On my last playthrough, I actually killed the bull the legitimate way, but I just can’t be bothered to with DoH. It’s not a bad fight per se, but it just doesn’t really fit Sekiro, imo, and is a little tedious. I’ve heard of people oftentimes saying that DoH would fit Bloodborne a lot more. Wouldn’t mind him there tbh
guess it’s an unpopular opinion, I actually really like the first blazing bull. It’s an important lesson that things you don’t think should be logically parryable, actually are.
Good take, actually. The bosses leading up to Genichiro still feel a little off, in a way. Genichiro feels like a “real” Sekiro boss that fits the pace and flow of combat really well - clashing swords, parries, dodges and all. Both the ogre as well as the bull just don’t quite fit the game. They fit the game by the metric you apply in that you need to broaden your understanding of what is and what isn’t parriable but don’t offer that “classic” combat experience as someone like Genichiro, Monk, Owl, Lady Butterfly and so on do
Oh absolutely it is a big departure, but I honestly think Sekiro would be a worse game if it was all classic 1v1s with swordsmen. I appreciate that bosses like the Guardian Ape, the Long-Arm Centipedes, and even Demon of Hatred are there specifically to feel different and offer up some more varied fights.
Honestly the biggest issue I have with the beast type fights is just that they kinda get overused. Two apes, two bulls, two giants, two long-arm centipedes. The first time you fight them, it’s cool to have a new, different challenge to overcome. The second time, it always just feels like you’re going through the motions, because now you should know that you can parry basically everything they throw at you.
Totally see what you mean! Those fights throw you for a loop because you wouldn’t expect them in the context Sekiro provides.
Oh yea, I’m not too fond of their overusage of certain bosses. For some reason, I struggle a lot with the first drunkard in the Hirata Estate because of all the enemies nearby you have to kill first. The second time you fight one and have a Lone Shadow (?) tag along in the fight, I’m just done, man, lol. It’s more manageable overall, but it still took me waay too long for such a rather simple boss.
I can’t play a single soulsborn game, the chemistry in my brain just won’t allow for me to have a fun time. No hate, I am actually jealous. Those games just drive me crazy when i try to play them.
This is me with deck builders. I’m glad they exist and people seem to love them, it’s just that… nah… I’m good thanks.
If you were to pinpoint the issue(s) you have with the genre, what would it/they be?
A lot of what makes the games so iconic and special are what drive me insane. Random characters can die because of choices you had no idea you were making in their cryptic questlines you didn’t know you started. Enemy placement also can drive me up a wall, I can feel the evil smirks on the dev’s faces, the shit eating grins as they place a dumb fuck skeleton behind a pillar or dark corner that pushes you off a narrow walkway. I never personally get the feeling of achievement people seem to get after beating a boss either, instead of feeling like I “got good” I feel more like “Godwin 143, me 1 😒”. Again, I realize that I am just not the demographic, the things I’d change would take away what makes them special for their fanbase.
Yea that’s fair. I hate it when you, at its core, want to like a game and enjoy playing it but can’t because of some details core to the genre that you can’t handle well.
Honestly, it was like that for me too when I first tried Bloodborne. It was my first soulslike and I bounced off the game hard. I think I beat the first two bosses, not knowing a single thing about the game and being scared about progressing, so I ended up putting the game on hold a couple of years. Did the same with Sekiro where it took me three separate attempts over several years to get the hang of things and get better at the game to point of Sekiro becoming my favourite (soulslike) game.
Point is, it’s definitely worth giving games a shot if you feel like there could be something enticing about it that draws you in, but it’s also a-ok to just let it go when you’ve exhausted your willingness to try again. There’s so many games out there to play and so little time to play them, so the time spent should be worth it.
I do definitely get your gripes with the genre. I get annoyed and frustrated by all of them quite often too, wondering why I’m even playing the game in the first place. So far, I still managed to beat the games in the end, but it did cost me nerves and hours of playtime :D
Would difficulty settings help? It’s something so minute that people get so defensive about, not wanting to “casualise” their favourite game, but honestly, I wouldn’t care at all and it woild make the games more accessible to more people.
I have an on and off playthrough of eldenring going on right now, stuck on Commander Niall at castle sol. I’ll have real long breaks, like month long between picking it up and getting stuck (violently angry) and butting it down (deleting the game). The worlds, landscapes, themes, characters, designs, music, and even the cryptic storylines I just complained about, I adore.
On our current playthrough, I just said fuck it and started using summons. They’re part of the game - who’s to stop me from using them. Plus, I feel like many fights are balanced around the fact that summons exist, so not using them puts you at an immediate disadvantage. Did the same for Niall, who was also giving me quite a bit of trouble, and beat him. Black Knife Tishe is pretty bonkers if you get your hands on her. Maybe your level is not high enough too? Farming up a little wouldn’t hurt. Or maybe you could try switching up your weapons. I know some people frown upon it, but the tried and true sword & shield combo is a classic for a reason.
I really love DoH. I’d even say it’s my favourite fight of the game considering the buildup, and lore—so climatic. I love that te fight is different from meta Sekiro fights, and i feel like they designed it properly. You still need to parry, and it’s your best way to deal with him, but you have larger punish windows, and need to position correctly circling around him. In the end, it was the same vibe of a dance for me like the other great fights
Damn. I don’t see it, but I do see it. There’s lots of hints pointing towards this happening ultimately and signs that this could happen to Sekiro too depending on the choices you make.
Parries are important, but I felt like dealing health damage was usually the way to go because he has quite strong posture. I’d usually apply Divine Confetti and hammer away at him whenever I have an opening. It’s been a while since I tried the fight legit, though, admittedly. Might have to give it another go!
Yeah, you really need to deal damage here, not only parrying. I believe some other bosses and enemies also designed with the same approach more or less (the guardian ape boss comes to my mind). In DoH case i found it important to walk around him while hitting him, so you avoid some of his combo attacks without dodging or parrying. That added a nice flavour to the fight for me. Plus run away and hook back when he does jumping AOE. As i learned how to counter every attack, i found that fight super satisfying. Took me 3 days tho
Yea, I guess it’s not too bad to have a little something different mixed into standard experience.
It took me ages too. It is quite a cinematic fight though and it feels very rewarding story-wise
![[Sekiro] Good thing both can be cheesed](https://lemmy.zip/pictrs/image/e895689f-53bb-4875-a2e5-d6dd01f1397f.webp){kind=link}