Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is not Dark Souls. It has a lot of the same DNA, but it demands so much more from you. There's no gaming the system here, for better- you can't leave and grind for some experience, you can't try a new weapon. There's no stats to level up, even- just your health and vitality and your attack power. It's just you and the boss and your fingers.

But hoo boy does it work. It's unforgiving, but the depth to the combat- and its consummate fairness- keep it from getting frustrating. The game allows you to truly embody a Shinobi, complete with all the things you'd expect from a ninja- stealth, acrobatics, and deadly swordplay. The discourse around difficulty has been, at the time of writing, pretty exhausting (an easy mode is fine, y'all, not everybody plays these games for the challenge, and not everybody *can*, don't @ me) but the game really is as hard as you've heard. I spent probably ten hours on the final boss before I finally overcame him. However, it's also intensely gratifying. I spent the first 10 hours or so not sure if I was doing it right, struggling along, not sure if I enjoyed the game or not- until I hit a boss that basically said "you are not getting past me until you master the combat, so either sit down and get to practicing or leave". After that fight, suddenly, I was a ninja- I had mastered the combat. Even in other fromsoft games, I haven't felt the feeling of mastery and achievement I got when I broke through to the next challenge. So, if you're here for the challenge- this will deliver, in spades.

As for the story, I think this is the best story in a Fromsoft game yet. It's delivered much more directly than any previous game- there's living NPCs, who talk to you. There's an *antagonist*, something noticeably absent from other fromsoft games. I won't spoil it, but it's top tier fromsoft storytelling- a meditation on a lot of the same sort of themes of immortality and death as their other titles, but a much different lens than the Souls series.

Overall, I really can't overstate how much I enjoyed Sekiro- exploring its intricate levels, delving its secrets, mastering every new fight it threw my way. I didn't want to end. I could have played another 60 hours, happily.

This game isn't for everybody- but I think it deserves finding out for yourself. Unlike other Fromsoft games, I couldn't get this out of my head- even after throwing myself against a boss for hours, I was just daydreaming about it the next day at work, of strategies, and of the world I had been so intently exploring. It's gonna be real hard to knock this from my GOTY 2019.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is not Dark Souls. It has a lot of the same DNA, but it demands so much more from you. There's no gaming the system here, for better- you can't leave and grind for some experience, you can't try a new weapon. There's no stats to level up, even- just your health and vitality and your attack power. It's just you and the boss and your fingers. But hoo boy does it work. It's unforgiving, but the depth to the combat- and its consummate fairness- keep it from getting frustrating. The game allows you to truly embody a Shinobi, complete with all the things you'd expect from a ninja- stealth, acrobatics, and deadly swordplay. The discourse around difficulty has been, at the time of writing, pretty exhausting (an easy mode is fine, y'all, not everybody plays these games for the challenge, and not everybody *can*, don't @ me) but the game really is as hard as you've heard. I spent probably ten hours on the final boss before I finally overcame him. However, it's also intensely gratifying. I spent the first 10 hours or so not sure if I was doing it right, struggling along, not sure if I enjoyed the game or not- until I hit a boss that basically said "you are not getting past me until you master the combat, so either sit down and get to practicing or leave". After that fight, suddenly, I was a ninja- I had mastered the combat. Even in other fromsoft games, I haven't felt the feeling of mastery and achievement I got when I broke through to the next challenge. So, if you're here for the challenge- this will deliver, in spades. As for the story, I think this is the best story in a Fromsoft game yet. It's delivered much more directly than any previous game- there's living NPCs, who talk to you. There's an *antagonist*, something noticeably absent from other fromsoft games. I won't spoil it, but it's top tier fromsoft storytelling- a meditation on a lot of the same sort of themes of immortality and death as their other titles, but a much different lens than the Souls series. Overall, I really can't overstate how much I enjoyed Sekiro- exploring its intricate levels, delving its secrets, mastering every new fight it threw my way. I didn't want to end. I could have played another 60 hours, happily. This game isn't for everybody- but I think it deserves finding out for yourself. Unlike other Fromsoft games, I couldn't get this out of my head- even after throwing myself against a boss for hours, I was just daydreaming about it the next day at work, of strategies, and of the world I had been so intently exploring. It's gonna be real hard to knock this from my GOTY 2019.