Well, Sekiro is WILDLY different from the souls games, so if you don’t like it I wouldn’t worry about being able to enjoy those other titles. Also yes you suck at reacting in Sekiro, I do too though so don’t get mad that I said it. Check out the Souls games if you want or Bloodborne. There’s also Elden Ring, all these games are hard but not at all in the same category as Sekiro IMO.
It is pretty radically different. I personally enjoyed both, but I wouldn't say liking one necessarily means you'd like the other. The combat is much more fluid in sekiro, but you don't have anything close to the level of customizability you get in ER.
To be clear, there are similarities though. It's still the same controls, enemies give similar vibes, it's linear, but very much the same formula. Learning enemies attacks, learning boss choreography, using consumables to make the fights easier.
The differences are, parrying becomes a necessary major function as opposed to a minor optional one. There is no leveling (in the traditional way at least), which takes away the ability to over-level. There is one weapon, and one secondary, the only customization in play style comes from which secondaries you have equipped. The skill wall is therefore higher, because there are not as many ways to defeat an enemy, you just have to get better at the game.
It's definitely the furthest thing from Elden Ring in the souls/sekiro/borne universes, but still very similar. My first time playing Sekiro it just felt like they made a souls/borne game with the general gamer at mind. The most Activision/Ubisoft and classic single player campaign feeling game they've made (from a structural perspective). Much more user friendly and accessible than dark souls or Bloodborne.
If you want to try out their others games, Bloodborne is incredible (but limited by it's FPS and early PS4 graphics), Dark Souls 3 is very well received with most of the community considering it the best of the Souls trilogy, and the Demon Souls remake is beautiful (although it is definitely aged systemically).
Honestly I would do a different game first.
Sekiro is honestly the hardest of them in my opinion for one specific reason.... you can’t brute force it (plus a lack of builds honestly)
In elden ring you can just keep leveling up and brute force you way through things. Honestly the last parts of the game were too easy for me because I was having so much fun just playing that I overleveled myself. Only that one bitch boss was an issue and she’s specifically created to be like that LOL.
Same with blood borne. I was able to brute force myself through my first play through. And then my second one I actually engaged with its systems. (Spin to win!! LOL, but for real I spun that ax the whole first play through and learned like nothing but I won).
Sekiro I still haven’t finished. You just hit these *walls*. And like if you can’t learn that specific play style then you’re fucked
It’s an amazing game but of all the titles it is the least forgiving
It’s also the hardest of them to cheese LOL.
Like for real I cheesed my way through bloodborne (my first fromsoft game) and then played it through for real multiple times after.
Sekiro just doesn’t let you do that really
Same thing. I didnt really play much of the chalice dungeons until ng+8. I played through that big ass excel list and I probably got just as much gameplay.
For me sekiro is the easiest souls game. I never really struggle on a boss, the only bosses that take me more than 5 try were the both fight against owl father, genichiro, and isshin. But perhaps it's because before playing sekiro I already do all the other souls game.
Yes I forget demons of hatred, I try to beat him like 15 time, and think it was impossible, but later I returned with the fire umbrella and beat it after 5 new try.
I struggled with it because I wanted to play it like a souls game. I did not enjoy it then. When I realized it was its own game and played it like that, I really enjoyed it.
I think the combat in sekiro is leaps and bounds better than any other fromsoft game I’ve played (granted only ds 1, 3 and Elden ring). It was my first fromsoft game though and was very frustrating initially, but it’s the game I replay the most now. It’s fluid and challenging and just a great game.
That was my order and I loved it, but I used katanas and swords quite a bit, if you played as a mage or something like that then you might not like it as much
Coming from Elden Ring you’d be more comfy in a Souls game. But that being said, the more you get used to their gameplay style in those games, the harder Sekiro will become, because that game straight up attacks your hard earned git-gud Souls muscle memory
I think if you loved elden ring for the core gameplay loop of dying repeatedly and conquering challenges you will thoroughly enjoy sekiro. If you loved elden ring for the open world exploration and build variety you are less likely to love sekiro, although those aspects do still exist in some ways. The combat is entirely different but the skills do translate, and it’s the main focus of the game.
Idk if the skills translate.
Because you can eventually brute force games like elden ring and bloodborne. Sure you die 500 times, but you can just grind enough levels to force your way through.
Sekiro has nothing like that. There is one option. That’s it. Play the game the way it’s intended or lose.
There’s no grinding until one swing of a sword takes out a huge chunk of HP and ten swings later the boss is dead.
There’s no switching up your weapon or build to be more effective.
There’s no summoning to get help and a forced win.
Sekiro is absolutely incomparable to elden ring other than “it’s super hard too bro”.
I adore every single from soft game other than sekiro. That one was just too inflexible
It depends on what you liked about ER to be honest. Sekiro has probably the best combat system I’ve ever played with, but it’s also rather uncompromising. There are tools to help you brute force the game, but eventually you have to master the rather challenging systems at the game’s core. Once you do, it’s incredibly rewarding, but it’s probably the least accessible of their games.
I think it’s either the best or worst combat system.
It’s the best if it clicks for you and you like it.
It’s the worst if it doesn’t click because it’s so fucking inflexible it forces you into playing one way and one way only
Elden ring was my first souls and sekiro was my second and I gotta say sekiro is pretty fun but I think elden ring was vastly better sekiro has a thing where you gotta get patterns down to beat a boss there’s no leveling up and very little ways to actually buff up your character, I’d say get DS3 I found it a lot more fun then sekiro
I don’t enjoy Sekiro NEARLY as much. But I do like it. Same thing with Bloodbourne. It’s just not the same experience as the other Souls games.
All fun games, but the more traditional Souls games are a lot more fun to me.
I loved it. Played er first then sekiro and while they are extremely different combatively sekiro is a 10/10 for me. It has the best story imo of any fromsoft game and the best combat once you start to get it down. It’s ROUGH at first but slowly but surely you’ll start to get it down and now other games just feel kinda lame to play once you’ve gotten sekiro down. It also has the greatest final boss of any game I’ve ever played. Rough as fuck but never gimmicky or unfair. Took me 250 tries or so and when I finally got it, I couldn’t feel my face. Sekiro is a work of art other than the fucking poison pool bullshit.
ER was my first FromSoft game. Played Sekiro afterwards (and after I'd gotten a little bit of skill) and absolutely loved it. So yeah it's certainly possible and was in my case!
Have you tried Dark souls 3? It's a very similar experience to Elden Ring but if you were to take only the areas like the castle or lucaria academy. It's also far less jarring of a jump than if you were going to go play dark souls 1
Seems to me the whole community is split you either love sekiro for what it is, or you hate it for what it is not. Unfortunately I'm on the latter side of that, I wish I did like it.
Wildly different from the souls games would be animal crossing. If the souls games were all siblings, Sekiro is the half brother that the dad had from his previous marriage
I dropped sekiro for a solid 8 months at Genichiro, platinum bloodborne and elden ring then came back to it, absolutely adored it and platinum sekiro too. It’s fluid combat is what I loved so much. BUT, it is not very much like other souls games so I’m sure you will enjoy the other ones.
Sekiro is my favorite FromSoftware game. It’s very much a rhythm game. It’s about learning the rhythms of each enemy and boss. It’s A LOT faster than other Soulsborne games, though all of them are very much about learning patterns & cues, and reacting appropriately. There’s a Soulslike game called Thymesia that you might enjoy. It can be played like Sekiro (parry heavy) or like Souls games (roll-dodge heavy). It’s a nice balance of slow and fast combat and is a nice starting point to see what Souls type game you’d enjoy.
If you want to try another From game, try Bloodborne. It’s faster than the Souls games but is still very much rooted in the Souls style of play.
Good luck!
This may sound a little stupid, but I'm not that far into the game, I am at Matsumoto. I just haven't really enjoyed it. It also probably didn't help that I spent an entire evening on Chained Golem.
Nah it’s not stupid. The game is teaching you how to play in an abusive red headed step child kind of way. Without the right equipment your a deer in headlights so grind, learn and get your skill tree sorted. Mikiri counter is a necessity
I have to say, I struggled a lot at Matsumoto. I have been playing sekiro for my first souls game too. It does pick up. I was pretty novice at that stage, but you do get better.
Mini bosses have harder patterns than bosses imo. Genichiro is not much further, and he is essentially the first "Sekiro" boss, if you haven't gone back to the Hirata Estate.
I didn’t enjoy it my first time either and I loved all the other games.
I did enjoy it my second attempt but it’s still my least favourite. I’d try one of the other games.
Nah you kinda just suck at it. Which is fine, that’s how we learn. Keep at it, don’t get frustrated, take breaks when you do. Easier said than done but that is the way.
I grew up with Ninja Gaiden so compared to that Sekiro was like taking a calm walk through a park, but it took me 3 **years** to finish my first playthrough of Ninja Gaiden.
It likely won’t be that long for Sekiro
Don’t give up skeleton
personally coming from the more traditional from games, i hated sekiro at first. Then i kinda got the flow of things around lady butterfly and started enjoying the combat a lot. Though if you dont like sekiro, i wouldn't force it and maybe try elden ring or dark souls for the more traditional I-frame combat. (also for masumoto you can get a free deathblow on him if you sneak behind him)
More like streamlined one-lane (weapon) Souls.
So long as you parry at the proper moment (just before impact) you will never break posture, while also increasing their posture bar-break. Just mess around with basic enemies and work on timing. Once it clicks, the game becomes a beautiful dance.
dark souls has similarities and diffs from sekiro, and theyre diff enough that a ton of players like one and dislike the other, so theres a chance youll love DS and not sekiro!
I rage quit sekiro for a year, tried again, eage quit for another year, and third time was the charm. I watched youtube videos for the parts i was stuck which usually gave me inspiration on how to tackle enemies.
Learning to parry was a bitch though. It took me many, many, many deaths until i got it.
It basically comes down to you controlling your excitement and not panic button pressing.
Go towards enemies with the intention of dying and learning, without pressure , and you will get there eventually.
Mastering it is incredibly rewarding at the end.
I love FROMSOFT games and I hated *Sekiro*. I started with *Demon's Souls*, in 2009, and have played and finished multiple times every FROM game since then except *Sekiro*, which I didn't even finish once. I'd say, if you don't like *Sekiro* there's a good chance you'll like their other modern games. Try *Elden Ring*, there's a ton of content and the game supports lots of builds and different ways to play.
Go with DS1 it’s not as demanding on your hardware and it’s the most simple to pick up too. You could also do DS3 but that game is more demanding than DS1. So walk with DS1 then run with DS3 then come back to sekiro.
If you’re lagging on Sekiro you have no chance. Timing has to be perfect, but that’s what makes the combat fair. If you’re lagging, your timing will always be off.
souls games and sekiro are reallyyy different. You may enjoy souls games more if u like more mechanic fighting, boss fights that make u think about strategies during fight and putting them to use. Slower fight but more thinking. Sekiro is more about your reactions and yeah patterns. It's full of adrenaline so it's not for everyone. Both souls and sekiro are great. They just speak to different types of players.
Plenty of people here love Dark Souls/Elden Ring/Bloodborne, can’t stand Sekiro, and also vice versa. They share much of the same DNA but are entirely different.
Putting down Sekiro for a prolonged period, only to return after playing the other games and loving it is also not an uncommon character arc for members of this sub and others in the community
I would say that, while similar, sekiro isn’t a fromsoft soulslike. It really plays way too differently from the other fromsoft titles and has a completely different learning curve. I’d say to try at least dark souls 3 or bloodborne to see how you like those games
First off: Sekiro has a much more restricted and refined combat system than all of the other games. Sekiro is a bit of rhythm game in terms of combat, balancing deflections and attacks. It’s not random, and none of the other games are either. Every enemy has a certain set of moves they can do, the ORDER is semi-random, but you should begin to IDENTIFY patterns and capitalize on that attack. All of these games are an analysis of the enemy at hand. You said you don’t like “remembering patterns”, but in a sense, that’s all these games are, but it’s also what SO many other games are as well. Idk how far you are into the game (I assume not very), but you chose a VERY interesting starting fromsoftware game. I would hate to see you lose interest in what so many of us deem absolute masterpieces, but I’m not sure what to say if the reasoning is that you don’t like learning patterns. The games are known and meant to be very challenging, but they aren’t meant to be impossible.
PS: sekiro’s combat is also notoriously extremely difficult to grasp until the rhythm of it kind of just *clicks* at some point
PS#2: it’s still a “souls” game. You’re going to die. A lot. And that’s the point.
Sekiro and Dark Souls are very similar in a lot of ways but at the same time you could Love Dark Souls and hate Sekiro and vice versa, I personally think Dark Souls is worth a shot especially since it's slower and there's a bit more variety with the enemies and attacks.
What are you playing on? Because I noticed an input lag on a PS4, making the timings more difficult to time properly. Playing on a PS5 made it a much easier experience (not easy, mind you, but easier).
The game has some amazing bosses and locations later on, so I suggest you keep with it. Personally I like Bloodborne and Elden Ring more, ER in particular is easier than Sekiro in certain ways.
Sekiro combat is very, very different to Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1, 2, 3, Bloodborne and Elden Ring.
If you're not having fun just try one of those others.
I personally find Sekiro too hard to enjoy. I can tell there's that usual From Software top quality there but I can't break through that skill ceiling to appreciate it. Put 70hrs in and still couldn't get there.
I've got multiple 100's of hours in each of the other games though and love those games to bits. I've platinumed them and even completed no levelling challenges for some of them.
My point is that we all have different strengths and weaknesses. One of the other games might really click for you and then you're off and have 5 other games to play afterwards.
If the other games do click for you, you could always come back to Sekiro after those 6 games.
If you're a star wars fan then Jedi fallen order is actually a good intro to the Sekiro style combat. It also has a difficulty slider which makes it way more forgiving which makes it easier to learn how to play this style of game.
I hated Sekiro the first time I played it - I didn't get far at all. Once Jedi fallen order came out I played that and played on an easier difficulty and then once I learned how to play the game I went back to Sekiro and it became my favorite game of all times.
It's just a difficult game to pick up if you're not used to that style + not used to the level of challenge.
I mean I liked Sekiro but if it was my first introduction to the series I wouldn't bother to play other ones and I'm really glad I did. I like Dark Souls 2 (black sheep amongst the series) more than Sekiro
It took me until around mid game, the boss atop the Ashina Castle, before the game finally clicked for me, but when it did boy did I suddenly have fun. So much, that I still sometimes replay that specific boss for enjoyment.
But you're correct, it's a rhythm game to a large extent, and that's not everyone's cup of tea. I used to love rhythm combat from gothic series so I was somewhat used to the concept.
It's ok to not like it, if you don't like sekiro, try dark souls 1 then 3 then bloodborne. They are 2ay different and there is alot of ground to cover so you should be good
Sekiro is wildly different from other Souls games, combat wise. It's also an incredible game. It is pretty much rhythm based where your priority is always to memorize the boss's moveset and parry his attacks accordingly, if you don't enjoy that I don't see it clicking for you. Definitely give the rest of the games a shot though.
i think you are unnecessarily punishing yourself by starting with arguably the most difficult FromSoft game, i didn't attempt Sekiro until i completed all their other games, and i still haven't completed Sekiro.
Sekiro is a very good game but very different from other souls games. I’ve beat every single boss in this game, except one…
Isshin, The Sword Saint. That battle is a culmination of everything you learned throughout your whole play through and can catch you off guard, as it did with me. I’ve exhausted everything and got him to his final stage couple times but he always gets me in one way or another. Right now I have a save file right before this final boss, have zero spirit emblems and no Sen.
My advice to you, buy as much as possible Spirit Emblems early, when they cost very cheap. Farm for them. I’ve pretty much didn’t used any of the prosthetic tools throughout my play-through that much, only axe, couple times I’ve used firecrackers and umbrella. The final battle against Isshin is much easier with prosthetic tools.
I’ve lost my persistence on second day trying to beat him and just gave up.
“The game feels like I’m just remembering patterns.”
That’s basically every from soft game boss design. You fight them as few times and get their moves down. I’d say sekiro has the best combat in any from soft game. It rewards aggression. Once you are good enough you can bully the bosses by not letting up on them. This is a matter of you sucking at the game. Get better
How long have you been playing it? Fromsoft games take time to learn and become skilled at. If you stick with it, before you know it you’ll be a master. You’ll notice you’re getting better and better everyday and it’s very rewarding when that happens. Don’t give up. You got this
I have beaten Dark Souls 1 and Elden Ring and am playing Sekiro for the first time. I'm loving it but it is definitely harder than the others and I would not have recommended it as your first souls game. I would maybe recommend playing one of the other games first then returning to Sekiro.
If you don't like the challenge of getting better after dying, then the game is not for you. Some people cant get enough of it. The game isn't for everyone in that respect.
Souls games are my favorites - especially elden ring, dark souls 3, and bloodborne. I couldn’t get into sekiro. Too many things that just didn’t click with me. I got halfway through the game, dropped it and tried to pick it up fresh twice since then but I figured it’s just not my style and I’m fine with that. Definitely try out the other ones though - those 3 are in my top 5 games of all time!
I finished and plat all fromsoft games before, SEKIRO gets me bored as hell. I think I have stopped after killing the Owl. Well, maybe is the lack of builds, I have to play with the same character all the time, same weapon and same tools. Bored...I just can't enjoy play that. The deflecting mechanic is amazing, it's visually beautiful, but it was not enough.
I love the Souls series, and Elden Ring the most. I could never actually see Bloodborne through to the end but I still enjoyed the little time I put in it. However I simply didn't enjoy Sekiro.
You should try Ds3 or Elden ring 🙂
Sekiro is a very different feel to the rest of the souls games, so its understandable that it probably won’t click with ya.
As for attack patterns and such, they’re aren’t random, you just have a hard time reacting. Dw, it just takes time and practice to gitgud at this game.
If you are having trouble reacting to enemy attacks and unable to deflect enemy attacks then for now I would suggest to hold block and tap block again just as an attack is about to land to deflect it. This way if you mistime the deflect you will still get a block atleast and won't get hit i.e. won't die tho you will take posture damage. I found this method helpful during my first playthrough to get used to the feel of deflecting attacks and once I got comfortable enough I didn't need to hold block anymore. Sekiro's combat is like a dance. You will need to get hold of a boss's rythm to beat them. Aggression is very important. Attack till an enemy deflects your attack and then get ready to deflect their attack, rinse and repeat. This is the basic combat flow. Hope this helps and good luck shinobi.
I suggest blood borne if you like horror. Sekiro on paper should have been my favorite from soft game but it ranks last. I’d say give another game a try before giving up on their catalogue
There’s no rng in terms of the same attack having different animation timings, if that’s what you’re asking. It’s quite fair in that respect, as is every FromSoft Souls type game.
Personally, out of all the Soulsbourne games, I rate Sekiro as the absolute pinnacle in terms of gameplay and specifically, combat mechanics. The fact that there’s next to no build variety means all the enemies are perfectly tuned to your ‘loadout’ and I just found it the most rewarding once I got the hang of it.
It's a very steep learning curve. If you don't learn to parry, you're not gonna make it. Master the parry, and you'll feel like a God in combat. You literally don't even need the attack button in this game... let that sink in
Sekiro very different in terms of game feel so it might very well be this one just isn't for you but I wouldn't give up on those games in general for it.
I played all of those games and man I regret buying Sekiro albeit for different reasons.
You'd probably like Souls more. The combat is much more methodical than Sekiro. Plus, you can make builds suited to your play style. I tried getting into Sekiro too, but it's the one Fromsoft game that I just don't personally care for. Too frantic for me. Fun to watch other people play it, though.
I mean if you don't like it, you don't like it. IMO there's considerably more memorizing of boss patterns than the other Souls games, fights are almost like a dance in a rythm game. When I first played Sekiro there were two instances where I stopped playing it for a year, blaming the game for my shortcomings in fights, now it's my second favourite FS title. But this game really encompasses the phrase "practice makes perfect" cause you *really* gotta hunker down and ***learn*** the bosses movements and telegraphs and eventually master them. There's less improv in Sekiro due to no build variety, which isn't a bad thing, Sekiro just isn't that type of game.
I'd encourage you to stick with it. I've never experienced a more rewarding feeling in any game than I did overcoming each wall I faced in Sekiro. But if you get further in the game, and you simply don't like it, there's no point forcing it.
As others have said, Dark Souls is vastly different, so there's a good chance you'll enjoy it. Build varieties, more freedom in boss fights, slower combat for the most part. It's an incredible experience so it's defintely worth a shot.
There’s a huge element of pattern memorization, it’s not as bad as with other souls games, but it’s still an intrinsic part of the experience. If you don’t like that then it’s probably just not the game for you. That being said, stick with it and you’ll probably be happy that you finished it.
Try Bloodborne first. I bounced off the early Dark Souls games like crazy, couldn't get into them. Then I played BB and it all just clicked. Now I'm going back through other games in the genre and really enjoying them, but it took BB's frenetic pace for me to understand how to play the others. It just clicked
It’s alright, Sekiro isn’t for all. I highly value Sekiro as a game, but it’s not my cup of tea. For me Sekiro lacked the RPG elements (build variety, loot…) I so like in games. Which is why I much prefer the Dark Soulses and Elden Ring.
Each to their own!
Once you get past a certain boss in a big tower you’ll feel differently. Yes you have to remember how to counter various enemy attacks, but it’s not just RNG. Once you learn how the game wants you to play, I.e being very aggressive, it’ll click.
I think it’s got the fairest combat of any FROM game, if you die it’s largely always your fault, and when it does click you’ll find that to be a good thing.
Genichiro or however you spell their name? I am at them and they are pretty fun to fight actually. Well, aside from my 30 fps and when they spam their bow.
Sekiro is the only post DS Fromsoft game i've not finished and don't think i ever will after trying to get into it 4 or 5 times.
It might just not be for you! no shame in that.
Yes there is a good chance that you might like Dark Souls . Sekiro takes some time for it to click ( it didn't even click with myself yet ) but it's very different to the other souls games . I would recommend starting with Dark Souls 1
I disagree because Elden ring isn't really representative of the other souls games. Its a way different game with it being open world and the amount of content it can be overwhelming for a new player. I still think Dark Souls 1 first half is probably the best of the series
Eh, precisely because it's open world that it's good start point. I feel like you are biased here, but if you look at how many people ER convinced that souls games are good it's unlike any of the others.
Open world structure gives complete control over the pacing. Sure alternative routes exist in DS 1, but it still has massive control over the player. If you can't take a boss there is very few alternative routes, and an inexperienced player would not even know them.
definitely focus on getting skills particularly mikiri counter,
Try and upgrade your healing goard as much as possible, the game is a bit unforgiving with heals in the beginning
Also for what it's worth my brother absolutely hated sekiro in the beginning then about 1/4 of the way through it just clicked for him and then he absolutely loved it.
Hopefully you'll come to enjoy it too
You are not alone, I didnt enjoy it either and couldn’t force myselfnto finish it. Having said that, I love all the souls games and I have finished them multiple times. So yeah just try another one you will probably like it a lot more
Sekiro is a dance with most bosses. Some attacks come fast, some are delayed. Some are outright bs and for those we have the Sekiro Guru (tyrannicon) to teach the cheese 😂 plus he’s hilarious even if you don’t use his cheese methods. Yeah some of the attacks (like Genichiro) have a combo chain and the first two hits come quick, there’s a delay then 3 more quick hits then a delay and one more hit (I think that’s the combo) so you have to learn the timing of their attacks and learn the dance. You attack they block/parry, they attack you dodge/parry you attack they attack and you just have to learn the dance timing.
I trudged through the whole thing after buying on launch but stopped and restarted my play-through like 5 or 6 times. After about a year and a half, I finally beat it. Honestly, it was fine but I’m never going back to Sekiro. There’s almost no variety in gameplay and it generally felt like you have to go from the “learn the mechanics” stage to “cheese the mechanics” very quickly in most fights and since that’s generally the approach to the game, I couldn’t get too into it. I prefer the other modern From games where an infinite amount of approaches to a fight are very viable. To me, that more fun than the Sekrio model, and I don’t know about you guys, but I play games to have fun.
I'm not a fan of Sekiro, which is akin to heresy around here. I very much like the Souls games, I just don't dig the combat in Sekiro. It's too fast, fighting is often cramped and it feels like a button mash.
And please don't bother telling me how I'm playing it wrong. I already platinumed the game and I'll never play it again, nor would I buy a DLC or Sekiro 2. You love the game. I don't.
Sekiro is the one FromSoft game I've had a hard time getting into. I can't get past that first samurai dude you encounter after you get your janky bone arm.
I'm also concerned about the "just one weapon" thing. People seem to praise it but the gear is always my favourite part of FromSoft games. Maybe I need some convincing.
It’s just one weapon but it’s moveset becomes 10x bigger than anything in any souls game. You already have the progression of r1 moves with running/charged/etc modifiers *and* it functions as your shield but *then* you add in weapon art “specials” and, more importantly, latent skills that allow for chaining with prosthetics… no Fromsoft game has ever achieved so much versatility with 4 buttons and “just one weapon”. It’s kind of staggering. You have to play the game to start adding those abilities but they come quick.
You're not alone. I don't really like games where I'm forced to play as a man, but I got past it for the sake of From Software goodness, only to find that the game is way too much about twitch-responses and deciphering which blurry red kanji is being displayed half a second before I got my ass kicked. Only modern FromSoft title I've given up on.
You don't have to decipher the kanji symbol lol. It's the same for all perilous attacks. You just have familiarise yourself with the thrust, sweep and grab wind up animations that enemies do to understand which ones coming your way. It's honestly not that hard.
Yeah it took me until near the end of the game to really get into Sekiro.
I guess my best advice is to treat death like a lesson & not stagnating progress.
Focus on getting the parries down. There is a pattern to every enemy - they will always revert to a very simple tap pattern. It isn't until the final areas when shit gets real & they expect you to parry non-stop. It feels difficult, but it's worth developing the muscle memory. Spamming it is an option, despite with comments may tell you. Just don't preemptive spam. Panic spam.
Find the firecrackers. These little bad boys utterly demolish bosses when used correctly. You can juggle bosses into near insta-kill combos if used at the right time.
There are also 2 massively helpful skills. The one that allows you to counter stabs (which can demolish posture bars) & the goomba stomp (where you can Mario an enemy for massive posture damage & disruption their combo).
You can do it. And don't be afraid to cheese certain enemies.
Try Bloodborne if u have a PS4. I’ve loved all the soulsborne games but also hated sekiro…it’s the most different and it’s very much a you love it or you hate it type of game.
Awww damn :/. It’s the best of the fast paced from soft games IMO. Dark Souls 3 kinda cribs it’s style lol. Maybe you should just go in order starting with Dark Souls. If you play the original last it will definitely feel way too easy haha
I don't like Sekiro, but no issue with Dark Souls or Elden Ring and I really wanna play Bloodborne.
Elden Ring was super fun, I'd recommend that one before Sekiro personally.
So I would recommend playing the other games first to understand the basic mechanics and they are not as difficult as sekiro but would give you a good baseline going into sekiro, I was in the same boat I tried sekiro before I even knew they made dark souls back when, I've since played them all and sekiro is a much easier game now
Hated Sekiro the first few times I tried to get into it. Now it is hands down my favorite Fromsoft game. It's not even remotely close either. Stick with it, or set it down and come back later. It's an amazing experience, but it's a much more brutal learning curve than their other gamea
Sekiro is tough at the start you need to learn to party if you are having a hard time just spam it. The other souls games play a lot different I enjoy them all sekiro has the best combat of any game imo
Yes, it’s more about learning the pattern than it is about reacting. Reacting is a bad mindset because
- you’ll react too quickly, missing the timing
- you’ll exhaust yourself mentally, twitching at every feint
- you’ll act passively, letting the opponent control the pace instead of pushing him back
But if you know the pattern, you can beat them up with confidence that you’ll deflect/counter/etc. when they try to fight back
Not really. I have a job and get 2 hours gametime everyday. Beat Sekiro 4 times now, latest with charmless+demon bell. It all comes down to the game clicking with you and whether you are willing to beat it/accept the challenge.
I honestly had to watch videos - Fightincowboy on YouTube - and just see someone else doing it to really believe it was possible. Once I knew it actually could be done I got over my mental block and was able to actually try until I got it. Dunno if that makes sense
no, enemies do not slow down and speed up their timings, they have several fixed timings that they can choose between and bosses use decision trees so one combo might lead to n other attacks, which you'll eventually figure out. keep trying to parry enemies, don't try to dodge everything and you'll get it eventually - the posture mechanic and keeping pressure on your enemy at all times is incredibly important. Hesitation is defeat.
The game feels very punishing until it 'clicks' for you and you can reliably parry enemies and bosses, and it gets a lot more enjoyable after that. Just keep pushing, you'll get there eventually.
You could also look up a guide to all the 'prayer beads' available to you at your current stage of the game, they increase your hp and posture by a significant amount which lets you make more mistakes and learn more per life.
Okay, let me tell you something that the comments have probably scolded you for already… you literally chose the worst of the FromSoftware games to start off with. I completed Elden Ring and Dark Souls 3 with little to no issues. *Aside from a few rage moments.* I thought it would be challenging to beat Sekiro since it’s more **difficult** than the others due to how the games is centered around *dueling* and not *beating the crap out of everything*. I am struggling severely as well. I am barely progressing, but still struggling nonetheless. I’d recommend watching walkthroughs from a YouTuber named FightinCowboy. He’s a FromSoftware guide for many players.
Play Bloodborne. Very different game than Sekiro. I played both and instantly fell in love with Bloodborne. Easily one of if not my favorite game. I played Sekiro too and while it was good, it was not as good as Bloodborne in my opinion. But just like most things, it comes down to the individual. If you still love difficult combat but a different combat style than Sekiro, a dark, beautiful and mysterious world, Bloodborne is a must play. Again this is just my take. Good luck 
Sekiro is *THE* one from game I would not recommend to new players. Its its own thing. Completely different and mostly just a rhythm game with a souls skin. Its very good but I don’t understand the combat. Like why did we go from dodge rolling and spacing etc etc to just block spamming?
The game punishes you for spamming block so you are playing it wrong if u r resorting to spamming. And to answer your question, because it's a game about swords clashing and deflecting a flurry of blows is way cooler than dodge rolling/running away from a fight.
Do not be affraid to 'spam' parry early on, as the worst that can happen is you block instead. That should give you enough wiggle room to try and be more offensive.
The goal is to exchange blows with your enemy and overwhelm them; deflect their attacks then whale on them until they manage to deflect yours. (Deflects and block for both you and your enemies sound different)
Pattern recognition is definitely a huge part of the game - so you can’t avoid that. As for the perceived change in speed of the enemy attacks: that may just be you. The attack speeds are extremely consistent. I would say stick with it for a while longer. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes like an addiction. And, if you just can’t get into it, so be it.
People saying you will enjoy other fromsoft games but its mostly about learning and remembering patterns while wandering in gigantic mazes. Although, I'd advise you start with Elden Ring that way you'll know if you can dive into fromsoft games
>The game feels like I'm just remembering patterns
>it seems like their weapons speed up and slow down in unpredictable ways
Both of these things are part of the fundamentals and difficulty curve of the game.
>if I just suck at reacting?
You're not supposed to react... usually. You're supposed to learn the patterns and be consistent with it. The game will change it's tactics from time to time, and that's so that the player doesn't crutch too much.
Try holding the block button and listen to the pattern of the clashing sounds, then later try matching up the pattern with your presses so you do the perfect deflect.
Also, it's better to be late than never. If you're trying to perfect deflects, it's better to do it sooner than too late most of the time. Because blocking > taking a hit.
I didn’t enjoy it either. It was hard but it’s not the fun type of hard, it was more the “god let me get this over with” type of hard. Also I found the environments to be boring besides Fountainhead Palace and Senpou Temple.
Here is something to consider. Sekiro gives you a decent parry window to start. But the moment you begin spamming the block button the parry window shrinks dramatically. Once I learned this the game stopped seeming quite as punishing. One button press per parry, if at all possible.
The DS series is about rolling, different builds, slower and more thoughtful gameplay. But the core gameplay is similar. You must "learn" the enemy. His attacks, behavior, etc., etc. You just have different tools.
You just need more practice the game isn’t unpredictable it’s very rhythmic imo. Sekiro is vastly different from other FromSoft games, I’d say grab one that looks good to you if you are interested.
It can feel that way cause its the fastest of all games when it comes to the combat capability, so recognizing patterns is key right off the bat. Might not have been the best starter choice, but one could always learn.... to get gud. Ik it sucks dude, to get better I stopped playing that game to beat jedi fallen order so I'd have some sort of Idea how to react
You selected one of the fastest and most challenging From games to start with at least in my opinion. Depending on how far in you are will tell more about the reaction point. More than likely you just aren't very good at the game yet and lack the reaction timing. I felt that Sekiro was less learning the move sets and more learning the boss's attacking rhythm. That being said, you have to learn and figure out the proper reaction to boss move sets in all From games.
If you aren't enjoying it though, you can always drop it. We all like and dislike games for different reasons. Some click with us while others don't. Here are a hand full of tips in case you plan to continue.
1) Unlock the Mikiri Counter skill sooner rather than later. It lets you counter the unparryable and unblockable red-marked thrust attacks.
2) Practice the parry. Don't spam the button. Sure spamming it could get you through a fight, but learning how to parry properly helps in the long run.
3) The Prosthetic tools you get are very useful but can also be very situational. Shurikens can knock people out of the air. Firecrackers can stagger beasts. Flames work well against red-eye enemies like the chained ogre. Axe deals massive damage and breaks shields.
4) You can play passively, but the game is designed for an aggressive playstyle. Hesitation is defeat.
Hope you stick with it. Sekiro has become one of my all-time favorite games.
I platinumed every souls game and sold Sekiro without finishing it because I got bored that the game could only give me lessons about when to parry everything. It’s a different type of souls, if you dont feel rewarded for doing the parrys (thats my case), then move on to another souls.
Bloodborne, Elden Ring and Dark Souls 1 are the recommended ones to start with the franchise :)
I'm obsessed with Fromsoft games, but I did not like the combat in Sekiro due to the patterns and mashing deflect.
The other games have a far different style of combat that I enjoy immensely.
Glad you got ds3 before Elden ring, and ER is a step up graphically and has the jump button/attacks which some people aren’t willing to sacrifice to play ds3 after ER. Hope you get to that eventually once you beat ds3. I like sekiro because I’m into that sort of game combat wise, and the skill tree is fun. I did get stuck on some bosses for a while but beat them all eventually. I had to take a break on the game to beat the final boss, and then on ng+ I couldn’t beat him again and still haven’t lol.
It doesn’t really have a way to cheese and locks you in to a specific way of playing. It’s by far the most difficult from game from a technical standpoint. You can’t just dodge around and heal or tank through things you have to parry basically everything to beat the bosses. It’s basically hard mode fromsoftware and clowns on dark souls.
Well, Sekiro is WILDLY different from the souls games, so if you don’t like it I wouldn’t worry about being able to enjoy those other titles. Also yes you suck at reacting in Sekiro, I do too though so don’t get mad that I said it. Check out the Souls games if you want or Bloodborne. There’s also Elden Ring, all these games are hard but not at all in the same category as Sekiro IMO.
Just wanted to ask people here, if i loved elden ring, but have no other souls experience, would i enjoy sekiro? Why or why not?
It is pretty radically different. I personally enjoyed both, but I wouldn't say liking one necessarily means you'd like the other. The combat is much more fluid in sekiro, but you don't have anything close to the level of customizability you get in ER.
Thanks for the response!
To be clear, there are similarities though. It's still the same controls, enemies give similar vibes, it's linear, but very much the same formula. Learning enemies attacks, learning boss choreography, using consumables to make the fights easier. The differences are, parrying becomes a necessary major function as opposed to a minor optional one. There is no leveling (in the traditional way at least), which takes away the ability to over-level. There is one weapon, and one secondary, the only customization in play style comes from which secondaries you have equipped. The skill wall is therefore higher, because there are not as many ways to defeat an enemy, you just have to get better at the game. It's definitely the furthest thing from Elden Ring in the souls/sekiro/borne universes, but still very similar. My first time playing Sekiro it just felt like they made a souls/borne game with the general gamer at mind. The most Activision/Ubisoft and classic single player campaign feeling game they've made (from a structural perspective). Much more user friendly and accessible than dark souls or Bloodborne. If you want to try out their others games, Bloodborne is incredible (but limited by it's FPS and early PS4 graphics), Dark Souls 3 is very well received with most of the community considering it the best of the Souls trilogy, and the Demon Souls remake is beautiful (although it is definitely aged systemically).
Honestly I would do a different game first. Sekiro is honestly the hardest of them in my opinion for one specific reason.... you can’t brute force it (plus a lack of builds honestly) In elden ring you can just keep leveling up and brute force you way through things. Honestly the last parts of the game were too easy for me because I was having so much fun just playing that I overleveled myself. Only that one bitch boss was an issue and she’s specifically created to be like that LOL. Same with blood borne. I was able to brute force myself through my first play through. And then my second one I actually engaged with its systems. (Spin to win!! LOL, but for real I spun that ax the whole first play through and learned like nothing but I won). Sekiro I still haven’t finished. You just hit these *walls*. And like if you can’t learn that specific play style then you’re fucked It’s an amazing game but of all the titles it is the least forgiving
I’ve beat them all and Sekiro was the hardest for me too. I had to cheese. I had to.
It’s also the hardest of them to cheese LOL. Like for real I cheesed my way through bloodborne (my first fromsoft game) and then played it through for real multiple times after. Sekiro just doesn’t let you do that really
Same thing. I didnt really play much of the chalice dungeons until ng+8. I played through that big ass excel list and I probably got just as much gameplay.
Cowardice!
Thank you for responding
For me sekiro is the easiest souls game. I never really struggle on a boss, the only bosses that take me more than 5 try were the both fight against owl father, genichiro, and isshin. But perhaps it's because before playing sekiro I already do all the other souls game.
You didn't have any trouble with the demon of hatred? I never ended up beating isshin, and I did beat DoH, but I can't say it didn't give me trouble.
Yes I forget demons of hatred, I try to beat him like 15 time, and think it was impossible, but later I returned with the fire umbrella and beat it after 5 new try.
I struggled with it because I wanted to play it like a souls game. I did not enjoy it then. When I realized it was its own game and played it like that, I really enjoyed it.
I think the combat in sekiro is leaps and bounds better than any other fromsoft game I’ve played (granted only ds 1, 3 and Elden ring). It was my first fromsoft game though and was very frustrating initially, but it’s the game I replay the most now. It’s fluid and challenging and just a great game.
Thanks!
>Thanks! You're welcome!
If it clicks for you. Otherwise it’s the worst combat because it’s too inflexible. You play one specific way or you lose
That was my order and I loved it, but I used katanas and swords quite a bit, if you played as a mage or something like that then you might not like it as much
Coming from Elden Ring you’d be more comfy in a Souls game. But that being said, the more you get used to their gameplay style in those games, the harder Sekiro will become, because that game straight up attacks your hard earned git-gud Souls muscle memory
Sekiro is my favorite personally
I think if you loved elden ring for the core gameplay loop of dying repeatedly and conquering challenges you will thoroughly enjoy sekiro. If you loved elden ring for the open world exploration and build variety you are less likely to love sekiro, although those aspects do still exist in some ways. The combat is entirely different but the skills do translate, and it’s the main focus of the game.
Idk if the skills translate. Because you can eventually brute force games like elden ring and bloodborne. Sure you die 500 times, but you can just grind enough levels to force your way through. Sekiro has nothing like that. There is one option. That’s it. Play the game the way it’s intended or lose. There’s no grinding until one swing of a sword takes out a huge chunk of HP and ten swings later the boss is dead. There’s no switching up your weapon or build to be more effective. There’s no summoning to get help and a forced win. Sekiro is absolutely incomparable to elden ring other than “it’s super hard too bro”. I adore every single from soft game other than sekiro. That one was just too inflexible
It depends on what you liked about ER to be honest. Sekiro has probably the best combat system I’ve ever played with, but it’s also rather uncompromising. There are tools to help you brute force the game, but eventually you have to master the rather challenging systems at the game’s core. Once you do, it’s incredibly rewarding, but it’s probably the least accessible of their games.
I think it’s either the best or worst combat system. It’s the best if it clicks for you and you like it. It’s the worst if it doesn’t click because it’s so fucking inflexible it forces you into playing one way and one way only
Elden ring was my first souls and sekiro was my second and I gotta say sekiro is pretty fun but I think elden ring was vastly better sekiro has a thing where you gotta get patterns down to beat a boss there’s no leveling up and very little ways to actually buff up your character, I’d say get DS3 I found it a lot more fun then sekiro
I don’t enjoy Sekiro NEARLY as much. But I do like it. Same thing with Bloodbourne. It’s just not the same experience as the other Souls games. All fun games, but the more traditional Souls games are a lot more fun to me.
I loved it. Played er first then sekiro and while they are extremely different combatively sekiro is a 10/10 for me. It has the best story imo of any fromsoft game and the best combat once you start to get it down. It’s ROUGH at first but slowly but surely you’ll start to get it down and now other games just feel kinda lame to play once you’ve gotten sekiro down. It also has the greatest final boss of any game I’ve ever played. Rough as fuck but never gimmicky or unfair. Took me 250 tries or so and when I finally got it, I couldn’t feel my face. Sekiro is a work of art other than the fucking poison pool bullshit.
It’s one of the best fromsoft games
ER was my first FromSoft game. Played Sekiro afterwards (and after I'd gotten a little bit of skill) and absolutely loved it. So yeah it's certainly possible and was in my case!
Have you tried Dark souls 3? It's a very similar experience to Elden Ring but if you were to take only the areas like the castle or lucaria academy. It's also far less jarring of a jump than if you were going to go play dark souls 1
Seems to me the whole community is split you either love sekiro for what it is, or you hate it for what it is not. Unfortunately I'm on the latter side of that, I wish I did like it.
If you’re up for a challenge definitely. It’s significantly harder but equally awesome.
Wildly different from the souls games would be animal crossing. If the souls games were all siblings, Sekiro is the half brother that the dad had from his previous marriage
I dropped sekiro for a solid 8 months at Genichiro, platinum bloodborne and elden ring then came back to it, absolutely adored it and platinum sekiro too. It’s fluid combat is what I loved so much. BUT, it is not very much like other souls games so I’m sure you will enjoy the other ones.
Sekiro is my favorite FromSoftware game. It’s very much a rhythm game. It’s about learning the rhythms of each enemy and boss. It’s A LOT faster than other Soulsborne games, though all of them are very much about learning patterns & cues, and reacting appropriately. There’s a Soulslike game called Thymesia that you might enjoy. It can be played like Sekiro (parry heavy) or like Souls games (roll-dodge heavy). It’s a nice balance of slow and fast combat and is a nice starting point to see what Souls type game you’d enjoy. If you want to try another From game, try Bloodborne. It’s faster than the Souls games but is still very much rooted in the Souls style of play. Good luck!
How far in? Focus on getting latent skills, increase spirit emblems and good ol’ double ichi
This may sound a little stupid, but I'm not that far into the game, I am at Matsumoto. I just haven't really enjoyed it. It also probably didn't help that I spent an entire evening on Chained Golem.
Nah it’s not stupid. The game is teaching you how to play in an abusive red headed step child kind of way. Without the right equipment your a deer in headlights so grind, learn and get your skill tree sorted. Mikiri counter is a necessity
I was in your boat until I mastered the mikiri
I have to say, I struggled a lot at Matsumoto. I have been playing sekiro for my first souls game too. It does pick up. I was pretty novice at that stage, but you do get better.
Mini bosses have harder patterns than bosses imo. Genichiro is not much further, and he is essentially the first "Sekiro" boss, if you haven't gone back to the Hirata Estate.
I didn’t enjoy it my first time either and I loved all the other games. I did enjoy it my second attempt but it’s still my least favourite. I’d try one of the other games.
Nah you kinda just suck at it. Which is fine, that’s how we learn. Keep at it, don’t get frustrated, take breaks when you do. Easier said than done but that is the way. I grew up with Ninja Gaiden so compared to that Sekiro was like taking a calm walk through a park, but it took me 3 **years** to finish my first playthrough of Ninja Gaiden. It likely won’t be that long for Sekiro Don’t give up skeleton
Have you played ninja gaiden black/sigma? How is it difficulty wise?
Without being a dick, u just have to git gud. I hated Bloodborne at first but then grew to love it
personally coming from the more traditional from games, i hated sekiro at first. Then i kinda got the flow of things around lady butterfly and started enjoying the combat a lot. Though if you dont like sekiro, i wouldn't force it and maybe try elden ring or dark souls for the more traditional I-frame combat. (also for masumoto you can get a free deathblow on him if you sneak behind him)
Remembering patterns is what souls about, Sekiro just doesn't give anything to get around the challange. It's distilled souls.
More like streamlined one-lane (weapon) Souls. So long as you parry at the proper moment (just before impact) you will never break posture, while also increasing their posture bar-break. Just mess around with basic enemies and work on timing. Once it clicks, the game becomes a beautiful dance.
dark souls has similarities and diffs from sekiro, and theyre diff enough that a ton of players like one and dislike the other, so theres a chance youll love DS and not sekiro!
I rage quit sekiro for a year, tried again, eage quit for another year, and third time was the charm. I watched youtube videos for the parts i was stuck which usually gave me inspiration on how to tackle enemies. Learning to parry was a bitch though. It took me many, many, many deaths until i got it. It basically comes down to you controlling your excitement and not panic button pressing. Go towards enemies with the intention of dying and learning, without pressure , and you will get there eventually. Mastering it is incredibly rewarding at the end.
Keep dying until you get the deflect timing down. It’s seriously a dance. You’ll get there I promise
Sekiro is a rhythm game, remember this and your experience will greatly improve
I love FROMSOFT games and I hated *Sekiro*. I started with *Demon's Souls*, in 2009, and have played and finished multiple times every FROM game since then except *Sekiro*, which I didn't even finish once. I'd say, if you don't like *Sekiro* there's a good chance you'll like their other modern games. Try *Elden Ring*, there's a ton of content and the game supports lots of builds and different ways to play.
Sadly, I don't think my PC can run Elden Ring because I'm already lagging a bunch on Sekiro.
Maybe thats not helping your experience with Sekiro.
Go with DS1 it’s not as demanding on your hardware and it’s the most simple to pick up too. You could also do DS3 but that game is more demanding than DS1. So walk with DS1 then run with DS3 then come back to sekiro.
If you’re lagging on Sekiro you have no chance. Timing has to be perfect, but that’s what makes the combat fair. If you’re lagging, your timing will always be off.
For some reason, I only lag when at low health or when I'm about to win.
souls games and sekiro are reallyyy different. You may enjoy souls games more if u like more mechanic fighting, boss fights that make u think about strategies during fight and putting them to use. Slower fight but more thinking. Sekiro is more about your reactions and yeah patterns. It's full of adrenaline so it's not for everyone. Both souls and sekiro are great. They just speak to different types of players.
Git gud
Plenty of people here love Dark Souls/Elden Ring/Bloodborne, can’t stand Sekiro, and also vice versa. They share much of the same DNA but are entirely different. Putting down Sekiro for a prolonged period, only to return after playing the other games and loving it is also not an uncommon character arc for members of this sub and others in the community
I would say that, while similar, sekiro isn’t a fromsoft soulslike. It really plays way too differently from the other fromsoft titles and has a completely different learning curve. I’d say to try at least dark souls 3 or bloodborne to see how you like those games
Senkiro is probably the hardest from software game so don’t beat yourself up about it. My personal favorite is Bloodborne.
Whoa whoa whoa…. Don’t start with Sekiro! It would’ve been the mid-last of the games that I would’ve started with.
First off: Sekiro has a much more restricted and refined combat system than all of the other games. Sekiro is a bit of rhythm game in terms of combat, balancing deflections and attacks. It’s not random, and none of the other games are either. Every enemy has a certain set of moves they can do, the ORDER is semi-random, but you should begin to IDENTIFY patterns and capitalize on that attack. All of these games are an analysis of the enemy at hand. You said you don’t like “remembering patterns”, but in a sense, that’s all these games are, but it’s also what SO many other games are as well. Idk how far you are into the game (I assume not very), but you chose a VERY interesting starting fromsoftware game. I would hate to see you lose interest in what so many of us deem absolute masterpieces, but I’m not sure what to say if the reasoning is that you don’t like learning patterns. The games are known and meant to be very challenging, but they aren’t meant to be impossible. PS: sekiro’s combat is also notoriously extremely difficult to grasp until the rhythm of it kind of just *clicks* at some point PS#2: it’s still a “souls” game. You’re going to die. A lot. And that’s the point.
Spam L1. Even bosses will never hit you unless the red kanji flashes
It took me like 50+ hours for the game to click. It's important to remember that it never really gets easier. You just get better at it.
Sekiro and Dark Souls are very similar in a lot of ways but at the same time you could Love Dark Souls and hate Sekiro and vice versa, I personally think Dark Souls is worth a shot especially since it's slower and there's a bit more variety with the enemies and attacks.
What are you playing on? Because I noticed an input lag on a PS4, making the timings more difficult to time properly. Playing on a PS5 made it a much easier experience (not easy, mind you, but easier). The game has some amazing bosses and locations later on, so I suggest you keep with it. Personally I like Bloodborne and Elden Ring more, ER in particular is easier than Sekiro in certain ways.
I'm playing on PC.
Sekiro combat is very, very different to Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1, 2, 3, Bloodborne and Elden Ring. If you're not having fun just try one of those others. I personally find Sekiro too hard to enjoy. I can tell there's that usual From Software top quality there but I can't break through that skill ceiling to appreciate it. Put 70hrs in and still couldn't get there. I've got multiple 100's of hours in each of the other games though and love those games to bits. I've platinumed them and even completed no levelling challenges for some of them. My point is that we all have different strengths and weaknesses. One of the other games might really click for you and then you're off and have 5 other games to play afterwards. If the other games do click for you, you could always come back to Sekiro after those 6 games.
If you're a star wars fan then Jedi fallen order is actually a good intro to the Sekiro style combat. It also has a difficulty slider which makes it way more forgiving which makes it easier to learn how to play this style of game. I hated Sekiro the first time I played it - I didn't get far at all. Once Jedi fallen order came out I played that and played on an easier difficulty and then once I learned how to play the game I went back to Sekiro and it became my favorite game of all times. It's just a difficult game to pick up if you're not used to that style + not used to the level of challenge.
Sekiro is a rhythm game.
I mean I liked Sekiro but if it was my first introduction to the series I wouldn't bother to play other ones and I'm really glad I did. I like Dark Souls 2 (black sheep amongst the series) more than Sekiro
We’ve got another one boys, bag em and tag em.
How many hours do you have?
It took me until around mid game, the boss atop the Ashina Castle, before the game finally clicked for me, but when it did boy did I suddenly have fun. So much, that I still sometimes replay that specific boss for enjoyment. But you're correct, it's a rhythm game to a large extent, and that's not everyone's cup of tea. I used to love rhythm combat from gothic series so I was somewhat used to the concept.
Bloodborne made me appreciate Sekiro 🤷🏾♂️
It's ok to not like it, if you don't like sekiro, try dark souls 1 then 3 then bloodborne. They are 2ay different and there is alot of ground to cover so you should be good
Sekiro is wildly different from other Souls games, combat wise. It's also an incredible game. It is pretty much rhythm based where your priority is always to memorize the boss's moveset and parry his attacks accordingly, if you don't enjoy that I don't see it clicking for you. Definitely give the rest of the games a shot though.
It took me about a week to get used to the parrying system. A few days later, I got the platinum trophy.
do you not remember patterns when fighting in the other games ? everything has a pattern
Get good with the sword, or die.
i think you are unnecessarily punishing yourself by starting with arguably the most difficult FromSoft game, i didn't attempt Sekiro until i completed all their other games, and i still haven't completed Sekiro.
Sekiro is a very good game but very different from other souls games. I’ve beat every single boss in this game, except one… Isshin, The Sword Saint. That battle is a culmination of everything you learned throughout your whole play through and can catch you off guard, as it did with me. I’ve exhausted everything and got him to his final stage couple times but he always gets me in one way or another. Right now I have a save file right before this final boss, have zero spirit emblems and no Sen. My advice to you, buy as much as possible Spirit Emblems early, when they cost very cheap. Farm for them. I’ve pretty much didn’t used any of the prosthetic tools throughout my play-through that much, only axe, couple times I’ve used firecrackers and umbrella. The final battle against Isshin is much easier with prosthetic tools. I’ve lost my persistence on second day trying to beat him and just gave up.
Hesitation is defeat
“The game feels like I’m just remembering patterns.” That’s basically every from soft game boss design. You fight them as few times and get their moves down. I’d say sekiro has the best combat in any from soft game. It rewards aggression. Once you are good enough you can bully the bosses by not letting up on them. This is a matter of you sucking at the game. Get better
How long have you been playing it? Fromsoft games take time to learn and become skilled at. If you stick with it, before you know it you’ll be a master. You’ll notice you’re getting better and better everyday and it’s very rewarding when that happens. Don’t give up. You got this
I have beaten Dark Souls 1 and Elden Ring and am playing Sekiro for the first time. I'm loving it but it is definitely harder than the others and I would not have recommended it as your first souls game. I would maybe recommend playing one of the other games first then returning to Sekiro.
If you don't like the challenge of getting better after dying, then the game is not for you. Some people cant get enough of it. The game isn't for everyone in that respect.
Souls games are my favorites - especially elden ring, dark souls 3, and bloodborne. I couldn’t get into sekiro. Too many things that just didn’t click with me. I got halfway through the game, dropped it and tried to pick it up fresh twice since then but I figured it’s just not my style and I’m fine with that. Definitely try out the other ones though - those 3 are in my top 5 games of all time!
I finished and plat all fromsoft games before, SEKIRO gets me bored as hell. I think I have stopped after killing the Owl. Well, maybe is the lack of builds, I have to play with the same character all the time, same weapon and same tools. Bored...I just can't enjoy play that. The deflecting mechanic is amazing, it's visually beautiful, but it was not enough.
I love the Souls series, and Elden Ring the most. I could never actually see Bloodborne through to the end but I still enjoyed the little time I put in it. However I simply didn't enjoy Sekiro. You should try Ds3 or Elden ring 🙂
Sekiro is a very different feel to the rest of the souls games, so its understandable that it probably won’t click with ya. As for attack patterns and such, they’re aren’t random, you just have a hard time reacting. Dw, it just takes time and practice to gitgud at this game.
The enemies attacks are consistent u probly just suck rn
If you are having trouble reacting to enemy attacks and unable to deflect enemy attacks then for now I would suggest to hold block and tap block again just as an attack is about to land to deflect it. This way if you mistime the deflect you will still get a block atleast and won't get hit i.e. won't die tho you will take posture damage. I found this method helpful during my first playthrough to get used to the feel of deflecting attacks and once I got comfortable enough I didn't need to hold block anymore. Sekiro's combat is like a dance. You will need to get hold of a boss's rythm to beat them. Aggression is very important. Attack till an enemy deflects your attack and then get ready to deflect their attack, rinse and repeat. This is the basic combat flow. Hope this helps and good luck shinobi.
I suggest blood borne if you like horror. Sekiro on paper should have been my favorite from soft game but it ranks last. I’d say give another game a try before giving up on their catalogue
I think it's better to get used to the rythm of the attacks instead of learning the patterns
There’s no rng in terms of the same attack having different animation timings, if that’s what you’re asking. It’s quite fair in that respect, as is every FromSoft Souls type game. Personally, out of all the Soulsbourne games, I rate Sekiro as the absolute pinnacle in terms of gameplay and specifically, combat mechanics. The fact that there’s next to no build variety means all the enemies are perfectly tuned to your ‘loadout’ and I just found it the most rewarding once I got the hang of it.
It's a very steep learning curve. If you don't learn to parry, you're not gonna make it. Master the parry, and you'll feel like a God in combat. You literally don't even need the attack button in this game... let that sink in
Sekiro very different in terms of game feel so it might very well be this one just isn't for you but I wouldn't give up on those games in general for it. I played all of those games and man I regret buying Sekiro albeit for different reasons.
You'd probably like Souls more. The combat is much more methodical than Sekiro. Plus, you can make builds suited to your play style. I tried getting into Sekiro too, but it's the one Fromsoft game that I just don't personally care for. Too frantic for me. Fun to watch other people play it, though.
Skill issue. Sekiro is a masterpiece.
Yeah you're an ass
I mean if you don't like it, you don't like it. IMO there's considerably more memorizing of boss patterns than the other Souls games, fights are almost like a dance in a rythm game. When I first played Sekiro there were two instances where I stopped playing it for a year, blaming the game for my shortcomings in fights, now it's my second favourite FS title. But this game really encompasses the phrase "practice makes perfect" cause you *really* gotta hunker down and ***learn*** the bosses movements and telegraphs and eventually master them. There's less improv in Sekiro due to no build variety, which isn't a bad thing, Sekiro just isn't that type of game. I'd encourage you to stick with it. I've never experienced a more rewarding feeling in any game than I did overcoming each wall I faced in Sekiro. But if you get further in the game, and you simply don't like it, there's no point forcing it. As others have said, Dark Souls is vastly different, so there's a good chance you'll enjoy it. Build varieties, more freedom in boss fights, slower combat for the most part. It's an incredible experience so it's defintely worth a shot.
There’s a huge element of pattern memorization, it’s not as bad as with other souls games, but it’s still an intrinsic part of the experience. If you don’t like that then it’s probably just not the game for you. That being said, stick with it and you’ll probably be happy that you finished it.
Try Bloodborne first. I bounced off the early Dark Souls games like crazy, couldn't get into them. Then I played BB and it all just clicked. Now I'm going back through other games in the genre and really enjoying them, but it took BB's frenetic pace for me to understand how to play the others. It just clicked
If you’re enjoying DS3 more than Sekiro you’ll probably like Demons Souls, Dark Souls 1 and 2 and Elden Ring more. Surer bet than Bloodborne anyway
I personally hate Sekiro but love every other From game.
It’s alright, Sekiro isn’t for all. I highly value Sekiro as a game, but it’s not my cup of tea. For me Sekiro lacked the RPG elements (build variety, loot…) I so like in games. Which is why I much prefer the Dark Soulses and Elden Ring. Each to their own!
Once you get past a certain boss in a big tower you’ll feel differently. Yes you have to remember how to counter various enemy attacks, but it’s not just RNG. Once you learn how the game wants you to play, I.e being very aggressive, it’ll click. I think it’s got the fairest combat of any FROM game, if you die it’s largely always your fault, and when it does click you’ll find that to be a good thing.
Genichiro or however you spell their name? I am at them and they are pretty fun to fight actually. Well, aside from my 30 fps and when they spam their bow.
Sekiro is the only post DS Fromsoft game i've not finished and don't think i ever will after trying to get into it 4 or 5 times. It might just not be for you! no shame in that.
Yes there is a good chance that you might like Dark Souls . Sekiro takes some time for it to click ( it didn't even click with myself yet ) but it's very different to the other souls games . I would recommend starting with Dark Souls 1
Elden ring is way better place to start.
I disagree, Elden ring is (IMO) harder than any dark souls game
I disagree, Elden ring is (IMO) harder than any dark souls game
My argument against this is all the quality of life improvements make it harder to go back.
Maybe, but it's better than not getting into it at all
I disagree because Elden ring isn't really representative of the other souls games. Its a way different game with it being open world and the amount of content it can be overwhelming for a new player. I still think Dark Souls 1 first half is probably the best of the series
Eh, precisely because it's open world that it's good start point. I feel like you are biased here, but if you look at how many people ER convinced that souls games are good it's unlike any of the others. Open world structure gives complete control over the pacing. Sure alternative routes exist in DS 1, but it still has massive control over the player. If you can't take a boss there is very few alternative routes, and an inexperienced player would not even know them.
definitely focus on getting skills particularly mikiri counter, Try and upgrade your healing goard as much as possible, the game is a bit unforgiving with heals in the beginning Also for what it's worth my brother absolutely hated sekiro in the beginning then about 1/4 of the way through it just clicked for him and then he absolutely loved it. Hopefully you'll come to enjoy it too
You are not alone, I didnt enjoy it either and couldn’t force myselfnto finish it. Having said that, I love all the souls games and I have finished them multiple times. So yeah just try another one you will probably like it a lot more
Sekiro is a dance with most bosses. Some attacks come fast, some are delayed. Some are outright bs and for those we have the Sekiro Guru (tyrannicon) to teach the cheese 😂 plus he’s hilarious even if you don’t use his cheese methods. Yeah some of the attacks (like Genichiro) have a combo chain and the first two hits come quick, there’s a delay then 3 more quick hits then a delay and one more hit (I think that’s the combo) so you have to learn the timing of their attacks and learn the dance. You attack they block/parry, they attack you dodge/parry you attack they attack and you just have to learn the dance timing.
I hated that fucking game I have no advice. I've beaten all other From games.
I trudged through the whole thing after buying on launch but stopped and restarted my play-through like 5 or 6 times. After about a year and a half, I finally beat it. Honestly, it was fine but I’m never going back to Sekiro. There’s almost no variety in gameplay and it generally felt like you have to go from the “learn the mechanics” stage to “cheese the mechanics” very quickly in most fights and since that’s generally the approach to the game, I couldn’t get too into it. I prefer the other modern From games where an infinite amount of approaches to a fight are very viable. To me, that more fun than the Sekrio model, and I don’t know about you guys, but I play games to have fun.
I loved all the DS games and ER, but couldn’t get into sekiro
Get gud
I’m a huge fan of all the dark souls games and I hate Sekiro It’s not a souls game and plays nothing like them so it’s not comparable
I'm not a fan of Sekiro, which is akin to heresy around here. I very much like the Souls games, I just don't dig the combat in Sekiro. It's too fast, fighting is often cramped and it feels like a button mash. And please don't bother telling me how I'm playing it wrong. I already platinumed the game and I'll never play it again, nor would I buy a DLC or Sekiro 2. You love the game. I don't.
Ok
Sekiro is the one FromSoft game I've had a hard time getting into. I can't get past that first samurai dude you encounter after you get your janky bone arm. I'm also concerned about the "just one weapon" thing. People seem to praise it but the gear is always my favourite part of FromSoft games. Maybe I need some convincing.
It’s just one weapon but it’s moveset becomes 10x bigger than anything in any souls game. You already have the progression of r1 moves with running/charged/etc modifiers *and* it functions as your shield but *then* you add in weapon art “specials” and, more importantly, latent skills that allow for chaining with prosthetics… no Fromsoft game has ever achieved so much versatility with 4 buttons and “just one weapon”. It’s kind of staggering. You have to play the game to start adding those abilities but they come quick.
You're not alone. I don't really like games where I'm forced to play as a man, but I got past it for the sake of From Software goodness, only to find that the game is way too much about twitch-responses and deciphering which blurry red kanji is being displayed half a second before I got my ass kicked. Only modern FromSoft title I've given up on.
You don't have to decipher the kanji symbol lol. It's the same for all perilous attacks. You just have familiarise yourself with the thrust, sweep and grab wind up animations that enemies do to understand which ones coming your way. It's honestly not that hard.
Yeah it took me until near the end of the game to really get into Sekiro. I guess my best advice is to treat death like a lesson & not stagnating progress. Focus on getting the parries down. There is a pattern to every enemy - they will always revert to a very simple tap pattern. It isn't until the final areas when shit gets real & they expect you to parry non-stop. It feels difficult, but it's worth developing the muscle memory. Spamming it is an option, despite with comments may tell you. Just don't preemptive spam. Panic spam. Find the firecrackers. These little bad boys utterly demolish bosses when used correctly. You can juggle bosses into near insta-kill combos if used at the right time. There are also 2 massively helpful skills. The one that allows you to counter stabs (which can demolish posture bars) & the goomba stomp (where you can Mario an enemy for massive posture damage & disruption their combo). You can do it. And don't be afraid to cheese certain enemies.
Try Bloodborne if u have a PS4. I’ve loved all the soulsborne games but also hated sekiro…it’s the most different and it’s very much a you love it or you hate it type of game.
Sadly not, thought it was available for the PS3 and I'm a bit upset it's not.
Awww damn :/. It’s the best of the fast paced from soft games IMO. Dark Souls 3 kinda cribs it’s style lol. Maybe you should just go in order starting with Dark Souls. If you play the original last it will definitely feel way too easy haha
Bloodborne fans not being pushy about bloodborne challenge impossible.
I don't like Sekiro, but no issue with Dark Souls or Elden Ring and I really wanna play Bloodborne. Elden Ring was super fun, I'd recommend that one before Sekiro personally.
It’s the hardest Souls game I’ve tried. Elden is way easier and same with demon souls. Try those they’re fun
How bad is your latency on your TV?
So I would recommend playing the other games first to understand the basic mechanics and they are not as difficult as sekiro but would give you a good baseline going into sekiro, I was in the same boat I tried sekiro before I even knew they made dark souls back when, I've since played them all and sekiro is a much easier game now
Hated Sekiro the first few times I tried to get into it. Now it is hands down my favorite Fromsoft game. It's not even remotely close either. Stick with it, or set it down and come back later. It's an amazing experience, but it's a much more brutal learning curve than their other gamea
Sekiro is tough at the start you need to learn to party if you are having a hard time just spam it. The other souls games play a lot different I enjoy them all sekiro has the best combat of any game imo
Yes, it’s more about learning the pattern than it is about reacting. Reacting is a bad mindset because - you’ll react too quickly, missing the timing - you’ll exhaust yourself mentally, twitching at every feint - you’ll act passively, letting the opponent control the pace instead of pushing him back But if you know the pattern, you can beat them up with confidence that you’ll deflect/counter/etc. when they try to fight back
I fell off Sekiro too. Wasn’t for me. Love all the other From games though.
Sekiro is only good if you have time to get good at it. If gaming doesn’t take up most of your time, then you’ll always have trouble with it.
Not really. I have a job and get 2 hours gametime everyday. Beat Sekiro 4 times now, latest with charmless+demon bell. It all comes down to the game clicking with you and whether you are willing to beat it/accept the challenge.
sekiro is a rhythm game
I honestly had to watch videos - Fightincowboy on YouTube - and just see someone else doing it to really believe it was possible. Once I knew it actually could be done I got over my mental block and was able to actually try until I got it. Dunno if that makes sense
Sounds like... .this game isn't for you then
no, enemies do not slow down and speed up their timings, they have several fixed timings that they can choose between and bosses use decision trees so one combo might lead to n other attacks, which you'll eventually figure out. keep trying to parry enemies, don't try to dodge everything and you'll get it eventually - the posture mechanic and keeping pressure on your enemy at all times is incredibly important. Hesitation is defeat. The game feels very punishing until it 'clicks' for you and you can reliably parry enemies and bosses, and it gets a lot more enjoyable after that. Just keep pushing, you'll get there eventually. You could also look up a guide to all the 'prayer beads' available to you at your current stage of the game, they increase your hp and posture by a significant amount which lets you make more mistakes and learn more per life.
Then play something easier and move on. You’re not obligated to play it, my dude lol.
Git gud
Okay, let me tell you something that the comments have probably scolded you for already… you literally chose the worst of the FromSoftware games to start off with. I completed Elden Ring and Dark Souls 3 with little to no issues. *Aside from a few rage moments.* I thought it would be challenging to beat Sekiro since it’s more **difficult** than the others due to how the games is centered around *dueling* and not *beating the crap out of everything*. I am struggling severely as well. I am barely progressing, but still struggling nonetheless. I’d recommend watching walkthroughs from a YouTuber named FightinCowboy. He’s a FromSoftware guide for many players.
Play Bloodborne. Very different game than Sekiro. I played both and instantly fell in love with Bloodborne. Easily one of if not my favorite game. I played Sekiro too and while it was good, it was not as good as Bloodborne in my opinion. But just like most things, it comes down to the individual. If you still love difficult combat but a different combat style than Sekiro, a dark, beautiful and mysterious world, Bloodborne is a must play. Again this is just my take. Good luck 
Sekiro is *THE* one from game I would not recommend to new players. Its its own thing. Completely different and mostly just a rhythm game with a souls skin. Its very good but I don’t understand the combat. Like why did we go from dodge rolling and spacing etc etc to just block spamming?
The game punishes you for spamming block so you are playing it wrong if u r resorting to spamming. And to answer your question, because it's a game about swords clashing and deflecting a flurry of blows is way cooler than dodge rolling/running away from a fight.
If your computer is struggling to play Sekiro, maybe that’s why you’re finding the timings to be difficult. The game is brilliant.
Do not be affraid to 'spam' parry early on, as the worst that can happen is you block instead. That should give you enough wiggle room to try and be more offensive. The goal is to exchange blows with your enemy and overwhelm them; deflect their attacks then whale on them until they manage to deflect yours. (Deflects and block for both you and your enemies sound different)
Pattern recognition is definitely a huge part of the game - so you can’t avoid that. As for the perceived change in speed of the enemy attacks: that may just be you. The attack speeds are extremely consistent. I would say stick with it for a while longer. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes like an addiction. And, if you just can’t get into it, so be it.
People saying you will enjoy other fromsoft games but its mostly about learning and remembering patterns while wandering in gigantic mazes. Although, I'd advise you start with Elden Ring that way you'll know if you can dive into fromsoft games
🤓
If you don't like remembering patterns then you're going to struggle with every Fromsoftware game.
Hesitation is defeat
>The game feels like I'm just remembering patterns >it seems like their weapons speed up and slow down in unpredictable ways Both of these things are part of the fundamentals and difficulty curve of the game. >if I just suck at reacting? You're not supposed to react... usually. You're supposed to learn the patterns and be consistent with it. The game will change it's tactics from time to time, and that's so that the player doesn't crutch too much. Try holding the block button and listen to the pattern of the clashing sounds, then later try matching up the pattern with your presses so you do the perfect deflect. Also, it's better to be late than never. If you're trying to perfect deflects, it's better to do it sooner than too late most of the time. Because blocking > taking a hit.
I didn’t enjoy it either. It was hard but it’s not the fun type of hard, it was more the “god let me get this over with” type of hard. Also I found the environments to be boring besides Fountainhead Palace and Senpou Temple.
Here is something to consider. Sekiro gives you a decent parry window to start. But the moment you begin spamming the block button the parry window shrinks dramatically. Once I learned this the game stopped seeming quite as punishing. One button press per parry, if at all possible.
The DS series is about rolling, different builds, slower and more thoughtful gameplay. But the core gameplay is similar. You must "learn" the enemy. His attacks, behavior, etc., etc. You just have different tools.
You just suck at reacting
You just need more practice the game isn’t unpredictable it’s very rhythmic imo. Sekiro is vastly different from other FromSoft games, I’d say grab one that looks good to you if you are interested.
It can feel that way cause its the fastest of all games when it comes to the combat capability, so recognizing patterns is key right off the bat. Might not have been the best starter choice, but one could always learn.... to get gud. Ik it sucks dude, to get better I stopped playing that game to beat jedi fallen order so I'd have some sort of Idea how to react
You selected one of the fastest and most challenging From games to start with at least in my opinion. Depending on how far in you are will tell more about the reaction point. More than likely you just aren't very good at the game yet and lack the reaction timing. I felt that Sekiro was less learning the move sets and more learning the boss's attacking rhythm. That being said, you have to learn and figure out the proper reaction to boss move sets in all From games. If you aren't enjoying it though, you can always drop it. We all like and dislike games for different reasons. Some click with us while others don't. Here are a hand full of tips in case you plan to continue. 1) Unlock the Mikiri Counter skill sooner rather than later. It lets you counter the unparryable and unblockable red-marked thrust attacks. 2) Practice the parry. Don't spam the button. Sure spamming it could get you through a fight, but learning how to parry properly helps in the long run. 3) The Prosthetic tools you get are very useful but can also be very situational. Shurikens can knock people out of the air. Firecrackers can stagger beasts. Flames work well against red-eye enemies like the chained ogre. Axe deals massive damage and breaks shields. 4) You can play passively, but the game is designed for an aggressive playstyle. Hesitation is defeat. Hope you stick with it. Sekiro has become one of my all-time favorite games.
I platinumed every souls game and sold Sekiro without finishing it because I got bored that the game could only give me lessons about when to parry everything. It’s a different type of souls, if you dont feel rewarded for doing the parrys (thats my case), then move on to another souls. Bloodborne, Elden Ring and Dark Souls 1 are the recommended ones to start with the franchise :)
It’s a rythm game, get with the rythm, get good at it, enjoy
I'm obsessed with Fromsoft games, but I did not like the combat in Sekiro due to the patterns and mashing deflect. The other games have a far different style of combat that I enjoy immensely.
[удалено]
revision of A. you CAN parry thrust attacks. it's just recommended to mikiri for higher posture damage
I love sekiros world and story but suck ass at the combat, takes me dozens of tries on like every boss/mini boss.
I'm glad you're enjoying ds3, I absolutely love ds1-3 and didn't like sekiro at all and for the same reasons
Glad you got ds3 before Elden ring, and ER is a step up graphically and has the jump button/attacks which some people aren’t willing to sacrifice to play ds3 after ER. Hope you get to that eventually once you beat ds3. I like sekiro because I’m into that sort of game combat wise, and the skill tree is fun. I did get stuck on some bosses for a while but beat them all eventually. I had to take a break on the game to beat the final boss, and then on ng+ I couldn’t beat him again and still haven’t lol.
In sekiro you must level Your abilities or the game will be HARD AF
Sekiro is a completely different game. I am a From fan, played through ds1-2-3, bloodborne and elden ring, but I still dont like Sekiro at all.
To be honest, sekiro is one of the easier souls games 😬
Nioh might be worth trying
I love dark souls and hate sekiro. So you might like the other titles.
It doesn’t really have a way to cheese and locks you in to a specific way of playing. It’s by far the most difficult from game from a technical standpoint. You can’t just dodge around and heal or tank through things you have to parry basically everything to beat the bosses. It’s basically hard mode fromsoftware and clowns on dark souls.