I'm amazed that FromSoft is able to create games of such high quality with new ideas, so often.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a work of art. The combat is absolutely stellar, probably being the best part of the experience. They tailored the combat mechanics incredibly well, so every fight feels like a real sword fight against a real threat. In many games it's hard to truly get the feeling of hand-to-hand sword combat, with health bars and obvious attack patterns making the fight seem less realistic. When you can stab somebody 100 times with no visible effect because of a health bar system, it reminds you that you're just playing a game. But Sekiro's posture system gives the combat incredible depth. It feels more realistic to wear an opponent down to the point of a killing blow rather than just emptying a health meter. Health meters are still there, and you can technically kill anything in the game by wearing said meter down patiently, but the combat is more about dealing a killing blow through proper combat and aggression. Having the health percentage affect the posture adds another layer of realism and depth, since it makes sense that a wounded enemy would get slowly worn down. This is all in addition to a system that requires different responses with each kind of attack. You need to recognise when to deflect attacks, when to be aggressive, when to dodge certain attacks altogether because they can't be guarded. There are also some moves that require a special counter, like sweep attacks which need to be jumped over, and stabs that can be dodged towards to use a special counter where Sekiro steps on the enemies blade, among others. It all feels fluid and real, and it makes every encounter a proper challenge. And it's all just incredibly fun.

On top of this, the other mechanics in the game all add to this experience as well. Prosthetic tools all come with a variety of uses and powers, which adds almost a puzzle element to the game. Every enemy will have some weakness, and the prosthetic tools are usually linked to this. Which means you'll have to be clever and recognise when and where to effectively use the tools you find. But since every tool also has a practical combat use, they never fully feel like a forced option or a one time use mechanic. Then there's the stealth, which is encouraged to make certain challenges manageable by being smart and using the ability to kill without being detected to even the odds in otherwise impossible situations. Bosses can be difficult with their two health bars, but using stealth to instantly remove one of those health bars can improve your chances of success greatly without being used as a substitute to actually fighting the boss, since they still can fight you after the stealth blow.

This phenomenal gameplay is all tied in to another incredible story and atmosphere that's been FromSoft's greatest strength for years now. The story is once again complex, haunting, and beautiful. The writing is perfect, the characters compelling, and the setting is exactly right. FromSoft is still one of the best at telling you a story by having you experience it through gameplay, not through expository dialogue all the time. And as usual they included a plethora of secrets and hidden lore pieces, and multiple endings. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice opens up a whole new universe for FromSoft to explore, with the same promise and scope that Dark Souls had.

And I think that's what impresses me the most about these guys. They made an amazing game with Dark Souls, worked to improve on it more and more, and through sheer talent they made a cult following through their Dark Souls series. Then they made Bloodborne, which became a masterpiece in its own right separate from Dark Souls altogether while retaining many of the core features. Then they finished their Dark Souls series, letting their biggest IP conclude with a satisfying ending rather than getting as much mileage from it as possible. Then, somehow, they did it all again with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, using another new formula and making it yet another success. Even with new IPs and new ideas, they still know exactly what they're doing and have proven time and time again that they're one of the best teams of game developers out there. FromSoft's continued success is good for the art form, and should be celebrated.

Now, to anyone who's on the fence of buying this game. I will admit that it isn't always perfect, with the stealth mechanic sometimes being a bit broken, some sections being massive headaches, the combat not always being perfect, and so on. And even at its best Sekiro will be frustrating as all hell. You will get mad at this game, at certain bosses, at the sheer brutality sometimes. It can be discouraging. But I urge you to try it anyways. If you can tough it out and learn how to play the game, you'll be immensely rewarded with an incredibly compelling journey that you truly had to fight for to see through to the end.
And hell, even if you ended up modding the game to cheat your way to victory, just do what you gotta do to experience this game. I strongly feel that properly beating it yourself is integral to the experience, but even if you mod in an easier way to victory the story and atmosphere are worth your time. And this game deserves your time.