In the last few weeks I got hooked by Sekiro, one of the few games I’ve been in doubt if to buy or not. I didn’t just knew that it would have been a tough run, I was certain of it.

Well, the other day I finished the game. For the second time.

I feel like a superhero inside, most of all because I’m still not too old to finish a really hard game! “Old, but not obsolete”, to quote a colleague of mine. Now I could “easily” get the platinum trophy with perseverance (it would just take time to farm enough experience points to unlock all the abilities), but… why should I do that? The story is over, I already saw all the possible endings and I’m quite satisfied.

FROM SOFTWARE is well known for their unique way to narrate the story of their games –which I never liked– but Sekiro was better than I thought from this point of view. Even if it is always fragmentary and never told “from the beginning to the end”, this time the plot is understandable in one game. I played also Dark Souls 2 and 3 in the past and I can’t say I really enjoyed them, also for this reason other than the ridiculously steep learning curve.

One undeniable virtue of these games, though, is their ability to addict and improve your skills (and reflexes). Every boss, each one of them, at first seems impossible. Then, after hours passed with trial and error, when finally you succeed to execute that sonofabirch, you get an incredible satisfaction… and the thought “In the end, it wasn’t so hard”. Always.

The game is so good because makes (virtually) spit you blood when you start thinking “_I’m getting good with it_”: a group of enemies become easy to kill during exploration, so you’re getting confident. Then an unexpected encounter with a totally new set of skills starts to increase again your death counter. You need to totally reconsider your strategy for this foe, and it’s not always easy to understand what you need to do.

YouTube videos are a curse and a blessing. I’m a bit ashamed to admit that I used Umbe_VGB’s brilliant tutorials for many battles, I didn't have the patience to die even more times to study each single move of all the bosses (it doesn't matter if you can resurrect in this game, it's still hard). Long loading times make the wait even stressful, maybe on PS5 it would better with the ultra-fast SSD. Also, for a big bad demon in particular, I used an unpatched game glitch to win the battle. Shame on me. 🙈

Anyway, I love/hate this game(s) because I get really addicted to it and, when I find a tough fight that takes me days to win, I barely can focus on anything else. Videogames should be fun, but this one… it’s a stress and a pain, any customer is aware of that. But it is also one of the best games I played. It seems nonsense! Final note: I really miss the lack of a photo mode on console, some of the locations are breathtaking and the design of the characters is impressive.

Very last thing: I was looking for weird images or videos of the game... I was not dissappointed.