Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - Dark Souls with Narutofaggotry and bosses meaner than a Souls fan on prom night

[Kulee Baba]

I like when game critics and fans think they are significantly smarter than the various people who are paid to design, code, polish and market the game. It's the equivalent to a beer drinking schlub thinking they know way better than the manager and coaches of a Professional Sports franchise.

Sekiro and From Software Souls games do not have an Easy Mode because it would be detrimental to their sales. They promote these games by saying "This game is for tough guys!" That's the appeal, fans can have a feeling of accomplishment by completing the challenging levels. Dark Souls was subtitled "Prepare to Die" for crying out loud.

You know what would happen if Sekiro had Easy Mode? There would be game critics and jackoffs on the internet who only beat it on Easy who then say the game was too easy. Because yes people lie or are just that stupid. Case in point look at when IGN was caught writing off a Pixel Junk game when they only played easy mode. The game would lose hardcore cred and in my honest belief sales.

The whole "artistic goal" of the creator defense is nonsense, From makes an entertainment product that they're trying to sell. And the audience wants a game that's not immensely forgiving.

 

[Tanner Glass]

I like when game critics and fans think they are significantly smarter than the various people who are paid to design, code, polish and market the game. It's the equivalent to a beer drinking schlub thinking they know way better than the manager and coaches of a Professional Sports franchise.

Sekiro and From Software Souls games do not have an Easy Mode because it would be detrimental to their sales. They promote these games by saying "This game is for tough guys!" That's the appeal, fans can have a feeling of accomplishment by completing the challenging levels. Dark Souls was subtitled "Prepare to Die" for crying out loud.

It's actually more ironic than that, because the difficulty is the main mechanism that FromSoftware uses to tell their story - so you if you change the difficulty you effectively destroy the story. It's such a basic concept you would think that anyone that refers to themselves as a journalist would be able to pick up on it.

In all of the 6 of the "FromSouls" games, your character is unable to die in all of them. In 5 of them (all of them but Demon's Souls) this is represented as a horrific thing to happen to someone. In Dark Souls it's regarded as a curse, in Bloodborne it's referred to as a literal Nightmare, and in Sekiro it's a power that drives men to become monsters and demons and spreads though the land like a disease. All of those worlds are on the brink of collapse and people live their lives in futility, including you, trying to desperately make a change.

You can't frame immortality as a curse if it doesn't have a penalty (Max HP damage, Dragonrot) and you can't build a game around futility and struggle if the player is expected to easily kill all enemies and bosses. Most of the combat is meant to be a stuggle in "FromSouls" games because the struggle is part of the setting, not just the gameplay.

 

[Pumpkin Girl IRL]

Any footage that shows off the game with a decent level of skill, but doesnt spoil a ton of stuff?

Already got the idea I'm not supposed to play this like Dark Souls, but still torn about pulling the trigger on it.

 

[Indrid Cold]

You know what would happen if Sekiro had Easy Mode? There would be game critics and jackoffs on the internet who only beat it on Easy who then say the game was too easy. Because yes people lie or are just that stupid.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has an "Easy Mode". It's built right into the game. Most Souls players don't realize it, because it's not specifically pointed out or mentioned, but all FROMSoft's games have an "Easy Mode".

Accessing "Easy Mode" (works with every FROMSoft title as far as I know):
1.) Launch Sekiro
2.) Skip title screens
3.) Skip update/crash pop-up
4.) Cycle main-menu to "New Game" and select it
5.) Play

Still not "easy" enough for you, then use one (or multiple) of the dozens of in-game buff items that litter your path. Buddhist Candy is plentiful and cheap at merchants.
Sekiro, as soon as the intro-vids end is on "Easy Mode"... the higher difficulty modes are the ones you gotta work to unlock. I was forced to play half my first blind playthrough without the Bell Demon's Curse and an ENTIRE playthrough with Kuro's Blessing. Now, FINALLY, after NG+ and the training-wheels removed (Bell Demon's Curse and Kuro's BS rejected) I feel like Sekiro poses a genuine challenge.

0 controllers broken, although L-bumper (block) is getting fucking spongy as fuck.

 

[Pumpkin Girl IRL]

Oh god I'm so bad at this time. I killed some big General dude by stabbing him in the back then flailing around and hoping my sword hit his vitals. I don't understand this posture system at all, or the difference between a thrust and a sweep and I got my ass kicked by a chicken.

Fucking amazing when you counter-kill your way through a group though.

 

[Tanner Glass]

Oh god I'm so bad at this time. I killed some big General dude by stabbing him in the back then flailing around and hoping my sword hit his vitals. I don't understand this posture system at all, or the difference between a thrust and a sweep and I got my ass kicked by a chicken.

Fucking amazing when you counter-kill your way through a group though.

Posture (for you and enemies) is a bar that fills up when you block and when it fills all the way up you (or the enemy) is put into a state where you will be stunned and can be deathblown. It's meant to ensure that you cannot block forever. Posture recovers over time (and recovers faster while you're blocking) but will recover slower if you (or the enemy) has lost life and the more life that is lost the slower the bar refills.

Thrusts, Sweeps (and Grabs) are all unblockable attacks that have to be avoided in specific ways.

Thrusts have to be dodged left/right with good timing, can be countered with a specific skill (Mikiri Counter) with good timing, and can be deflected (not blocked) with great timing.
Sweeps are low attacks that have to be jumped over, although many dodges can also be backwards dodged away from. Any combat skill (aka Nightjar Leap) that is a jump will also work.
Grabs are point blank unblockable attacks that must be avoided/dodged, depending on the specific grab. Most are left/right dodges, but some have to be jumped over and the timing is generally tighter. You will soon face a mandatory miniboss that uses a lot of grabs so look forward to getting familiar with it.

 

[Pumpkin Girl IRL]

Cheers for that. Spent a lot of time beating up the undead tutorial guy, and already feel myself improving. Stopped fighting fair and the game clicked...

I heard it gets really weird later. Fingers crossed, I've been able to go into this with zero info!

 

[Pumpkin Girl IRL]

Going out on a limb (hurr) and assuming this fat drunken bastard in Hirata Estate isn't meant to be taken on with base level equipment...

One thing I dislike is the sheer amount of enemies between bosses and checkpoints, especially as they all follow you into arenas. I just want to practise the damn boss, not mow through the chafe as well every single time, ah well.

 

[Pumpkin Girl IRL]

Fat drunken asshole slain, and the crazy horse dude killed. Just a giant flaming bull and butterfly waifu cockblocking me now.

It is a fantastic feeling running into a group of seven guys and dispatching them, especially after only one or two were threatening before. I don't think Sekiro's power has grown all that much either - I'm just much better at it.

Fuck the waifu though. Waifu were huge difficulty bumps in Nioh as well!

 

[Tanner Glass]

FIt is a fantastic feeling running into a group of seven guys and dispatching them, especially after only one or two were threatening before. I don't think Sekiro's power has grown all that much either - I'm just much better at it.

You get a bit of a power increase via prayer beads/memories and skills, but Sekiro is never drastically more powerful than when you start the game, even at the end of the game. I initially didn't like the lack of the Souls RPG elements but this game does a fantastic job capturing the sense of "I'm better at the game, rather than my character being better at it".

 

[Pumpkin Girl IRL]

Yeah, ha. I'll hold my hand up and admit I did a bit of grinding to afford the health on deathblow and silent movement perks, but it's definitely been about learning rather than leveling.

 

[Tanner Glass]

Yeah, ha. I'll hold my hand up and admit I did a bit of grinding to afford the health on deathblow and silent movement perks, but it's definitely been about learning rather than leveling.

It's still wildly different as Souls games tend to fall apart later in the game if you are building towards a specific build.

In Dark Souls 3, for example, it was very common for Greatshield characters to be able to block ANYTHING because of a large stamina pool + high stability on shields. This included all of the "anti-shield" combat arts found on weapons, meant to severely punish blocking characters.

 

[Pumpkin Girl IRL]

I never used a shield. Smug.

I think that's why I'm gelling with this. Between Bloodborne and Nioh, it's been hammered into me that I can't just tank up and play defensively.

Which, incidentally, is why the chained ogre kicked my ass. Turns out not everything can be out-aggressed...

AHAHAHAHAHHA

FUCK YOU LADY BUTTERFLY

Stupid old woman.

 

[Oh Shit I'm Sorry]

Asshurt IGN journo attempting to use the Sonic movie's creators (who have absolutely nothing to do with the original creators of the franchise) making him less uggu in response to the widespread mockery to attack the people who said Sekiro doesn't need an easy mode.

How will the Sekiro Defense Force ever recover from an own this sick?

"It's a childrens film it's supposed to look like shit"

 

[Pumpkin Girl IRL]

And there's the giant valley full of ranged enemies and poison.

Dammit FROM.

 

[Ruin]

I'm torn on this one, the mechanics are solid and it's pretty fun but after reaching my first ending I set Sekiro aside and I doubt I'll ever touch it again. The entire appeal of From's previous shit was trying out different builds and collecting cool gear for PVP. It's not a bad game by any means but I'll never put 200+ hours into it like BB and DS.

 

[Pumpkin Girl IRL]

Funnily enough in starting to think bosses, rather than builds, are the weakest part of the game. The levels themselves give me a lot of freedom on terms of stealth and tactics, but bosses feel kind of binary - something I'm especially pissy about is that the dodge doesn't seem to have invincibility frames, so the giant enemies that poise through your attacks and swing a spear across the entire arena (for example) have to be engaged in a specific way. The bull had to be fought in a specific way. Lone Swordsman (HOLY FUCK SORT YOUR CAMERA OUT FROM) had to be fought a specific way, etc.

Theres a bit of a disconnect going on imo. Fantastic fucking game regardless.

 

[Eryngium]

I have to admit, it was fun to see him cheese the Long Arm Centipede Giraffe. Fuck that boss. Yeah, I know, I know, he teaches you the posture system blah blah blah. Fuck that boss.

Why? The centipede is like the easiest boss in the game besides the monkas and the dude who throws the lightning pottery?

 

[Tanner Glass]

Funnily enough in starting to think bosses, rather than builds, are the weakest part of the game. The levels themselves give me a lot of freedom on terms of stealth and tactics, but bosses feel kind of binary - something I'm especially pissy about is that the dodge doesn't seem to have invincibility frames, so the giant enemies that poise through your attacks and swing a spear across the entire arena (for example) have to be engaged in a specific way. The bull had to be fought in a specific way. Lone Swordsman (HOLY FUCK SORT YOUR CAMERA OUT FROM) had to be fought a specific way, etc.

Theres a bit of a disconnect going on imo. Fantastic fucking game regardless.

I don't think it's the bosses per se, I think it's the prosthetic tools that weigh the game down - some of them drastically change boss fights in a way that isn't always clear or fun (the bull being a good example). There's also really too many and even though they combine some later, there's still too many.

 

[UE 558]

all of them but Demon's Souls

What about World Tendency?

I like when game critics and fans think they are significantly smarter than the various people who are paid to design, code, polish and market the game. It's the equivalent to a beer drinking schlub thinking they know way better than the manager and coaches of a Professional Sports franchise.

Sekiro and From Software Souls games do not have an Easy Mode because it would be detrimental to their sales. They promote these games by saying "This game is for tough guys!" That's the appeal, fans can have a feeling of accomplishment by completing the challenging levels. Dark Souls was subtitled "Prepare to Die" for crying out loud.

You know what would happen if Sekiro had Easy Mode? There would be game critics and jackoffs on the internet who only beat it on Easy who then say the game was too easy. Because yes people lie or are just that stupid. Case in point look at when IGN was caught writing off a Pixel Junk game when they only played easy mode. The game would lose hardcore cred and in my honest belief sales.
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The whole "artistic goal" of the creator defense is nonsense, From makes an entertainment product that they're trying to sell. And the audience wants a game that's not immensely forgiving.

Wasn’t much of the combat also built around the difficulty (bosses and certain enemies starting out hard at first and you needing to find a weakness or a good fighting strategy to eliminate them) and by giving you an easy mode that lets you just mash the light attack button over 9000 times out the gate, the combat would fall apart?

Though that isn’t to say I’m opposed to Sekiro getting an easy mode, lots of games I like with more strategic combat have easy modes, case in point DMC, where easy mode makes combos easier and enemies weaker. Does it kill part of the fun of DMC? Yes. Does it ruin the games for people who DO want to play with complex combos and harder enemies? No, because I and most of the hardcore fanbase would just play DMC on normal or higher anyway.

My issue with the campaign to make Sekiro easier was less the idea and more the approach. The journos who wanted to give Sekiro an easy mode have made it pretty clear that their motivation revolves less around making the game more accessible to newcomers and disabled players and more around making their jobs easier.