Stage Fright
Not all video-game levels are created easily.
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Thats less of an option for me, being that I make my livingwriting about games.
The problem isnt the game.
Those writers nearly changed my mind.
That wasnt the first FromSoftware game; just ask fans ofArmored CoreandKings Field.
The story reveals itself to you in cryptic bits, keeping you ignorant and at arms length.
The vague ruined world you walk through suggests a rich history you never got to witness.
Demons Soulsalso loves to kill you.
Lengthy attack animations mean you must commit to your offense with purpose.
Death haunts your every waking moment inDemons Souls.
You slayed the dragon.
Just saying its the next FromSoftware game tells you everything you’re gonna wanna know.
However, after ten years of refining immaculately excruciating experiences,Sekirosomehow finds even more paths to pain.
Death Before Dishonor
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twicebrought substantial changes to the FromSoftware formula.
Instead of trudging through dank European castles, you control a nimble shinobi named Wolf in seventeenth-century Japan.
Use your grapple hook to scale Sengoku-era fortresses and pray at Buddhist shrines.
The plot actually bothers explaining itself.
You dont whittle away health, you quickly but carefully land strikes to knock enemies off-balance.
Its a dance where you compete to control the choreography.
Break a foes posture to deliver a decisive strike to kill in one hit.
Supplement your attacks with your prosthetic arm loaded with gadgets like shuriken and flamethrowers.
As the subtitle implies, you could immediately revive yourself if youve gathered enough energy from fallen opponents.
Finally, a FromSoftware game gives you exactly one extra life.
None of these changes makeSekiroany easier than otherSoulsgames.
In fact, the opposite is true.
At least in an RPG, you’re free to raise your stats to increase your chances.
If you cant learn to executeSekiros lightning-fast, razor-sharp swordplay, you wont keep up.
Its a proud member of a long line of important, innovative, influential games of the year.
But if were being honest, I hate it.
I hate these games.
I respect people who like these games.
ButSekirosolidified for me that during the past ten years FromSoftware has done nothing but make games I cant stand.
To me,Sekiroisnt just hard, its obnoxious.
I enjoy plenty of hard games, but I need them to respect my time.
it’s possible for you to practice without worrying about losing much progress.
Its just a hard game I can easily turn off.
Whats worse, though, are the defensive conversations surrounding FromSoftware games and the question of difficulty.
Again, people have every right to enjoy punishing games.
But difficulty doesnt always equal quality, and wanting an easier experience doesnt reflect poorly on your gaming tastes.
Despite what some game menus might mockingly suggest, theres no such thing as a baby mode.
FromSoftware designs their games with intent.
The cruelty is the point.
Cheating is a vital part of gaming history.
Cheat codes make up some of our earliest shared folklore.
If you might beatSekiroblindfolded in under two hours, then more power to you.
Be as proud as you want about that accomplishment.
But let other people play however they like.
And theres more to it than just difficulty.
Games likeHollow KnightandNiohexhibit aSouls-style offbeat approach to world building and atmosphere.
If you’re free to penetrate something this prickly, enjoy the sweet fruits of success waiting within.
But dont feel bad or surprised if you bounced off ofSekiro: Shadows Die Twiceas hard as I did.
Video games can make you feel a lot of things, but never let shame be one of them.
