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
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. DrkAsDeath
    Aug 10, 2020
    8
    Its a pretty good game actually loved it. But when you replay it over and over it gets rather dull. But thats just me tbh. i get dulled out easy. But defiantly worth the buy :)
  2. jarvitom
    Nov 15, 2021
    8
    Its hard and I don't like hard games, otherwise 10/10 game regarding design, gameplay...
  3. skdcraw
    Apr 26, 2023
    8
    Hesitation is defeat. Frankly, I had high expectations from Sekiro. And it fully met my expectations.

    First of all, Sekiro is a great looking game. I must say that he used the famous Japanese aesthetic very well. The game seems to have put landscapes at certain points for us to see and say wow. So the scenery is plentiful in the game. But other than that, it's kind of like the same    Hesitation is defeat. Frankly, I had high expectations from Sekiro. And it fully met my expectations.

    First of all, Sekiro is a great looking game. I must say that he used the famous Japanese aesthetic very well. The game seems to have put landscapes at certain points for us to see and say wow. So the scenery is plentiful in the game. But other than that, it's kind of like the same thing. But I'm not saying the whole game is like that, it's like the game feels a bit like we're in the same place. It's not just about having to come to the same place 3 different times. Although they are different places, they look like the same places and are not very characteristic regions. For example, if you show me a picture from Dark Souls, I will immediately tell you where it is. But this game. Especially those roofs. After a while, the whole game feels like you're walking on these roofs. However, this does not mean that there are no different places in the game. There are some beautiful places like Hirata Estate where you go back to the past, Sunken Valley where you fight a snake, and Fountainhead Palace, which has a very nice atmosphere. However, for some reason, the game seemed a little small to me. The sounds of the game are great. Just the deflect sound makes this game great. The sounds of the sword were constantly encouraging me to play more. The music is also wonderful. Although I don't like the ambient music of the regions and I don't find it characteristic, the music of the bosses will definitely be engraved in your mind because they are beautiful (and you die a lot).

    So how is the story of the game? It's more open than Dark Souls, but just as closed. What does it mean? That is to say, there is no abstract universe that is difficult to understand. There are people, there is war, we are in Japan. So far, it's clear. But the details of the story, what is going on, are still not clearly explained to you. You are asked to collect from right to left. Actually, I'm not against games telling their stories like this. However, after playing games such as God of War, which tells its story in a very beautiful and cinematic way, I started to wonder if this cryptic game narration is a deficiency. My criticism in this regard is as follows: At least, it would be better if the part of the game that tells the main plot of the game was explained to us clearly, if we want to gain more lore information, we can learn them by collecting items from right to left, as DS do. But playing without knowing the main plot of a game, or making an extra effort to know it, seems not quite right, but I will not comment on this. Personally, I like such statements, but when we look at it, maybe it's a bit of escapism. I don't know, I'm undecided. So what is this game about? Despite the beautiful stories of the characters in the game, I could not understand the message we should get from this journey, although I do not know how much I understood. So yes, the stories we hear from right to left are beautiful, but is ours also beautiful? We do what a girl says. I later learned that there was an important choice that we had to make in the game and it directly affected the game. But since I didn't understand what it was, I immediately made a simple choice.

    Gameplay is where Sekiro shines. No matter what anyone says, I don't remember seeing such a good kombat in any game. Plus it's so simple. Attack, block or dodge. Or use one of the prosthetic features. But watching them is not enough to understand how enjoyable they are. You must play. First you have to say, "This boss is impossible to kill. He won't let me hit him. How do I know if I'm going to jump when the red mark comes out, am I going to counter with Mikiri?" Half an hour after saying that, when you kill the same Boss without taking damage, you realize that there is no problem with the Boss, and when you learn that you played badly, you realize how easy it is. That's what happens most of the time. The feeling of satisfaction when you act like a surgeon and do everything you need to do is indescribable. And the good thing about it is that you learn that. The game doesn't send you enemies just to beat you like every game, it sends you to hit your head. E hits your head. But then when he finds out and you hit him on the head... It's a great feeling. Actually, that's the whole Dark Souls logic, but Sekiro is a little different. Because this game is not an RPG. You can't get stronger and come back and pass the boss comfortably. You have to act on your own ability. I would like to add a little advice to this part, if you want to improve your game and have more fun, always stand in front of your enemy. Don't run away and hit, just run to get health. Deflect everything and hit at every gap. Even if it is difficult at first, it makes the game more enjoyable and easier after you get used to it.    … Expand
  4. Iuppiter_
    Dec 11, 2020
    8
    Speaking seriously for a moment, don't go in expecting a Souls game just because it's made by FromSoftware, this is a completely different game, even if it borrows some key elements from Souls.
  5. petriAND
    Apr 26, 2022
    8
    Best game I've played from FromSoftware, including Elden Ring and Bloodborne.
  6. BeeSting1
    Jan 1, 2021
    8
    A serious test of your concentration, and reflexes.

    The Good - the fights can be frustrating but after you beat it, it feels satisfying. When I finally beat the game, it felt like a long journey finally complete. - have to be careful when to heal. Keeps the tension up even when you are half health, even if you have a bunch of healing items. - I like how the saving is done. It    A serious test of your concentration, and reflexes.

    The Good

    - the fights can be frustrating but after you beat it, it feels satisfying. When I finally beat the game, it felt like a long journey finally complete.

    - have to be careful when to heal. Keeps the tension up even when you are half health, even if you have a bunch of healing items.

    - I like how the saving is done. It prevents save scumming to retain XP and money.

    - the posture and health battle mechanic is clever. It forces the player to parry, and learn the pattern and timing of the enemy's moves, instead of just blocking forever. The game rewards you for parrying successfully. A fight can be over fast if you are good at it. Long and stressful if you are bad at it. Hence, it rewards skill, which is great.

    - Enemies and bosses are unique. Each boss encounter threw something interesting your way. Every fight was a new challenge.

    - The visual style is really cool, if you like historical Japan/Asia. The design of the enemies and allies were interesting too. Involving spirits and mythical creatures was a nice touch.

    The Bad

    - the respawn points for a boss fight should be right before the Boss encounter. Having the spawn point so far back just causes unnecessary travel time. Every death you are guaranteed a death screen, a loading screen, and walking to the boss fight. These three things add up. It may only take about 30 seconds in total, but when you die 30 or 50 times it adds up to a lot of unnecessary time loss.

    - skills in the skill tree could have used a video or gameplay sample before the player decides if they want it or not. XP is precious in the game cause you can lose it so easily. Knowing exactly what you're spending it on is important. Text explanation simply isn't detailed enough.

    - the respawn points annoyed me so much I decided to use a trainer to just practice the boss fight, before taking it on for real.

    - the grappling points on the trees against the Guardian Ape boss was very finicky. I would be trying to grapple the monkey but end up grappling the tree.

    - lock on can be finicky sometimes too, especially against lady butterfly. If the poles break your line of sight with her for too long, you lose the lock on. Or if she goes too far away, the lock on will also disappear.

    - the camera can feel wonky sometimes

    - items being used up after a lost battle made me not want to use them in case I needed them for a hard boss fight. In the end I didn't use any buff items because of that reason. Losing money and XP is one thing, but losing items after a boss fight is kind of annoying. Perhaps there could have been a better way they could have done this, while still retaining the difficulty.

    - it was really hard to get much of the extra skills because I kept losing XP from losing boss battles. I decided to farm XP off of weak enemies. This took forever. This felt inevitable because I had to go back to the boss fights over and over to learn the patterns. Unless your second playthrough or you have prior experience with the game, there's just almost no way you can build up a much XP. Hence most of the skills will be out of your reach. Luckily almost none of the skills are mandatory to win the game, it just makes it a bit easier.    … Expand
  7. aldojnt
    Feb 7, 2021
    8
    The game is pretty solid, but I suggest that you go in trying to completely forget everything you know and love about Dark Souls. As a lot of comments here have expressed, you'll be disappointed greatly as things like: building your own character, backtracking and getting stronger, co-op, and even efficiently dodging attacks is just basically not something you'll find here. This game'sThe game is pretty solid, but I suggest that you go in trying to completely forget everything you know and love about Dark Souls. As a lot of comments here have expressed, you'll be disappointed greatly as things like: building your own character, backtracking and getting stronger, co-op, and even efficiently dodging attacks is just basically not something you'll find here. This game's tough, I'd say the hardest of all Miyazaki games given that most of your meaningful progress is based on whether or not you are able to defeat a VERY strong boss/mini-boss, which sucks in a way because I can't talk about this game with my friends because they simply couldn't keep up with the difficulty (and that's perfectly fine, no need to throw that **** cancerous and overused "Git Gud" meme). But if you take the time, learn the mechanics, and even realize how many weaknesses the enemies have that can be exploited to your advantage, you'll figure your way through and hopefully have a good time
    What really rubs me the wrong way with this game though, is that, after so many years, FromSoft still doesn't seem to be willing/capable of fixing the serious camera issues. It's particularly more noticeable with this Purple Ninja mini-boss that you'll find inside a very VERY tight spot. Your camera will go absolutely crazy, even if you stand still, this enemy has the tendency of kicking you pretty far away, into a corner, where you can hardly see ****    … Expand
  8. BioShip0706
    Aug 11, 2023
    8
    I honestly prefer the old formula, it doesn't mean that sekiro isn't a really good game. I'm giving less than DS3 and Elden Ring cause it didn't click with me, but kudos to From for this game 8.6
  9. Aferrete
    Jun 27, 2021
    8
    Great game, but the problem I see is that almost all minibosses have too many enemies close, so it becomes really tedious at times the killing all enemies, try the boss, die, repeat until you win or you give up
  10. Thym
    Jul 16, 2021
    8
    An impressive action/adventure game, indeed.
    In the pure Fromsoftware style, this Sekiro can surely attract every souls lover for the high challenges of the Bosses.
    Unfortunately, even if the gameplay is impressive, I can't say the same thing about the plot. And since it's also an adventure game, I judge this as the only truly big flaw of the game.
  11. ZzTopNemesis
    May 27, 2022
    8
    Score: 8.9

    I was never able to get into the Dark Souls genre, the movemnt was very awkward, it was hard, and the fact that for me to fight a **** boss, that i would be losing to for the first 20 times, i'd have to run for 5 minutes trough lots of mobs... just didn't help Then i saw Sekiro.... Combat was different, hard in another way but looked amazing, japanese setting, amazing,    Score: 8.9

    I was never able to get into the Dark Souls genre, the movemnt was very awkward, it was hard, and the fact that for me to fight a **** boss, that i would be losing to for the first 20 times, i'd have to run for 5 minutes trough lots of mobs... just didn't help

    Then i saw Sekiro.... Combat was different, hard in another way but looked amazing, japanese setting, amazing, graphics just awsome, japanese voices? Holy **** i'm in....

    How hard is it? Damn everyone says it's the hardest or something.... well forget it....

    Agter 3 years i bvought this crap, and holy **** was it hard for a casual like me, i lost a good amount of my lifespan to beat the game, BUT HOLY MOTHER F***** WAS IT AMAZING

    Just incredible, i think i will keep this one in my favorites on steam, and leave it installed, just in case i wanna comeback and try fighting the bosses again...

    Totally recomend it, but be warned you'll be in for a fkcing challenge    … Expand
  12. Davidnotavailab
    Jan 24, 2023
    8
    The game has a good vibe, nice and dark samurai thematic, a gameplay far more improved than ds, as it feels more responsive now the boss fights actually feel more challenging rather than frustrating, but why do i gotta restart from a checkpoint i already did who do **** wants that.
    Edit: Apparently if U get further in the game u get travel anyway so no problem i appologise for the    The game has a good vibe, nice and dark samurai thematic, a gameplay far more improved than ds, as it feels more responsive now the boss fights actually feel more challenging rather than frustrating, but why do i gotta restart from a checkpoint i already did who do **** wants that.
    Edit: Apparently if U get further in the game u get travel anyway so no problem i appologise for the confussion. This so much better the dork souls or elder ring or any other of those pleb games. This is actually fun and engaging. There is some input delay in the movement and jumping, but i actually like the parrying and some bosses.
    Verdict: Well done from software this is actually a well made game    … Expand
  13. okanil61
    Dec 18, 2022
    8
    Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
    Geliştiriciler: FromSoftware
    Konusu ve oynanışı çok iyi hissettirmiş olmasına rağmen, PC de oynamak için oldukça zor bir oyun. Malesef hile kullanmam gerekti ama aksi takdirde oyunu bitiremezdi.
    Oynanış: 60/100
    Efekt ve Atmosfer: 100/100
    Hikaye: 75/100
    Tekrar Oynama Durumu: 50/100
  14. namelessrequiem
    Feb 8, 2022
    8
    8/10, it is a very fun but the over reliance on deflecting turns me off a bit
  15. Jonny123
    Jul 29, 2023
    8
    For me this is the worst From Soft title. Still a great game but I didn't enjoy it enough. My main problem with this kind of game was the reactive gameplay that can be repetitive. But I think I might need to play it again at some point and be more aggressive so the problem might be on the user end.

    My first thought were that this game has quite a few strong points but overall it feels    For me this is the worst From Soft title. Still a great game but I didn't enjoy it enough. My main problem with this kind of game was the reactive gameplay that can be repetitive. But I think I might need to play it again at some point and be more aggressive so the problem might be on the user end.

    My first thought were that this game has quite a few strong points but overall it feels and plays like a lot of work and even when doing good I hardly enjoyed playing it (despite feeling a sense of addiction - in a bad way). Let's start with the strongest points:
    - solid graphics that really fit the setting
    - very smooth controls and motion
    - grappling hook and stealth aspects are fun
    - interesting posture / swordfighting mechanics
    - some encounters are quite remarkable (for example the giant ape)

    I can accept a game being a challenge and forcing you to take it serious.
    The problem is that too much things related to gameplay in this game feels like it was made to be as annoying as possible on purpose - and is also quite repetitive because the game is forcing you to play in a certain way and do it all over again too many times. Also the game is lacking a lot of basic modern gaming features.

    I guess the high rating can only be considered fair if you keep in mind this a niche product for a certain audience with a lot of time and willpower that they don't need to put into more important tasks. For anyone else I recommend to play other, more accessible and fun games. In the end I can't fully accept this "niche argument" for a good rating though - as there is a huge problem with this approach. I'll give an example: Even if your not a fan of sports games you could still enjoy playing a top sports title. However this game is simply not enjoyable without some masochistic tendencies and the willingness to succumb to "outdated" gaming philosophies (hidden mechanics, no proper explanations or directions, no quest logs, no map, no difficulty settings etc). I feel sekiro would have profited a lot from more fun and user friendly / accessibility / comfort elements because the stealth, movement and parry aspects would be a very solid core with a more user friendly design policy. I think this game is slightly overtuned (the character is a bit too fragile) so giving the user a difficulty option would have made it a lot more accessible. So if your not sure about yourself being part of the target audience I would consider skipping this experience.

    However... if your willing to get into this game and have the means to beat it can be a very intense experience. It gave me some very unique and rewarding experiences but overall felt it wasn't worth all the trouble.
    I kinda hope for a Sekiro 2 with the option to have a slightly more casual friendly experience.

    On hindsight Sekiro was overall a too annoying experience so I feel I kinda wasted time on something that was taking a lot and giving too little.    … Expand
  16. Cinept
    Mar 7, 2022
    8
    8/10. Amazing and engaging combat. Some areas are unenjoyable to play through and the story isn't stellar or engaging.
  17. Crimson9
    Nov 29, 2022
    8
    In Sekiro, From Software trades variety in gameplay for a laser focus on one style of gameplay and adds as much depth and polish to it as possible. Add to this the extremely good bosses and enemy encounters and the end result is hands down the best combat in any game. This combat has already influenced many other games and is the new gold standard for sword fighting.

    In other    In Sekiro, From Software trades variety in gameplay for a laser focus on one style of gameplay and adds as much depth and polish to it as possible. Add to this the extremely good bosses and enemy encounters and the end result is hands down the best combat in any game. This combat has already influenced many other games and is the new gold standard for sword fighting.

    In other departments, the game is good but not exceptional. The level design, lore, atmosphere, and nonlinearity are good but don't reach anywhere near DS1 levels. From had an opportunity to make a more personal, interesting, layered story here but decided to stick with what they know. Their style of storytelling doesnt work as well in this setting, however.    … Expand
  18. maluigario
    Dec 7, 2022
    8
    TL;DR: Blazing fast combat with an emphasis on stealth and parrying in feudal Japan make this a fun, though sometimes frustrating, game.

    There's a reason SoulsBorne isn't usually called SoulSekiroBorne: This game shares little in terms of core mechanics with any of the other games in FromSoftware's action-adventure lineup. The combat is incredibly fast-paced; none of the skills you    TL;DR: Blazing fast combat with an emphasis on stealth and parrying in feudal Japan make this a fun, though sometimes frustrating, game.

    There's a reason SoulsBorne isn't usually called SoulSekiroBorne: This game shares little in terms of core mechanics with any of the other games in FromSoftware's action-adventure lineup. The combat is incredibly fast-paced; none of the skills you learned in the other Souls titles will help you here. You focus more on depleting an enemy's stamina by perfectly parrying their attacks than you worry about depleting their health, as an enemy with an empty stamina guage is left open for a death blow. Sneaking and verticality also feature as core mechanics.

    One of the big cons in Sekiro is that the emphasis on parrying can make the process of tackling bosses feel more daunting as you try to perfectly learn their attack patterns. While a SoulsBorne game give you dodging, shielding, and parry/riposte as defensive maneuvers, Sekiro's only defense is the parry mechanic. This means advancing the battle requires perfect parries to deplete their stamina; there is almost no way to use hit and run or make a "heavy-strength build" that focuses on dealing damage. This can mke the process of learning the bosses attack patterns feel daunting as you keep dying, and you can't "panic parry" your way to victory.

    The other drawback compared to other SoulsBorne titles is the lack of replayability. The game has a New Game+, but playing the game again offers little variation upon return. There are no "new builds" for you to try; you have your one weapon, and you invest your upgrades on Shinobi Tools you mostly won't use and Shinobi Arts that I personally got almost no use out of.

    Even with its drawbacks, Sekiro is a stand-out title. The combat is fun and a nice change of pace from FromSoft's other titles. It's a breath of fresh air that's absolutely worth your time.    … Expand
  19. Naked_Snakee
    Apr 7, 2023
    8
    Just text (crutch) to save the game to the list. Such things. Maybe I'll do a review later.
  20. teazlunox
    Jul 24, 2023
    8
    son boss olmasaydı şayet büyük ihtimalle 10 puan verirdim ama mouse ama maalesef click tuşu çalışmıyor
  21. fnenamg
    Sep 8, 2023
    8
    It's a unique action game. The environments are beautiful, and the boss battles are enjoyable.
  22. aesirus96
    Aug 15, 2023
    8
    Minha primeira tentativa de jogar lá em 2021 não foi bem sucedida, eu achei a mecânica de combate muito difícil pra mim, que sou um jogador casual. Não é parecido com o combate de Dark Souls, pois requer muito "parry" e ataques rápidos, mas reconheço que isso é a parte boa do jogo.

    É frenético e visceral, não tem como ser melhor. Ele é desafiador e isso pode ser desanimador pra quem    Minha primeira tentativa de jogar lá em 2021 não foi bem sucedida, eu achei a mecânica de combate muito difícil pra mim, que sou um jogador casual. Não é parecido com o combate de Dark Souls, pois requer muito "parry" e ataques rápidos, mas reconheço que isso é a parte boa do jogo.

    É frenético e visceral, não tem como ser melhor.

    Ele é desafiador e isso pode ser desanimador pra quem é mega casual, como eu, mas quer conhecer a história. Tentei jogar novamente esse ano, mas tive que recorrer a um mod para ser mais "friendly" na primeira run. Após finalizar pela primeira vez o jogo e ter familiaridade com as mecânicas, eu tentei rejogar no modo "vanilla" e foi deliciosamente maravilhoso. Embora tenha sido difícil, não foi aquela experiência frustrante da primeira vez.

    Não deixe a comunidade "purista" te dizer como você tem que jogar um jogo offline que você pagou. Jogue da sua maneira e aproveite o jogo da melhor maneira que você quiser. Aproveite a delicia de jogo que é Sekiro, seja no modo normal ou "easy" (se quiser o mod, basta pesquisar no nexusmods por "sekiro the easy ").    … Expand
  23. 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.
  24. 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
  25. Mahdiar
    Aug 4, 2021
    7
    Gameplay : 7
    Graphics : 8
    Story : 7
    Sound : 8
    **********************************************************************************
    Overall : 7 (not finished)
  26. 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...
  27. 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
  28. 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
  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. 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
  31. stormundying
    Apr 6, 2019
    7
    Sekiro is a good game. The combat system is fresh, visceral, and fast paced, the bosses (albeit lacking in variety) are difficult, and the prosthetic tools give you a fair number of options in playing through the game. I thoroughly enjoyed the 20-25 hours I spent playing through the game.

    However, (and unlike any of the prior Soulsborne games, all of which - even DS2 - I enjoyed    Sekiro is a good game. The combat system is fresh, visceral, and fast paced, the bosses (albeit lacking in variety) are difficult, and the prosthetic tools give you a fair number of options in playing through the game. I thoroughly enjoyed the 20-25 hours I spent playing through the game.

    However, (and unlike any of the prior Soulsborne games, all of which - even DS2 - I enjoyed immensely) I feel no impetus to go back and play the game again. There's no variety in terms of build or playstyle - the skills you acquire are either completely essential (grappling hook attack, regain hp/posture on deathblow etc) or completely superfluous, and there's always enough skill points to go around, so you never have to spec into any one tree. The prosthetic upgrades are gated in a weird way that requires you to upgrade all of the tools (even the ones you aren't using frequently) before you can reach the final upgrades you want, so you can't even spec in different prosthetic tools in a subsequent playthrough.

    In previous From Soft games, there were options to vary your playstyle, giving the game replayability. Even in bloodborne (arguably the least 'deep' game in this regard, due to the limited number of trick weapons,) you had skill, strength, arcane, and bloodtinge builds, that played very differently, and could approach various bosses and levels in completely different ways. This is not the case in Sekiro. Every playthrough, no matter what, you will be a sword-wielding shinobi with minimal ranged options. You will defeat your enemies by parrying their attacks and hitting them with a sword when openings present themselves. You will use the axe to break shields and posture break enemies, the shuriken to bring down jumpy enemies, the firecracker to stun beast enemies, and the rest of your options...rarely. The combat system, when mastered, is actually quite a bit more forgiving than in previous games, so there's little challenge in going back and and replaying the game once you've mastered it (I started a second run, and got to Genichiro'in Ashina castle before actually dying - and I got him on the second try, too.)

    Basically, Sekiro is a fun game, and I don't regret the time spent playing it. It's definitely worth the time you'll spend on a single playthrough, but I don't know that I'd recommend buying it at it's current price. Unlike every other Fromsoft game I've played, this one I'd actually recommend waiting for a sale to pick up.    … Expand
  32. 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
  33. Guttenor
    Apr 11, 2019
    7
    In this game, you will be fighting bosses for most of the time - I've reached the final boss by the way. So, what about the combat? Well, you are pretty much glued face to face with your opponent for 80% of the time. Sekiro is a fighting game (with some light stealth segments).
    There are two genres of games I don't like and never have: sport games and fighting games.
    Also, there is zero    In this game, you will be fighting bosses for most of the time - I've reached the final boss by the way. So, what about the combat? Well, you are pretty much glued face to face with your opponent for 80% of the time. Sekiro is a fighting game (with some light stealth segments).
    There are two genres of games I don't like and never have: sport games and fighting games.
    Also, there is zero weapon variety which makes the combat even more lackluster.
    What a pity.
    Oh well, I'm sure FROM will be back with a great action RPG after this little misstep.

    On the positive side, the atmosphere is really nice and almost have the same qualities as the souls games and Bb.    … Expand
  34. 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
  35. uselence
    Jul 11, 2021
    7
    only after second playthrough a year later I finally realised that I actually liked it
  36. Falcon2147
    Jun 30, 2022
    7
    Definately needs a remaster and navi system. Good game storywise...also the game needs a difficulty level setting.
  37. RockerKR
    Nov 17, 2020
    7
    llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Good game but with **** attack range of enemies
  38. Mazma
    Dec 25, 2020
    7
    Corto, tremendamente corto. Se fosse stato più longevo era perfetto! Sistema di combattimento stupendo, fantastico.
  39. Alegotron
    Jan 19, 2021
    7
    TING CLANG TING CLANG TING CLANG TING CLANG TING CLANG.

    I like the game, but the sound design is straight up annoying. I find gunfire in war games to sound beefy and relatively low pitch, and even Dark Souls seemed to have a little more bass with their swordplay, maybe because it wasn't sword on sword. But in Sekiro, since parrying is the only way to win and all enemies do until you    TING CLANG TING CLANG TING CLANG TING CLANG TING CLANG.

    I like the game, but the sound design is straight up annoying. I find gunfire in war games to sound beefy and relatively low pitch, and even Dark Souls seemed to have a little more bass with their swordplay, maybe because it wasn't sword on sword.

    But in Sekiro, since parrying is the only way to win and all enemies do until you break the posture is block, TING CLANG TING CLANG TING. The sound is really high pitch and if you're wearing earphones, it gets annoying very fast. I won't fault the game for having less build variety than Souls since this isn't Souls, but TING CLANG TING CLANG TING I get it From it's realistic but it's way too loud for something that's going to happen 24/7 while you play this game. 7 tings out of clang.    … Expand
  40. Watson0l0
    Dec 23, 2021
    7
    The game is much more difficult than other solus likes, for some it may be too much (me!)). Various hitbox, camera and animation issues still persist, as well as completely unbalanced enemies.
  41. Melliur
    Mar 30, 2022
    7
    Сюжет посредственный, но игра неплохо погружает в совю атмосферу, но она всё равно не заслуживает больше чем 7.
  42. Quazder
    Jun 25, 2023
    7
    More enjoyable on pc then Elden ring but still overrated i think. Combat saves the day.
  43. 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
  44. 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
  45. 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
  46. 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
  47. 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
  48. 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
  49. 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
  50. 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
  51. 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
  52. 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
  53. 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
  54. Yosemito
    Oct 28, 2020
    6
    Hayatımda oynadığım en kanser oyun olabilir. Bir oynanış ve zorluk bu kadar sinir bozucu olamaz ölmekten oyundan zevk alamadım
  55. CleanZodiac
    Oct 12, 2020
    6
    The game is very technical and demands you too be good with the mechanics which is fun to learn since its very satisfying when you get good at executing them, it has mechanics called perfect deflecting, mikiri counter, vault attacks, it has a wide variety of prosthetic tools, with challenging and unique bosses, great acting, big explorable worlds and the game rewards you pretty well forThe game is very technical and demands you too be good with the mechanics which is fun to learn since its very satisfying when you get good at executing them, it has mechanics called perfect deflecting, mikiri counter, vault attacks, it has a wide variety of prosthetic tools, with challenging and unique bosses, great acting, big explorable worlds and the game rewards you pretty well for exploring. The bad part of the game is the obvious terrible camera that hasn't improved since the souls games, the inconsistent prosthetic tools that when used to stun bosses like the firecrackers, feather, the Malcontent and the umbrella when used to attack, sometimes doesn't stun the bosses since they can randomly just completely ignore it, I have encountered boss fights like The Owl where the blade sometimes hit me when he had his katana above his head even tho I was pressuring him into a corner and some bosses have hitboxes bigger than their displayed attacks, like for example, sometimes The Owl uses a firecracker attack that explode and that has a bigger hitbox than the actual explosion, which in New Game + one shots me. The game also has some grab hitboxes like in dark souls where Sekiro gets teleported to the grab even tho you clearly dodged it or you where not touched by it and the enemy or boss can sometimes do a full 180 degree turn to grab you or hit you with unblockable attacks which doesn't make sense since you see them turn instantly or unbelievably fast towards you. But honestly the game is very enjoyable once you master the mechanics and the boss fights and once you get to new game+ the game becomes even more challenging. (I changed my previous review since when I started new game+, I started to notice these problems and wanted to address them if anyone ever reads this.)… Expand
  56. dikii_hohol
    Jun 6, 2021
    6
    дота 2 крекер дота 2 крекер дота 2 крекер дота 2 крекер дота 2 крекер дота 2 крекер
  57. MKYounis
    Sep 4, 2023
    6
    the graphic is good the story is nice the place kinda not that big and its extremally difficult
  58. Top1saraya_
    Mar 24, 2023
    6
    --------------------
    / My score - 6 /
    ---------------------
  59. erfunfazli
    Aug 8, 2023
    6
    The game has no specific story. I really don't like any design in the game from the characters designs and most of locations.
    Also the main protagonist is not cool.
    Fighting gameplay is not bad but after sometime it gets boring especially in boss fights, most of bosses are very similar it seems they have copied and pasted many bosses. boss fight are awful because you have to play and    The game has no specific story. I really don't like any design in the game from the characters designs and most of locations.
    Also the main protagonist is not cool.
    Fighting gameplay is not bad but after sometime it gets boring especially in boss fights, most of bosses are very similar it seems they have copied and pasted many bosses.
    boss fight are awful because you have to play and play many times to defeat them and also they are really boring because you have to dodge and deflect many times and wait for some situation to hit them.
    The game has no customization and upgrades are really not cool.
    I give it 6 only because of acceptable fighting gameplay    … Expand
  60. 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
  61. GTherion
    Mar 22, 2019
    5
    The graphics are not acceptable for a 2019 game. My eyes hurt. Feels like a PS2 game.
  62. 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
  63. 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
  64. 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.
  65. 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
  66. 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
  67. 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.
  68. plato1123
    Jun 17, 2019
    5
    Grea graphics and fighting style, but a "babysitter" game for your 9 year old brother where he's suppsosed to play the same level over and over and over again to keep him occupied. If you're over 17 you're going to get bored playing the same level over and over and over again.
  69. Mad-Marty
    Jun 16, 2019
    5
    A Mediocre game, with a mediocre story.
    Maybe someone should've told the devs, that making it a **** hard game doesn't make it a better game.
    Even if it were easy, it would not be top notch.
    Anyway, too much trial and error needed, resulting in dying A LOT.
  70. 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
  71. mashdoot
    Mar 29, 2019
    5
    Overall I'd say the game is okay but not comparable to FromSoft's previous works. The games has very great atmosphere, graphics, and sound, but the game play is just a tad boring. It revolves solely around parrying and either slowly chipping away at the enemy's vitality or breaking their posture to finish them off quickly. The combat in this game just feels less fun and rewarding overallOverall I'd say the game is okay but not comparable to FromSoft's previous works. The games has very great atmosphere, graphics, and sound, but the game play is just a tad boring. It revolves solely around parrying and either slowly chipping away at the enemy's vitality or breaking their posture to finish them off quickly. The combat in this game just feels less fun and rewarding overall when compared to the other soulsbourne games. The kill animations get very repetitive and the stealth mechanics are shallow. I do like the focus on vertical motion with the grappling hook though - very fun.… Expand
  72. Nawar
    Apr 3, 2019
    5
    Great gameplay but they exaggerated that the game is too too hard and i think gamers want to enjoy gaming, not to have headache from so games
  73. boeph
    Nov 10, 2019
    5
    Лучше всего проходить игру на youtube, если в играх не любите рутину.
  74. MaxmilianKohler
    Aug 12, 2020
    5
    A game based around hand to hand combat. Tries to be somewhat realistic, with timing, blocking, dodging, countering, etc..

    The blocking and dodging are both really inconsistent. Even sneak attacks from above are really inconsistent too. Sometimes changing the FPS and Hz will impact timing things like that in games, so full disclosure I'm using 144hz with 120 FPS (both are locked to 60    A game based around hand to hand combat. Tries to be somewhat realistic, with timing, blocking, dodging, countering, etc..

    The blocking and dodging are both really inconsistent. Even sneak attacks from above are really inconsistent too. Sometimes changing the FPS and Hz will impact timing things like that in games, so full disclosure I'm using 144hz with 120 FPS (both are locked to 60 by default). But one of the first main bosses is just ridiculous. I've died like 30 times to General Naomori Kawarada. Neither jumping or dodging or blocking consistently work on him.

    I even watched a video of a guy showing a way to sneak up on him for an initial blow, but even with that it wasn't enough. And your character dies after 2 hits. After finally beating the guy it didn't feel good at all, it was just like "that was ****ing stupid". Then your character goes on to die more vs other people. I noped the **** out of there.

    Dying, resurrecting, and fighting the same enemies again, is part of the game design. The game Sundered is also based around dying and resurrecting, yet I very much enjoyed that game. So I guess it's mostly the tediousness, technicality, unresponsiveness/inconsistency of the fights that's the problem. I enjoyed the combat style of games like Darksiders, but didn't find this type enjoyable. I ended up trying to avoid fighting as much as possible, but you can only go so far with that.

    This game is only for people who want to be really patient with every enemy, hit narrow timings, throughout long and repetitive battles. You also have to collect items to strategically use during fights, and go out of your way to explore everywhere without a map, and either die a lot (which you get punished for) or watch a playthrough to learn the game, locations, items, strategies, etc.. There seems to be a lot of boss fights.

    It seems necessary to watch a complete youtube playthrough or follow a written guide to even process through the storyline fully/correctly, and without extreme frustration. Watching the playthrough even more so reinforced my conclusion that this game is not fun to play.

    The Dragonrot mechanic is stupid. It basically penalizes you for being bad at the game.

    The loading screens with tips dismiss themselves, so if you have a fast PC you don't get to read them.

    If you do play, I highly recommend using Phoenix Samurai Reshade mod, and FPSunlocker mod (PCgamingwiki).    … Expand
  75. bancandrei
    May 12, 2020
    5
    Wanted to leave this one without a rating (but that just registers as 0), it just isn't my cup of tea. It is a step down from the uniqueness of the souls series.
    Trailers looked great and expectations was great that's why disappointment was great too.
  76. heisenberg_88
    Dec 8, 2021
    5
    Gameplay is good but gets boring over the time.
    At some point , the game gets too much difficult to handle and fight.
    Uninstalled after few hours .
  77. StarkAgentos
    Mar 6, 2022
    5
    Поиграл где-то полчаса. Как и все игры от фромов, это неиграбельно, но помимо хардкора, сюда запихнули ещё и крутой сеттинг и красивые добивания. Прогресс есть, хоть и небольшой.
  78. Izoeros
    Jan 4, 2023
    5
    qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
  79. VilkOz
    Jan 27, 2023
    5
    I get it, guys, average Joe Sixpack sees Japanese esthetics and ruins his panties, then sees FS logo and rightfully thinks he's gonna get shat on by an angry cultish fanbase...but broken hitboxes are broken hitboxes and I guess great goddess Amaterasu-chosen Yamato race is genetically incapable of making a working camera. And those are cardinal sins for an action game. That's not evenI get it, guys, average Joe Sixpack sees Japanese esthetics and ruins his panties, then sees FS logo and rightfully thinks he's gonna get shat on by an angry cultish fanbase...but broken hitboxes are broken hitboxes and I guess great goddess Amaterasu-chosen Yamato race is genetically incapable of making a working camera. And those are cardinal sins for an action game. That's not even touching the story. Or, you know, lack thereof. An honest score for this piece of code looks like this.… Expand
  80. realWhiteMan
    Apr 8, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. My rating is based on my impressions of the game. This is not an objective review. I play quite a big number of titles per year and decided to review them as a peace of art and not as a product.… Expand
  81. lilkillpappy
    Apr 11, 2019
    4
    very good game, but way to frustrating. With the time and energy it takes to git gud at this game you could have an A in calculus. Not worth it at all
  82. davyboi
    Mar 27, 2019
    4
    Not sure what people are smoking but for me Sekiro is a step back from its predecessors, and it has nothing to do with it not being a souls game. But if you like parrying over and over and over again you'll probably like this game.

    Difficulty: Souls games always had a certain challenge to them but I think most people would consider them tough, but fair. Sekiro on the other hand I would    Not sure what people are smoking but for me Sekiro is a step back from its predecessors, and it has nothing to do with it not being a souls game. But if you like parrying over and over and over again you'll probably like this game.

    Difficulty: Souls games always had a certain challenge to them but I think most people would consider them tough, but fair. Sekiro on the other hand I would describe as beating your head against a brick wall until it gives, a challenge but not rewarding. My biggest issue is your damage threshold and output. You can die in just a few hits but bosses soak up damage like a sponge, you may as well be fighting them with a plastic butter knife. I know the common response from robots who can only speak in memes will be "git gud" but that doesn't apply here, it's just pure memorization of attack patterns rather than being able to adapt. Sekiro also ruins npc interaction as well, dieing too much will result in them getting sick of "dragonrot" which can only be cured from an item that is limited in quantity. Punishing just for the sake of it.

    Combat: By far where this game fumbles the most. Fighting an enemy is centered around breaking an enemy stance and landing a deathblow. Some enemies have special attacks that can't be blocked which turns into a janken guessing game, couple that with the fact that some moves can kill you in 1 or 2 hits you have a nice recipe for a tedious combat system but it gets worse. Minibosses usually have smaller weak enemies around them so before you can even attempt fighting them again so you have to clear them out since taking on multiple enemies is a death sentence. The dodge is almost useless as you don't get the same invincible frames like the other souls games and its so high risk to do so your forced to parry which gets boring very quickly. I like the idea of the grappling hook but it felt like a shallow gimmick to me, not very useful in a fight as the sub weapons only chip away at enemies life and are usually blocked. Using it to get around was fun though.

    Stealth: When it works it's great, but the problem is that its inconsistent. Sometimes you can walk right up to an enemy from the side and stealth kill them, other times you can be behind a wall and still alert everyone in the vicinity. You can throw objects to distract but this is inconsistent too, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. This is a mechanic that I feel doesn't mesh well with the bonfire system as it becomes tedious to stealth the same enemies just to attempt the boss again. Also there is no option to go pure stealth because you're forced into single combat when it comes to mini bosses or bosses, which is the opposite of what it means to be a deadly shinobi.

    Sekiro borrows some elements from past souls games but does very little to stand out resulting in a game that has no identity outside of being a challenging action game made by fromsoft. I cant recommend this to souls veterans because they would be turned off by the lack of alternate weapons/armor and how bare bones the combat is. But I also can't recommend it to newbies either because they would be turned off by the difficulty. Save your money.

    TL;DR if you were one of the few who did dexterity builds, this is your time to shine.    … Expand
  83. TprAgile
    Nov 9, 2019
    4
    i don't like hard games like this. i can make hard games like this too. it is so easy. i want hard games but not like this. in this game, when u die, it sents u 1 hour ago. what is this for? or NPCs are hard for nothing. u just feel of hardness. not exciting. like ac creed origins's nighmare difficulty, you feel not same with sekiro. So what i say for this game is: "Difficulty of this gamei don't like hard games like this. i can make hard games like this too. it is so easy. i want hard games but not like this. in this game, when u die, it sents u 1 hour ago. what is this for? or NPCs are hard for nothing. u just feel of hardness. not exciting. like ac creed origins's nighmare difficulty, you feel not same with sekiro. So what i say for this game is: "Difficulty of this game is for nothing"… Expand
  84. timmytoga
    Mar 23, 2019
    4
    Shame on me for riding the hype train and buying this day one. I knew this wasn't a Dark Souls game, but I still had hopes that it would have that From Software game-play. It kind of does, but it doesn't. They got rid of stamina, neutered dodge rolling, and made parrying the name of the game. I personally find it super tedious and just... not fun. Furthermore, this is the only play-styleShame on me for riding the hype train and buying this day one. I knew this wasn't a Dark Souls game, but I still had hopes that it would have that From Software game-play. It kind of does, but it doesn't. They got rid of stamina, neutered dodge rolling, and made parrying the name of the game. I personally find it super tedious and just... not fun. Furthermore, this is the only play-style available to you the whole game. I do not find this appealing and it felt like I was playing a generic action title.

    I also didn't enjoy the world that the game took place in... just kind of samey and boring. Stealth felt tacked on. I just felt bored by the whole ordeal and could not press on...

    I'm happy people are enjoying it, but unfortunately it's not for me. Bummer.    … Expand
  85. centralohioguy
    Apr 24, 2019
    4
    This game looks pretty cool, the movement and controls are fluid, and I like the game world. It really looks like the type of game I'd like. However, FromSoft games are just too difficult for some people such as myself. I don't really know why this company refuses to have difficulty settings for those of us that don't have the patience/aptitude for this type of game. I appreciate thatThis game looks pretty cool, the movement and controls are fluid, and I like the game world. It really looks like the type of game I'd like. However, FromSoft games are just too difficult for some people such as myself. I don't really know why this company refuses to have difficulty settings for those of us that don't have the patience/aptitude for this type of game. I appreciate that some people enjoy the satisfaction of beating difficult games, but Sekiro (and the Dark Souls series) just aren't my cup of tea as presented.… Expand
  86. niqueh
    Apr 23, 2019
    4
    I really wanted to like this game but having played it halfway through I've grown to dislike its linear approach with everything and sheer tediousness of boss and mini-boss fights. When with previous From games I would be excited for new challenges and encounters, this one makes me almost dread progression and makes me wish I would be over with with the game already.

    This game seems to    I really wanted to like this game but having played it halfway through I've grown to dislike its linear approach with everything and sheer tediousness of boss and mini-boss fights. When with previous From games I would be excited for new challenges and encounters, this one makes me almost dread progression and makes me wish I would be over with with the game already.

    This game seems to be designed for very specific gamers who liked the challenge runs in previous Souls games, or added difficulty through multiple NG+ cycles. While this is certainly many Souls players, most people won't enjoy punishing difficulty with demand of mastering the game in order to succeed. Options like leaving a boss fight to level up and then try later, or summoning outside help no longer exist, leaving you with only one options that is "git gud", if you have time, patience and nerves for it.

    I really feel like this game is a step back from Bloodborne, which I consider a masterpiece, and hope that this is "just a phase", not a direction From is taking with every game from now on.    … Expand
  87. dustin201
    Jun 19, 2019
    4
    what are you playing for? I feel it doesn't have a good progression line. The arms are bland. Virtually no customization. Forget getting exploration of the map. My biggest regret of this game is that i played 2 hrs 15 min. so i cannot return it.
  88. Tyrowski
    Dec 24, 2019
    4
    It's a from software game. It's more solid than anything in the dark souls saga, but it still fails on a wonky interface, strange character moves (who slows down a blow towards the end... how... why). If you like fighting against your own character instead of the enemy (ie. you like Dark Souls) It's a game for you
  89. ZoltanZero
    Mar 25, 2020
    4
    Ok this is not a souls like, so they said...
    Just take Dark Souls/Bloodborne/Nioh and take off all the cool stuff like, level, personalization of the character, weapons, etc....
    Copy and paste Tenchu, and voilà.... Sekiro.... -_-
  90. Benediktus
    Jun 19, 2023
    4
    Kinda mid game. Artificial difficulty. You can't even grind mobs to upgrade your health bar. So what is a point. Point is in dodging and parrying lol. That is all there is to this game. Boring and repetitive. There is no opportunity in game, where u can upgrade your character to the point, when 5 identic mobs, which are useless alone can chain hit you and you die instantly. There is noKinda mid game. Artificial difficulty. You can't even grind mobs to upgrade your health bar. So what is a point. Point is in dodging and parrying lol. That is all there is to this game. Boring and repetitive. There is no opportunity in game, where u can upgrade your character to the point, when 5 identic mobs, which are useless alone can chain hit you and you die instantly. There is no rolling to dodge, parrying doesn't work, when you encounter many enemies at once. I don't know what exactly smoked creators of this game, but it was not good. It is a shame I spent money on this game. After Elden Ring and Bloodborne (masterpieces), I thought this game would also be good. Very disappointing.… Expand
  91. Avadon
    Mar 23, 2019
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Apparently Miyazaki didn't think he could refine the Dark Souls formula anymore, so he chose to deconstruct it instead. Sekiro is all about the removal of variety. Do you enjoy pure magic/ranged builds? They're gone. Do you prefer to be more agile or more tanky? You get to be agile, period. Do you like acquiring/customizing/upgrading weapons and armor? Too bad, they're gone. Do you like duels with other players or co-op with your friends? All multiplayer features are gone.

    So what do you get to do now? You get to parry (deflect) all the things! Yay! Wait, I could play like that in Souls games too. Well, now it's the ONLY way to play! Yaaaaay! You also get a jump button so you can jump over sweeping attacks. Except when none of those things work.

    You see, there are two bosses in the game, with different skins on them. The first one is the boss whose posture you can break. You beat this boss by standing absolutely still wherever you want, it doesn't matter where, and you play the s****y rhythm game where you press L1, A or B until he gets sick of it and falls over and lets you stab him in the face. The second boss is the one that breaks your posture if he sneezes in your general direction, regardless of what you are doing. You beat this boss by running around and waiting for him to finish his 20 second long mad flails of 1-shot attacks until you get an opening to go in and hit him once for 0.2% of his HP. Rinse and repeat. Honorable mention goes to a third category of boss, the one where the person who designed it was forgotten in a cubicle somewhere for the last 3 years and still thinks he is making a Souls game, so he sets the fight in a 2x2 room with a 6 foot tall ceiling where the objective is to get the camera unstuck from the corner where it's stuck after you gently touched the thumbstick, which made Sekiro dart across the room and slam into a wall, because he moves at 10 times the speed in this game.

    Also note: If one of those two bosses seems too hard for you, that's probably because you missed a prosthetic arm tool, sold by a midget dressed in grey rags, crouched behind a grey rock on the side of a grey mountain, who spawns only after you talk to a totally different guy in another place and timeline altogether about something completely irrelevant. This prosthetic arm tool is specifically designed to trivialize that one boss fight and is useless for anything else. Lovely.

    Have fun!    … Expand
  92. andyjr
    Jan 23, 2020
    3
    The game is ♥♥♥♥. Huge dissappointment from the creator of Dark Souls series. Crappy controls, inconsistent mechanics, random death just because the system is designed to kill you no matter how smart and skillful you are. The main source of difficulty from the game comes from the fact that hero is slow, weak and sloppy. No matter how much times you'll upgrade you attck power or abilities -The game is ♥♥♥♥. Huge dissappointment from the creator of Dark Souls series. Crappy controls, inconsistent mechanics, random death just because the system is designed to kill you no matter how smart and skillful you are. The main source of difficulty from the game comes from the fact that hero is slow, weak and sloppy. No matter how much times you'll upgrade you attck power or abilities - your hits will barely scratch enemy's HP bar. Prosthetic are useless most of the times. There are couple of well designed moments in the game, but it falls apart the closer you are to the ending. It's good this crap won't get any DLC.… Expand
  93. Black7
    May 3, 2020
    3
    Говно для задротов.
    Ставлю 3 за красивый визуал.
  94. persi
    Jan 12, 2020
    3
    I really liked the setting and the story, as well as artistic style; unfortunately, the combat mechanics ruined the game experience for me because parrying is the only way to play - period. There’s no enemy variety, and bosses are seriously overpowered, considering that you attacks are not that potent. This made Sekiro very boring to me. You want to play a tank? You can’t. A invisibleI really liked the setting and the story, as well as artistic style; unfortunately, the combat mechanics ruined the game experience for me because parrying is the only way to play - period. There’s no enemy variety, and bosses are seriously overpowered, considering that you attacks are not that potent. This made Sekiro very boring to me. You want to play a tank? You can’t. A invisible ninja, relying on evasion and stealth attacks? You can’t! Keep dying until you learn how to parry and shut up.… Expand
  95. Starychok
    Jan 11, 2022
    3
    Despite I've played all of souls-likes, I couldn't understand this game. Game is difficult in not a good meaning at all. Character progression is almost absent, a lot of skills, most of which are useless, no variety in weapons/builds or anything (just secondary helpers, but this is nothing), battle mechanics are totally about timing and repeating, except of scripted boss-fights, level ofDespite I've played all of souls-likes, I couldn't understand this game. Game is difficult in not a good meaning at all. Character progression is almost absent, a lot of skills, most of which are useless, no variety in weapons/builds or anything (just secondary helpers, but this is nothing), battle mechanics are totally about timing and repeating, except of scripted boss-fights, level of fun - below zero. As for me, this game doesn't deserve to be a part of phenomenal souls series. Still game levels are really beautiful, so 3 of 10.… Expand
  96. kr1sh
    Mar 27, 2019
    3
    Boooooring ( Very, very Booooring. Really, stealth mechanic works bad, repetitive fight mechanics and no other weapons than the sword.
  97. Honest-Review
    Apr 28, 2023
    3
    The biggest issue I have with Sekiro is that it demands perfection from the player, yet punishes them for even the slightest misstep. The game's combat system is incredibly unforgiving, with enemies dealing massive damage with every hit and the player being forced to dodge and parry with split-second precision. This would be fine if the game's hit detection and controls were up to par, butThe biggest issue I have with Sekiro is that it demands perfection from the player, yet punishes them for even the slightest misstep. The game's combat system is incredibly unforgiving, with enemies dealing massive damage with every hit and the player being forced to dodge and parry with split-second precision. This would be fine if the game's hit detection and controls were up to par, but unfortunately, they are not.

    Too often, I found myself dying because of bad hit detection or clunky controls. Sometimes, I would dodge an attack only to be hit anyway because the game didn't register my movement correctly. Other times, I would try to jump over an obstacle, only to get stuck on it and take damage from an enemy. These issues are frustrating enough on their own, but when combined with the game's punishing difficulty, they make for an experience that is more aggravating than enjoyable.

    Furthermore, while the game's story and world-building are certainly impressive, I found that they were often overshadowed by the game's difficulty. Instead of being able to fully immerse myself in the game's lore and characters, I was constantly stressed out about the next fight and whether or not I would be able to survive it.

    In conclusion, while I can see why some people might enjoy Sekiro's challenging gameplay, I personally find it to be a bad game due to its demanding nature and flawed mechanics. I hope that future games in the same vein will learn from Sekiro's mistakes and provide a more balanced and enjoyable experience for players.    … Expand
  98. roninator2
    Apr 26, 2021
    3
    I give a 10 for game idea and story.
    I give a 5 for game complexity. I managed to go the wrong way several times and had to Google the steps to figure out where I was supposed to go. That makes it open world type, but it is really a fixed path. The two were not mixed well.
    I give a 0 for difficulty. While there is no setting for changing the difficulty, it is a must for any game. I am a    I give a 10 for game idea and story.
    I give a 5 for game complexity. I managed to go the wrong way several times and had to Google the steps to figure out where I was supposed to go. That makes it open world type, but it is really a fixed path. The two were not mixed well.
    I give a 0 for difficulty. While there is no setting for changing the difficulty, it is a must for any game. I am a player that wants to enjoy a game, not curse and swear at it for being to hard (too fast, too much damage, my reaction skills very poor, my understanding of using tactics in this game)
    After spending several hours getting nowhere I used the easy mode MOD and then I was able to get about half way through before giving up and deleting the game.    … Expand
  99. floppyjabjab
    Apr 2, 2019
    3
    all the excellent reviews are fanboys loyal to the name "from software", the game is really mediocre and has cancerous camera lock on, the worst of this year Id say, 3/10, nothing exciting about it really mediocre, I dont mind the difficulty but there's really nothing special about this except the fanboysm about "from software" developers, kinda like Apple products to give you the idea.all the excellent reviews are fanboys loyal to the name "from software", the game is really mediocre and has cancerous camera lock on, the worst of this year Id say, 3/10, nothing exciting about it really mediocre, I dont mind the difficulty but there's really nothing special about this except the fanboysm about "from software" developers, kinda like Apple products to give you the idea.
    Not worth the price tag, wait for a huge discount, I'd value it at 15$ tops    … Expand
  100. emorcen
    Mar 26, 2019
    3
    Sekiro was very much the game I looked forward most to in 2019 but also my greatest disappointment so far. I'm almost 40 hours in and at the end stretch of the game. Every time I played, I hoped for it to click, thinking that it may be something wrong with me. The glowing critic reviews left and right didn't help either. To summarize what I think is wrong with the game, it's the overallSekiro was very much the game I looked forward most to in 2019 but also my greatest disappointment so far. I'm almost 40 hours in and at the end stretch of the game. Every time I played, I hoped for it to click, thinking that it may be something wrong with me. The glowing critic reviews left and right didn't help either. To summarize what I think is wrong with the game, it's the overall interaction of it's (stealth / combat) mechanics that encourages you to play in a very specific way.

    For example, a large percentage of the minibosses have entourages that are designed such that the safest / most rewarding way to go about those engagements is to:

    1) Stealth kill a minion
    2) Run out of aggro range
    3) Wait a minute for remaining enemies to disengage
    4) Repeat 1 to 3 until you can fight the miniboss individually

    immersion issues aside, doing the above can take up to 15 minutes per "run"
    and if you die - which always will happen because you have no idea what the new boss' moveset is, you have to repeat the process all over again. The major bosses are also designed to be impossible to defeat the first time through because you have no idea what the exact timing is for all their strikes and combos and this meant you can never reliably parry their attacks which is also the singular way to win.

    The whole game is akin to doing tiresome dance rehearsals repeatedly until you get a waltz down the way your instructor wants it to be, except he doesn't tell you what he wants in the first place and you have to be beaten into knowing. This wasn't a problem with Dark Souls because caution could always bring you far and there were plenty of alternative solutions to the same puzzle.

    By the end, Sekiro felt easier and more manageable when I could play by it's set of rules but that's because it forced me to play the only way it wanted to be played and the lack of player agency left a bad taste in my mouth.

    My conclusion at the end is this - Sekiro was overdesigned and has an identity issue. It wants to be a little bit of Tenchu, but doesn't do it well. It also wants to somewhat be Dark Souls, but doesn't do that well either. It definitely wants to be Onimusha / Bushido Blade but is also halfhearted about that. I have little doubt that Sekiro will not be looked upon favorably years after the hype has gone. But still, plenty of love to players who had a good time with it.    … Expand
Page:

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

All reviews »
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.
    Read full review
  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]
See all critic reviews »