William Vickery

"Git Gud" - These words have never rang truer. As a long time soulsbourne veteran I will begin by saying that Sekiro is one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, of the genre. Souls veterans must quickly unlearn the trusty dodge roll in lieu of constant aggression and deflection of oncoming attacks and seemingly insurmountable odds. Where you would normally back off, heal and regroup you are instead encouraged to press the attack and keep the enemy off guard and on his/her/its toes. The goal is not so much depleting the HP, but breaking the enemy posture to land the all so satisfying Shinobi death blow. Combat is where this game shines, once mastered. True it is lacking in the "sheet numbers" customization souls fans are used to and that will turn a few people off but that's fine. Sekiro wants to be played a very specific way and that is something you have to quickly figure out. Many enemy attacks can only be countered or dealt with in a specific manner and timing has to be precise. The satisfaction of reaching an epiphany on a boss and actually deflecting or countering a massive sword, spear attack that would easily break a DS guard is oh so satisfying. I highly reccomend this to those who enjoy a challenge along with a beautiful graphics and music. Be prepared to die, over and over but each attack you deflect and each spear thrust you counter brings you one step closer to that sweet death blow victory. Play aggressively, guard often, time your deflects take advantage of stealth to thin enemy ranks or sneak an extra life bar off the boss and keep pushing. I salute FromSoftware for staying true to its roots and actually releasing a finished and polished product free of "live services" and microtransactions. 8.5/10