If you are a souls fan boy (like me) you will love this game.
If you are not a souls fan boy (unlike me) you will also love this game.

It seems the only people who cannot enjoy this game are game journalists (I know it's on the industry and the time restraints, not the people, but still) or people who have sticks up their bums and only think a game is enjoyable if it is littering them with achievements without having to work for it.

With that out of the way:
Sekiro is not Dark Souls. I know many people, including me, thought of it as just ninja Dark Souls in Japan haha, but no. It is it's own seperate thing and yes, while it has a lot in common with Dark Souls, it stands on it's own two feet and it is not a good game BECAUSE it is Dark Souls, but IN SPITE OF IT.

Sekiro's gameplay at its core might appear similar. Third person rpg action adventures, where you run around, kill stuff, loot stuff to kill stuff better. But while Dark Souls offers player freedom and emphasises build variety, Sekiro plays a much different tune. There is one main weapon: Kusabimaru, your Katana. Sekiro's fighting system is about learning to use your Katana offensively and most importantly defensively. Parrying is the central defense mechanic of Sekiro, where you have to time your blocks in the rhythm of the enemy's swings. You can't get around this mechanic. It might seem thereby that Sekiro's combat system is one dimensional. Attack when enemy is not attacking and parry when enemy is attacking. But that is not the case. In head to head confrontations you have to consider unparyable attacks as well as how to deal with multiple enemies. Often times it is favorable to use the environment to your advantage. As a shinobi, you have the ability to climb, sneak and grapple your way through levels. And unlike in souls, stabbing an enemy from behind (or above) will instantly kill them and effectively half the hp of any mini boss. Shinobi tools, though often overlooked because they are quite difficult to use, offer major advantages and can make life much easier, if used correctly, like for example stripping the amor of heavily armored enemies with the spear, breaking the shields of enemies with the axe or poising the Okami warrior women to leave them vulnerable. And don't even let me get started on abilities and combat arts. So you could say that Sekiro traded build variety for more freedom of expression in the way you use your comparatively small selection of tools, making every tool count and hiding nigh infinite potential behind every new tool you get. Sekiro's gameplay might seem very similar at first, but at further inspection you can clearly see that Dark Souls and Sekiro go into completely different directions.

I also wanna quickly mention that you are not some rotting, half dead animated corpse of an abomination with light green skin and pink hair that you made in character creation. You play as a shinobi named wolf that isshin calls Sekiro, which is Japanese for one armed wolf. I always liked this stig of the character in Dark Souls reflecting you, the player (and I certainly like looking like shrek in every cutscene), but this story is not your story. You follow the wolf on his quest. This changes things, as characters can now bond with you much better and you finally have the ability to actually utter sentences, giving the wolf a lot of character, even if the character is a single string of dismissiveness towards every other person except maybe Kuro. In the beginning at least. But especially with the sculptor you can build quite a strong bond, showing growth over the course of the journey. Only Sekiro can do this in that manner.

So to sum my rant up. Sekiro is amazing. Everybody knows that and I am not shattering no grounds. But I do want to stress that Sekiro is not Dark Souls. It's an experiment from the part of From Software to stray form what they are best known for. And they have proven to everyone, beyond any shadow (no pun intended) of a doubt that they are not one trick ponys, but that they can make every game work. That's why they are geniuses.

10/10

Well well well, Dark Souls III

You already know that if it's From Soft that it's going to be great. I still remember my first playthrough. You get this epic cut scene, reminiscent of the Dark Souls one opening, and then you just wake up in a coffin surrounded by ash. The feeling I had was strange. I felt lost and dreaded what was to come. The enemies were just a bunch of hollows that looked like white beef jerky. But at the same time there was this intrigue, this curiosity, this anticiption. I didn't know what was lurking behind every corner and after seeing a litteral black ooze snake tumor thing growing out of the FIRST BOSS that you fight like FIFTEEN MINUTE INTO THE GAME, then I knew that I could literally not be prepared for anything. But this made things so exciting.

The level design was screeming one thing in particluar very loudly: desolation. The world feels like it is falling apart and turning bit by bit into a wasteland, taking with it everyone's sanity. Atmosphere and world building have always been a huge part of From Software's game design and they've really nailed it again this time.

The gameplay by far the easiest to get behind among all the souls titles. The dodge roll is easier to use than ever before. The world is less labyrinthy than in Ds 1. Most weapons are actually worth using and this game has a huge quantity of cool, unique and interresting weapons, as well as sorceries, hexes, pyromancies and ... miracles (although I should mention that miracles poo poo, sorry faith builders). Exploration is, as it has always been in Dark Souls, the best part of gameplay. Levels are exciting and unique, with each level containing ever more harrowing beasts that make you question the sanity of the enemy designers (No but really, how do you come up with some of those designs?). Secrets are everywhere and walls are, as per usual, a lie.

The characters in this game cover all ranges. From the jolly blacksmith André, to the hopeful Anri and the heartstrong Knight of Catarina Siegward, you have characters that provide a little bit of company that is much appreciated in this grim world. But there are also characters like trusty old Patches, that closes the exit door of the tower that you are standing in, trapping you inside. The characters are most of the time the only thing not directly attacking you, the last pieces of humanity you can find. In their human lives they have one endeavor, one thing they try to achieve. As you progress their quests you can either help them or hinder them. No matter for which option you decide to go, the outcome is the same. I let you guess what it is. This reflects the futile human struggle to keep a world running that really, really doesn't want to anymore, providing another layer to the story telling.

And lastly: the bosses. Areas end in boss fights. Some are really good like for example the Abyss Watchers, and some are like the Deacons and not really that thrilling. But most bosses provide a good bye to an area, with most bosses having a musical theme that will leave you breathless once you've beaten the foe.

Dlc made this game even better, although I will go into more detail in their respective reviews. For now just keep in mind, that they took this 10/10 and made it a 11/10. Coolest weapons ever. Pathing variety. Bosses that are... wow. Unique areas and an ending to a story of bravery.

So to wrap things up. 11/10. No questions asked. This was not only a game, but an experience, that marks the peak of my favourite series. I love this game whole heartedly and I truly believe that you can't ever get much better than this. Everybody should play this game. I could not imagine a person that would not like it.

This is such a meme ...

The only memories I have from this game is me and my mates sitting in I don't know which course, computer science probably, and trying to beat each other's high scores. Probably the best thing to do if your Wifi's dead and you're not really into reading. Other than that I dunno. Maybe they should rerelease this game to add a PvE campaign and a skill tree and open world. Maybe then I'll revisit it.

10/10 for funny dino game hihi