Late To The Party: Sekiro-Shadows Die Twice

 I finally quit playing Sekiro. 

I hate that. I do. I really feel like I shouldn't give up on things just because they are hard. And while I'm on the subject, thanks to YouTuber Fightin' Cowboy for their walkthrough of the game. I would not have made it as far or eked what fun I did out of that game, without your help. 

I got to the second Corrupted Monk battle, though and had had enough. Which is insanely far into a game for me to quit. That encounter forced me to admit something to myself, though. 

Sekiro wasn't fun. It just wasn't. The primary gameplay loop of sneaking around and eliminating mooks was enjoyable but every. single. boss battle. was a hard stop on that loop. I was now being asked to do something that required precise timing and I could never get it down. Ever. 

I had to look at multiple different strategies to get through every boss fight. Sometimes Cowboy's advice was good, but sometimes it just didn't help because honestly, he's just better at the game than I am. 

But that was the problem: I never got better. I had max health and max attack values and even with that buffer, I still couldn't make any headway on bosses. I always felt like I was doing what the game asked, and being punished anyway. I couldn't dodge or parry well enough. Every boss fight, I was looking for ways to cheese it out. I could never take them on the way the game had been teaching me to take every other enemy on. 

Which is the problem. 

So, I quit. No more sunk costs. 

One might ask; why did I persist for so long? Which is a reasonable question. The answer is: Bloodborne. That game is from the same company and is also incredibly difficult, but I finished it. I got the hang of how it played and I did well! Did it take awhile? Absolutely. But I did it, that game clicked. 

From that experience, I assumed that Sekiro would have a steep learning curve but I would, eventually, get the hang of it. 

I didn't, and now I feel bad because I quit and because I sunk a bunch of time into something that wasn't rewarding. 

Next up: Resident Evil 3.