Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice received massive praise on its release. So much so that it even received Game of the Year of 2019 at the Game Awards. Gamer reviews made the game sound like the hardest game ever.
At first glance, Sekiro looked really cool and appealing. The setting of rural Japan and a katana-based combat made me want to try the game even more.
I had never played a soulslike before. So I thought, how hard can it be? It’s just a game. So I bought Sekiro, booted it up, and got started with my first soulslike. And the game humbled me very early. What followed was anger, frustration and lots of lessons.
The first steps – navigating Ashina Castle
The tutorial was fairly easy. Enemies were slow and had low HP. By the time I reached the first boss, I had a basic understanding of how the game works. I kept marching on until I met Genichiro Ashina. He was merciless and way faster than I expected.
After this, the true experience began. Enemies got harder, and mini bosses humbled me so much I lost count. Somehow, by using stealth mechanics and hit and run tactics, I reached the wall of Ashina.
The first two reality checks
The fight with Gyoubu Oniwa was the most frustrating in video games for me. I had officially reached a wall; either defeat Gyoubu Onima or defeat Lady Butterfly to get stronger. I gave up only to come back the next day only to get knocked out even more.
Eventually, I realised headbutting mindlessly won’t work. I started learning his moves, timing my parries, taking advantage of every window to attack. And with enough tries, I did it. The horserider was down.
Not long after, I saw through the illusions with Snapseed, and defeated Lady Butterfly. While she was also a formidable opponent for me, she wasn’t nearly as frustrating as Gyoubu Oniwa.
Inside the walls of Ashina Castle
Right after defeating Gyoubu Oniwa, the next boss was the blazing bull. With a well-timed use of a firecracker tool, I overcame this obstacle in no time. The next few mini bosses and generals made me see the red logo of death again and again.
But I wasn’t ready to give up. With each try, I got better. Started parrying the perilous attacks instead of dodging. I even started using my shinobi tools, which helped a great deal. But little did I know that another challenge was waiting for me at the top.
Meeting a past enemy
Upon seeing Genichiro Ashina, my first thoughts were that I was weak and unskilled then. But now I am better and stronger. I’ll defeat you in no time. After that, Genichiro started thrashing me left and right. His arrows and swift sword play left me hopeless.
Eventually, I started to get better. My Mikiri counters were successful, and I could time jump parries better. Victory was close. Then he pulled out the third phase, and I was left in shock(literally).
I had to do the perfect run again. Not losing patience and sanity, I managed to learn the lighting reversal move. This made the third phase fairly easy, but I had to survive the first two phases first. After 3 hours, the battle was over. The joy after defeating Genichiro Ashina was nothing short of amazing.
Exploring the world
After defeating Genichiro, I had a choice of where I wanted to go next. I could go towards the Sunken Valley or the Senpou Temple and I chose the latter.
Senpou Temple had its challenges with the armoured warriors and kung fu monks. This area of the game was fairly easy. At least compared to the challenges I’d faced before.
On receiving the mortal blade after defeating the folding screen monkeys, I headed towards the Sunken Valley. With poison pools, land mines, and ranged enemies shooting from a distance, this location was increasingly frustrating and tested my patience.
While the mini bosses weren’t that much of a challenge once I took care of the smaller enemies, the main boss of the area was just something else.
Guardian of the Sunken Valley
The Guardian Ape was unlike any other boss I had faced before this. His attacks were wild and random. The thought of defeating him with a sword seemed foolish. But after dying to his ball of poison many times, I started to see windows of opportunity.
Patience was the key in this fight. I dodged, ran around the arena, and waited for the perfect moments. Then I attacked him with everything I had, from firecrackers to the loaded axe, I used it all. Eventually, the fight was over, and Monkey was down.
But then he started twitching and got back up in the panic of seeing the second phase had me dead in seconds. The pain wasn’t over yet. Upon fighting him in the second phase, I realised his moves are nothing like the first phase.
Now this fight required patience and adaptability. And I did exactly that. Adapting to his moves in both phases. Many struggles and deaths later, this boss was also defeated.
Meeting the Great shinobi
After defeating the ape, Ashina Castle was locked out. Upon teleporting to the nearest idol, I saw that the castle was now under attack by new forces. This meant new bosses and enemies. Hiding, dying, and raging, I reached the top of the castle.
There he was waiting for me, the Great Shinobi Owl. This fight, in simple words, felt unfair in the beginning. His attack windows were small, he was using shinobi tools, and had a giant sword that could basically reach Sekiro anywhere.
This fight had to be the second most annoying fight after Gyoubu Oniwa. But with my newly acquired sword, the mortal blade. Even this boss was defeated in a few hours.
The rest of the game
After this, I headed towards the foggy Ashina depths. Here I met this game’s gimmick boss, the mist noble. After defeating the corrupted monk, the Fountain Head Palace was next.
A monk above the clouds
The corrupted monk had to be the most fun and satisfying fight for me in the game. His attacks were smooth, parrying him was satisfying, and his design was worthy of being in a palace above clouds.
The three-stage fight against him was fun, thrilling, and a real test of skill. The sound of his sinister laugh, dance-like movement, and huge size made him an adversary worth remembering.
The thunder-wielding dragon
After making it through the footballers, spearmen, dogs, and flutists, I made it to the divine dragon. And it’s safe to say that I never expected to fight a dragon in a game based on late Sengoku-era Japan. But here I was face-to-face with a dragon.
The divine dragon boss fight was easy after all the lightning reversal practice I got in the Fountainhead palace. All I had to do was dodge his wind attacks and parry when lightning struck the tree-like structures. And in no time, I had the dragon’s tears.
Going back to Ashina Castle
After going back, I saw that everything was in ruins. And that I had to go where Sekiro first lost his arm. And so I went. The hardest fight of the game was waiting for me.
After defeating Genichiro, from inside him came Isshin Ashina. Isshin is the perfect mixture of menacing and cool. As much as you hate the boss for killing you so many times. You’ll also love him for how cool he is.
Isshin the sword saint
“Hesitation is defeat,“ these words will always echo in my ears. Hearing them every time I got knocked out, Isshin carved them in my mind. Eventually, I stopped hesitating. Stopped second-guessing my moves.
This fight was the accumulation of everything the game had taught me. Adaptation, patience, and practice. Every phase of Isshin was different then the prior one. This made me rethink my approach to him.
Every move I made had to be calculated. There was no room for error or mistakes. Eventually, I learned his moves. Dodging got better, and parrying got even better. Everything I learned from the rest of them taught me how to beat him.
And with patience and perseverance, Isshin, the Sword Saint was dead, and my first soulslike was over. I have to say it was a tough game, but everything depended on practice and patience. As long as you have these two, any difficulty can be overcome.
