I have played and conquered every Dark Souls game and did not think that Sekiro would be a major challenge. I am forever grateful that I was utterly wrong. If anything, playing Dark Souls made this game harder for me, because I wanted so badly to roll through attacks and block every other swipe, but those are not the rules this game plays by. Sekiro, like Dark Souls, is all about being ruthless while fair. In this game, overcoming that level of oppression does not mean rolling through attacks, but instead learning each enemy and how to counter their movesets with deflections and circumstantial counters. Learning this new style was a Hell of its own for me, as I was never able to parry in Dark Souls. In fact, after getting skill issue locked at the Seven Spears mini-boss, I was up and ready to quit the game. I'm so grateful that I overcame the challenge and pushed forward, because the intensity that develops by the end of the game is enough to test the worthiness of Christ himself. Beating the final boss was one of the most enthralling, frustrating, and rewarding experiences I have had in any video game to this day. For me, it felt like ten whole minutes of sword on sword, each side moving an inch at a time, like an over-the-top anime showdown. That experience alone was enough to be worth the game's price, but thankfully the main bosses all offer challenging fights that will test the mettle of anyone who thinks it will be easy. The only advice I have to offer: Hesitation is defeat.

I have played and conquered every Dark Souls game and did not think that Sekiro would be a major challenge. I am forever grateful that I was utterly wrong. If anything, playing Dark Souls made this game harder for me, because I wanted so badly to roll through attacks and block every other swipe, but those are not the rules this game plays by. Sekiro, like Dark Souls, is all about being ruthless while fair. In this game, overcoming that level of oppression does not mean rolling through attacks, but instead learning each enemy and how to counter their movesets with deflections and circumstantial counters. Learning this new style was a Hell of its own for me, as I was never able to parry in Dark Souls. In fact, after getting skill issue locked at the Seven Spears mini-boss, I was up and ready to quit the game. I'm so grateful that I overcame the challenge and pushed forward, because the intensity that develops by the end of the game is enough to test the worthiness of Christ himself. Beating the final boss was one of the most enthralling, frustrating, and rewarding experiences I have had in any video game to this day. For me, it felt like ten whole minutes of sword on sword, each side moving an inch at a time, like an over-the-top anime showdown. That experience alone was enough to be worth the game's price, but thankfully the main bosses all offer challenging fights that will test the mettle of anyone who thinks it will be easy. The only advice I have to offer: Hesitation is defeat.