The solo experience is not good while jobs do add variety to combat, a lot of the game can be beaten by mashing and being too tactical didn't pay off. at least that's what I've noticed in my first playthrough.
the Ui and inventory system is great, although a bit too complicated for a character action game. story, characters, and environments are painfully boring.

If you're getting this game, you should be getting it for the co-op.
The player base sticks to the endgame content for multiplayer, but the teamplay is really fun for the lobbies I did join.

I'll come back to this review later once I've played through it a couple more times. 3/5 playing solo 4/5 with a team.

edit, Nope I can't do it im too bored wit it.

Grab a friend, Rush through most of the content and get to the end game mp stuff.

Overall this is a decent holdover game if you want more sekiro-eqse combat and are tired of replaying sekiro.

jumping/jump attacks, while not integral to the combat, does allow for more movement expression than in nioh 2. Some enemies attacks can be jumped over and there's abilities that do allow for aerial combat.

Wo long gives the player a lot of agency to make a playthrough as easy or as hard as they want. Though I would have preferred different difficulty levels instead of forcing veteran players to not interact with the systems mechanics to make it harder.

A few things that weren't explained is that you can actually jump on top of enemies heads to bail yourself out, and the spirit gauge. the spirit gauge is the bar right below your health bar. Basically it moves either right or left. The worse you’re doing, it goes left, while the better you do it goes right. When it’s on the right your spirit attacks are stronger. When it goes all the way left, a hit from an enemy will stagger you momentarily.

the online has a co-op and an invasion mode, which are just side modes that enhance the campaign. Invasion mode is fun since a human player thinks more creatively than an ai, but ultimately their role is to be a mob that impedes your progress, not fight on equal footing.

it does suffer from being a bit repetitive when your fighting the same trash mobs and mini bosses throughout levels. Also it can feel like a rhythm game rather than a pure action game, like sekiro where as long as you know the deflect timings the fights are relatively easy.

you could reduce the whole game to just deflecting/deflect counters and pressing left click, but weaving in spells with ranged attacks and heavy attacks is satisfying, though some spells are clearly way better than others.

edited there's a lot to do here with the dlc fights and sub missions. It has a wizardry spell level system, that allows you to respec when you want by talking to Zuo Ci in the Hidden village.

90 achievements on steam, but i don't really have the motivation to unlock them all; I also think this is best played if you rely on your skill, since you'll barely have to interact with the rpg elements if you do.

unlike Sekiro this game actually has a 120 fps mode, but some slowdown and frame skipping do often occur. If you want something even more difficult than Sekiro, Wo long has new game plus mode from Rising Dragon to Dragon King, which you can use in tandem with self imposed handicaps.

handicaps:
-don't over-farm gear and levels
-turn off reinforcements
-don't use marking flags to heal
-set the morale cap to 0 after you beat the game once with the inner disciple setting

and if you want to take it a step further
-don't spec in earth, or at least not with the intentions to trivialize the game.
-only use deflects and only block unreadable attacks. (The camera is low to the ground and not smooth)
-nerf your damage output
but these may make the experience more frustrating.

[youtube playthrough coming soon...] I'm also going to recommend some spells too in the comments

I think this game is a good step forward in the melee genre when it comes to finding something for normal and hardcore players. I'm a bit disappointed with the pacing and how the parry and blocking system was handled, you shouldn't be able to deflect out of block, and being able to deflect every attack is excessive. 3 stars with a seal of approval

"Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice" artfully merges its combat mechanics with its narrative, presenting an elegantly straightforward system. However, this simplicity, while narratively fitting, slightly misses the opportunity to delve into the complexities that could elevate the game into a realm of more strategic melee combat.

Parrying and Blocking Distinction: Currently, the game combines blocking and parrying into a somewhat undifferentiated defensive tactic, which may simplify engagements more than necessary. Introducing a more pronounced distinction—such as preventing parrying from a block stance and possibly requiring a directional input to parry—would compel less experienced players to adopt a more deliberate approach to defense.

The Role of Spacing in Combat: As it stands, the game's combat system underutilizes spacing, heavily favoring parrying over positional strategy. Making spacing a fundamental aspect of combat would introduce a significant tactical layer, requiring players to consider their positioning meticulously. Reworking enemies to punish predictability and prolonged close-quarters combat would force players to use the entire arena, making every step and swing into a calculated duel.

Utilizing the Environment in Boss Fights: The boss arenas in Sekiro offer scant chances for environmental interaction, a feature that, if expanded, could radically transform boss encounters. Envisioning arenas with embedded strategic elements and interactive hazards would not only make the surroundings a pivotal component in the strategy for victory but also add a layer of depth to each battle, making environmental awareness as crucial as swordsmanship.

Dodging Mechanics and Combat Philosophy: Despite Sekiro’s emphasis on aggressive forward motion and parrying precision, the ability to dodge without limit seems out of sync with the rest of the game’s mechanics. By limiting dodging, players would be nudged towards mastering timing and parrying, aligning more closely with the game’s philosophical underpinnings and heightening the combat challenge.

Visual Cues and the Art of Anticipation: Sekiro leans on visual cues to signal perilous attacks, a choice that simplifies the anticipatory dance between player and enemy. Diminishing or even removing these cues could elevate the combat experience, pushing players to become finely attuned to enemy patterns and tells, thereby rewarding skill and keen observation over mere reaction.

Ranking System for Mastery Recognition: The introduction of a ranking system—evaluating players on damage avoidance, combat efficiency, and minimizing healing—would not only honor mastery but also motivate players to delve deeper into Sekiro’s combat. This system could serve as a benchmark for players, encouraging them to explore and master the game's combat.

Pros:

Fluid Combat and Stable Performance: Experience seamless transitions between moves and enjoy smooth gameplay on both PS5 and PS4, with a consistent 60 fps. Technical enhancements, including improved graphics and reduced loading times, enhance immersion and polish.

Cons:

Opening Momentum: While the game starts with a thrilling cutscene, it struggles to maintain the same level of excitement throughout the experience.

Boss Encounter Disappointment: Boss encounters in 'God of War III Remastered' disappoint overall. Helios and Hermes are missed opportunities, and encounters with Poseidon and Leviathan feel out of place and underwhelming. Additionally, battles against Scorpion and Cerberus, while challenging, often become more annoying than enjoyable.

Difficulty Balancing: Certain sections, particularly in Chaos mode, suffer from unbalanced difficulty spikes, leading to frustration and encouraging gameplay styles focused solely on efficiency.

Simplistic Puzzles: Puzzles lack complexity and fail to offer significant mental challenges, serving as mere breaks in combat.

Repetitive Combat Mechanics: Combat can feel monotonous due to reliance on button-mashing, QTE events, and simple enemy patterns. The inclusion of an upgrade that auto-wins QTE events underscores the need for a more dynamic combat system.

Extended Labyrinth Section: The labyrinth feels overly long and tedious, disrupting pacing and testing players' patience.

Missed Opportunity with Titans: The potential for deeper exploration of Titans as allies or adversaries is overlooked, representing a missed opportunity for narrative and gameplay depth.

Unskippable Cutscenes: The presence of unskippable cutscenes disrupts player pacing and leads to frustration during repeated playthroughs.

Lack of New Game Plus: The absence of a New Game Plus mode and the need to recollect items in a new playthrough may detract from the action experience, though this can be mitigated by utilizing a 100% save file.

Comparison to Other Titles: "God of War III Remastered" falls short compared to other titles in the series, lacking the balanced narrative and gameplay of "God of War II" and the improved mechanics of "Ascension." Additionally, the absence of a strong narrative in "God of War III" is a missed opportunity, making it feel more like a glorified tech demo.

think I played through this 5 times and hyperstone heist twice.
Really enjoyable experience, but I remember it being really easy, with the exception of the slash boss fight.
while it's not straight up better than shredders revenge it's faster and more fluid to play and doesn't have dumb movement inertia. Also takes about 50 minutes to complete

I'd recommend Raphael since he has the fastest walk speed

warning
this has a broken scoring system