Just Finished Sekiro... so that was pretty good...

[vaderise]

Sekiro was the one FS game i didnt finish until an hour ago. When the game came out, it didn't click with me like the other Souls games. It was too different, too confusing. After defeating Genichiro, i dropped the game and moved on.

To warm up for Elden Ring, i've decided to give Sekiro another try last week.

I started the game from scratch. Found a good guide ( because finding out how to advance in the story is giant pain in the ass, actually this is my main criticism with the game but whatever) , learned how the game actually works and...

After spending all my free time with Sekiro last week, i now think it's the best FS game out there.

Once it clicks, its sword combat is addicting. THere is nothing like Sekiro out there. Is it a Souls game? Not really. It has a lot of Souls mechanics and it feels like its own thing. Once i stopped treating it like a Souls game, i started appreciating how amazing this one really is.


Okay, bosses.

None of the bosses felt impossible after learning how to Mikiri and properly deflect. A lot of them actually felt too easy for me, like Genichiro or Owl. They were still fun nonetheless.

Isshin is truely a great boss. It's really difficult but manageable. Worthy of a final boss.

Dragon was the best gimmick boss FS has done yet.

I still really like Oniwa, as easy as it is. MY NAME IS GYOBU ONIWA! Cool dude.

One boss i REALLY hated was Demon of Hatred. This one was a Souls boss and it is a giant fuck you to your face since everything the game teaches you so far, this boss says fuck that shit and start dodging and clipping. Really didn't belong imo. FS maybe can't help themselves. they had to put this shit.

So yeah, all and all Sekiro is amazing.

I'm even more hyped for ELDEN RING now.

 

[Shake Appeal]

There are some tricks to making Demon of Hatred less obnoxious (mostly involving the umbrella), but yeah.

 

[Strings]

What route did you end up doing? Very worthwhile bosses are behind the other ones so I'd suggest doing them (particularly Owl 2 mechanically (which ingeniously fucks with you by preying on a bunch of things the game has taught you / is the hardest fight in the game) and Emma in terms of coolness factor).

 

[Niklel]

People keep saying that Demon of Hatred is a "souls" boss, and I don't really understand what it's supposed to mean. Like, if you put this boss in a Dark Souls game or in Bloodborne, he will be really difficult, if not impossible. Because Sekiro's mechanics are kinda required to deal with him.

 

[Shin Kojima]

I loved Demon of Hatred. You have to learn the dance is all.

 

[Anustart]

Didn't click and never will with me. Uninstalled and never looking back.

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

I was more or less lukewarm to Sekiro when they announced it and when it launched.
I wasn't exactly in love with the setting and I wasn't exactly dying to play another "Souls-like" at the time.
So it's quite telling that it turned out to be quite possibly my favorite From Software title bar none when it comes to combat.

Right now if anything I'm still mourning the fact that nothing of the "parry-based combat" seems to be trickling down in Elden Ring.

Also, the game is a serious contender for "best boss fights I ever had in almost 40 years of playing videogames" and no, I'm not being hyperbolic here.

 

[Remachinate]

THere is nothing like Sekiro out there. Is it a Souls game?

Click to shrink...

Go play Punch Out, you'll be amazed how similar it feels.

 

[TeenageFBI]

I also had to come back to this game a few months later before the combat system sank in. Now I love it. Jumping, verticality, and that lethal as hell katana.

I had a hard time with Sekiro partially because I NEVER parried in the other FS games. I got tired of trying to figure out which attacks could actually be parried, not to mention the longish windup to the parry animation. Sekiro fixed all of that, and the parry window is wide enough to make it a primary game mechanic. Love it.

 

[UnluckyKate]

Exploration is Amazing because of the movement and the vertically it opens.

Environment are the best from soft ever done.

Bosses felt unique, not from soft bosses.

 

[Vimto]

Yeah the sword combat is the best. I also dropped it and picked it up last year, I was addicted.

 

[Waggles]

After gettingg my ass handed to me and finally cheating on the last boss at launch, i proudly say that that i just earned the platinum on ps4

it's From's best fucking game, and i worry that i'm going to unfairly judge Elden Ring because of it.

 

[giallo]

Demon of Hatred made me quit the game for a period. I just don't understand what they were going for with that one. It didn't fit the game's play style all that well.

Anyway, brilliant game.

 

[Niklel]

it's From's best fucking game, and i worry that i'm going to unfairly judge Elden Ring because of it.

Click to shrink...

Same… During the network test, I kept thinking about how slow Elden Ring is. I still enjoyed it, but to me Souls combat isn't as satisfying as Sekiro's.

 

[PirateHearts]

I finally finished it a week or two ago after being stuck on the final boss fight since launch. There were some things I liked about it, and I'll never play it again.

 

[Tavernade]

Loved it, beat it, pretty sure I still don't properly know how to play it. Or what was going on with a good chunk of the story.

It's pretty goddamn incredible.

My only complaint is that the bosses are fun but not super varied, at least compared to Bloodborne.

 

[ShinobiBk]

People keep saying that Demon of Hatred is a "souls" boss, and I don't really understand what it's supposed to mean. Like, if you put this boss in a Dark Souls game or in Bloodborne, he will be really difficult, if not impossible. Because Sekiro's mechanics are kinda required to deal with him.

Click to shrink...

I loved Demon of Hatred. You have to learn the dance is all.

Click to shrink...

I don't get the complaints either
Yes it's a difficult boss but the game gives you all these mobility options and DoH is really the only boss that forces you to use them (you use them a bit in first phase Guardian Ape as well). You need to run, jump, side step and grapple hook all at the right times if you want to succeed. I don't see the problem in focusing on mobility as compared to the parry mechanics most bosses involve

 

[Cup O' Tea?]

Totally agree on the Demon of Hatred. It's the only boss I haven't properly killed. I cheesed him because I just wasn't have any fun with that fight.

 

[Lotus]

Totally agree on the Demon of Hatred. It's the only boss I haven't properly killed. I cheesed him because I just wasn't have any fun with that fight.

Click to shrink...

Same lol

 

[Ewaan]

I'm not a die hard Form Soft fan but will play all their games. But Sekiro is a fucking masterpiece to me. It has the best combat in all of gaming.

 

[Miaus]

I played it at launch but couldn't keep playing it. Like 3 months ago I gave it another go from scratch and finished it, amazing game. Different but just as good as any FS game.

 

[Mirage]

I loved Demon of Hatred. You have to learn the dance is all.

Click to shrink...

Glad I'm not alone in liking that fight.

 

[Aurc]

Demon of Hatred is the best boss in the game, y'all buggin'

 

[darkslayer101]

I loved Demon of Hatred. You have to learn the dance is all.

Click to shrink...

Its funny cuz Demon of Hatred is pretty easy if you fight it like a souls boss

 

[Dlanor A. Knox]

I beat demon of hatred by making him fall off the cliff, so it didn't bother me.

 

[Finaika]

 

[Mary Celeste]

Demon of Hatred is one of the best bosses in the game

 

[Enduin]

I loved Sekiro. I wasn't the greatest, but I made it work and was able to beat it.

Really unsure if I'll try out Elden Ring seeing as the combat looks to be a lot more like the other Souls games, which I've just never really cared for. The speed, precision, and mobility of Sekiro's combat is what kept me engaged and able to power through the even the most frustrating periods of repeated defeat.

 

[Agni Kai]

This is the one game that didn't click with me. I couldn't beat Lady Butterfly and got stuck in that fight.
I'm glad you were finally able to beat the game, OP!

 

[entremet]

Demon of Hatred made me quit the game for a period. I just don't understand what they were going for with that one. It didn't fit the game's play style all that well.

Anyway, brilliant game.

Click to shrink...

Demon of Hatred is optional tho lol.

Sekiro is FROMs best game.

 

[DaniThePinguim]

I don't get the complaints either
Yes it's a difficult boss but the game gives you all these mobility options and DoH is really the only boss that forces you to use them (you use them a bit in first phase Guardian Ape as well). You need to run, jump, side step and grapple hook all at the right times if you want to succeed. I don't see the problem in focusing on mobility as compared to the parry mechanics most bosses involve

Click to shrink...

For real, a fantastic fight that makes you move around the arena

 

[DFG]

I beat demon of hatred by making him fall off the cliff, so it didn't bother me.

Click to shrink...

You cheated not only the game, but yourself.

You didn't grow.
You didn't improve.
You took a shortcut and gained nothing.

You experienced a hollow victory.
Nothing was risked and nothing was gained.

It's sad that you don't know the difference.

 

[DaciaJC]

Demon of Hatred is one of the best bosses in the game

Click to shrink...

Agreed, I had a blast fighting him.

 

[DC5remy]

Loved the game, will never finish it. It's the only from game I didn't beat.

 

[Capra]

With Demon you just use the umbrella to absorb his attacks and hit him back for big damage. It's different from the other fights, sure, but once you know what to do it's really manageable.

 

[TheXbox]

One of my all-time favs. Love everything about it, and desperately hope From make a sequel.

Exploration is Amazing because of the movement and the vertically it opens.

Environment are the best from soft ever done.

Bosses felt unique, not from soft bosses.

Click to shrink...

This is so true. The bosses get a lot of focus when people talk about Sekiro, but the level design, stealth, and mobility options are phenomenal. It would be a great game even if it didn't have any bosses. It's got a damn grappling hook!

 

[EatChildren]

It took me like a year to really, really get into it, but once all the pieces clicked the entire experience elevated to one of my favourite's from FROM's. I do think the bosses, despite being so hard, are at times a bit uninteresting precisely because their difficulty is derived from endurance and split second timing. It's fine if it's easy for you and others personally, but for anybody struggling it really does feel like you're throwing yourself against up against a gruelling rhythm game that has little flexibility for experimentation and strategy (compared to FROM's other games) and more about hitting the right button at the right time and basically being catastrophically fucked if you miss. But then there's stuff like the Guardian Ape, which is in my top 10 boss fights from FROM. Everything about it was just magnificent.

But the exploration and level design is really what got me, as it's the most obvious and comprehensive "upgrade" over the Souls formula. Adding verticality to and freeform movement to stage design should, in theory, break the Souls-like formula, but FROM captured it perfectly. They made a game that draws from all the gauntlet-like strengths and challenge gate design blueprints of its predecessors, provide the player with vastly broader movement and traversal options, and in no way break the flow. If anything it just made encounters all the more interesting, as you had more approaches than ever before yet the enemies still felt like hurdles.

I really hope we get a successor one day.

 

[bombermouse]

it's my favorite FS game, I love everything but DoH and the headless. The alternative route is also super fun.

 

[Rook]

I struggled with Demon of Hatred as well.

Here's one obstacle for me that I haven't seen mentioned yet: I was fighting him on a PS4 Pro, and there were frame hitches that (artificially) added to the challenge.

Also, I didn't realize he was optional.

Eventually I beat him, but he left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[VectorOne]

An incredible game. I find the combat system to be so much deeper and more engaging than the souls games. Fast paced, precise, and highly mobile. Landing a parry never gets old. It all results in what I think are FROM's best boss fights. I love the way they force you to be relentless and aggressive.

And then you have the grappling hook, what a wonderful, expressive mechanic. Traversing through the world is fun in its own right, which I think is the sign of a great game.

I wish I could replay it again for the first time.

 

[Truant]

I "finished" it the way I do with all From games. I get to the endgame area and quit because I know the endboss is gonna be super tough and the levels is less about exploration and discovery since items aren´t gonna mean much at this point anyway. Perfectly content with that, I got what I wanted out of the game.

 

[Melody]

An incredible game. I find the combat system to be so much deeper and more engaging than the souls games. Fast paced, precise, and highly mobile. Landing a parry never gets old. It all results in what I think are FROM's best boss fights. I love the way they force you to be relentless and aggressive.

And then you have the grappling hook, what a wonderful, expressive mechanic. Traversing through the world is fun in its own right, which I think is the sign of a great game.

I wish I could replay it again for the first time.

Click to shrink...

So, this is kinda something that I've never really understood but hear a lot about Sekiro; That the bosses somehow force you to be aggressive.

I think the only one that forces you to be mildly aggressive (and even that's pushing it) is Owl because he can regenerate his posture. Most everyone else, especially Isshin, you can sit back and mash L1, bait a few moves, dodge a few times, get a few hits in, and the bosses kill themselves wailing at your parries or whiffing attacks.

Like, this works on 90 percent of the game and trivializes a good chunk of the bosses. Forcing you to be aggressive is one of the last things I'd say about Sekiro.

Now the levels themselves can be pretty rough of course, but I don't think that's what people are referring to.

 

[Ogawa-san]

Took me a lot of tries to get Demon of Hatred down, but I found the Great Ape a lot more frustrating.

 

[JoJo'sDentCo]

I had such a similar experience. Fuck yeah.

 

[Strings]

But the exploration and level design is really what got me, as it's the most obvious and comprehensive "upgrade" over the Souls formula. Adding verticality to and freeform movement to stage design should, in theory, break the Souls-like formula, but FROM captured it perfectly. They made a game that draws from all the gauntlet-like strengths and challenge gate design blueprints of its predecessors, provide the player with vastly broader movement and traversal options, and in no way break the flow. If anything it just made encounters all the more interesting, as you had more approaches than ever before yet the enemies still felt like hurdles.

Click to shrink...

This is why I'm reaaaaally looking forward to see what they do with Armoured Core, since it's basically the same challenge.

 

[AuthenticM]

I need a goddamn sequel. There's even an ending that gives it the perfect set-up.

 

[anaa]

I was actually going to make a Sekiro thread but this seems like a good place to post my thoughts/pleas. So I also recently started this game over in a new attempt to finish it. full disclosure I am not good at these games, and I feel like I'm particularly bad at this one. My pattern Recognition/identifying sweep vs stab isn't good, and I feel like i've kind of just scuffed my way through the game up until this point.

I'm really stuck on Isshin… like he seems way harder then anything else I've fought so far. I've probably sunk a couple hours worth of attempts and I still will die to phase one sometimes. I feel like even when I'm deflecting I'm picking up so much posture damage in a single combo. do I need more beads (I've killed most of the mini bosses I've come across except a few in the now flaming outskirts)? Are there latent skills that I missed that help with this? Is there a way to respec my build to try different skills?

please help, don't care about spoilers/cheese or anything, I just want to beat it!

 

[Melody]

I was actually going to make a Sekiro thread but this seems like a good place to post my thoughts/pleas. So I also recently started this game over in a new attempt to finish it. full disclosure I am not good at these games, and I feel like I'm particularly bad at this one. My pattern Recognition/identifying sweep vs stab isn't good, and I feel like i've kind of just scuffed my way through the game up until this point.

I'm really stuck on Isshin… like he seems way harder then anything else I've fought so far. I've probably sunk a couple hours worth of attempts and I still will die to phase one sometimes. I feel like even when I'm deflecting I'm picking up so much posture damage in a single combo. do I need more beads (I've killed most of the mini bosses I've come across except a few in the now flaming outskirts)? Are there latent skills that I missed that help with this? Is there a way to respec my build to try different skills?

please help, don't care about spoilers/cheese or anything, I just want to beat it!

Click to shrink...

How far have you gotten into Isshin? If you made it to spear mode you can just run around him the entire time, wait for him to jump/lunge at you, dodge and hit him, and repeat until dead plus the occasional lightning redirect.

Here's how I beat him if you wanna see what I mean. Mind, this was during a stream and a few minutes into unlocking the fight (hence why I paused, I was so surprised I got that far so fast and was talking to chat) so it's pretty sloppy but I didn't do anything fancy so hopefully it helps.

 

[Matrix XII]

Good job OP! It's still the one FS game I haven't played much yet or beaten. I have it on pc and ps5 so I really should buckle down and play it. Kind of worried my old fingers won't be able to parry but I'm sure I'd get it eventually.

 

[VectorOne]

So, this is kinda something that I've never really understood but hear a lot about Sekiro; That the bosses somehow force you to be aggressive.

I think the only one that forces you to be mildly aggressive (and even that's pushing it) is Owl because he can regenerate his posture. Most everyone else, especially Isshin, you can sit back and mash L1, bait a few moves, dodge a few times, get a few hits in, and the bosses kill themselves wailing at your parries or whiffing attacks.
View them?
Like, this works on 90 percent of the game and trivializes a good chunk of the bosses. Forcing you to be aggressive is one of the last things I'd say about Sekiro.

Now the levels themselves can be pretty rough of course, but I don't think that's what people are referring to.

Click to shrink...

Well, every boss regenerates their posture over time if you're not engaging them.

I should have said the game rewards you for being aggressive. Relentlessly attacking bosses locks them to an easier and more predictable set of attack patterns. You can still beat Isshin or Lady Butterfly without being aggressive, but its a lot easier if you are. Genichiro is another good example of this. You can cancel or prevent a lot of his attacks like his unblockable grab or his ranged attacks with a bow with attacks of your own. A combat designer at Respawn had an interesting thread on twitter about this.

https://twitter.com/jasondeheras/status/1473521472920449024?s=20&t=1RH4w8YQTV7pM-hfgBvYzw