We've been able to get our hands on Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice for PS4... and so has everyone else. We don't get advance copies of games for PS4 yet ;(
But anyway, the game is pretty amazing on all levels that I (Tom) can tell. Let's break it down with a few categories:
First things first, the art of Sekiro.
The game takes place in a feudal japan-looking, snowy, mountainous landscape. The buildings are very typical to those you would find in feudal Japan. The ridged rooftops you've seen 100 times in games that take place in this time period - one of my personal favorite historical eras.
The graphics go for a very realistic, somewhat gritty feel and i think they nail it right on the head. It looks good.
The graphics style kind of reminds me of Metal Gear if you wanted to compare it to something aside from Dark Souls. It's kind of hard to describe. It's stiff and rigid, but in a good way that helps it feel more realistic.
If you love getting fuckin absolutely destroyed over and over like the sick sadistic person you are then this game will butter your biscuit for sure.
You will fight your way to each checkpoint and when you finally get to it there is no feeling quite as good.
The punishing combat and stiff difficulty really make each fight feel like it holds weight. I really enjoy that kind of thing in my games so that works for me. If you're more into the easygoing narrative type of game or like the idea of participation trophies, this game probably isn't your speed.
If you've ever played dark souls or any other game by this developer, you pretty much know the deal. Honestly, you can identify this combat system in a way more games than that. Seems every adventure game has pretty much been biting this the style of Japanese and super gangster developers From Software
Wielding the razor-sharp katana of a badass shinobi has never felt quite so good. Dodge, roll, jump and slash your way across feudal Japan fighting everything from samurai to some pretty friggin scary monsters if I do say so myself.
The last good ninja game we had was that game from like 10 years ago called "ninja" or something like that. Way too lazy to look that up right now but you know what I'm talking about.... That game was fire.
The fighting is ruthlessly punishing, as you'd expect from a game made by the guys who brought you dark souls.
One way that Sekiro is better than Dark Souls lies in the movement system. It's never felt quite so good to jump in one of these kinds of games. You have control of your character in the air and can use aerial attacks and grapple to high places. The stealth of the game is one of the most viable ways to play, which is pretty awesome if you're into stealth kills and sneaking around.
The stealth gameplay in Sekiro makes for a pretty awesome change of pace when comparing to dark souls. You can move through bushes while crouched to remain undetected like a real shinobi would do it. You can also pull off some crazy looking kills on the people you pounce on, stabbing your katana through their throat or skull and watching the blood shoot out. Extremely satisfying.
The blood gets on you too and splatters on walls, etc. Im a big fan of violent games and movies, so this really did it for me.
If you're into Sekiro and want to see more, lock in to Sweatpants Gaming and wait patiently for us to drop some new stuff. It's always on the way.
We've been making tons of improvements to our platform in preparation for that sweet sweet viral piece of content we have coming pretty much any way now.
Stay rocking those sweats my guys.
[SPG] Tom