boeph
    Nov 10, 2019
    5
    Лучше всего проходить игру на youtube, если в играх не любите рутину.
  6. Vasot
    Mar 27, 2019
    6
    Score 10 or 9 for this ??? Sorry but NO i don't understand what some fanboys are thinking the game has clunky controls married with a boring parry system (without a gamepad it's even worse) also the game story is just bare bones with forgettable NPCs and most enemies are very repetitive (it's like killing the same guys over and over again). The is like a indie game made from some poorScore 10 or 9 for this ??? Sorry but NO i don't understand what some fanboys are thinking the game has clunky controls married with a boring parry system (without a gamepad it's even worse) also the game story is just bare bones with forgettable NPCs and most enemies are very repetitive (it's like killing the same guys over and over again). The is like a indie game made from some poor company.....… Expand
  7. Pocamatador
    Mar 23, 2019
    5
    The game is fun if we does not count the rage and frustration it gives you, i enjoyed the game everywhere except boss fights and unfair situations, this might be because this is my first time playing a game hard like dark souls and i realised that i will never ever play a FromSoftware game again, their games are great but they aren't for me, most of the good reviews came from people whoThe game is fun if we does not count the rage and frustration it gives you, i enjoyed the game everywhere except boss fights and unfair situations, this might be because this is my first time playing a game hard like dark souls and i realised that i will never ever play a FromSoftware game again, their games are great but they aren't for me, most of the good reviews came from people who like dark souls, and those games which makes you rage if you aren't that good at it, the game really doesnt deserve this score, rage, frustration, the game if we does not count those 2 still isn't that good, i gave it a 5 because it would be a decent game if it would be a little bit easier but it still would go higher than 8 for me.… Expand
  8. 0v0_Dee
    Mar 24, 2019
    6
    Хитбоксы хуже чем в ds1, абсолютно не рабочий стелс и очень странная новая система связанная с утратой денег. Большая часть боссов это просто усложненные обычные противники к которым поставили не усложненных обычных противников xd. В двух(4) словах: Игра хуже чем ds2. А это сами понимаете какой п***цХитбоксы хуже чем в ds1, абсолютно не рабочий стелс и очень странная новая система связанная с утратой денег. Большая часть боссов это просто усложненные обычные противники к которым поставили не усложненных обычных противников xd. В двух(4) словах: Игра хуже чем ds2. А это сами понимаете какой п***ц
  9. GreenWhite
    Mar 23, 2019
    5
    The world is pretty bland and boring, the combat system - shallow and uninspired. Feels like a chore choppingup the helpless enemies with the minuscule amounts of damage the only weapon in the game does... Was not expecting much, got exactly that.
  10. hanbolo
    Mar 23, 2019
    6
    I'm about 20+ hours into this game so far. I've been an extremely hardcore fan of all of the games in the dark souls series. I've beat everyone, including Demons souls. Every time I've had difficulty with any part of the game, I've been able to take a step back and tell myself, "That's what I'm doing wrong." But that is not the case with this game. Instead, it's an extremely repetitiveI'm about 20+ hours into this game so far. I've been an extremely hardcore fan of all of the games in the dark souls series. I've beat everyone, including Demons souls. Every time I've had difficulty with any part of the game, I've been able to take a step back and tell myself, "That's what I'm doing wrong." But that is not the case with this game. Instead, it's an extremely repetitive brain dead action slasher with almost no strategy except "Test your reflexes!"

    But that's okay! That's not really whats wrong with it. What's wrong with it is the fact that it's still a SoulsBorne game. With all the mechanics of a souls game. As in, if you get hit 3+ times, you die. See, I understand the direction they were trying to go with this game. All of the DS games so far have been about playing defensively. That's what the combat is basically framed by, playing defensively. But this game tries a new direction -- "What if we made a game, with all of the same factors as the dark souls games, except you have to play offensively instead?" So they did. And really, it just doesn't work. But it's cool I guess.

    And the AI. Oh my god, the AI. It's so bad. It's laughably bad. They try to make stealth a big part of the game. But how are you going to make a stealth game when I can hide behind a rock for 10 seconds in plain sight and have them not know where I am?

    What this game does do good is the atmosphere. It's beautiful. The music is fantastic too. And the fights that aren't boss fights can feel smooth and fun when executed correctly.    … Expand
  11. HonestReviews4U
    Mar 26, 2019
    7
    Judging this game was really hard for me. I suppose I shouldn't have gone into this game expecting Nioh, however because of the similar setting and themes I did. That... was most certainly a mistake.
    Let's first talk about the things this game does right.
    +The voice acting is on point and any other sound effects are really good. +The level of gore you would expect from a From Software    Judging this game was really hard for me. I suppose I shouldn't have gone into this game expecting Nioh, however because of the similar setting and themes I did. That... was most certainly a mistake.
    Let's first talk about the things this game does right.

    +The voice acting is on point and any other sound effects are really good.
    +The level of gore you would expect from a From Software game is here and even some of the more grotesque imagery is to be found, even though this game is (slightly) more grounded in reality, at least compared to the other SoulsBorne games.
    +The gameplay is exactly how you would expect it to be; the controls are very similar to Dark Souls 3, so for fans of that control style, it's pretty much perfect.
    +The game has the SoulsBorne difficulty you would expect, so no worries there.
    +Some interesting new mechanics made possible with the prosthetic you get relatively early on.
    +Bigger focus on guarding instead of dodging
    +A (somewhat) open world. People who like open world games will enjoy this one too.

    And that's about it, sadly, so let's talk about the negatives, starting with the most unnecessary one,

    -The graphics are simply outdated. Now, I am not a graphics whore and I usually prefer a game with worse graphics and better gameplay over games with better graphics and worse gameplay (as a gamer should), however IMO, the game's graphics look even worse than in Dark Souls 3. Like, how does that happen??? That is honestly inexcusable. Now I wouldn't mind this so much, if it weren't for the...
    -Bad performance. While I can perfectly run DS3 in 4K, Max settings at way over 60FPS, and can't do that in this game, or anywhere near it, and like I said, it looks worse than DS3, so no, this is not because of my hardware. The game just... lags, and that at very weird intervals.
    -The gameplay, much like in the older games, feels really stiff. I don't know if it's because of the animations or the hitboxes, but it doesn't feel natural at all. This is where my bias towards Nioh comes into play, since that game has combat which is smooth af, especially with the stance changes mid combo.
    -The stealth mechanic is negligible at best. While you can use it to surprise your enemies, you will also take them down just as quickly by just running at them and fighting them head on.
    -And while we are already talking about mechanics, I do like that this game focuses more on blocking/reflecting rather than dodging, but that comes at a cost. Dodging is pretty much useless now. I've been in countless situations where I would have been able to dodge-roll out of the way in older SoulsBorne games, but not in this one. Either the attack hitboxes or the dodging mechanics are seriously broken.
    -No character customization. This is pretty much just a nitpick, but it does annoy me. I wouldn't mind the pre-made character, if it weren't for...
    -The Story. I don't like it. Some people might, I don't. Again, Nioh Bias, I was expecting an amazing story like in Nioh, and this game certainly didn't deliver on that scale. It's okay, but nowhere near as amazing as I had hoped for.
    -60FPS lock on PC. Nitpick, but still, annoying.
    -Very shallow combat. Again, Nioh Bias, I was expecting different stances or light and heavy attacks or *any* variety, but no, the focus only lies on (dodging and) blocking.
    -A (somewhat) open world. I don't like open world games. That's just my opinion, but so is this entire review.

    Overall, while this game is waaaaaay under-performing when compared to Nioh, I will still try to view this game as objectively as possible.
    If you like the other SoulsBorne games, this is an easy pick-up for you.
    If you were, like me, expecting Nioh 2, you'll be disappointed, but you should still give it a try.
    If you hate open world or stealth games, don't bother.
    And if you're one of those people who complain about the fact that this game is "too hard" or "artificially hard": Git Gud    … Expand
  12. isg1983
    Mar 22, 2019
    7
    Too fast for a souls game though it's not a souls game supposedly. You can literally jump around to the bosses directly in 2 min like you have a speed hack. Doesn't have the same atmosphere as souls have, items etc more convoluted, or too simplified.
  13. the_sarpo
    Oct 18, 2019
    6
    one of the best combat mechanics I've ever seen in a game... good graphics, great audio but... a big but... boss fights are cheesy... CHEESY!!! Why did they f*** this great potential with cheesy boss fights? every boss has 2-3 phases and every time you pass a phase, it gets cheesier... imagine this: you are doing great, passed 2 phases and whats that? boss does 1 7 hit coımbo each hit hasone of the best combat mechanics I've ever seen in a game... good graphics, great audio but... a big but... boss fights are cheesy... CHEESY!!! Why did they f*** this great potential with cheesy boss fights? every boss has 2-3 phases and every time you pass a phase, it gets cheesier... imagine this: you are doing great, passed 2 phases and whats that? boss does 1 7 hit coımbo each hit has potential of taking % 101 of your HP... I LOVE Dark Souls series, Bloodborne was also great but this game is wasted with cheesy bosses... not all of them but majority of bosses are cheesy. don't tell me to GIT GUD cos I've already beaten this garbage...… Expand
  14. GTherion
    Mar 22, 2019
    5
    The graphics are not acceptable for a 2019 game. My eyes hurt. Feels like a PS2 game.
  15. PekaMan
    Mar 22, 2019
    5
    Well, bad graphic, bad plot, bad gameplay.

    2019 year - cmon, stop selling trash games.

    50 rewards(c)Youtube Promotion... GOOD STORY
  16. Ferorake
    Apr 30, 2019
    6
    OK, I update the review after I finished the game, and from the 3 of 10 gave before, I'm going to increase the vote up to 6 of 10.
    For me the game is unbalanced. You start the game nearly without equipment or skills, and have to farm exp to unlock some necessary mechanics. Every early boss is nearly impossible, requiring nearly hundreds of tentatives to be completed. I quitted the game    OK, I update the review after I finished the game, and from the 3 of 10 gave before, I'm going to increase the vote up to 6 of 10.
    For me the game is unbalanced. You start the game nearly without equipment or skills, and have to farm exp to unlock some necessary mechanics. Every early boss is nearly impossible, requiring nearly hundreds of tentatives to be completed. I quitted the game for that reason. After all videos watched online I gave it another chance, and after unlocked some skills and items the game became... easy. After you get how to use Shinobi Firecracker, every boss becomes easy. You just have to parry some attacks, use SF, buff yourself and... done. For me one of the worst decision made by From was that parry actually damages the enemy. You can kill all the bosses of the game just parrying attacks, transforming an action-rpg game on a rythm game. Even the pattern of the bosses are not well made. They don't have different attacks that can be concatenated to make strange combos. They just have combos easy to forecast.
    So the game in the start is frustrating and hard, in the end becomes easy. For this I said in the start that the game is "unbalanced". Even all the prosthetic tools and skills are nearly useless. You'll use everytime 23 of them. I had the feeling that the game wasn't meant to be played "as you want", but as IT WANTS. This is the risk on making a true and pure action game, and this is the problem of this game. A deepness and profundity like this was acceptable 10 years ago. Now everyone wants to modify the character, have rewards exploring, and things that an RPG game should give you.
    The world of Sekiro it's a bit repetitive, but it's not bad. The problem is that you're not encouraged to explore it, because at least you'll find some little ( and not interesting ) lore details, or just an item to uprade your stats. The problem is even that more you explore the game, more you upgrade stats, and more the game gets easier.
    One nice thing is that you're going to find a lot of secret bosses around the world. I really appreciated that thing. I also appreciated that all the "hard bosses" have an idol near them ( bonfire of dark souls ) so you don't have to walk for minutes before to try again ( you have to do this only with secret bosses ).
    The game itself is funny to play after you pass the first 1520 hours of playing. The problem resides in the fact that in the first 20 hours you'll be stucked, and then you'll fly until the end of the game without problems.
    So, it's a nice game and deserves to be played, but it's not the "game of the year" and things like this.    … Expand
  17. mirg
    Mar 24, 2019
    5
    Pros:
    -Interesting world.
    -Graphics are quite nice. -Voice Acting is pretty good. Cons: -Poorly explained mechanics and systems. -The Level Design is even worse then Dark Souls 2. -Death Mechanic isn't as punishing as the Souls titles. -Combat is still just about Parry'ing and Dodging attacks. -No character customization, you can't even get a haircut. -Very repetitive enemy    Pros:
    -Interesting world.
    -Graphics are quite nice.
    -Voice Acting is pretty good.

    Cons:
    -Poorly explained mechanics and systems.
    -The Level Design is even worse then Dark Souls 2.
    -Death Mechanic isn't as punishing as the Souls titles.
    -Combat is still just about Parry'ing and Dodging attacks.
    -No character customization, you can't even get a haircut.
    -Very repetitive enemy types, so most enemies will just feel like a copy/paste job.
    -The default Voice Acting language is Japanese instead of defaulting to the users native language.

    Just play Nioh instead, you'll find more enjoyment playing that then this.    … Expand
  18. Tarelow
    Mar 27, 2019
    5
    Game was not made for pc - keyboard, only in control! And I do not use ... Actually on the keyboard is impossible! The camera is confusing and in a difficult game this is very bad, against bosses happened about four times .... I had to play everything again! It becomes very repetitive and annoying ... At first it's cool .... I think a lot of coincidence the map is vertical and very muchGame was not made for pc - keyboard, only in control! And I do not use ... Actually on the keyboard is impossible! The camera is confusing and in a difficult game this is very bad, against bosses happened about four times .... I had to play everything again! It becomes very repetitive and annoying ... At first it's cool .... I think a lot of coincidence the map is vertical and very much like the Tomb Raider 2013, really strange ...… Expand
  19. M4R7lN
    Mar 24, 2019
    7
    Sadly this game is reviewed by it's hype and predecessors. Technically its lacking polishing. The camera tends to flicker around like crazy in intense boss fights using its lock on feature and often you are not able to see anything due to some piece of broken stuff or grass blocking your vision completely. The essential feature for an inital execution often fails when initialized fromSadly this game is reviewed by it's hype and predecessors. Technically its lacking polishing. The camera tends to flicker around like crazy in intense boss fights using its lock on feature and often you are not able to see anything due to some piece of broken stuff or grass blocking your vision completely. The essential feature for an inital execution often fails when initialized from above with you finding yourself fighting an enemy with its two full healthbars and desperately dying at the last inch what could have been prevented with a working feature. Pretty desperate when you find yourself not enjoying the game but constantly respawning to just get the initial execution after the 4th atempt on a jumping execution. It has its adventure parts but they are way to small. You are running just from one boss arena directly into another making it more like Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption. Therefore it can't succeed in giving you a feeling like the souls series where the wide areas and many foes challenged you besides its bosses. I did not expect another Dark Souls game or a Souls like but the standard that Fromsoftware raised is not matched in Sekiro until it will evolve in future episodes like Dark Souls did.… Expand
  20. MadclownJack
    Apr 2, 2019
    6
    Its okay i guess. From a technical aspect a lot better than previous FS titles, and most importantly it can be PAUSED!! Praise Jesus, or Buddha, or whoever! Seems to be mostly made for Bloodborne fans. Parry and learn every quick time event to pass even regular enemies, is more tedious and less a learning curve. Not fun after a short while, at least for me. I don't really look forward toIts okay i guess. From a technical aspect a lot better than previous FS titles, and most importantly it can be PAUSED!! Praise Jesus, or Buddha, or whoever! Seems to be mostly made for Bloodborne fans. Parry and learn every quick time event to pass even regular enemies, is more tedious and less a learning curve. Not fun after a short while, at least for me. I don't really look forward to frustration as a learning tool anymore, i've had my fair share of those playing the Souls games. It's way too repetitive imho. Playing with a Gamesir T2A and having latency issues, making parries all but possible. I never had these issues with Monster Hunter World. I like the whole aesthetic, and the feel of the game. Though the style of the gameplay brought the fun to a grinding halt for me, i do recommend this to people that haven't played any of the Soulsborne series. Also maybe wait a while for the hype to die down so you feel less pressure to perform and more room to learn. For me, as sad as i am that i won't be able to see this through to the end, if for nothing else but to enjoy the designs, i'm done with these games preying on my inner masochist. It's tiring, really.… Expand
  21. Russian
    Mar 28, 2019
    7
    Хотелось бы вспомнить, что Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice все еще отличная souls-like игра. Про все такое же отзывчивое и вполне удобное управление. Хорошую оптимизацию для ПК. Все такой же добротный челендж для себя и своей нервной системы. Пусть и опостылевшие, но все еще красивые локации. Тут даже нелинейность и несколько концовок есть! Вроде бы все на месте, но это, если позволите,Хотелось бы вспомнить, что Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice все еще отличная souls-like игра. Про все такое же отзывчивое и вполне удобное управление. Хорошую оптимизацию для ПК. Все такой же добротный челендж для себя и своей нервной системы. Пусть и опостылевшие, но все еще красивые локации. Тут даже нелинейность и несколько концовок есть! Вроде бы все на месте, но это, если позволите, стандартные и привычные для работ этой студии вещи. От отцов жанра, которые уже 10 лет к ряду выпускают подобные проекты, ждешь чего-то большего. Не нового слова, не революции. А шага, пусть небольшого, но вперед. Sekiro оказалась не игрой Souls серии, а именно Souls-like. Подобной, но не входящей в их ряды.

    Смотришь на ярлык и не хочешь возвращаться. Ведь там нет былой загадочности. Абсолютно другая атмосфера, которая придется по вкусу не всем. Нет мультиплеера, который для многих игроков Dark Souls и Bloodborne до сих пор невероятно актуален. Стало гораздо меньше бэктрекинга, навязанного самой игрой, но разработчики как знали, что возвращаться в большинство локаций игрокам и так не захочется. Самое страшное для подобной игры с такой лояльной аудиторией - забвение. И будет очень прискорбно, если так произойдет с Sekiro. Всем известно почему не DS4 или BB2. Была пора двигаться дальше и Миядзаки я полностью поддержал в этом стремлении. Но пошли разработчики не вперед, а в сторону. Игра нормальная, но не думаю, что хотел бы увидеть продолжение. У Nioh 2 есть отличный шанс побороть батьку на его же поле и я, со всем своим негативным отношением к первой части, думаю, что это вполне реально. Тем более соперник без руки. А там еще чем-то схожая Ghost of Tsushima на горизонте... даааа, Японией и самураями в 2019-ом можно будет обмазываться.    … Expand
  22. robomartion
    Oct 22, 2019
    7
    It's got enough content for at least four playthroughs and provides satisfying enough gameplay. Character customisation suffers compared to previous Fromsoftware titles, and the story and world building is nothing to write home about and the artstyle is somewhat drab, but there is plenty of interesting character designs and bosses (although many are simply re-skinned) as well as uniqueIt's got enough content for at least four playthroughs and provides satisfying enough gameplay. Character customisation suffers compared to previous Fromsoftware titles, and the story and world building is nothing to write home about and the artstyle is somewhat drab, but there is plenty of interesting character designs and bosses (although many are simply re-skinned) as well as unique level designs (areas are also reused) to make this one worth trying out - if you can stomach the one-dimensional and drawn out nature of the fights. There isn't any real opportunity for different ways to play, lest you want to speedrun it, which in and of itself is an interesting proposition in its own right. Sekiro won't have the staying power of Dark Souls but for the time being it will get some sufficiently well deserved time in the spotlight.… Expand
  23. Vaxkang
    Apr 8, 2019
    7
    Great at times, tedious at times. After 45 hours or so I would have to admit this game is a step back from previous games. The game itself is punishing to start but you do get better, gamers will typically get to a point where it starts to feel tedious though.

    The combat is all about the timing and deflections and it is hard, very hard. That in itself is not a bad thing but the    Great at times, tedious at times. After 45 hours or so I would have to admit this game is a step back from previous games. The game itself is punishing to start but you do get better, gamers will typically get to a point where it starts to feel tedious though.

    The combat is all about the timing and deflections and it is hard, very hard. That in itself is not a bad thing but the payoff is very poorly done. You really get nothing for your hard work, all those deaths and trying over and over....no armour, no new weapons. The skill tree just eventually gets full, there is no real build to try.

    Most people will just look up cheese strats, so many online to choose from. The combat has some depth but there will be zero depth in replayability. I like the game, I do not love it like I have with other From Software games.    … Expand
  24. volkermuller55
    Mar 30, 2019
    6
    Say goodbye to armor, primary weapons, varied and complex builds, emotes and any other roleplaying elements, coop, and pvp. This is not a soulsborne game and fans of the soulsborne franchises should not be misled into believing that the gameplay is similar. Virtually every system has been overhauled, for better or worse.
    In some ways this title is more friendly to new players than    Say goodbye to armor, primary weapons, varied and complex builds, emotes and any other roleplaying elements, coop, and pvp. This is not a soulsborne game and fans of the soulsborne franchises should not be misled into believing that the gameplay is similar. Virtually every system has been overhauled, for better or worse.
    In some ways this title is more friendly to new players than previous ones because you'll never have to look at wall of stats that you'd have to dig around online to make sense of and you won't have the training scars from playing earlier titles. But in another way, it's much more hostile to new players because the difficulty scaling is unprecedented even for a From Software game.
    Grinding is mostly ineffectual as the only reward you get for grinding is Sen (the primary currency, which can be used to purchase consumables and in some cases prosthetic attachments) and Skill Points, which are used to purchase new acrobatic abilities for your character (only one of which can be slotted at a time). You cannot increase your HP pool or Posture by grinding and you cannot summon friendly NPCs to assist you in boss fights, meaning that when you get stuck on a boss your only option is to continue slamming your head against that wall until you win or quit the game.
    Many returning FromSoft fans that are hostile to new players, casuals, and the notion of accessibility in game design will see these changes as improvements, however I generally see them as a step backwards. I don't think it's good game design for the basic narrative elements to be inaccessible to many players (even some who are willing to spend countless hours trying to 'git gud').
    My single biggest complaint with the game is the reductive nature of the new combat system. Many players seem to feel that the combat system is more complex than ever, but I disagree and I will enumerate my reasons why: Poise has been all but removed from the game, weapon arts have been replaced by acrobatic skills, stamina management was replaced by posture, spirit emblems effectively replaced FP, the prosthetic replaced spell attunement, and the jump mechanic replaced the kick. The vast array of sorceries, miracles, and pyromancies (96 total in dark souls 3) have been replaced by 11 prosthetic attachments. In Dark Souls or Bloodborne there are a wide variety of different play styles and approaches that are equally viable for completing the PVE content. You can be a strong dude with heavy armor, a giant, slow weapon, and tons of poise that just knocks bosses on their asses and manages damage trades. You can use spellcasting as your primary strategy for virtually every boss in the game. You can use a dex character with high mobility and fast weapons that inflict status effects like bleed on enemies. They all do the job, and this fantastic variety makes for excellent replay value (even for the players that aren't interested in challenge runs).
    That's just not the case in Sekiro. You have one weapon, one basic play style, and bosses only have one or sometimes two different basic strategies that are viable to beat them. To make things worse, many of the acrobatic skills that can be acquired that are supposed to make the player feel like they're making progress and getting deeper gameplay are completely nullified by certain bosses. For example, unblockable thrust weapon attacks and some kicks can be countered with a skill called the mikiri counter and unblockable sweep attacks can be jumped over, followed by a swift kick to the face that deals a lot of posture damage. Certain bosses, like Genichiro Ashina (a required boss for story progression), for example, can completely nullify these abilities and punish the player for trying to take advantage of them. This removes depth from the combat and this tactic the developers use to increase the difficulty of the game is equally artificial as tactics like making a boss' attacks deal so much damage they're all one-shot kills or tripling the HP pool of the boss to make it harder.
    It certainly feels like the central principal of this game's design was to make it extremely difficult without regard for making the gameplay feel fair, varied, or balanced.
    These drawbacks are such an intrusive impediment to enjoying the game that they overshadow many pleasant qualities in the game. I like that they tried to challenge returning hardcore players by removing I-frames from dodges. I like the new grappling mechanic and how this frees up the artists who designed the maps to add an entirely new dimension to the areas you play in. The visuals and voice acting are superb, and there appears to be just as much effort put into developing the lore of this game universe as previous titles. There are tons of different boss fights to be had in this game with 15 bosses and 29 Mini-bosses, although some of them are effectively just re-skins. I love FromSoft and their games, but I think this one was simply a step in the wrong direction. 6/10    … Expand
  25. GreyFox_7
    Mar 28, 2019
    5
    Good world and level design as you'd expect from FROMSOFT. Lack of real character progression and items is a major downfall and lackluster items overall. Exploring a secret in this game is easily the worst in the FROM games since DeS and finding a handful of ash after going through a tunnel around the river and through the woods is a fitting item to describe the secrets in this game.Good world and level design as you'd expect from FROMSOFT. Lack of real character progression and items is a major downfall and lackluster items overall. Exploring a secret in this game is easily the worst in the FROM games since DeS and finding a handful of ash after going through a tunnel around the river and through the woods is a fitting item to describe the secrets in this game.

    The combat is the worst in the recent FROM games as well. People complain about Shields in DS yet in this game you have the most OP shield(not even talking about the umbrella) and infinite stamina to go with it as you can just block block block with your sword and easily get posture back for some more. Enemies have posture and poise AND hyper armor which is lame as your character gets sent flying to the floor with even a basic sword slash and even gets staggered without a posture break as well and the animation is fitting as he holds his hand up begging the enemy to stop which is funny as it was just one sword hit....just lame

    Dying in 2 or 1 hit sucks and is boring. The best fights are the ones where you don't die instantly from something lame and eye rolling. Lady Butterfly and genichiro for example are good ones and they don't kill you instantly.

    For their sake I hope they don't do another game like this as the next round won't have the sales to go with it if user response is any indication and they have a loyal and good fanbase from Soulsborne and I didn't think anything could make Bloodborne look even better than it is but this game does just that. The combat and systems in Soulsbourne are deliberate and Bloodborne has the perfect mixture of SP, co op, PVP, story, combat, etc. That's the formula they should stick to and as long as they do those these one offs shouldn't be a big deal but it's going to get the review it deserves regardless of past games.    … Expand
  26. Wilkens
    Apr 11, 2019
    6
    In my view Sekiro is a decent but not great game. While far from being awful, this game does not deserve the high scores that it has received as result of the unexpected zeitgeist From Software has enjoyed for the past decade. While some aspects are fun and well presented, its shortcomings ultimately stem from From Software's attempt to combine two types of games into one, while doingIn my view Sekiro is a decent but not great game. While far from being awful, this game does not deserve the high scores that it has received as result of the unexpected zeitgeist From Software has enjoyed for the past decade. While some aspects are fun and well presented, its shortcomings ultimately stem from From Software's attempt to combine two types of games into one, while doing neither of them very well, or at least not nearly as well as those that are top of class in each category.

    Sekiro is a ninja/samurai action game and it's a stealth game. While the combat is okay, it is, in my view, completely outclassed by Nioh which not only has the parrying mechanic of Sekiro, but multiple weapon types, 3 stances per weapon and dozens of moves per weapon. Sekiro tries to nail the dance of sword fighting, but Nioh executes that dance much more effectively with greater variety and a much smoother frame rate. The limited attack options in Sekiro basically come down to a game of blocking, parrying, jumping and attacking with a simple fixed combo. The challenge of the game is in learning each enemy's attack patterns and selecting the correct sequence of parries, jumps and attacks to break their posture and deliver a deathblow. When first presented this feels very challenging, but as soon as it is memorized it goes from challenging to trivialized as you learn to fight in the game's intended metronomic fashion, simply keeping the beat until you can deliver a "shinobi deathblow" (fancy name for quicktime event) rather than engaging in dynamic combat. Because the AI is very simple, enemies rarely mix up attacks like they do in Nioh. This combat system is further marginalized by the inconsistency of quicktime shinobi deathblow. Sometimes a red dot appears when you sneak up on an enemy without them noticing, other times you can repeat the exact same scenario with no dot. The jankiness of this mechanic is demonstrated most often in the context of dropping onto an unsuspecting enemy and baiting enemies around corners-- situations in which triggering the quicktime shinobi deathblow seems at times truly random. I'm not sure if this is because the game wants you positioned in a very specific way and fails to account for what is displayed onscreen, or if the variable framerate is to blame. In an event, it creates a sort of randomizing effect to the game where sometimes I found myself missing kills I felt I had earned, and at others getting kills I felt I did not. This aspect significantly erodes notion that one can "get gud" (or not be good) at the game.

    As a stealth game, Sekiro does much worse compared to the best in class, namely, Metal Gear Solid. The stealth options and AI in Sekiro are behind the original Metal Gear from 1998, and the game is so far behind the stealth mechanics of MGSV that it's not even comparable. At times enemies will spot you when you are completely out of sight and at others they will fail to notice you when you are right in front of them. Unlike Metal Gear, enemies make no changes in their behavior based on your actions. A quick assault and retreat does not result in reinforcements being called in, nor do enemies change their combat tactics or armor choices to defend against over-used attacks. This is a shame because stealth is such a vital component of any ninja/shinobi based game. It seems like a missed opportunity since From Software jettisoned the RPG elements of its previous games in order to focus on the shinobi archetype, which was them hamstrung by lackluster stealth mechanics.

    From Software has made a fair game, but in order to be great you can't just make a new IP that is decent or perhaps better in some regards than your previous games, you must make a game that competes with what others have done in the space you are trying to occupy. Sekiro falls short of this, but it's still a decently enjoyable game to play for a short stint. I will say that some aspects are well done and more enjoyable than From Software's previous titles. The speed of the game makes it more engaging and as always, the art direction is excellent. From Software's games are always presented with a certain serious mood and artistic design that makes them beautiful to look at and the color palette of feudal Japan is their best yet. The music and voice acting, particularly the work of Noshir Dalal, are spot on. Unfortunately, actually playing the game is not nearly as captivating as looking at it.    … Expand
  27. jcolin
    Jun 3, 2019
    5
    While it is a beautiful game, they stripped the rpg elements and character customization of their previous games away to produce this action/adventure game. I'm not too fond of it.
  28. Nyakuya
    Apr 17, 2019
    6
    Que decir... Repetitivo hasta el cansancio, (parry esquivar parry esquivar parry esquivar, así se resume lo que más vas a hacer en el juego).

    Jugué a todos los darksouls y me encantaron, jugué Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice y me aburrí de él en menos de 2 horas. En darksouls tenes parry, pero no necesariamente hay que usarlo ya que hay otras tantas formas de combatir. En Sekiro, usar el    Que decir... Repetitivo hasta el cansancio, (parry esquivar parry esquivar parry esquivar, así se resume lo que más vas a hacer en el juego).

    Jugué a todos los darksouls y me encantaron, jugué Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice y me aburrí de él en menos de 2 horas.
    En darksouls tenes parry, pero no necesariamente hay que usarlo ya que hay otras tantas formas de combatir. En Sekiro, usar el parry es para lo que vivís, y es para lo que te compraste el juego.

    No es un mal juego en cuanto a calidad, pero es un juego diseñado para jugarlo de una sola forma muy específica... Forma que yo, encuentro exageradísimamente aburrida y repetitiva.

    Honestamente no esperaba mucho del juego porque desde que vi el trailer lo primero que pensé fue, "si hay que hacer puro parry rematar siempre al enemigo, se va a volver repetitivo muy rápido. Va, que se yo, capaz así te lo muestran y luego el juego tiene mucho más". Pues no... Tenes herramientas shinobi y una que otra boludes más, pero lo que más tens que hacer es usar parry y rematar... Aburridísimo.

    Los enemigos estan completamente desbalanceados y los controles no funcionan como corresponden. Cuando utilizo la modalidad de entrenamiento para practicar habilidades, funcionan perfecto... Cuando las aplico en el campo de batalla, la mayoría de las veces no funcionan.

    Los enemigos comunes pueden atacarte mientras los atacas pero tu a ellos no. una incoherencia que perjudica gravemente la jugabilidad, y por lo tanto el disfrute del juego. Muchas veces me ha pasado de terminar de bloquear un ataque enemigo, y cuando inicio a atacarlo, y mientras lo estoy golpeando, lanza un ataque de la nada que no puedo bloquear por estar justamente atacando. (Estoy hablando de enemigos normales, no bosses o algo así).
    Ahora, cualquier enemigo que te ataque, tu no puedes atacarlo mientras te ataca, o esquivar, o bloquear, (spameé estos botones justamente para probar si se podía... Pero no).

    No puedes mejorar a tu personaje, (o si). Dejenme explicar... Para mejorar al personaje necesitas objetos que se consiguen avanzando en la historia... Pero que vas a necesitar mucho antes debido a lo desbalanceado que está. Subir de nivel solo te permite desbloquear habilidades, las cuales son situacionales y en el común denominador no aporta nada a las peleas ni al desarrollo de las mismas.

    El sigilo falso. Al inicio fue cuando más me entretuve con este juego, pues había de todo tipo de lugares para aprovechar el sigilo... Algo que luego una vez avanzas, descubres que era un concepto falso ya que hay muchas areas donde no puedes utilizar el sigilo, y te toca combatir cara a cara.
    No solo esto, sino que la IA de los enemigos, o está mal programada, o tiene errores. Muchísimas veces los enemigos me ven, y voy tras una pared, me subo, me escondo, etc... Y mágicamente aunque no me vieron subir hasta ahí, si que saben que estoy ahí porque... Porque FromSoftware sabrá, ya que no tengo ni idea de como carajo saben si no me vieron.

    En fin... Desbalanceado, repetitivo, con problemas en la jugabilidad, progresión que no recompensa para nada, le doy un 6, y me estoy arriesgando.    … Expand
  29. Gizilq
    Mar 24, 2019
    7
    У игры есть 2 проблемы, из-за которой она не сможет стать идеальной игрой.
    1. Ужасный визуал. 3 модели зданий, 2 модели стен, 4 модели деревьев. И это после Bloodborne.
    2. Кривые хитбоксы. они настолько плохие что меня несколько раз телепортировало из-за спины врага, прямо под анимацию удара. 7/10. Google translation The game has 2 problems, because of which it can not be the perfect    У игры есть 2 проблемы, из-за которой она не сможет стать идеальной игрой.
    1. Ужасный визуал. 3 модели зданий, 2 модели стен, 4 модели деревьев. И это после Bloodborne.
    2. Кривые хитбоксы. они настолько плохие что меня несколько раз телепортировало из-за спины врага, прямо под анимацию удара.
    7/10.
    Google translation
    The game has 2 problems, because of which it can not be the perfect game.
    1. Awful visual. 3 building models, 2 wall models, 4 tree models. And this is after Bloodborne.
    2. Hitboxes curves. they are so bad that I was teleported several times from of the back of the enemy, right under the animation of the strike.
    7/10.    … Expand
  30. mugsy
    May 9, 2020
    6
    As a fan of Dark Souls series I expected something similar. But I played it for a while and bounced off of it fast. It's quite different from Dark Souls. I'm not fond of the feudal Japan and samurais theme
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Awards & Rankings

9
#9 Best PC Game of 2019
6
#6 Most Discussed PC Game of 2019
69
#69 Most Shared PC Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. Game World Navigator Magazine
    May 15, 2019
    80
    There’s no leveling (in Soulsborne sense of the word), no covenants, no multiplayer, no variety in armor and weapons. It could be written off a stylistic choice, if the rest of the game didn’t feel very similar to the previous FromSoftware games. But it does, so Sekrio comes across as rather shallow. [Issue#237, p.28]
  2. MGG
    Apr 27, 2019
    88
    Sekiro Shadows Die Twice is a milestone in the genre. It offers complex, stunning and precise sword fights and duels that its predecessors lacked, and from which its successors will have to keep up with. You no longer simply learn by repeatedly and unfairly dying, but you refine your talents as a player. You seek unique methods to overcome each boss, rather than just rolling at the right time before spamming a few hits.
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  3. Edge Magazine
    Apr 25, 2019
    90
    Dozens of hours later, we're still not sure how we feel about it. It's a game of contradictions, open and flexible in its level design, yet resolutely strict in its combat... It is a brilliant game, that is certain. but it is often a difficult one to truly love. Naturally, we can't put it down. [Issue#332, p.104]
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