This caught me completely off guard, but it looks like Sekiro will be out in less than a week. I love almost everything about Dark Souls and Bloodborne, so I’m really looking forward to this. From Software has earned enough goodwill from me that it’ll be a day one purchase I think. From what little I’ve seen, this will be a pretty significant deviation in gameplay from the traditional Soulsborne sort of games both in terms of combat and general mechanics (limited RPG elements, emphasized stealth, etc). Initial impressions indicate that it’s quite a bit bigger than the leap between Dark Souls and Bloodborne was, so my title is probably not entirely accurate. Still, it should be tons of hair-pulling fun if From’s history is anything to go by.
Sekiro: From Software’s Latest Game (Stealthy Bloodborne)
- Thread starter Mhorydyn
- Start date
Definitely on my radar. I have a pile of half-finished DLCs from existing FROM games that I should really get back to, but if this one reviews well it's going to be difficult to resist the allure. I'm not sure the samurai setting appeals to me (haven't played Nioh either), but gameplay matters more than art direction for this kind of title.
I got a bit of a Tenchu vibe from the trailer, which means I preordered immediately. Every game should have a grappling hook.
coconutboy
Ars Praefectus
Loved the lengthy game demo they showed off back when announcing Sekiro (for the life of me, I can’t seem to find it anymore), and very excited for any game FROM puts out. Still, since this one isn’t multiplayer, I’ll wait to pick it up. Just bought Red Dead R2 and Titanfall 2 so that’ll take at least a month or two. For those of you jumping in, man... the combat, art, lore... I expect this game to be one helluva top-notch ride. Looking forward to reading some (hopefully) spoiler-free impressions.
First reviews are in and seem overwhelmingly positive.
I've completed all of the Soulsborne games but do wonder whether my limited talents will be up to the job this time around, given the lack of summoning and the inability to grind your way to a stronger character. The standard Souls advice to git gud may well be the only option this time! :/
I've completed all of the Soulsborne games but do wonder whether my limited talents will be up to the job this time around, given the lack of summoning and the inability to grind your way to a stronger character. The standard Souls advice to git gud may well be the only option this time! :/
Original post:
I'm just going to put spoiler tags over my post rather than delete it. It's an unhelpful post that adds nothing to the conversation. If I had played it and wanted to provide criticism that's one thing, I just came in here and shit in the chat. That's not a good habit or cool. I apologize.
To that end I hope it's everything everyone's been hoping it is.
The series became one of my favourite of all time, I was surprised to see it's out today. But oddly... I don't care? I think? I dunno, I can't tell if I'm burned out on the series or I'm in a general funk.
I've beaten everything but Bloodborne (I'm at the end, it just got dropped because of things in life) and Dark Souls 3 which, TBH, I thought just sucked. It looked great, but I did not enjoy the play style at all.
This looks like a nice refresh on their combat and game systems, it was getting a bit stale, yet I'm not excited as I once was. I think I'm going to wait a couple months see where I am at then; seeing as summoning isn't there there's no rush to be in the door with everyone else.
I've beaten everything but Bloodborne (I'm at the end, it just got dropped because of things in life) and Dark Souls 3 which, TBH, I thought just sucked. It looked great, but I did not enjoy the play style at all.
This looks like a nice refresh on their combat and game systems, it was getting a bit stale, yet I'm not excited as I once was. I think I'm going to wait a couple months see where I am at then; seeing as summoning isn't there there's no rush to be in the door with everyone else.
I'm just going to put spoiler tags over my post rather than delete it. It's an unhelpful post that adds nothing to the conversation. If I had played it and wanted to provide criticism that's one thing, I just came in here and shit in the chat. That's not a good habit or cool. I apologize.
To that end I hope it's everything everyone's been hoping it is.
I’m only a few hours in at this point and finally beat the first mini-boss. I’m doing pretty well with the combat in practice, but I’m pretty sure I’ve already died more in this game than I did in the entirety of Dark Souls 3 (sans DLC). There’s some familiarity with previous games, but it’s a pretty huge leap both in terms of the feel of combat and the tactics you need to employ to be successful (which I’m certainly not yet). For me, it is indeed a much bigger jump than going from the methodical sword and shield combat of Dark Souls to the fast parry/dodge combat in Bloodborne. It’s taking some time for me to adjust to it — and figure out the difference between doing things incorrectly vs the game gently discouraging me (similar to the first time you wandered off to the catacombs in DS1 not knowing any better).
Tentatively positive so far, although I do miss the online component from their previous games.
Also: no worries, DisplayNameTaken. I get the feeling of being burned out on stuff.
Tentatively positive so far, although I do miss the online component from their previous games.
Also: no worries, DisplayNameTaken. I get the feeling of being burned out on stuff.
A friend of mine was streaming it last night, I got to watch him attempt the ogre. That was... amusing.
The combat looked pretty good. As to the grapple hook, how do you feel about it? It seemed mostly gimmicky to me. The ability to traverse with it was neat but it didn't seem to add anything to combat. To be fair, my friend was not far in and, like you, adjusting to the change in combat direction.
The grappling hook would be worth having just for traversing the world. It’s very forgiving and makes zipping around a real joy. I’m also finding it pretty helpful for combat and reminds me of how I played Arkham Asylum — take down a random baddie then zip off to the roof of a nearby building and set up my next target.
Unrelated, but this game provides you with way more guidance at the start than typical From titles. The contrast with the difficulty is pretty amusing.
The grappling hook adds a great deal to running the heck away.
One thing I've discovered is that you're generally a lot faster and more mobile than the enemies and infinitely more so than in Soulsborne games, so when everything goes horribly pear shaped it's often a good idea to take to your heels, jump a wall or grapple over a gate or something and let the heat die down.
I've got a lot of gud to git at the fighting, but theres' flashes of how great it's going to be when it clicks.
One thing I've discovered is that you're generally a lot faster and more mobile than the enemies and infinitely more so than in Soulsborne games, so when everything goes horribly pear shaped it's often a good idea to take to your heels, jump a wall or grapple over a gate or something and let the heat die down.
I've got a lot of gud to git at the fighting, but theres' flashes of how great it's going to be when it clicks.
I just beat the Ogre last night. It took me more tries than I care to admit...
So far the game looks good, but is feeling less enjoyable than Dark Souls for me. I'm loving the jumps and the grappling hook mechanic. It opens up lots of level design possibilities (as does swimming). The lack of customizability is a bit of a let down though. In Dark Souls you can play the entire game as a heavy two hander, a sword and board, bow only, sorcerer, etc... At this stage in Seikiro, the only style that really works is parry king. I'm hoping more prosthetics will enable different play styles.
So far the game looks good, but is feeling less enjoyable than Dark Souls for me. I'm loving the jumps and the grappling hook mechanic. It opens up lots of level design possibilities (as does swimming). The lack of customizability is a bit of a let down though. In Dark Souls you can play the entire game as a heavy two hander, a sword and board, bow only, sorcerer, etc... At this stage in Seikiro, the only style that really works is parry king. I'm hoping more prosthetics will enable different play styles.
I couldn't have put it better myself. That's almost word for word my take on it having spent 4-5 hours over the weekend.
The tutorial mini boss took me far more tries than it should have, and I still haven't quite managed the Ogre yet.
I've completed all the Soulsborne games, albeit from time to time I ended up leaning quite liberally on summoning and grinding to get me past difficulty blips. I never really got the hang of parry and riposte, which is all too apparent from my initial time with Sekiro.
I'm resigned to this being the first From game since Demon Souls that I don't actually manage to finish.... :/
How I beat him:
First run up the hill and take out the spearman before the ogre breaks free. Do a big jumps away rather than quick dodges when the ogre attacks. Circle counter-clockwise/to the right (he has a stomp attack that's can still catch when jumping away on the left). Learn his attacks and when he finishes a sequence do a single quick charge attack and disengage. Rinse and repeat. Maybe there's a better way to approach it, but that's what worked for me going at it blind.
I’ve had a few cracks at the Ogre as well, but he chucked me off a cliff. I went off and beat the Drunkard instead which ended up being a fun fight. I had him down to one hit before he killed me, then I resurrected as his back was turned and finished him off. I wish I had a recording.
Good point on the limited customizability. It doesn’t (yet) bother me since the combat in Sekiro is so close to how I play the other games — light armour for fast rolling, one-handed swords, a shield optimized for parrying, and maybe a few pyro (or related) spells to augment. In DS/BB I also typically threw myself at enemies over and over to practice parrying, particularly with tricky guys like the knights in Anor Londo, etc. I managed to beat Gwyn on my second attempt by chain parrying him. I think he only managed to hit me once. That’s related to my least favourite facet of Bloodborne: you can’t practice parrying without using up a finite resource.
In any case, my hours of parrying are paying off now, but I can see how it’d be less enjoyable if you tended towards gearing up with Havel’s set or had a strong focus on magic. I do miss the customizability though, and still prefer Dark Souls (even if it is a bit early to be certain).
Yeah, my Souls playstyle is usually dancing just out of range and avoiding hits rather than blocking or parrying.
And Sekiro seems to be custom designed to hammer you for trying that.
So I need to unlearn everything.
And Sekiro seems to be custom designed to hammer you for trying that.
So I need to unlearn everything.
There seem to be an awful lot of us in that boat!
I took down the Chained Ogre last night. It's a hell of a lot easier once
you have the flame vent prosthetic attachment from the Hirata Estate
I'm confused by Dragonrot. I had avoided using resurrection after healing the Sculptor, as I thought that was what caused it to spread. I've been dying liberally (without resurrecting) and had another notice pop up to say another NPC had contracted it. Looks like it dying rather than resurrecting that is the trigger - though I'm not sure whether you could avoid adding to the Dragonrot counter by resurrecting then going back to an idol to rest (and so reset resurrection) before dying again.
Typically opaque From game mechanics!
There seem to be an awful lot of us in that boat!
I took down the Chained Ogre last night. It's a hell of a lot easier onceyou have the flame vent prosthetic attachment from the Hirata Estate
I'm confused by Dragonrot. I had avoided using resurrection after healing the Sculptor, as I thought that was what caused it to spread. I've been dying liberally (without resurrecting) and had another notice pop up to say another NPC had contracted it. Looks like it dying rather than resurrecting that is the trigger - though I'm not sure whether you could avoid adding to the Dragonrot counter by resurrecting then going back to an idol to rest (and so reset resurrection) before dying again.
Typically opaque From game mechanics!
I’ll have to give the Ogre another shot then. It has a similar move set to the terrifying whale things from Bloodborne, so it’ll be nice to clear it out.
As for Dragonrot, I’m pretty certain you’re correct that dying itself is what triggers it, not resurrecting. Also, unless I’m mistaken, resting doesn’t impact Dragonrot/chance to receive aid.
My most recent accomplishment: taking down the Shinobi Hunter. I found a few random non-boss versions of him nearby so I had a chance to practice a bit ahead of time.
I think this is one of From Software's more interesting games. It takes some real thought about strategy and approach when taking on the more powerful foes. That being said, after repeatedly bashing my head against the wall that is Gyoubu Oniwa (supposedly one of the easier bosses) I think I'm going to have to put it away for a while - possibly for good. I like the game, but I'm not sure I have the patience (or maybe skill, if I'm honest) to give it the constant precision it demands. I will definitely enjoy watching the speedruns of the game in the future, though!
You weren’t kidding, I took him down pretty quickly after that.
I cleared all the mobs around him then fell back until he lost aggro. Once he started wandering back to the stairs, I snuck up behind him and got off a deathblow. At that point, I used the flame vent and slashed away. Rinse/repeat with a few dodges in there and that was it.
I also came across Lady Butterfly which went about as well as you’d expect a first encounter with a boss to go.
Edit: switching the ‘use item’ and ‘switch prosthetic’ buttons was a nice quality of life improvement. I kept finding myself wanting to heal while avoiding enemies which is a bit annoying when my left thumb is busy. Now I can use my right thumb instead.
Took me two hours to beat the 3rd boss, Genichiro Ashina
This game is tough, from a souls veteran that's finished all prior FROM games (sometimes at NG+1 or +2).
You will not succeed without learning to deflect, repeatedly, and play aggresively.
I was really enjoying this game until it corrupted my 30 hour save. I had 3 bosses down and roughly 14 of the mini-bosses that give you prayer beads. I'm so mad right now.
That’s horrible. If you’re on the PC, I’ll happily send along my save files to help you get back up to speed if that’ll work (although I’m way way behind you — just got 4 prayer beads and zero full bosses, although I do have the health from deathblow skill and a few other upgrades).
Speaking of which, I’m going to have to back up my save files tonight. I found a script that helps automate things if anyone is interested: https://steamcommunity.com/app/814380/d ... 2574394018
Apparently, the corruption issue has been hitting the PC version hard. The part that really stinks is I had done quite a bit of farming for skills so I had many skill unlocked. Starting over again and will definitely back up my saves.
Thanks for the offer, but it shouldn't take me too long to get where you are. I know my way around well enough now that I can skip lots of the side exploration that is unnecessary. I've got quite a bit of the mechanics down that took me a while to figure out on some of the bosses.
Has anyone tried this with KBM? From games don't have the best of history with KBM controls so while I'm tempted I'm also a bit hesitant.
With the movement and speed of this game I'm not sure why you would want to unless you are going for some type of self-imposed hard mode.
I must say, I really enjoyed the Gyoubu fight. I got him on my fourth attempt, so I’m pretty happy with that. I feel like combat is really starting to gel with me too. The level of aggression and lack of stamina still feels a bit weird after countless hours in Dark Souls, but I’m enjoying it.
This game crashy for anyone else? I had two BSODs for no good reason in the first 90 minutes of play last night. The reports of save corruption have me nervous.
I had to turn off HDR too; it was muddy and washed out compared to the non-HDR setting.
edit: And that's 3. Doesn't look like I'm going to be able to play this one. :/
edit2: Props to Humble for not giving me shit about a refund.
I had to turn off HDR too; it was muddy and washed out compared to the non-HDR setting.
edit: And that's 3. Doesn't look like I'm going to be able to play this one. :/
edit2: Props to Humble for not giving me shit about a refund.
Well, for one thing I can't stand controllers. I actually have a PS4 but haven't managed to get more than an hour or so into The Last of Us because of the controller. So it's a bit of a make or break deal for me.
I’ve had one crash to desktop but that’s it so far.
As for KBM controls, I know some people who play Dark Souls exceptionally well using KBM so it should be possible.
Also, I had a bit of a duh moment: when you die you only lose half the XP for your progress to the next level. If you have, say, 4 levels already you’ll never drop below that. Being a From game, I assumed it was half of all experience so I’ve been carefully spending all of it before taking on bosses or tricky areas.
The approach I've taken is to farm until I have the next full point of skills and buy out whatever I can in the stores before I attempt bosses.
I found it interesting that you can 'finish' the game pretty early on. You do miss out on quite a bit of content though.
If you side with Owl and betray your master you will have a different boss fight and the game ends.
I'm pretty pissed by the Armored Warrior fight.
On the way to the temple area there's a couple of soldiers talking about a warrior with armor that's ill fitting and easier to knock off than expected. Killing that soldier gives you a key that lets you get the Loaded Spear prosthetic. The description of the spear says it's used to knock off armor.
Like an idiot, I used logic and concluded that you're supposed to use the spear to knock armor off of the Armored Warrior mini boss since he takes no vitality damage. After over an hour of using the spear and getting my shit pushed in, I looked online and found out the spear does nothing to him and you're supposed to kick him off the balcony. This is really misleading.
Like an idiot, I used logic and concluded that you're supposed to use the spear to knock armor off of the Armored Warrior mini boss since he takes no vitality damage. After over an hour of using the spear and getting my shit pushed in, I looked online and found out the spear does nothing to him and you're supposed to kick him off the balcony. This is really misleading.
Regarding dragonrot, I thought it only accumulated when you die died - screen goes black, you appear by the last shrine you visited. I think if you resurrect-die and cowardly run back to a shrine to rest, you bypass dragonrot. That's how I started playing and it seems to work so far. Boss fights won't work that way for me because I suck... I always have to resurrect to have enough life to beat a boss.
Damn, this game is hard. But, at times, when things click, you really feel like a Samurai.
Anyone else get a vibe of Tenchu: Stealth Assassins?
Chained Ogre stills owns me. I found a trick (which seems like a hack)
But he still grabs me all the time. Got him twice to just a sliver :devious:
Anyone else get a vibe of Tenchu: Stealth Assassins?
Chained Ogre stills owns me. I found a trick (which seems like a hack)
After you knock off one bar you can go get more spirits, to replenish our Flame Vent.
But he still grabs me all the time. Got him twice to just a sliver :devious:
You can get a free health bar removal by stealth attacking the Chained Ogre, makes the fight way easier. First kill the two guys on the way up the hill and then swing round to kill spear guy to the left (going up the hill facing the Ogre). The ogre will aggro but you can run away and eventually he will become idle and just wander around, often near where the spear guy was. You can then sneak up and stealth attack him which removes an entire health bar immediately.
To kill spear guy fast enough you may need the Mikiri Counter skill (the one where you dodge into him when he does the red kanji thrust attack).
I'm rather ashamed to say that, such is the certainty that I'm going to hit a brick wall early on and become irredeemably unable to make any progress given the lack of summoning, I've just not played the game in over a week and have instead embarked on a long-planned Death March playthrough of Witcher 3....
Feeble self-fulfilling defeatism, I realise. I really ought to at least give it a go before conceding defeat - but I'd forgotten how bloody briliant W3 is and it has sucked me in all over again.
Feeble self-fulfilling defeatism, I realise. I really ought to at least give it a go before conceding defeat - but I'd forgotten how bloody briliant W3 is and it has sucked me in all over again.
Of course, after I admit I’m owned I was able to beat him.
Yeah stealth attack would make that fight much easier.
His grab is just really awesome. I think the best way to time it is the sound of his roar, but still not foolproof for me. Maybe also need to step dodge to the side, not backwards.
I’ve never been able to get into W3.
I was a bit stressed out of the dying mechanics in Sekiro, but I think you can just not worry about it in the beginning. Worst case you’ll go to 100% dragonrot, but you can reset it. At least that’s what I think is how it works.
So just worry about getting better. Nay, just worry about having fun.
The other thing I realized that really helps, is that you can block. Not just deflect, but actually block. That took about 20 hours to figure out. Lol.
I think the learning curve is very steep, but seems to be leveling off now. Almost as steep as playing Demon’s Souls for the first time.
I think you could be right but I’m not sure.
On way to check is to track your Unseen Presence % in the inventory screen? I’m not sure though.