GamePlay Journal of: Sekiro Shadows Die Twice
My Review Of The Video Game
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Product Information:
Developed and published by From Software, with assistance from Activision; who was another publisher.
This game is an Action Adventure game and was released in March 22nd 2019 on platforms:
Playstation 4, Xbox One, and Windows.
ESRB: Mature.
Introduction:
This is a panoramic diagram of what a video game is:
(See "Game Review Model" in posts for the full breakdown)
Warning: Spoilers & Depictions of Violence!
Game Review:
Objective:
Purpose - With no hand holding of the Player and not jamming erroneous incentives for them strive for, let's Players naturally facilitate wonder and joy to explore this harsh feudal environment. The Player is welcomed to be interested in the story; enjoy the ninja reclaiming honour narrative and breaking the cycle of violence the Developers designed of course.But it quickly becomes apparent that this game truly shines in suscitating freedom of Player's own innate want, the want to get better and see what the new things this three dimensional game offers. All while having the most raw experience of unparalleled shinobi combat.That is the true purpose of this game.Once you get used to it, that is.
Risk/Reward - Each area presents dangers and important items. Challenge that headless monster, or dangerous group of enemies for instance. All for the intent of gaining boons or progressing the game. But when the Player is unsure of their competency of actually pulling off the endeavor in one try, they run the risk of dying and accumulating dragon rot, loss of items used in the attempt, Sen (Japanese currency, but only in-game thankfully), etc.Yet this constant danger of death is par for the course in this experience and makes everything matter, even when the Player dies they learn about more of the mechanics of the game, and improve (or relapse in frustration).Regardless there always is a foe that makes you think "I want to fight them/Can I beat them?/Will it be worth it?"And depending on the potentially arduous task, or possibly highly rewarding outcome. these variables will always be tantalizing and egg the Player on.And if you have the 'Divine heir's blessing' (more on that further down), you might be more inclined to take a chance.
In this game the Player is consistently told in game-play and from mentor figures that action and decisiveness win battles.And with the posture system being a tug-of-war of exchanges, not giving your adversary reprieve to recover is the ideal strategy.
"Hesitation is defeat" - Isshin Ashina.
Progression - Traverse the level and find new levels in this linear semi-open world setting (the levels are all interconnected but have specific paths for traveling besides fast traveling between check points). Find key items. Interact with certain characters to gain more prompts for progression. Defeat bosses that obstruct the Player's path.
Fame - You beat a well known difficult game. Only some can truly get the game-play loop, and to master it takes time, but when you learn how to play... you can do some really cool things in-game.
Since an update in 2020 the Player can write messages and record up to 30 seconds of game-play. Which other players can rate them adding an in-game meta, and some multiplayer functionality to a single player game
Mechanics:
Systems - Their are many intricate clever engineering solutions that I cannot explain and do justice to the Developers, but I'll list the basics (but not BASIC because that programming language would not be used in a triple A title (probably)) that I grasp.
From Software use many game engines (a game engine is a software framework that helps Developers create video games): FMOD, Bink Video, Havok.
But From Software primarily uses their own custom made one that they reworked and improve and has been used even since Demon Souls (their first souls game in 2009).
These engines help with physics, graphics, audio, Developer assisting tools and other forms of engineering logic and code.
FMOD integrates real-time audio building and editing while working on the game, Bink Video optimizes video, and Havok is a staple in physics in the game industry.
These help with a lot of integral components of what makes a triple A game (high budget game usually made by a high profile team) fleshed out, but values like Player data: Vitality which is the health of the player and is increased by finding four 'prayer beads', increase maxes out at ten completed necklaces.
Experience points which you gain from killing enemies and are used to unluck combat arts, shinobi martial arts, and latent powers.
Sen which are pilfered from surrounding dead bodies by holding the 'collect items button'.
Spirit emblems which are found from killing or exploring, some of the Player's abilities only work or are powered by spirit emblems.
Stat increases from items and conditions.
Resurrection nodes which if active will allow the Player to come back from death.
Saving, menu systems, game state, processing power, render distance, progression quotas, are some other examples of systems that Developers need to program.
Another noteworthy system is when you die a certain way the loading screen will likely show some hint relating to how to better prepare yourself.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has extremely complex enemy Ai that detects player input, run many behaviors (complex AI employ behavior trees, which are tasks layered from the top that iterate based on conditions and how the flow of the tree executes) that make other worldly combat exchanges.
An amazing system that adds posture damage when the Player deflects enemy attacks, which when full renders enemies vulnerable to deathblows for a short time which when executed, execute the enemy (bosses can survive multiple deathblows).
The standard of whittling an enemy's health to zero resulting in their death is still an option in this game.
But the Player character also has posture, and opposing attacks will lower it even if you deflect. If you guard instead of deflecting when your posture meter is critical, the Player character will be the one who gets staggered instead [you cannot be subjected to a death blow though (unless you fight Owl)].
More important aspects of the deflect system are some deflects will interrupt weak enemy attacks while some enemy attacks will knock the Player character back depending on how severe of an attack and how successful of a deflect. Which is based off the timing of when the deflect was made. A perfect deflect will deal high posture damage to an opponent (this goes both ways) and the lower the health of an enemy the easier it is to bring their posture to a critical status.
Both the Player and enemies will regenerate posture, but only when no attacks are made (and the player is not sprinting).
Some enemy attacks will prompt a red symbol which in kanji literally means "danger." Most of these dangerous attacks cannot be deflected (though if the attack is a thrust it can be negated by a perfect deflect or 'mikiri countered') and need to be dodged or jumped.
The Player can heal and revive if they have their respective required healing gourd or resurrective node. Most enemies cannot heal.
The Player can lock on to enemies with the camera ("Z-targeting" - Ocarina of Time mechanic, which is prevalent in many 3D third-person games). The game will target the closest enemy, you can then unlock targeting or cycle through adjacent enemies.
All these systems birth an in-depth and highly interactive experience.
Design - The Player is designed to be highly mobile, and is controlled from a third-person perspective and can rotate the camera.
This allows functionality for spying important details in an area: Hazards, paths of progression, and narrative ploys.
Even without knowing the context, this one image shows a glowing item, many UI elements (User Interface, in this case images that tell the Player important game feedback), characters that are moving toward the end of a trail with a sentry of similar appearance at the head, suggesting a communion of protecting whatever that building is. All the while the Player character is slightly of center showing they are moving forward.
In the image above: The pink circles are resurrection nodes, the red bar is the health of the Player, the symbols under the bar are status conditions, the center yellow bar is the posture meter, the healing gourd is the selected item, the bigger box is your employed shinobi tool, the sword icon means you are able to swing your sword, under that icon is the currently slotted ninjutsu, the paper thing by the four is spirit emblems, the upper right blue bar is the experience bar, and to the right of that is a blue flame that shows the game is auto-saving.
From the start of the game the Player can move bipedally, sprint, dodge, crouch, jump, jump off walls and enemies once while falling, grapple hook on certain points, hold onto ledges and swim.
Once the Player receives their sword and 'healing gourd', they can swing their sword, deflect with their sword, backstab, and use various consumables.
Later in the game the Player increases their arsenal with
prosthetic tools, combat arts, shinobi martial arts, latent skills and ninjutsu's to fully round out lethality.
Use a flurry of sword slashes while deflecting or dodging to come out on top, use shinobi tools that are more effective on certain enemies (stealth kills are also an option sometimes but swordplay is more fun).
Here is a short clip demonstrating most of the concepts I have stated.
"Agile enemies... bring them down from afar... shields, break them to splinters" - Sculptor
The enemy designs are top notch. Hidetaka Miyazaki (the creative director and lead game designer) will always try to have the actual game models and visuals be almost the spitting image of the concept art. * Whether he does this for practical purposes or is has another reason is beyond me, but you cannot argue with the impressive results.
Controls - 
This is the menu for controls for PS4 but would also work for PS5 controllers, the important thing is knowing the extant of controls, not the configurations for each platform (or at least I hope that works for you, because I'm not listing the others).
This is the menu for controls for PS4 but would also work for PS5 controllers, the important thing is knowing the extant of controls, not the configurations for each platform (or at least I hope that works for you, because I'm not listing the others).
Holding L1 will start a sword guard animation, but if you time it just before a slash lands, you deflect the attack and take no damage (unless you played with extra hardships, and the deflect was just a guard).
Pressing R1 will swing the Player's sword in a simple combo but can be fluidly chained into other actions, like when you just begin a R1 input if you press L1, Wolf recalls the attack and deflects. This key mechanic is one of the many reasons Sekiro's combat is so polished. The ability to naturally combo simple slashes but still always find a way to defend against the foe you squared off with makes for ultimate combat.
The rest of the controls work around this key control loop, and it is up to the Player to use the to the best of their understanding.
The controls are responsive and mapped to helpful keys. It is intuitive yet complicated.
* learning how to control the camera while simultaneously moving in-game is a human skill that will vastly help with playing the game (I'm not sure how keyboard and mouse controls work).
Visuals - Striking visuals for representing game mechanics like the sparks that fly when blades clash or putrid poisoned blood that gushes from ghastly beings. All this represents the high octane conflict and rotting world while providing more sensation during game-play.
(Top concept/Bottom Game model
The Sengoku period atmosphere is polished and complements the roots of the creators of this game; the Developers brought a special and unfiltered showing of splendor and horror of Japanese history and mythos.
Audio - Phenomenal sound, the ques for enemies being alerted serves as an alarm for the Player as well, to tell them when they are no longer hidden while sounding really good. The sound effects of swords deflections help the Player know when a perfect deflect was executed or not, while also sounding sharp and crisp.
The music had wadaiko drums to give a nice base to tunes, this was in part to keep to the esoteric Buddhist theme that is prevalent in the game. Shinobue flutes,
cellos, violins, and vocals were used.
Sounds had range, when the origin of the sound got closer so did the volume, things like that. This helped for judging distance of enemies and also pointing you in the direction of a peculiar noise that belongs to an unknown entity * For example I was exploring Mibu village and in this house I heard weird slurping sounds, but because it was muffled and mysterious, that suggested I could get closer and discover what the source of the sound was. After crouching under the house and pushing a rotating floor tile, I found the drinking noise came from a weird fish man.
Music is also used to tell story beats extremely well:
This is the first background music for when you enter a memory of a raid at Hirata Estate that took place three years before the present time of the game is set in. gamehttps://youtu.be/jmOYVcHaYbc
Which by all rights is sinister which reflects the tone of the memory. But after you find a key item later in the game the Player character's memory of the attack alters into a more conniving 'conspiracy' revealing the truth https://youtu.be/NfKfJradZKE?list=PLPfHaI9XqTnFxKoXOs30LKSLF3prWagC4.
The audio of this game is polished and holds up against any triple A title.
Game Narrative - "Take Revenge." "Restore Your Honour." "Kill Ingeniously." - all words on the back of the jewel case for the game.
This summarizes the ludonarrative (game narrative) pretty neatly.
The Player strives to save and protect their lord at all costs while defeating impressive samurai, beasts, undying monsters, and familiar shinobi.
The Player character has amnesia among many other hardships, and as they triumph over worthy adversaries you will gain memories of said slain boss, which when you process that memory at an Sculptor's idol. The Player can increase their attack power, symbolizing each introspection and memory you confront reflects how Wolf (one of the names of the Player character) is subtly growing which mirrors the actual realization of the Player's shinobi prowess.
Let Ashina's long night come to an end...
Content:
Levels - Levels in Sekiro are open but linear, the Player can walk from Ashina Outskirts to and back from Ashina Castle but from Ashina Castle and traveling to some areas like Sunken Valley and Mibu Village are a one way trip, and need to be traversed back through fast travel spots via Sculptor's idols.
The levels are chock full items to upgrade the Player, and are designed around a ninja's agility and reach, so there are a lot of ledges and valleys to jump from, and roof tops to scale. All the while giving the Player a birds-eye view of the area.
During the events of the game, certain factions make moves into new territories both providing different enemies to fight, but also symbolizes Ashina losing its grip of its territory. So in paying attention to the subtle clues of actions of the ludonarrative you can spot points of interest.
For example towards the end of the game Ashina is on the brink of defeat from the Interior ministers (the other warring faction), and in the middle of the battle you spot an injured Ashina samurai. He asks for your support of the Ashina soldiers in the Outskirts, and points you to a kite that will lead you there. Retracing through one of the first levels of the game shows new structures erected by the Interior ministers and with said faction in toe, for the siege of Ashina. In further retracing your steps you are brought to the culmination of all this hate and destruction... the "Demon of Hatred" the embodiment of war and destruction, 'Shura' (Buddhist demi-god of war).
If you brave the ordeal, the Player gets high quality items to upgrade shinobi tools to the upmost capacity (among other achievements).
"Thank you... Wolf" - Demon of Hatred.
Hazards - If a NPC (non-player character) has a health bar or if Wolf has his sword unsheathed, they are an enemy and will most likely be a difficult fight (if they don't have a health bar and make you sheath your sword, they 'will' be a very difficult fight).
From the Ashina faction: the lower class of samurai; that rely on numbers. The weaker variants have a surprising dangerous sword flurry, while the next stooges are slightly more reserved versions. Ashina employs members of the Taro troop (giant man children that look like reused assets from Bloodborne's chalice dungeons), Tengu and dogs which are mobile foes that rely on lunging attacks (the tengu have these awesome spinning blades they throw that have heat seeking levels of precision).
The Ashina elite are the most proficient soldiers and with their cut throat exact slices and high posture regeneration, they truly are the disciples of 'him'.
The Senpou monks deal in martial arts, with their candies and aptitude for the infested some of them cannot even be killed (until you get the mortal blade). They have these elite staffed enemies that fly around and just have the most amount of posture (they are some of the strongest enemies in the game, but can be 'mid-air death-blowed).
The bandits of the world use unconventional tactics like kicking mud at Wolf, some have shields that are impervious to sword slashes, making them really hard to deal with... up until you get the shinobi axe, then you can splinter them with ease (this is a theme in Sekiro, some enemies can seem absurdly and unjustifiably difficult, but using the right tool greatly helps the endeavor).
The Okami clan have warriors that specialize in free flowing slash attacks mixed with jump attacks imbued with lightning, they have an extreme weakness to poison though.
The Interior ministers are the final and most imposing force, wielding more weaponry and are clad in more impressive armor. They have strong and slow windups when attacking, and have extremely quick attacks too.
These are the most note worthy factions.
But the main staples of this game are the bosses. To keep this simple I will just say my favorite and least favorite boss.
Inner Isshin or Sword Saint Isshin are my favorite bosses, his first phase with the classic Ashina sword style perfectly denotes the basic premise of this whole game. High pressure and perfect sword fighting.
His second phase has him use a cross spear in tandem with his sword, resulting in him gaining untethered and devilishly deadly combos that show his prowess. He has many distance closing attacks, and has plenty of sneaky attack switch ups that will always keep the Player guessing. On top of agility (and his semi-automatic flintlock pistol), in both phases Isshin can cut at such incredibly speeds, the air itself become an extension of his blade; effectively giving him 'air slashes'. After you death-blow him for the second time, he adorns lighting attacks proving his mastery of Tomoe's own combat style, his equal. Narratively this shows lightning redirection being the pinnacle of sword mastery given how the enigma of a swordswoman Tomoe once used it to almost kill Isshin (later when tensions were amicable, she would teach Genichiro, serving as his mentor).
But fight wise Isshin using lightning gives the Player an advantage, because on each redirect of lightning, you take away a fifth of his vitality.
And whether your victory was over Inner Isshin or Sword Saint Isshin. The final death-blow will have him say:
"Well done... Sekiro."
I always enjoy this fight. it is peak game-play, few other games come close in quality compared to the impressive bosses in Sekiro.
That said my least favorite boss is the Folding-screen door monkeys. They are a gimmick boss (which means they are fought in a different way than the norm. This can create novelty, but can just as easily disorient the Player).
The 'gimmick' here is a lethal game of hide and seek. The monkeys have different attributes and by using your surroundings you can find ways to trap them and kill them. Ultimately though this creates a dull boss fight experience, tracking and hunting monkeys is a major departure in game-play from the usual mode of play.
Even though it's interesting, it's still not even close to as fun as fighting in a sword fight.
Abilities - * I'll share my favorites instead because I can't list all the abilities in this game.
I really like using the Subimaru shinobi prosthetic because besides just being a super fun poison slash attack, it can turn into a side-step with iframes (invincibility frames), while looking sick and giving me a chance to get behind an enemy.
The flame barrel is the most reliable shinobi tool, the vent can stagger most foes and deals major damage to enemies with glowing red eyes, but the main help is the burn status. An enemy that is too busy burning is too busy to deflect or block my slashes, giving me time to do valuable vitality damage.
The Sakura dance combat art is amazing. Having a three hit slash that also lifts the Player into the air while hitting a wide area is so unbelievably versatile. And once you're in the air you can chain other prosthetics.* I think the best ninjutsu is the puppeteer one, for the fact that if you brain wash an enemy (what the ninjutsu does) this distracts enemy aggro (the targeting of the enemy). Having not all of the focus on you gives you more options in combat. As an added plus it only costs 5 spirit emblems to use, making it the cheapest ninjutsu.
Graphics - The general light and dark colorful scenery is stunning and really puts an emphasis on the fact that even with the atrocities that occur in this feudal Japan set world (a time of immense political violence for the sake of the rulers of the lands, shoguns seeking power) these mountain tops will prevail and in that there is hope for some or at least a good view.
When I compare this game to other Japanese set worlds, like "Ghost of Tsushima" released in 2020. Which is an absolutely gorgeous game: 
Regardless, Sekiro's visuals evoke wonder and intrigue still.
(What an interesting image... like take in all the layers of cool)
HDR (high definition rendered) allowed the Dev team to achieve new levels of detail.
Customization - Modes of combat gave uniqueness to the Player and with a pause menu that would stop game time, you could switch up your equipment loadout on the go even in combat.
"Wolf" isn't the typical Fromsoft Player character, in past titles Players are basically a blank slate for you to fully identify with. He instead had individuality and has his unique spin on the 'orange ninja look' but was still a named character with voice lines and had the one outfit.
From Software souls-like (subgenre From Software originated) games usually have a Player character with no voice lines and can be completely customized in the character creator at the start of the game, or changed later if you found the right requirement.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice did have an update in late 2020, where you immediately had a new outfit you could change into at idols.
And could unluck two new ones by defeating the update's new respective 'gauntlets', which gave new variety.
But mainly the way to customize your Player experience came down to your playstyle, and considering you can learn different battle arts from other factions and arm yourself with faction tailored abilities, Sekiro essentially becomes a mutt in versatility to all the influences he adapts (being a mutt means genetic diversity, which is good).
Characters - (Only doing main characters)
Wolf - or better known as Sekiro (which means one-armed wolf) is the Player character. He was found in a battle field by Owl (your foster father) 'who' put you through the most grueling training; him and Lady Butterfly (your main shinobi teacher). After becoming a fully fledged ninja, Sekiro is tasked with protecting Lord Kuro (who is important because he is the divine heir and will be the reason Wolf is immortal at all). He is a stoic and loyal ninja but has an arc of deciding that he can choose his own path and not just the one his foster father laid out for him.
Kuro - is a young boy with a kind heart. He wants to severe his dragon's heritage, and wants to be strong like Wolf.
Lady Emma looks after the Sculptor, supports all the reasonable NPC's in the game. She has a secret vendetta against Shura, she upgrades your gourds and is a genuinely stand up person.
Sculptor - Mysterious, definitely has a bloody past, and knows he can never atone. Helping a wounded wolf is a worth while venture for him. He does this by upgrading your shinobi prosthetic and fitting new tools.
Genichiro - Your rival, he seeks to restore Ashina and will cross blades with you at least three times before his defeat.
Isshin - Old man with the most insatiable thirst for combat, he was the peak swordman. He chose to spare you because you reminded him of Orangutan, and figured you had potential. He is dying.
Owl - Your 'father' and a right dubious villain. He orchestrates a lot of the Wolf's hardships and serves as the worst influence for Sekiro.
Story - There are quite a lot of plot points and interesting little stories this game offers, plus four different ending. But I will surmise the main story.
You start out as this disheveled ninja at the bottom of a well, you try to muster a last ditch attempt save your lord but you are humiliated by this pompous samurai boss (which you can 'defeat' but on your 'very first' play through of the game this is almost impossible). He cuts off your arm and is the origin of your name, the "One-armed wolf."
You are saved by another disabled shinobi named Orangutan, he gives you his old prosthetic arm, which gives you a new 'fang' by result. You journey on, find your lord in Ashina Castle, get even with Genichiro and are tasked with severing Immortality by Kuro himself.
After collecting the 'mortal blade', 'Shelter stone', 'Lotus of the palace', and 'Aromatic branch'.
You can perform a procedure that you learned from the previous Devine heir's texts.
You make it to the divine realm, you acquire the dragon tears from a 'western' dragon (It's a Chinese dragon but since it's still to the west it is considered western in this world). And with that you return to the castle finding Isshin dead, and Kuro again being hassled by the now returned Genichiro. You then compete in the final fight and when you win, you learn that Kuro actually needed to die to complete the severance.
Thus ending on a dour note, yet the true triumph was the completion of the game not the end of the story.
* This quest is a little ludonarratively dissonant though, because the war would still happen even without Kuro's dragon heritage luring invading forces. Isshin is the backbone of Ashina, and when he dies the Interior ministers get the gull to invade.
Even if Kuro wants to help as many people as he can, severing immortality won't really help, but he made his mind and with the lesson of 'choosing your own code' he fellows through yet it just ends up killing Sekiro or Kuro (depending on the ending), and Ashina still falls.
Intention Review:
Player's Expectations:
Genre - Single-player Action Adventure Role-playing game, Soulslike * it isn't a role-playing game but given the formula for the others in the series, I'm sure Players thought it could be.
Immersion - This game is the rule of cool, the tight controls, atmospheric world and intricate bosses and enemies allow for Players to get lost in Sekiro's mission.
The game does take a lot of mental strain and concentration, if you want a chill experience, this video game is not the right call.
Hooks - * I was only mildly stoked at first when I saw the trailer, I was still content with "Bloodborne" and "Dark Souls III" (other Fromsoft titles).
But within the the first 3 hours of gameplay and finally defeating that drunk mercenary Juzou... I was fully onboard and enamored with the game.
Quality - 10/10 masterpiece.
Difficulty - This game has a major learning curve. Fromsoft is famous for their difficulty, but even hardcore fans will be thrown through a loop for the difference in controls to previous Fromsoft games.
Sekiro can be vague and in-game testing can be perilous and hard to try scaffold new modes of play.
Yet with patience, loading screen hints, and "Hanbei the undying's" help by being a sparring partner. Understanding much needed mechanics to progress is possible, like: Focusing on posture damage, deflecting, deathblows, targeting enemies, shinobi tool exploiting, mikiri counter, safety rolling and stealth are all essential to succeeding in Sekiro's harsh world.
It can be easy to overlook and not get the hang of these specific skills and brute force certain parts of the early game.
But you will need to master these mechanics to make the game enjoyable; otherwise you are going to have an especially brutal time.
Genichiro is generally the skill check. Once you beat him you should have the skills to get through rest of the game. * It's almost like the "there is no spoon" moment from the Matrix.
The difficulty is still really hard, even with all that training, even so, you the Player are ready to brave the ordeal.
And if you want an even tougher challenge you could choose the 'path of additional hardships' at the start of the game by refusing Kuro's charm, and activate the 'bell demon curse' (these can be removed).
Developer's Expectations:
Genre - Single-Player Action Adventure game, Soulslike.
Project - The team wanted to create an amazing game.
From Software received a lot of support from Activision in helping with the new movement systems and part of that stems from the spiritual and was almost actual predecessor to Sekiro... "Tenchu" which was a past joint project of the two Developers/publishers.
Sekiro was planned to be a spin-off of Tenchu but was canned when it wasn't within the scope of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice creative direction.
The team that worked on the masterpiece Bloodborne were the ones that made Sekiro (Fromsoft has multiple Developing teams). Which with their experience and prowess they definitely knew what they were doing going into this project (it was still difficult though of course).
Hooks - "Carve your own clever path to vengeance as you come face-to-face with larger than life foes in FromSoftwares's dark and twisted adventure set in feudal Japan. Unleash an arsenal of deadly prosthetic tools and ninja abilities, while blending stealth, traversal, visceral combat. Survive a relentless and bloody confrontation on a quest to restore your honour and save the one you're sworn to protect" - Description on the back of the video game's jewel case.
Quality - "We will continue to make the best possible games we can" - Hidetaka Miyazaki translated words on talking about Sekiro's GOTY award in the 2019 Game Awards Event.
Difficulty - Given the staple of this company, they wanted to hurt Players in fantastical and fun ways, all while their consumers (me) have a smile on their face.
Impact on Developers:
Expression - Miyazaki intended the game to capture the feel of swords clashing with fighters trying to deal a final strike.
The designers wanted a higher level of realism, the map designer wanted players to occasionally just look at the soundings and appreciate the detail.
Re-playability - [N/A]
Enjoyment - The team had a great time. * In the reviews I watched they looked pretty thrilled (I'm sure their is more to it than that but they did make a game that won GOTY and this is mainly a surface value inspection of intention).
Benefits - Sekiro won Game Of The Year... They strived to create a new adaptation of their Soulslike experience and blew it out of the park. It was the third highest selling Steam game made in Japan, only behind "Monster Hunter: World" and FromSoft's own "Dark Souls III."This renown and reputation of making high quality games will bring in fans for generations to come and will continue to cement Hidetaka Miyazaki and team has some of the best game Developers.
Unfulfillment - * I sense no unfulfillment, they made a finished game, and told an involved story.
By creating such a invigorating combat system, Sekiro revolutionized or at least put an emphasis on the 'sword clash' type combat that has been popping up since it's release.
* They might of regretted not releasing the 'Tomoe DLC' (DLC stands for Down Loadable Content) that the game was scaffolding, I'll still hold out hope but if they do make it, it needs to still be a passion project, not a cash grab. But as long as the people who make up the Dev team still value the level of quality and standards of previous titles, while still taking risks. They will still make great games.
Recommendation - When someone likes one game from a Developer, they might be inclined to play more from them. * I believe the next critically acclaimed game Fromsoft released "Elden Ring" wouldn't have done 'as' well if it wasn't for Sekiro broadening the Player demographic for From Software with its faster paced and more free flowing combat and 'slightly' more forgiving difficulty.
Impact on Players:
Re-playability - * I play through this game at least 5 times a year since release... I stop and enjoy levels I especially like just to redo them and fight, all the while honing my technique.
On each new game up till NG+ 7 (if you replay a completed saved game by selecting "Start Playthrough #" in the sculptors you get a NG+ option), the game scales in difficulty to adjust to your acquired end game Player stats, which is mostly well balanced.
This game does struggle evoking novelty, experience is dulled slightly on replays due to the heavier handed narrative compared to its predecessors. Needing to always talk to the same characters to progress does get old on the 15th playthrough, but so does a lot of things after that amount of replays of a game with a significant story. Yet this game still handles the balance of story and game-play much better than most triple A games (I'm looking at you "Borderlands 3" and Monster Hunter: World).
Enjoyment - This game is really respected and liked by the gaming community. Both for its masterpiece status, and for how fun the game-play is. * I feel like my opinion of how much I like this game is riddled in this review already, I'm biased, Sekiro is my favorite game. There, I said it.
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