Sekiro: Refined to Perfection - A Critical Commentary

“There’s no shortcuts or tricks to make the fight easier”

Me, who lured the Demon of Hatred straight off the cliff 🫣

I've always said there's never enough 3 hour from soft analysis videos on youtube

You mentioned how they portray Wolf getting rusty by missing the tilt of his sword at the beginning and I think it's an even nicer attention to detail how in the Genichiro boss fight at Ashina Castle they do they exact same shot but have Wolf nail it this time.

About the Guardian Ape rematch, you mentioned that there's really not a "lore" reason for the boss to be reused, but there actually, at least technically, is. When you fought him the first time, he was guarding the flower he kept for his mate, who has long since passed, but now that we're in his actual den, we get some more info -- the second ape is either his child or a different mate (likely the latter since the second ape sadly sits down and dies if you kill the Guardian first), and there's also the skeleton of what was likely the mate he was keeping the flower for, which you can find in an upper level of the den. More importantly though, at least for the themes of immortality and corruption in the story, is how we first see the headless ape -- he's doing some weird scraping motion against the wall as he holds his neck close to it. Upon beating the boss, you can see that there's a VERY slight trickle of water coming down the wall; the same water that flows through Mibu Village, the water that flows from Fountainhead Palace, the same water that pools in the Sunken Valley. It's safe to say the water in this cave is much less pure than the water pooling where you first fought the Ape (where he likely got infected initially with the centipede), though it does still give immortality, and now, due to his immortality, he's been reduced to a headless corpse, piloted by a centipede, groveling for dirty drops of water. The immortal waters that flow through Ashina are a curse, not a blessing, and anyone who gets a taste of them will be reduced to constantly craving more; you need to sever those whom you love from the corrupting influence of immortality, or they'll lose any semblance of life and love that they once had.
Now, whether you find this "lore" explanation to be a good excuse for re-using the boss? That's up for interpretation, haha. Still better than the multiple re-uses of, say, Astel from Elden Ring, though.

The rush of endorphins I get from defeating Sword Saint Isshin is so intense that I get a similar feeling of nerves and excitement just from watching someone else fight him. He is easily one of the greatest bosses I've ever fought in any game.

I was extemely frustrated by Genichiro's third phase until I realized that it forces you to really learn how to dominate the first two; it's a valuable lesson before Sword Saint.

"I hope more experimental titles like this are in the works" Miyazaki on top of his desk slamming Gundam models together

Sekiro is a masterpiece; FromSoft fans who wrote it off for its lack of RPG elements or online play sorely missed out.

The thrust attack on Seven Ashina Spears that you think is unmikiriable is actually mikiriable. You just have to wait until the very end. Also, the more you think about the world design, the more impressive it is. You found all of the serpent hearts, right? And found the cave that leads back to the poison pool? That is a great moment.

I am probably one of the few who think this. But I like Sekiro the best out of any FromSoftware game. I love seeing commentaries on the game. To see how other people feel about my favorite game. Good or bad. And when as much effort goes into the videos as this one. It's always captivating and interesting to watch.

Sekiro adding a boss rush mode alone shows how confident they were in the quality of the bosses and combat. It's my go to when revisiting the game.

Small correction on the Fountainhead Palace bridge Corrupted Monk fight, her third phase does have another difference he didn't mention. She no longer blocks or deflects any of your attacks like she did previously which changes the tempo of her fight pretty drastically. You even see it in his clip of him fighting the boss. Matthew gets interrupted and hit by attacks he would've most likely deflected had the tempo remained the same, but because the monk now has super armor and attacks through everything, he gets caught off guard multiple times. It makes for some excellent story telling through gameplay, as the monk has abandoned everything, let the centipede have complete control, and attacks you in complete desperation with no regard for her own survival.

Isn´ t the ogre more a lesson about bringing the right tool to the right situation? A couple of guards mention the fear of the red-eyes to fire, the merchan sells a note that gives you a hint about where the flamethrower is, you pick it up and suddenly the fight is way more even, a lesson that´s further brought up with the firecrackers and gyobus horse, then unto the raging bull. Eavesdropping falls short afterwards, but it still has his place, specially for gaining access to a different ending and being more aware of the story surrounding you.

The same thing can be said about the crowd of monkeys and the fishers finger you found inside the guardian ape.

Also, mad respect for the "Analyzing gameplay and analyzing storytelling are two completely different skillsets" bit. It's really honest and self-aware of you.

Went into the guardian ape completely blind. Had so much trouble with the first phase that I didn’t expect a surprise second phase. When he grabbed his sword and severed head and got back up…I shat myself. Poop in my pants. One of the most memorable moments in the entire series.

I think the first chained ogre was actually supposed hammer in how useful the prosthetic tools can be and how vital it is to explore and talk to NPCs. He's a really tough boss fight until you get the flamethrower (and the game hints at where you can find it several times before this)

Headless Ape fight was a great surprise. You beat him, there’s a moment of usual triumph… but then, something seems off. I don’t remember how that unease was communicated by the game, but I remember the eerie feeling I sensed before the ape rose again. Maybe it was the fact that the corpse still lay there? Not sure. GREAT moment for me!

I love the set up of isshin in his prime being the strongest warrior, and the payoff of fighting isshin in his prime is awesome

Before the Juzou The Drunkard fight, you can actually stealth past the hordes of enemies by crouching beneath the floorboards of the right building.

A few things:

1. I think people vastly understate just how effective prosthetics are in the game. As said in the video it's not really comparable to things like summons or items in other souls titles, however, it IS comparable to weapons in other titles. The prosthetics are not supplementary to your kit, they ARE your kit and should be treated as such. Many of the enemy dense areas can very easily be taken on with the right set up of prosthetics that allow you to quickly break an enemy's posture like the axe or give you a break to finish off an enemy or two with the fire crackers. This in conjunction with skills such as the vault over or the ichimonji make the game alot more fluid and make some of the seemingly questionable area designs (such as Juzo or the Senpou Straw Hats) very doable.

2. You are a shinobi, not a samurai or a ronin, or any thing else. You are a shinobi and stealth is the over extremely overlooked aspect of this review. The gunfort is not meant to be chaotic, your meant to be a shinobi not a wrecking ball, the traversal options make it obvious that your not supposed to challenge it head on as shown by the hole that drops you from literally taking it on. You are given branches to ascend from the outside and wall hangs next to every enemy to stealth deathblow them. Same can be said for hirata estate.

3. There needs to be conversation about your story perception. The Shura ending isn't poorly written, and makes quite a bit of sense while being in character if you actually spoke to the NPC's. You get alot of booze over the course of your journey up until that point and almost every single opportunity to use it reveals the backstory of Isshin and the Orangutang or Sculptor, to which explains Shura and it's place in the story. It's definitely intended to be abrupt to the true conclusion because it's the obviously "wrong" path, but that does not mean it's narratively weak.