Sekiro Is The Hardest Game I’ve Ever Played and That’s Okay

Thank you for not taking the path trod by so many other gaming journos when reviewing ultra-hard games: "This game is too hard for me and here's why I feel personally attacked by that" sort of nonsense.

It's nice to see people embrace a good challenge. A game telling you to git gud is always fair ...even though I never play those games myself. I don't even like game modes where you can't "win", only survive as long as possible.

open up the hardest game debate: ACA NEOGEO Riding Hero.

single-handedly disproves the notion that this series is too easy.

and its difficulty is punishing. not badly made. the same quality revered in From Software stuff.

Haven't played it yet but after reading this article not so sure I want to . Thanks for the great informative article.

I definitely want to play it more after this read. Nice article. I LOVE the Dark Souls series. Unfortunately, I have so many games in my backlog. Won't get to this for years... Unless i'm gifted it. Then i'll immediately start it and beat it.

I appreciate the honesty and the fact that you are not condemning the game based on it's difficulty because, almost always, despite it's difficulty it remains a fair game that's masterfully crafted - just as expected from a studio such as FromSoftware.

And I agree: It's not an easy game but it's so fulfilling to beat boss after boss because just like with their previous games (Demon's/Dark Souls/Bloodborne) you get challenged to improve and in the end the sense of accomplishment and joy is something very rarely found in a game.

But of course their games have much more to offer than just challenging gameplay: Character/enemy/boss design, wonderful music, atmosphere, beautiful areas with tons of secrets and lots to discover just to name a few of the important ones. And just the overall creativity brings a smile to my face more than just a couple of times.

It's such an immense joy every time to play a new game from the studio, especially if you are playing blind, solo, offline, isolated, without spoilers, etc.

Very well put.

Well...better than X360a's review which looked like it was made by a complete fanboy (for the lack of a better term I can't think of) who loves using bad puns.

Yep, not for me at all.

With these hard games I never feel the 'pride and accomplishment' I see repeated ad nauseum all the time. Even when completing what most say is the hardest racing game in a long while, DiRT Rally, all of my enjoyment was from the gameplay and the handling of the cars themselves. The lack of rewind and the quick AI times just felt like a setback and overcoming them resulted in an 'I'm glad that's over' feeling, not the 'accomplishment' one. I did enjoy it, but if I could have made it easier, I would have definitely enjoyed it more as I wouldn't have had to replay as many stages as I did.

Most of the 'these games shouldn't have difficulty options' articles I come across are some of the most unrelatable things I've ever read. The more I think about it, the adamant defending of locked difficulty just comes off as gatekeeping. You're not helping anyone. Same with Cuphead. I suppose it's a blessing that I can't stand action fantasy RPGs so I wouldn't buy this even if it did have difficulty options, but I can't help but feel bad for those who do and are missing out on a game they'd otherwise enjoy. There are some out there who really need to knock off their elitism and just allow a choice.

Good article. I personally have never been into Souls style games. I find them frustrating and I'm not into the lore and such like many others are. But I would never want an easy mode made so they were more "accessible" to me. The difficulty is part of the experience and that should not be taken away.

Dark Death 90 said:This exactly. The "You died" screen is so integral towards the experience. Adding an easy mode would compromise the experience far too much.

That was a good read thanks Kevin, but surely if I can beat you can. Ninja Gaiden is easily one of the hardest games I've played and that was on the easiest difficulty

wookieepuppy said:I remember it taking a whole week to finish SE 4’s patched in ‘extra hard’ difficulty mode without manually saving (an achievement worth a paltry 10 gamerscore to boot), and I remember how relieved I was that it was over by the end.

That said, I’m in love with Sekiro. Not sure where I stand on adding difficulty modes in the name of inclusivity because while inclusivity IS very important, not all games should be all things to all people. In an era where many of these games are having the gameplay moments ‘watered down’ so more people will finish (facilitating more sales and bigger bottom lines), I find it refreshing when a dev sticks to their design and sells you something they feel is important.

This isn’t say that there won’t be disappointment when people buy and find they can’t complete a game, or are even repelled by the gameplay. I had that with Alekhine’s Gun. But it does highlight the need for all of us to be conscious, informed consumers. Don’t just buy or preorder a game because you liked the look from the trailer. I’m positive I’m guilty of this as well and so I point that advice squarely inward as I type this.

FromSoftware have a decade plus history of making these sorts of games. Hell, they kickstarted an entire subgenre from their efforts and well-deserved renown in the process. I just don’t know what the gameplay looks or feels like when you bifricate the dev team to focus on the game in different difficulty packages. Because the entire team had a more singular direction they wanted to take this in, the details were given a whole lot more love and care than most other games I’ve come across.

Think of this as the Acura Integra Type R of video games: designed for a small subset of the brand’s consumer base with very little compromise and an end result that delights even fewer who took to buying it. But for those it does delight, they will evangelize the merits of this product for the rest of their lives. For someone who just wants a cool looking, reliable commuter car (back to the Acura, specifically), they’ll probably sell it when they go through their 3rd obscenely priced windshield when they find out it keeps getting rock chips in them because the factory designed them to be millimeters thinner than the base integra a la weight savings and near imperceptible performance gains. The enthusiast will say ‘dude, take it to a track where the roads are pristine.’ To which the thought will cross the non enthusiast’s mind ‘I just want a baller subcompact with a rad spoiler.’ And they can get that car, just not at the Acura dealership.

Mod Edit: Removed deleted post.

I like this article because it does reveal to me a reason not to buy the game.
The difficulty was never really a problem with souls like games, a bit of a shock to the system, but not a problem. Learn your moves, learn the enemies moves, 'Git Gud', repeat. In fact I rather loved that gameplay because it reminded me of older games where you had to earn every inch on the side of the screen.

The thing I could never get past in the DS series was, what I felt to be, the lack of direction or explanation.
I never understood where I was going, what I was doing, or the reason behind it.

I don't mind that you expect me to push my limits and get better at the game sure, but at least explain how it all works first?

I really don't want to pay $60 for this game but all of you are are making it impossible!

Great write up.. Thanks!

ill get it in a sale eventually

i can completely relate. I believe I no longer have the stamina and patience to play a game like this. My gaming now consists of lets sit down and play, and if the loading time takes too long, I feel I have wasted time. So continually dying bores me into frustration.

I respect gamers who take on a challenge. Good on you, sir. Beat the game, don't let it beat you.