I played through Sekiro this past week. It was an extremely interesting experience for me.
I played it with a reduced-damage mod because I had heard so many things about how obscenely difficult it was. I think it was the correct move for me in particular, but only because I personally don't find much joy in bashing my head against levels and bosses multiple times in a row. Having a little bit more breathing room helped me considerably but even with that, the game was still a challenge. The poison, burn, terror, and enfeeble mechanics weren't affected by my mod and they were constant threats. Additionally, you NEED to parry most bosses and many enemies to actually get through them, so there was still skill requirement.
If anything, the reduced damage made it feel more like playing bowling with the lane bumpers up. The core gameplay wasn't effected and I was afforded more leniency when learning the ropes. I actually greatly appreciated this since my skull is thick and I am bad at video games.
By the middle of the game I definitely began to get my sea-legs. Things clicked and it was smooth sailing from there. But I don't know if I would have made it to that point without the assistance. I think I have the tendency to double-down on my tactics when things don't work rather than trying to unlearn bad habits. In games like this it can lead to a lot of frustration as I plow into challenges because I want to do them "my way" even if it isn't the best for the situation.
Sekiro as a game wants you to play in a highly-specific way. It wants you to be aggressive (noticeably absent is the stamina meter from Souls games) and it wants you to parry. In a way, the combat has more in common with Ghost of Tsushima than it does Dark Souls. Thankfully the parry mechanic is surprisingly forgiving. You can get a lot of mileage out of mindlessly spamming the parry button, since if you mistime the parry it will generally register as a normal block. This can make fights against flurries of attacks (say, from the Centipede mini-bosses) surprisingly easy.
There's also a mechanic that I didn't read about until well into the endgame, but if you are attacking a blocking enemy, you will see a colored spark and hear a sound effect indicating that the enemy will go on the offensive. This was a game-changer in the later levels and really made me appreciate the kind of flow the designers were going for.
The level design was the classic Fromsoft method of branching paths with plenty of hidden ways to get from one area to another. It has a surprising amount of non-linear progression possible. I also really appreciated the idol placement (this game's version of bonfires). It felt generous, allowing for each section between the idols to be its own discrete challenge or mission. I also EXTREMELY appreciate how each boss had an idol placed very close to them, often with zero enemies between. The walk back to boss rooms was always one of my least favorite parts of Souls games since it just felt tedious and intentionally time-wasting.
The verticality of the levels took a while for me to wrap my head around. I find it challenging to orient myself in a game if I'm having to consider 3-dimensions. Normally I don't get turned around in Souls games but it was pretty rough at the beginning of Sekiro. I got used to it and I found the sign-posting of where to go during the "platforming" sections really nice. Also, on the note about verticality, I GREATLY appreciate that enemy attacks do not knock you off ledges (at least none I experienced). I cannot stand it when games put you in fights in narrow spaces where one random jab or movement in combat will insta-kill you.
The aesthetics of the game literally cannot be beaten. The character designs, the landscapes, the color choices, the architecture choices, the animations, every single thing related to visual and audio choices was without parallel. In fact, initially I was very bummed to hear about Sekiro's difficulty when it first was released specifically because of how rare it is to get feudal Japanese settings in games in the west. The most notable recent ones are Ghost of Tsushima, Sekiro, and Nioh (technically Edo period which was not feudal but w/e). Sekiro and Nioh are both notorious for being difficult and that's generally not what I'm looking for in games.
The story of the game was pleasantly straight-forward enough to follow while playing. And there was even fodder for youtube lore channels! Seeing that kind of blend between approachable but with additional depth was refreshing. I managed to get the "return" ending after accidentally stumbling into it (I felt compelled to explore all of Senpou Temple before fighting Genichiro).
My biggest gripe with the game, at the end of the day, was how few options you have as a player if you feel like you're hitting a brick wall. I like that in Souls games at the bare minimum you can grind areas to level up and/or you can always summon help. You could even try equipping a specific loadout uniquely tailored to one area/boss. You don't really have that option with Sekiro. And there are some weird peaks and valleys for difficulty. The Blazing Bull fight, for example, is very early, quite difficult, and doesn't mesh with any of the mechanics in the game (you just run around and hit it when it's not moving). But then the Corrupted Monk fight much later on is extremely easy with highly telegraphed attacks and multiple item weaknesses.
Overall, I am very happy to have played the game. I think if you're on the fence because you're worried about the difficulty, then using a damage-reducing mod would be a good way to dip your toes in. It's a very worthwhile experience!
