PS4 #39 · 2019 · M

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

An action game about a shinobi who must rescue his young lord and take back his severed arm.

FromSoftware · Activision · 30–45 hrs

Difficulty

A posture game, not a dodge game. Perilous kanji, prosthetic tools, and a handful of combat arts matter more than attack power until you are already winning the deflection war.

Tips

Start here
Kanji has three answers
Thrusts are mikiri (forward dodge), sweeps are a jump with a kick, grabs are a sprint away. If you treat every perilous as a dodge roll, Genichiro will never drop his posture.
Start here
Axe, firecrackers, umbrella
Loaded Axe breaks Taro Troop shields, Firecrackers stun beasts and the Guardian Ape, and Loaded Umbrella later eats Divine Dragon lightning. Buy the ones you will actually use before you sink skill points into late arts.
Advanced
Ichimonji restores posture
Ichimonji: Double is the safest punish in the game because it also returns your own posture. Mortal Draw is for health bars, not for winning a deflection war.
Advanced
Divine Confetti and Snap Seeds
Apparitions (Headless, O'Rin, the shichimen) want Divine Confetti and, later, the Phoenix Lilac Umbrella. Snap Seeds collapse Lady Butterfly's illusions and Owl (Father)'s owl decoy.
Secrets
Hirata's hidden bead
After Lady Butterfly, search the estate for the extra Prayer Bead in the hidden temple room. The Sunken Valley gun fort can also be hugged along the left cliff instead of fought as a firing line.
Secrets
Kuro's Charm on NG+
Give Kuro's Charm back at the start of a new cycle for a tighter deflection window and extra damage. The Hirata Bell Demon is the same idea on the first playthrough if you want the estate to hit harder.
Bosses
Lightning reversal on Genichiro
Phase three is a jump, catch, and send-back before you land. Mikiri the thrust and jump the sweep the same way you did in phase one; the lightning is the only new sentence.
Bosses
Sword Saint stays close
Phase one is Glock-Isshin: stay in his lap so the pistol is a parry, not a poke. Phase two spear is mikiri the thrust, jump the sweep, and Ichimonji after the black Mortal Draw windup.

Walkthrough

Walkthroughs that already exist

Written guides and videos are listed separately. The first time a game is opened, the web is searched once. Later visits reuse that result. Six of each show here.

The first visit searches the web. Rate a result from 1 to 5 so the next person can skip the wait.