Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)

[Dcubed]

This is an interesting topic in of itself; you could certainly make this an interesting thread if you wanted to go ahead and make one in the General Gaming Forum @Jonnas

But yes, I agree.  There are definitely quite a few publishers that purposely perform low print runs of games that they know are going to be successful, in order to force people to buy higher margin digital copies instead; Square-Enix in particular are notorious for pulling this stunt (I'm looking at YOU Bravely Default!).

Given how Activision tend to operate? I can absolutely believe that they underprinted this game on purpose.

Edited March 16, 2022 by Dcubed

[Sheikah]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

To be fair, I'm like this as well. Back when I used to buy games in shops they had to be factory sealed or they didn't get my cash. I walked out of GAME a few times due to games not having the official seal still intact. It's something that I still do to this day when buying games off eBay. If it's just a random stock photo I always message the seller to see if it's factory sealed. 

Yup, I'm weird and I dont care.  

Visions of crazy, but hole. 

 

50 minutes ago, Julius said:

As someone who also loves getting games physically still, I think I'm probably only a step removed from wanting to get everything I can factory sealed myself  still shudder when I think about the variety of conditions the PS3 games I got from CeX were in when I picked up my PS3 a couple of years back: PlayStation Hits, dented steelbooks, and a very concentrated scent of smoke 

My preference is definitely to buy new, and the only thing that gets in the way for me a lot of the time is when getting the factory sealed version seems like an obstacle in and of itself, which has been the case for a lot of the DS games I've hunted down in recent years: I either couldn't find the game sealed at all and so easy out of luck from the outset, or if I could, as you could probably imagine, those prices hurt my eyes to look at! Thankfully the games I picked up were basically in a pocket where you'd almost expect fans to keep them in good condition anyways, and I made some lucky bets with those considering their apparent value these days: Dragon Quest V for £70, Dragon Quest IV for £40, Pokémon White 2 for £35. 

For me, it's when it gets to the point that a sealed copy of a game is costing me an additional 25% or more than an opened copy in good condition is typically where I draw the line, because I just start to think of what other games I could pick up with that money instead. 

The only things I really hold out for with my collection is avoiding promotional packaging (PS Hits/Nintendo Selects), minimising steelbooks, and going for launch editions, because I'm never a fan of a GOTY banner or awards on a case. Which probably sounds a bit crazy too, but I'm also one of those who has a blu-ray collection of films, so that's probably par for the course with me.

Goodness knows what I'll do if I ever need to cut down on clutter...but I'll cross that bridge and burn it down if that day ever comes 

I've gone totally the other way now. The vast, vast majority of games you get from eBay now you probably wouldn't even know they were used. Most people now I think just play the game then sell it. Discs also seem way harder to scratch.

I've also made a load of money since I started selling PS4 games and a few Switch games (and my PS4 Pro since I got a PS5) since around the start of the pandemic. I've made a grand doing this over the past year or so, really crazy to think I never did this before and left games sitting on the shelf unplayed.

If you can get round the need to have sealed games and whatnot there's loads of money to saved and made. Loads, I tell ye. You could even sell your games and buy them again way down the line when they're worth peanuts. There's physical games I've sold too like the Crash remaster trilogy that are now on the Plus Collection that I literally had no reason to keep, yet still got 25 quid for it.

Edited March 16, 2022 by Sheikah

[Jonnas]

2 hours ago, Dcubed said:

This is an interesting topic in of itself; you could certainly make this an interesting thread if you wanted to go ahead and make one in the General Gaming Forum @Jonnas

...Did you mean to tag @Julius? I don't know what a Sekiro is, or why the shadows are dying twice (I mean, shadows normally can't die even once).

And on the subject, all I have to say is that making purposefully low-print runs just to sell more on the digital side sounds like a poor strategy: games need store visibility for marketing as well, which is particularly important for new IPs. There are likely other reasons behind the low prints, because the practice predates digital stores.

[Sheikah]

...Did you mean to tag [mention=20895]Julius[/mention]? I don't know what a Sekiro is, or why the shadows are dying twice (I mean, shadows normally can't die even once). And on the subject, all I have to say is that making purposefully low-print runs just to sell more on the digital side sounds like a poor strategy: games need store visibility for marketing as well, which is particularly important for new IPs. There are likely other reasons behind the low prints, because the practice predates digital stores.

Maybe for normal games sure, but this is a game made by FromSoftware, its reputation precedes it. It's a bit like saying Mario Odyssey needs more exposure as otherwise people might not have heard of it. 

Now it definitely is anti-consumer to have limited print runs but it's difficult to argue it's smart in this case from a business perspective. Several years down the line they're not interested in marketing it in physical stores anymore, they're way more interested in seeing sales from the digital storefront. Having fewer (and therefore far more expensive) pre-owned copies in circulation helps them achieve that.

[bob]

That's why I bought a factory sealing machine a while back. It's paid dividends back from selling pre-owned games to foolish eBay buyers.

[drahkon]

You weird people, keep talking about sealed games and stuff while I'm getting mentally prepared to finally give this game another go.

A friend will send me his copy before he goes on vacation for 2 months in two weeks and then I'll see if I enjoy it more. I think I'll have to completely ditch my usual Souls game mindset and readjust.

Edited March 17, 2022 by drahkon

[Julius]

Target acquired, sealed and delivered! 

First time I've had to do any bidding on eBay, pretty exhilarating, it's a good thing I don't care about more serious collectible items (or have the disposable income to chase them) or I'd be hooked. 

I was going to get it for a bit under RRP, but set my max. bid to a good bit over to be safe, and then raised it by another £5 with 10 minutes to go. Good thing I did too, because two chaps came in to try and snipe it with 30 seconds to spare! 

[Sheikah]

Target acquired, sealed and delivered! [emoji3]

First time I've had to do any bidding on eBay, pretty exhilarating, it's a good thing I don't care about more serious collectible items (or have the disposable income to chase them) or I'd be hooked. 
I was going to get it for a bit under RRP, but set my max. bid to a good bit over to be safe, and then raised it by another £5 with 10 minutes to go. Good thing I did too, because two chaps came in to try and snipe it with 30 seconds to spare! 

How much in the end?

[Julius]

8 minutes ago, Sheikah said:

How much in the end?

£78.

Honestly, I know it's a lot, but it's thankfully not as high as I think it could have potentially gone for (I watched eBay like a hawk for a few days and it was the only sealed copy I saw in that time). I don't have any games pre-ordered for the next month so didn't mind taking the hit 

[Sheikah]

£78.
Honestly, I know it's a lot, but it's thankfully not as high as I think it could have potentially gone for (I watched eBay like a hawk for a few days and it was the only sealed copy I saw in that time). I don't have any games pre-ordered for the next month so didn't mind taking the hit [emoji2]

Wow...that's an eye watering amount! I hope the cellophane wrap was worth it. [emoji14]

[Hero-of-Time]

34 minutes ago, Julius said:

Target acquired, sealed and delivered! 

First time I've had to do any bidding on eBay, pretty exhilarating, it's a good thing I don't care about more serious collectible items (or have the disposable income to chase them) or I'd be hooked. 

I was going to get it for a bit under RRP, but set my max. bid to a good bit over to be safe, and then raised it by another £5 with 10 minutes to go. Good thing I did too, because two chaps came in to try and snipe it with 30 seconds to spare! 

Nice get. I look forward to reading your thoughts on the game when you get around to playing it. Enjoy!

13 minutes ago, Julius said:

I don't have any games pre-ordered for the next month so didn't mind taking the hit 

No need to justify your purchase. Your money is your own. Buy what makes you happy. 

Edited March 25, 2022 by Hero-of-Time

[bob]

On 17/03/2022 at 8:31 AM, bob said:

That's why I bought a factory sealing machine a while back. It's paid dividends back from selling pre-owned games to foolish eBay buyers.

 

2 hours ago, Sheikah said:

Wow...that's an eye watering amount! I hope the cellophane wrap was worth it.

Oh it was definitely worth it. 

 

Off to spend my winnings now!

[drahkon]

@Julius Can't wait to read your impressions.

My mate sent his copy of Sekiro on its way to me  I hope it arrives soon.

Edited March 28, 2022 by drahkon

[drahkon]

On 3/28/2022 at 11:22 AM, drahkon said:

I hope it arrives soon.

It has arrived two days ago, but I wanted to finish Kena: Bridge of Spirits before diving into the world of Sekiro.

I've played this quite some time ago (I actually borrowed my mate's copy back then, too) but it never really clicked. I'm not that into parry mechanics in games, which doesn't bode well, if I understand Sekiro's game play correctly  

But I'll give it another go and see whether I'll enjoy it or not.

[drahkon]

3 hours ago, drahkon said:

but it never really clicked.

After an hour it still hasn't clicked but there's something there  
I need to get out of my usual Souls mindset. Playing defensively is a death sentence in Sekiro, it seems. You really need to pressure opponents. I guess once I've internalized that it'll click.

[drahkon]

For a game whose battle mechanics focus on one-on-one encounters it sure does throw you into a lot of gangbangs. Even when you sneak around and stealth kill enemies, there will always be groups that you can't dispatch stealthily and then you have two swordbros and 3 dogs attacking you.
Maybe later on there will be methods to deal with groups more easily but right now it's rather annoying.

The one-on-one battles, though...freaking awesome. 
Now I don't know if I've actually fought against a "real" boss (do those exist? I.e. enemies with a big HP bar on the bottom of the screen? ) or if those "bigger" encounters have only been mini-bosses...but (aside from that stupid flaming-non-stop-bum-rushing-you-bull) the fights have been exceptionally fun. Parrying, blocking, punishing, getting punished. It's a weird rhythm that you have to learn, but once you got it down the battles are intense and enjoyable.

Still haven't gotten used to Sekrio's blocking/parrying timings, though. Even normal enemies regularly manage to land a hit on me. It's odd. While I don't necessarily like parrying I generally am pretty good with it, but in this one it feels a little weird somehow. Gonna take me a lot more time to actually nail it. 

[Hero-of-Time]

For a lot of the game I played it like I did the other Souls games in that I would roll and dodge a lot. There will come a time where parrying is essentially but for the regular enemies I found my standard way of playing to be sufficient. 

[drahkon]

The game shines in those epic one-on-one boss battles. I think I'm at the first major boss fight and while he's kicking my ass in his second form it's such a fun fight. Trading blows and deflections is so satisfying and every time a deathblow lands it's a feeling of "yeah, I'm the best" (even if it's only one of many deathblows needed to kill an enemy ).
Those moments of the game: 10/10

And then there are those mini-bosses with swarms of smaller mobs in the immediate vicinity. Like that drunken dude in Hirata Estate. Why do there have to be 7 or 8 other enemies? Yes, you can kill them one by one if you lure them (and the boss) out, kill one, run away so they "reset" rinse and repeat. But it's so tedious.
And if you decide to fight them head on, sooner or later there's no way to avoid an attack and bam: 2-3 hits, if one is from the boss it usually means death.
Those moments of the game: 0/10

Maybe I suck at Sekiro, maybe I just don't understand the point of those encounters, but they do take away a lot of fun. And I doubt it'll get better the further I progress. 

The 10/10 moments and the prospect of reaching more of those still keep me going, though.

[drahkon]

On 4/3/2022 at 2:02 PM, drahkon said:

The 10/10 moments and the prospect of reaching more of those still keep me going, though.

They did. The one-on-one boss fights...

It's all skill. Get hit? Your fault. You smack bosses around? You're playing like a pro.
So much fun, so satisfying, so rewarding.

I don't know where I'm at completion wise, because it's a Souls game. After a certain boss I've reached a million different areas to explore  

Funnily enough: I don't explore. You may have noticed: Aside from (most of) the bosses, I don't enjoy enemy encounters so more often than not I just run through areas, grab items and say "byyyeeee". 
Needless to say, I probably won't go for the Platinum. But I haven't checked what exactly needs to be done for it. If it's just a matter of killing optional bosses (if there are any) then I might go for it. If it's playing through the game again...meh.

Anyways, I'm enjoying Sekiro but not as much as I hoped.

[Hero-of-Time]

Yeah, you have to play through it twice. No save scumming here. 

There are optional bosses to be had and one of them is an absolute doozy. For me, it's probably the hardest fight in a Souls type game.

A lad at work has started playing this. He finished Elden Ring, went straight to Bloodborne and finished that and has now started Sekiro. He's enjoying it but he's really struggling with the difficulty and how different it is. Can't say I didn't warn him.  

[Sheikah]

19 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Yeah, you have to play through it twice. No save scumming here. 

There are optional bosses to be had and one of them is an absolute doozy. For me, it's probably the hardest fight in a Souls type game.

A lad at work has started playing this. He finished Elden Ring, went straight to Bloodborne and finished that and has now started Sekiro. He's enjoying it but he's really struggling with the difficulty and how different it is. Can't say I didn't warn him.  

Absolutely, this is the hardest "Souls" game, for sure. That optional boss that is 'in the past'...it's definitely the hardest boss in any of their games. Also @drahkon it's somewhat complicated to even stumble upon, and it's missable if you don't do the prerequisite steps to unlock it ahead of time by a certain point, so just warning you in case you're trophy hunting. And there's no way to cheese it.

It's good fun though, so enjoy it!

Last thing - there's a kind of ridiculous trophy that was the last one to unlock for me - you have to reach a certain level/unlock everything which required a fair bit of grinding at a specific spot, for several hours, since you just don't end up that level naturally (at least not in my case). So that one trophy was a little disappointing. Still, overall very fun to plat.

Edited April 5, 2022 by Sheikah

[drahkon]

6 minutes ago, Sheikah said:

That optional boss that is 'in the past'

I've been in the past once, haven't cleared it completely, though, I think.
Feel free to spoil me. I'm not that invested in the plot  But use spoiler tags please, just in case others come in here but don't want to get spoiled  

[Sheikah]

3 minutes ago, drahkon said:

I've been in the past once, haven't cleared it completely, though, I think.
Feel free to spoil me. I'm not that invested in the plot  But use spoiler tags please, just in case others come in here but don't want to get spoiled  

It's another instance of going to the past. You have to do some steps to get a specific bell and unlock this other past, and it's that unlocking of it that is missable if you don't do it by a certain point. Once you've unlocked it and go there once, you can leave and come back later whenever you want (i.e. it's no longer missable). And I'd definitely recommend coming back later, since you'll want your sword to be as powerful as possible to take the boss on.

[drahkon]

1 minute ago, Sheikah said:

You have to do some steps to get a specific bell and unlock this other past, and it's that unlocking of it that is missable if you don't do it by a certain point.

What point would that be?

[Sheikah]

1 hour ago, drahkon said:

What point would that be?

Spoiler

You have to get the bell before defeating the Divine Dragon, which is in the Divine Realm at the end of the Fountainhead Palace area. This is quite close to the endgame, and only accessible if you chose to stay loyal to Kuro. You won't be able to get the bell once you defeat the dragon.

Spoiler

1. After staying loyal to Kuro and defeating Owl, talk and exhaust all dialogues with Kuro and Emma, then rest on the idol.
2. Stay behind the wall at the back of the room, behind the incense burner; the wall has holes so you can see Kuro, now eavesdrop on him talking about doing what must be done.
3. Rest and Emma will move upstairs; talk to her and choose to agree that Kuro must live.
4. Rest again and talk with Emma; she will mention visiting Tomoe's tomb.
5. Travel to the Old Grave idol in Ashina Castle and cross the smaller gates to the left facing the idol, which leads to the cemetery, and talk to Emma; she will talk about consulting the "Orangutan” (Sculptor’s nickname).
6. Travel to Dilapidated Temple and go around the temple to the back wall with a hole on it. Eavesdrop from there on Emma and the Sculptor.
7. Now talk with Emma about what you overheard and ask her what she is hiding. She will lend you the Father's Bell Charm; you must pray with it on the Kind Faced Buddha statue in that very same room (the one you prayed upon to visit Hirata Estate for the first time). This will transport you to another version of the Hirata Estate.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2022 by Sheikah