Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
I have had to focus on work for a bit so I thought I would do my first throwback to a previous platinum. I received Sekiro as a birthday present off a good friend in the summer of 2019 and I was not prepared for what was waiting in store for me.
Here is my review of the platinum for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - Spoilers in "Notable Trophies"
The Game
Well, this game hurt.
I have always been a massive fan of the "Soulsborne" series and throughout the years they have been an integral part of my gaming experience. I was also reluctant to start it as when I start to platinum a 'FromSoftware' title, I REALLY get invested into it and it becomes my life for a few months. Looking back now, I am glad that I did because Sekiro is a game that will stay with me a long time.
The game looks stunning and boasts one of the most beautiful level designs that I have ever seen in a title. The music and sound design is also beautiful and it makes you feel immersed in the world that they have created for you.
The enemy design in this game is a huge strong point and the variety of enemies/bosses are incredible. You will find yourself fighting ninja assassins, excrement-flinging giant apes, and (frankly terrifying) headless creatures which attempt to pull your soul out of your anus...
Truth be told, I would rather not have to relive that experience.
The combat is also something that I know a lot of Soulsborne fans will be looking towards and I can say that it does not disappoint. The combat is fast-paced and rewards a high-risk parrying strategy that utilises the full use of your Shinobi tools to beat enemies. Bloodborne will always take the cake as the best combat I have ever experienced in a game but Sekiro really pushed the boat out for ingenuity and flow. I also think that the grappling hook adds an incredible level of mobility to a series which until now, has remained grounded.
With all this being said...as much as I loved this game, I also never want to play it again. This is one of those games for me that has very little replay value. I can replay Dark Souls over and over again but this game was an experience that was best enjoyed once. I will also say that I was quite frustrated and confused with the Dragon Rot mechanic at first (although the lore behind it was fantastic).
The Platinum
This platinum was the opposite of relaxing to achieve! There are a ton of missable trophies and I found myself referring to a guide (https://www.powerpyx.com/sekiro-shadows-die-twice-trophy-guide-roadmap/) almost religiously in order to make sure that I didn't miss any trophies along the way. This definitely isn't a "complete on normal, complete on hard, job done" platinum.
My overall roadmap consisted of:
- Get to a certain point in the game (Ashina Castle 2nd visit: Owl meeting)
- Break the Iron Code and go through the game whilst collecting everything needed for "Purification and "Return" ending
- Kill final boss (Sword Saint) and backup save file
- Speak to Kuro and get ending 1
- Reload save file and speak to Kuro and get ending 2
- Reload save file and speak to Kuro and get ending 3
- Start on NG+ and get the "Shura" ending
- Mop up individual trophies that were missed and collect the remaining Lapis Lazuli.
- Grind for the "All Skills" trophy (I hated this so much)
In terms of difficulty, I would not say that this platinum is easily achievable by any stretch of the imagination. This game has two ways in which you might struggle:
- You are new to a "soulslike" game and you get annihilated by one of the hardest games in the series that has a learning curve like a brick wall.
- You are a huge fan of the series and you have the last installment ingrained into your playstyle. Cue you getting unceremoniously murdered by trying to un-learn your instincts whilst also being too cocky.
It's safe to say that I fell into category 2.
The missable trophies will also be quite a pain for a lot of players who do not wish to be glued to a guide. It doesn't take much to lock out a whole pile of trophies and sadly you'll have to go through to another NG+ cycle to catch them again. The collection trophies are quite simple but fair warning, the trophy to upgrade all of your skills takes a LONG time. It does not help that the final skill needs something like 9 ranks of exp to level. I found myself doing a loop over, and over again until I got the required exp (description in notable trophies).
Overall, I enjoyed getting this platinum but most of that revolved around how much I enjoyed the game. I would go as far as to say that this was one of my least-favourite platinum lists out of the whole soulsborne series.
Notable Trophies
I took on Lady Butterfly early on in the game and she definitely was an eye-opener! Beating this fight was my 'click' moment where the combat started to make sense. This boss was like a dance. A complex, stabby dance. Big tip: this fight is more about getting into your rhythm rather than trying to overpower her. Also, shuriken her when she hops on her wire; it's an easy knockdown and you can inflict some damage in return.
This is a notable trophy for me as I loved the lore behind the carp. This game is more generous than other Soulsborne titles in how it feeds you the lore and the quest chain with the men in the pots is great.
This fight was hard. Don't get me wrong, I love a challenge but this fight was unreal. Not only do you have to fight this charged-up madman but you also get to warm up with another boss before you even meet Isshin! Honestly, this is a fight that you will need to dedicate time to. Isshin has every ability under the sun at his disposal and to back it up, he hits like a truck and somehow moves faster than a bullet. Good luck, you'll need it. I tried to take him on toe-to-toe but he ended up cutting me down. If you are struggling then you can play defensively and bait out his big attacks for a brief punish.
To me, this boss was the epitome of a 'souls' boss. He looks amazing, is hyper-aggressive, and has some interesting lore behind him. I struggled with Mr. Hatred but once I started to read his attack patterns then I got that all-important kill under my belt. Big tip: The Malcontent whistle will massively help you in phase 3. If you can get that far then use it once he makes his circle of flames, attack, use it when he recovers, repeat 3 times. This was enough for me to finish him off once I used my 3 charges. Also, the Loaded Umbrella works wonders to completely tank his flame leap.
This trophy was so unnecessary.
I was pre-warned about the length of this grind and I even took some time to practice my combat skills whilst enjoying some mid-game farming. Well...even that was not enough to put a dent in the immense slog that awaited me once I decided to farm my last skills. If you wait until NG+ and (once Ashina is on fire) go to the Ashina Staircase idol. From there, you can do a circle that takes you up a tower, down to an enemy, and then behind a patrol. You can backstab all enemies and do the circuit in roughly 30 seconds. Repeat this about 30,000 times and you'll get enough exp for this trophy.
Ratings
Gameplay - 9/10
An amazing game with a near-flawless combat system.
Platinum Difficulty - 8.5/10
Very hard but also very fair. Most bosses are learning experiences. and if you click with the combat then you will find the difficulty incredibly rewarding.
Time to Platinum - 8/10
This is an expensive bottle of good whisky; take as much time as you want to finish it. I racked up around 80 hours overall.
Overall Trophy Enjoyment - 7/10
The reason this did not get higher was that the end grind was not enjoyable in the slightest and a lot of the missable trophies were quite frustrating to keep track of. Overall, it is a brutal, difficult, and horrific journey which will test your patience at every turn and reward you with more pain. You are going to love it.
"Hesitation is defeat"
Gameplay Breakdown
Sound - 10/10
Incredible sound design with some amazing moments. A major highlight was the haunting whistle that you hear when fighting a terror-inducing mob/boss. I also loved the audio cues for a successful parry.
Music - 7/10
Beautiful score but I found myself forgetting a lot of the tracks, especially the boss fights.
Visuals - 9/10
Incredible graphics with a fantastic roster of enemies and bosses.
Level Design - 10/10
Stunning locations with a high level of variation throughout. Any linearity is forgiven with the inclusion of the grappling hook.
Combat/Gameplay - 10/10
My favourite combat system since Bloodborne. The parry system took a while to get used to but it was fast-paced and exhilarating.
Lore/Story - 8/10
Some excellent boss backstories and lore. Demon of Hatred and Headless get my vote for best lore.
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